Console: Xbox 360
Date Released: May 12th 2009
Date Reviewed: January 8th 2012
Reviewer: Thomas
Pros: *Semi top down action RPG in the vein of Diablo 2 *6 different and highly customizable characters to choose from *4 characters may choose either the light or dark path story mode *Great automatic generating loot system keeps the game fresh and fun Cons: *Higher experiance levels take a long time to gain, lots of grinding. *The story could have been fleshed out more *Sometimes the interface for inventory is a little cumbersome *Combat while easy to do can become mundane afterwhile
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is a sequel to the PC title Sacred and was ported to the Xbox 360 in 2008. The PC has no shortage of action rpgs, anything from Diablo, Dungeon Siege, and Harbinger just to name a few. When Sacred 2 came to the Xbox lineup there wasn’t hardly any action rpg to go around and it’s introduction was a breathe of fresh air. As a long time fan of the genre, I decided sometime ago to pick this one up and I still am playing it as we speak. Now on to the review.
Presentation : B
Graphics / Animation / Sound
The most striking aspect of Sacred 2 is it’s use of color, incredible blues, greens, red and everything in between. The water surrounding Ancaria is both beautiful and well animated. The Main theme is done by a group called Blind Guardian. The rest of the score is extremely well done, each piece is well arranged. Each character has his or her own battle music which also has variations on a theme. The Seraphim sounds angelic while the Shadow Warrior (the basic fighter) has music fitted for battle.
The animation is average and runs at about 30 frames a sec. Each weapon attack is specifically animated such as both one and two handed weapons. The spell casting along with special abilities are mapped to the face buttons of the controller. (A,B, X and Y) The voice acting is average at best and sometimes downright funny with the different characters you can play. They have their fair share of one liners but you won’t find yourself totally engrossed with the story line that is for sure.
Single Player : A
Game mechanics / Length / difficulty
Sacred 2 has a easy to use battle interface and moving around is simple. The right stick controls the camera and can be pulled out to a very large distance allowing you to see much of the surrounding environment. Walking under trees will not block your view because the game makes a huge hole appear by design so that you always have an unobstructive view. You can also place the camera very close to your character, almost attaching the camera to his or her back.
The game has a couple of different difficulty modes the hardest being unlocked once the main quest is completed. Some of the bosses you battle will be the most difficult creatures in the game. They usually require multiple heals and multiple attacks to put them down. Many times your character will get surrounded by enemies which will occasionally require a strategic retreat. The game overall has a moderate to hard difficulty depending on your level.
There is no level scaling with the creatures in the game and lesser creatures will only be worth 1 experience point later in the game. The creatures are colored by clicking the left analog stick and you can see what level they are. If they are yellow then they are a level higher than you, green if they are the same level, and red means that they are at least two levels higher than you. This makes it easy to strategize before a battle so that you can plan your attack. It also shows enemy information, one of the most useful being enemy weaknesses.
The game itself is very long indeed. Playtime will run you close to 60 hours for the main quest, plus an additional 600+ side quests, 250 character class specific side quests and 150 special quests. Not to mention the maximum level to gain is 200. Grinding will be key to getting your levels, but combat is basically hold down the A button and the animation cycles through an attack. You can interupt this with spells and special abilities, but nothing fancy just simple animation.
The other interesting thing is a playable mode called FREE WORLD. Basically this allows you to play the game without going through the story mode, only side quests appear and this is a great mode for online or offline play. If you simply want to jump in kill a few baddies and call it day without having to worry about the story what so ever then this is the mode for you.
Multiplayer : B
Game mechanics / features / Online features
There is online multiplayer and yes people are playing it actually. Up to four people can venture together and even trade with one another but are not required to stay together leaving them to venture off anywhere in this massive open world of Ancaria. The game will change it’s difficulty based on the amount of people playing such as encountering more creatures and what not.
The inventory system is a little cluttered and takes a little bit to adjust to, but once getting over the learning curve it is managable however it could use a bit more streamlining.
Replay Value : A
Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC
There is a one piece of DLC, being an in-game item that you can purchase which basically gives you a mule cart to place items back into the hero chests. The hero chests are in most of the larger towns to be used for storage and/or trading. This can be done with other players especially if you come across an item your class can’t use so that you can leave it for your friends.
Other than the one piece of downloadable content, there has been little to no support by Ascaron the makers of this game. There has been one update for the game so far but I really have no idea what it did to be honest since the game (to my knowledge) didn’t have an issue with any major bugs or anything to that effect. Regardless of the story, the game has a ton of replay value in the single player mode regardless if you play online or not. With all the different characters (not to mention a light and dark campaign) you will be playing this game for months if not years. Since it sells for less than 20 bucks, its well worth the price of admission if you are into action rpgs like I am. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel may not be the best action rpg out there. It is however the closest to one of my favorites being Diablo 2 than anything else you are going to find on the xbox 360 today. This game is fun, challenging at times and addicting thanks to its easy to pick up and play mechanics, loot generater system and of course tons of enemies to combat.
So in the words of the Seraphim class….Anacria Awaits!
Overall : A-
