Hey Guys, I managed to get this done earlier then 1AM this time! These reviews seriously take a long time. It took me about four hours to get everything recorded, synced up and uploaded. I have to find a better way to do everything.

Anyway first things first. The Why It Sucks video review. Again, if you want to know why it's awesome scroll down a little.



Why It's Awesome

Sacred 2 is, for all intents and purposes, a Diablo clone. Right away that should give you a pretty good idea what makes it good, but we'll start from the basics. Graphically, it does a fine job keeping your field of view clear without skimping on the scenery. Foliage and architecture that would obscure the character vanish, but just enough is kept to give the scene the appropriate flavor.



The classes are creative and flexible enough to be able to provide you with the character you want to play with after a bit of development. Old standards like the Elven Archers and wizards are mixed with the cybernetic Temple Guardians, resulting in a refreshing bit of thematic and game play variety as well, and said game play is really what will keep you coming back. Summoning familiars and raising demonic turrets while a partner fires a plasma cannon built into his arm produces a strange and entertaining “Dungeons and Dragons Meets Megaman” vibe that you just don't get very often.



Combat is executed through a network of weapons, potions, and spells mapped to the d-pad and buttons. In order to minimize time spent shuffling spells and attacks, the triggers allow you to select three different sets of button mappings, giving you a set of actions instantly available. Further expanding your options, the game lets you set up commonly used actions as combos, linking up to four sequences to a single button press. The whole system is very effective, putting a custom built arsenal at your fingertips with very little fuss. Unlike many games, rather than having a mana meter limiting your spell casting, this game exclusively uses delays. As a result, you'll find yourself using your full repertoire of attacks rather than holding back the big ones for the bosses, since it is only ever a matter of time before you can cast again.



Enemies come frequently enough that you never feel bored, and the difficulty is balanced well enough to keep you feeling challenged without making you feel overrun. Better yet, this is a game that remembers that not all dungeon crawls need to be epic, hour long affairs. The mines we worked through were over in 10 or 20 minutes, long enough to feel substantial without feeling drawn out and tedious. There are even a few basements that you can be in and out of in under 5 minutes if you just want a quick session.



Best of all, though, is the loot. There are so many different weapons and armors, and so many ways they and the other power ups interplay and effect gameplay, you'll find yourself fiddling and shuffling through each and every new piece of loot to see what sort of numbers you can knock out of your foes now. There is just something uniquely satisfying and addictive in seeing a warrior in legion of doom shoulder pads and a cylon helmet dual wielding flaming hatchets.



Diablo 3 is not here yet, but for those of you out there jonesing for some of that style of play, Sacred 2 is a nice little homage that can give you your dual wielding, buff casting, tomb looting, battle fix until it arrives.