Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Review
Developers: Ascaron
Platforms:  Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Release date:  5th June 2009

Once upon a time in Ancaria…

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is an RPG based upon the huge land of Ancaria.  Its predecessor was a PC only title meaning this is Sacred’s first appearance on any console.  Will this be a successful crossover or will it slump like so many others.

The game allows you to choose to play as one of six character classes, from a magician to a warrior.  You must travel through Ancaria either following the path of light or shadow depending on what you choose.  The fate of Ancaria is in your hands.

Graphics and Presentation

The game starts with a rather nice looking cut scene, depicting an old wise man telling the story of how Ancaria got into its current state and several action scenes are portrayed.  The graphics in the cut scene are sublime leaving your mouth watering for more and certainly leaving you intrigued as to what the game looks like.  As we all know, rarely do in-game graphics match up to those of its cut scenes, a statement that couldn’t be truer in the case of Sacred 2.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is certainly one of the most colourful looking games I have played.  From the deep set greens that make up Ancaria’s shrubbery from the beautiful blues of the oceans and rivers.  The word “pure” springs to mind when describing its look.  However character models are very basic along with a lot of the environment.  It certainly isn’t in the same league as the likes of Oblivion and Fallout.

Although camera angles can be rotated and zoomed by using the right thumb stick, its very unfortunate that you can never choose an eye level view meaning whatever the state of the camera you can never see more than 20 meters ahead of you.  Its worth mentioning that Sacred 2 definitely looks sharper and cleaner the more you zoom out, the most likely reason being the low resolution textures that don’t seem to scale very well.

The game includes a day/ night cycle, which offers a different perspective on the world of Ancaria.  Night offers a different atmosphere to the day with the lights dotted around the world illuminating patches of the world around you.  The game does include dynamic lighting and shadows, which help bring Ancaria to life.

Menus unfortunately are far from as bright as the world of Ancaria, a dull blue plastic looking tab interface presents you with a multitude of options.  Holding down the RB button, which allows you to choose which category of options you would like to edit, can trigger a quick menu.  All in all menus are pretty well laid out and easy enough to use but not really in keeping with the visual aspect of the game.

Sound

Sacred 2 has some really nice calming musical scores that complement the tranquil landscapes.  On the other hand there are some tenser, darker pieces that match the action and combat sequences.  Ambient sound effects are also well produced, changing to suit the environment (birds will sing in the forest but not in urban locations).  Voice acting is average at best with some being laughable not mentioning anyone (Cough! Cough! Temple Guardian).

Gameplay

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel consists of taking control of a Hero, one of the 6 characters chosen at the start of the game.   The 6 characters to choose from consist of the Seraphim, High Elf, Dryad, Temple Guardian, Shadow Warrior and the Inquisitor.  Each character has their individual strengths and weaknesses alike.

At the start of the game you can choose whether you want to follow the path of light or shadow, representing good and evil.  Once a path has been chosen you can choose from one of six deities or gods.  Each deity grants your character with one divine gift.  Divine gifts are just a combat action that can be added to your arsenal.  Divine gifts have a large regeneration time so it’s a good idea to use them sparingly.

Each character has there own combat attacks.  These attacks are referred to as combat arts within the game.  Combat arts can be grouped together to create combos to create deadlier attacks.  As combat arts level up they take longer to rejuvenate so it’s a good idea to find a good balance between power and speed depending on your playing style.  I think this is a very clever feature, as it will allow less experienced players to fight against veterans without too much of a disadvantage.  Performing combat moves is very simple, holding down any of the X, Y, A or B buttons will perform a combat art depending which art you have saved in the chosen slot.  There isn’t really a great deal of skill involved in combat apart from being able to avoid attacks.  Success in combat really depends on your experience points and levels.

The world of Ancaria is huge.  Luckily developers have included a special mount for each character.  A mount is a mode of transport, each character having a special mount.  Most mounts are living creatures with the exception of the Temple Guardian who has a mono-wheel.  As you explore the world you will discover monoliths, these monoliths once activated allow you to re-spawn at that location.  You can also jump instantly between explored monoliths using the map, saving you a lot of hassle and time.

There are a number of game modes to choose from both online and offline.  Campaign mode can be played both on and offline but its important to note that when playing campaign mode online only the host’s campaign is affected.  You can also choose to play in PVP (Person vs. Person) mode where you can go in to combat with other players.

Closing Comments

I must admit when I first started the game I only played for 10 minutes before switching it off.  However after persevering and learning more about the features I can understand and appreciate why the Sacred franchise is such a cult classic.  With such a huge world to explore and the depth of combat, spells and potions it’s hard to contemplate anybody experiencing 100% of its content.  It has to be said that visually Sacred 2 doesn’t come close to some of the other RPG’s such as Oblivion.

On first look to those inexperienced with the Sacred series it may seem dull.  The fact is that to get the best out of this game you need to put a lot of effort in to upgrading your character, doing so will unlock new features making it more fun to play and will give you the competitive edge when playing online.  If you’re prepared to put in the time I think Sacred 2 is a very solid RPG with many possibilities and please note that only a fraction of the games features were mentioned in this review.

To conclude Sacred 2 is not a game that’s going to jump out at you and hook you from the start.  You’re going to have to put in the effort to experience the rewards.  If you are going to buy Sacred 2 be prepared to be in it
for the long haul.

Ayden Thomas.