SACRED 2: Fallen Angel

When it came to Sacred, to move ahead, it had to go into the past. Sacred 2, from Ascaron, is the prequel to Sacred, taking place 2,000 years before Sacred.

Ascaron was at the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco and took time Wednesday to show GameZone the 360 version of the role-play hack’n’slash title.

The 360 version was not quite as advanced in terms of development as the PC version, but there were noticeable differences. The PC version is a point-and-click mouse-controlled game while the 360 – obviously – utilizes the controller. But in the 360 version, all the menu interfaces have been redone, and the hot keys are reconfigurable. The 360 version will allow two players to play onscreen in its seamless world. Some effects are also available (like some environment effects) on the 360 that are not available on the PC version.

Other features include:

• The fast 3-D action, a multitude of effects, realistic physical features and beautiful animations of the intricate HiRes models create a huge, realistic game world, which does not require any reloading.

• An innovative emotional system and the depiction of an authentic world give life to both friend and foe.

• A further striking component of the graphic presentation is the unique Gore Feedback, which displays the strength and power of the player's own game character.

• Sacred 2 is the superb 3D enhancement of the original Sacred and provides yet more action, more monsters, more scenes, more weapons and combos, and feedback - and even more fun.

In the game, NPCs have professions and daily tasks, creating a vibrant alive world. There are 200 levels possible and it was estimated that it would take 30 hours to play the main storyline, though there are hundreds of side quests available.

The characters are all hand animated and during character creation, players can choose whether to walk the path of good or evil.

The look of the game was bright and vibrant. At this stage in its development it looks as though Sacred 2 will carry the RPG hack ‘n slash genre into the next generation.