SACRED 2: Fallen Angel Preview

The original Sacred 2 from developer Ascaron recently hit the PC, and has done a fine job of presenting action-RPG gamers with a huge world to explore, fast-paced action oriented combat, and a robust amount of quests and adventures on which to partake. Now, the developers are gearing up to take on a whole new audience when Sacred 2 hits the Xbox 360 in a few months. The game will offer the same huge world as its PC predecessor, while streamlining the controls and aesthetic for console gamers. The game will also feature some impressive co-op for up to four players, which can be adjusted on the fly. Sacred 2 is shaping up quite nicely, and should be just the thing for fans of the genre looking for another action-RPG to sink their teeth into.

In Sacred 2, you’ll begin by selecting from one of six different hero classes: High Elf, Temple Guardian, Seraphim, Dryad, Shadow Warrior, and Inquisitor. While you’ll have the opportunity to select their hairstyles and colors, they’ll each essentially have their own motif and race to stick to. After choosing your character, you’ll be able to pick from two distinct campaigns, the Light and the Shadow. As you can surmise, the Light approach will deal more with saving the world, while the Shadow route will concern the conquering it with the pursuit of power in mind. Four of the classes can follow either the Shadow or Light campaigns, while two of them are fixed into one or the other.

The main difference between the Xbox 360 version and the recently released PC version is the control scheme, as the PC version offers the ability to use a keyboard and mouse configuration, while the Xbox 360 version has been completely remapped for the 360 controller. You’ll be able to map different weapons and special abilities to the face buttons in order to perform different ones on the fly, as well as interact with people and things using the left shoulder button.

The game wears its Diablo II inspiration on its sleeve in terms of the general appearance and its combat system, which is laid out via a top-down isometric view (you can zoom in closer or zoom out using the right thumbstick).

Sacred 2 will also offer an impressively huge world, with 22 real world square miles to explore. The game will also stream together areas, keeping load times very low. Additionally you’ll have mounts that you can find and use to get around faster (something that helps quite a bit considering the sheer size of the world).

On the technical front, the build received for preview was in alpha stage, so understandably there were some areas that were in need of improvement. Aside from the stuttering framerates, there were some problems with text, as it would often become lost in brighter areas, while the voice acting sounded awfully quiet under the much louder (and sometimes anachronistically “heavy metal”) music effects. However, the general look for the game was very well done, boasting some nice looking character models and huge environments. Considering that the PC version was no visual slouch, it can be safe to assume that the Xbox 360 version of Sacred 2 will be a solid-looking port, as well.

There are still some features that have yet to be implemented that weren’t on offer in the alpha build, including a variety of gameplay features and quests, as well as seamless “drop-in/drop-out” multiplayer co-op. However, there are currently a lot features that should excite fans of the action-RPG genre. Keep an eye out for Sacred 2 when it hits the Xbox 360 this March.