I enjoy a good hack-’n’-slash game as much as the next guy. It’s therapeutic to come home and destroy countless monsters after a hard day’s work. As all gamers know, not all games are created equal. Not every game is worth its weight in gold. So allow me to introduce you to the world of Sacred 2: Fallen for the PlayStation 3.
The story behind Sacred 2 is rather simple. You have different heroes who control rather similarly and are out to save (or destroy) the world. You see, there are all these different nations fighting over a natural resource that supposedly powers everything. Yet, you can never really acquire it. It’s supposed to give the game a feel of technology clashing with magic.
I never had an opportunity to sink my teeth into the original, but I don’t remember the demo having such a feel — especially since this game takes place a thousand years before the original, which is of typical high fantasy fare. Furthermore, the various quests have a certain wit to them. It is refreshing to see a game that isn’t afraid to poke fun at others or itself. However, it isn’t hard to tell that something is lacking during a quest. How certain quests are resolved make no sense as they come completely out of left field. How did a ghost take form of a human and decide to destroy my hero? I don’t know. Or how about the reason some mysterious person wants to destroy my avatar’s family for no other reason than the character is “in the way” of something.
Gameplay is a combination of traditional role-playing elements (such as statistic placement and skill growth), open world exploration and countless monsters to send into oblivion. The amazing thing is that it all controls very well. It is perfectly clear that although this is a PC-based game, it translates well onto a console. Actions are all hot-keyed. Everything from drinking potions (down on the d-pad) to attacking with a weapon and skills are performed by pressing a button on the controller. Furthermore, the L2 and R2 buttons act as a second and third tier of a hotbar. So, although aiming may feel better with a mouse, it is definitely more comfortable and easier to remember than which key belongs to each action.
It is important to note you have a massive world to explore. Thousands of miles are open to you — caves that span networks, sewers that run under a city and forests filled with singing birds and monsters. An auto map is up in the corner and almost overbearingly guides you to your next destination. The world map is available at a push of a button, and you can teleport between locations, provided you have touched its resurrection spot or teleporter before.
Graphically, the game is solid. It is a mixture of last-generation graphics and next generation. Lines are not exceptionally clean but somehow run at a higher resolution. For example, whenever you run under trees, the leaves will blur away so you can see where your avatar is running. (I find it to be a headache-inducer.) Water pulses around, but it isn’t always clear where it is going. Monsters look strong but do little to differentiate themselves from other monsters in fantasy worlds. Ghosts look generic, kobolds are as typical as they can be and bandits abound. Areas all look alike, so there is little ways to prove how different each space is from another area.
There are a few problems with the gameplay system. First, movement is not perfect. It is not always clear which parts of the environment are walkable. My avatar has even gotten stuck inside the environment. As such, I had to reload my game. Second, there is no overall dungeon map for exploring. This makes it difficult to find where a quest person or item is hidden because the auto map naturally points you back outside if you are not near the proper spot. Third, quests usually flow easily from one spot to another. Although this isn’t a problem, it can be frustrating to have a quest that cannot be completed until the main quest has progressed far enough. It stops the flow.
Audio wise, everything is solid. But at the same time, this is nothing gamers have not heard before. The sound effects are of the typical fantasy adventure: swirls of magic, clashing of swords, screams of monsters, burns of fire and chirping of birds. Music is downright generic. It is not a bad soundtrack, but one cannot help but feel it has been heard before. One cannot help but start thinking of other songs. It is at this moment I long for my PS3 to develop the ability to play my music while I play. The voice acting is a mixed bag as well. On the one hand, the actors fit the characters. On the other hand, it’s hammed up. Nothing is natural. It breaks the verisimilitude of the universe. Hearing the elf comment about killing a horde of monsters a few times for her 401K retirement fund was fun at first. Now it’s just silly to my ears.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is a solid game. Nothing more, nothing less. Everything is technically proficient enough to squeak by and complete the task in front of it. It is competent enough to be more than a mere hack-’n’-slash clone. However, it is too naive to be satirical. And that’s what hurts it the most: It wants to be more than a technical game and cannot resist to tread higher ground. The team is onto something, but everything needs to be more refined on a greater level. The clichés need to be reduced, the audio needs to be revamped and the countryside needs to feel memorable.
As such, this game is a solid choice for those looking for something to unwind. However, it is not worth $40 on any level. I was fortunate enough to pick up this game for half the price. And I do not believe it is worth any more than that. Sacred 2 likes to make you believe you will be working against or for the fall of creation. In reality, it’s all about felling hordes of monsters. It might be something to trip over if you’re in the mood for it.
