Sacred 2: Fallen Angel: Xbox 360: Video Games
Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360 | Edition: Standard

Amazon.com Product Description
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is an Action Role-playing Game (RPG) where the paths players choose and the decisions they make along the way, determine not only the destinies of their character, but also that of their chosen race as a whole, members of the other five other in-game races, and perhaps the game world of Ancaria itself. Set 2,000 years prior to the self-titled first game in the Sacred series, Fallen Angel is prequel to the events and quests of earlier RPG hit, that drops players in the midst of an epic struggle for control of elemental power on the grandest of scale.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Players:
Offline 1-4; Online 1-4

Other:
Co-op multiplayer; HDTV 480p, 720p, 1080i; 16:9 widescreen; In-game Dolby Digital sound.

6 stunning character classes.
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Battle using brute force & steel.
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A massive weapons inventory.
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Master the lore of the ancients.
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Classic RPG character leveling.
View larger. The Story
T-Energy has been flowing through Ancaria since time immemorial. This mysterious power forms the beginning of all life, is the source of all magic and the origin of all thought. For eons the angelic Seraphim watched over the T-Energy and therefore over the fate of the entire world. But eventually tiring of their burden, they passed their knowledge on to the High Elves. T-Energy helped the realm of the High Elves to experience an unimaginable boost of prosperity, making it the reigning culture in Ancaria. But a force as powerful as T-Energy carries great dangers. Not taught how to deal with this, no sooner did the Elves take control, then a heated dispute erupted among them as to how and to what purpose the T-Energy was to be used. Dispute morphed into irresolvable conflict, then rift and eventually to a civil war among the High Elves, where all participants were losers. Their realm collapsed and with it the entire power structure of Anacaria. In the turmoil all the peoples of Anacaria coveted the right, either openly or in secret, to wield the power of T-Energy and in the end, unmanaged, the T-Energy raged out of control warping creature and lands alike. Can anyone regain control over the T-Energy. And if so, will he/she strive to prevent the world from lapsing into final chaos, or deepen it?

Gameplay
Gameplay in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel in divided into two campaign paths: Light and Dark. As the game begins players choose and customize their character and choose the path they will follow. This choice determines the ultimate goal and intentions of their character, and as the game progresses through literally hundreds of quests and side quests, the paths of different characters intersect at different junctions. Choose one way and you may be tasked to defend a town and its people, while another path could result in you attacking the same town. The choice is yours and the fate of the world and your well-being are at stake.

Key Game Features:

A massive, seamless and dynamic world delivering hundreds of hours of freeform exploration.

Two deep campaigns: play as the ‘Light’ or ‘Shadow’ side, complete with distinct skills, rewards and story-elements tailored to the chosen path.

Six exceptional, playable characters, each with a distinct look, capabilities and in-game motivation.

Modifiable combat arts: change, upgrade and link together your alter ego’s combat skills to match your playing style.

Fight effectively from the back of a number of mounts under your control; equip and upgrade your character’s unlockable special mount.

Deities offer unique combat disciplines and unlock additional quests.

Seamless transition between single and multiplayer gaming modes via Xbox LIVE.

Captivating online modes of play challenge gamers in cooperative, PvP and PvE play.

Extraordinary, cutting-edge graphics and Dolby 5.1 channel surround sound utilize the latest technologies for a truly immersive experience.

Character Classes
In Sacred 2: Fallen Angel players assume the role of one of six characters — five of which are new to the franchise — and delve into a thrilling story full of side quests and secrets that you will have to unravel. Breathtaking combat arts and sophisticated spells are waiting to be learned. A multitude of weapons and items will be available, and you will choose which of your character’s attributes you will enhance with these items in order to create a unique and distinct hero.

Seraphim
Often referred to as ‘Fallen Angels,’ these mystical and angelic creatures are the oldest inhabitants of Ancaria. Fast, elegant and acrobatic warriors from a technological future they fight with light to medium weapons and, if required, with massive technological support. Players can assume the role of a Seraphim and protect the world from chaos. Shadow Warrior
Shadow Warriors were originally humans trained as elite soldiers in service to the High Elves. Upon their death their souls were stolen by an Elven general, bound to lifeless bodies and imbued with T-Energy. Now free, they travel between this world and the next as undead beings with only the desire to return to the peace of the golden halls of Elysium. High Elf
The best student at the ancient academy of magic in Thylysium, the High Elf character lives and breathes magic. Her hunger for adventure and her insatiable desire to increase her personal knowledge and the influence of her once-powerful house are the driving forces as she sets off into an Ancaria boiling over with turmoil. Dryad
Masters of the hunt and akin to the Elves, The Dryad are in tune with nature and are equipped with the strength of the forests. The most powerful and the strongest among them are knowledgeable of the dark art of voodoo and were chosen in order to save their peoples from extinction. All are expert with the bow, traps, poisons and lore of the forest. Inquisitor
The Inquisitors are the High Priests of the High Elves. Arrogant and deadly, they are only committed to themselves and their ultimate goal of assume control over the T-Energy. Proficient in close combat and able to gain increasing power as damage is taken, their manipulative spells make them powerful fighters from the shadows. Temple Guardian
Since the beginning of time the purpose of Temple Guardians were to maintain and protect the Great Machine, so that it could keep the world in balance. Neither fully flesh or mechanical, they are half human and half machine. Propelled by T-Energy and devoted to protecting it, they are part of the Great Machine and so able to use the T-Energy for their purposes.
A Wide Variety of Mounts
Across Ancaria you will find many horse dealers. They offer all kinds of animals, from the simple nag up to a real war horse. You can equip a war horse with bridle, saddle and even special armor. These special items can be found in the game just like player items, ranging in quality from regular to rare and even unique items. In addition, every character also has a unique mount created specifically for their character class. This mount not only fits the personality of the character, but also complements the various aspects of the character’s playing style perfectly. All character classes can fight from a mounted position using a variety of tactics that the player chooses depending on the terrain and battle conditions.

Product Description
For an era, it was the angelic Seraphim who watched over the T Energy (forms the beginning of all life, it is the source of all magic and the origin of all thought). They passed their knowledge on to the High Elves, so that they could benefit from T Energy. But the High Elves let the power over T Energy tear their society apart, and war and strife broke out. Worse than that, the T Energy itself went out of control, turning negative and creating destructive evil in the land. The nobility as well as the clerical caste of the High Elves struggled to seize power over the high-elvish imperium, so that they alone might hold the T Power in their rule. The land once more faced with war; a war that was much larger, and more far-reaching consequences than all previous wars and battles. Two thousand years before Shaddar the cry for heroes arises to avert this war and to regain control over the T Energy. Will those heroes prevent the world lapsing into final chaos, or will they instead deepen it with their actions? Deities offer unique combat disciplines and unlock additional quests Seamless transition between single and multiplayer gaming modes Challenge gamers online in cooperative PvP (Player versus Player) & PvE (Player versus Environment) Cutting-edge graphics and Dolby 5.1 channel surround sound uses the latest technologies to deliver an immersive experience

A few issues, but overall an excellent game.,

By Skyclad (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I’ve been waiting for a game like this on the consoles… a full-fledged dungeon crawler that has decent online gameplay.

I haven’t played the PC version of the game, but 1Up wrote in their review the console version is actually better than the PC version for various reasons.

You get to choose from one of many different classes and then choose whether you want to follow the gods of light or dark… and what you choose directly impacts the flow of the game with differing quests.

I had to knock off a point for some small control issues and some graphical glitches, but they in no way ruin the game at all.

Fun in single player, even funner in online co-op.

A Game With Lots Of Heart But…,

By MARK DESANTO “"I Eat Games"” (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
  

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

**UPDATED BELOW ON 05/15/09**

Although I was only able to spend about an hour playing the game yesterday, I feel like I have a few noteworthy remarks about the console release of Sacred 2. Take my feedback with a grain of salt but with that being said I’ll do my best to describe what I experienced. At the very least this will provide a morsel of information out there about this highly (for some) anticipated game. Also to confess, I’ve not played the PC version more than about an hour so I’m not overly familiar with the game in it’s many iterations–but I do love dungeon crawlers of any kind like Diablo I & II, Titan Quest, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2, and Champions of Norrath.

The installation of the game took as long as any other 360 game–roughly 8 minutes. The installation improved load times significantly. I don’t mean to imply that loading levels is non-existent but they do load with in seconds.

I decided to play as a Shadow Warrior and check out how melee is handled in this game. You have the option to choose to play the Light or Dark campaigns and select an applicable deity to worship. The Shadow Warrior begins his saga in a tomb and my initial impressions was “cool, a dungeon! There’s bound to be lots of loot around here!” I ran around a bit and everything looked well enough. It certainly wasn’t mind blowing but it definitely looked better than the games I mentioned above.

Unfortunately, once outside the tomb the frame rate took a little bit of a hit. Not severe enough to make the game unplayable, but I think people who are really sensitive to a slight drop in frames and tearing will be put off by this. Personally, I thought it was a little annoying–but not annoying enough to ruin the gameplay. If I had to guess I would say it dropped < 30 fps.

The fighting was a little strange for me. I felt a little disconnected when fighting (melee) because you don’t mash a button. It’s not similar to the Baldur’s Gates or the Champions of Norraths where you hit a button to attack. Instead you hold down the button and direct your attacks towards the enemies. It works–and I imagine it takes some getting use to–but for me I would rather mash on a button and feel more involved with attacking. It felt a little too passive but I am only an hour into the game. I imagine this is a mechanic that will feel more natural (and perhaps for connected?) in time.

Loading up on loot in these games is always something I look forward to–don’t we all? In Sacred 2 (console), looting is done automatically when pressing the LB. Again, you feel a little detached when loot is magically transported into your inventory and where’s the satisfaction when you don’t get the feel of snatching it up? At least you see it on the ground and know you have to pick it up so the process isn’t as drastically passive as Too Human where goodies didn’t even fall on the ground but jumped into your inventory. I am sure this sounds totally trivial to a lot of you but for me, I enjoy picking it up and hearing the “clinks”, the “clanks” and the “cha-chings” of the gold pieces. For those of you like me, a little thing like that is hugely missed.

I did notice that weapons, abilities/skills and magic can be bound to any of the 4 face buttons. The LT and RT act as a “shift” key so you can bind up to 8 more items for quick use. It looks really effective and I think it’s a smart way to handle diversity in combat methods.

In the inventory, I noticed that comparing items is as easy as pressing a button so it does look like Ascaron made an effort to create as console-friendly game. Again, these are very early impressions of a ginormous game. There are still many many things left for me to see and find and get used to. Knowing some of you are as eager as I am for first-hand impressions of this game on the console — feel free to ask if you have any questions!

**05/14/09 - UPDATE**

Sacred 2 has this way of luring you back for more–even with its faults!

It pleases me to say that after becoming a little bored with the Shadow Warrior–with it’s monotonous melee–I decided to create a different character, a Dryad, and give Sacred 2 another shot. It’s not that I dislike Sacred 2, it’s that it’s got so much potentoil and it’s first impression was spoiled! Hey, I love these dungeon crawlers ok?

So I headed in another direction and went with a ranged class to see how differently it would play. The Dryad class can use melee weapons like the Shadow Warrior, but really, it’s built for ranged attacks. I have to say, after playing for several hours, I really enjoyed my time playing the Dryad. Sure, chalk it up to personal preference perhaps but it really feels like this game was built for bows-and-magic on the consoles (not the PC.) Come’on, this is coming from a guy who hated the “push-the-stick” melee in Too Human but loved the Marksmen class.

With the class change I dutifully played a few more hours of the game (roughly 4). Unfortunately with in that time I noticed a few more obtrusive issues with the game. Thankfully none of these are deal breakers, atleast not for me. But before I get to those I want to reiterate–I am now enjoying this game, it’s just that it’s not as refined as I would like it to be.

With that being said….

I cannot find a way to blacksmith in the field despite obtaining the skill to do so. I’ve checked around on several forums, asked a few people and it appears that this is a common issue amongst players. It’s a nice skill to have as Blacksmiths just aren’t prevalent in the game.

When browsing the inventory there are two options available to you–”Details” and “Compare”. “Details” allows you to–are you ready for this–see more details about a particular item! “Compare” allows you to….see more details about an item! Yes the problem is–both buttons do the exact same thing. This is another very useful feature that would make life easier when upgrading and selling items. Anyone know what’s going on with this?

In my previous post I complained about the act of Looting. I’m happy to report that the “catch all” collection system now feels really good and makes my little pavlovian brain salivate with it’s “Cha-ching” sound effects.
Just to note–and not to complaint–gone is the color system the PC version of the game uses to identify power level and importance of items and weapons (a la Word of Warcraft) and replacing it is a star system. It works well and I see no real difference between using the two. I’m wondering if perhaps the change took place to better suite colorblind gamers?

Overall–this game is beginning to win me over and I’m excited about that.

More on my Blog for those that are interested: http://eat-games.blogspot.com

Finally a great console Action RPG!,

By Steven (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Sacred 2 is a very solid console Action Role Playing Game (ARPG) filled with quests, dungeons and more loot then you can imagine. Yes this game does have its share of flaws but those of us that are addicted to these types of games (aka Diablo clones) are likely to be more then satisfied. The port over to the console has been so good that many reviews - even “professional” reviewers say this is better then the PC counterpart.

I’ve been craving a good console hack-n-slash ARPG ever since the days of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath that came out last gen. The market for these games is so small that they very rarely come out. Sure there are great RPGS currently - Oblivion, Mass Effect, Fallout 3 and other come to mind but we haven’t seen a real solid ARPG ‘Diablo clone’ come out in a long time. Finally Sacred 2 fills that gap - does it do a good job? Absolutely!

Let’s go ahead and get the flaws out of the way. A lot of what you may have already read is true to some degree. Yes the frame rate does stutter slightly in larger open areas. The character development does seem daunting at first. The screen does tear a bit, enemies do get stuck every once in awhile, you get stuck every once in awhile, the voice acting is pretty bad, and sometimes navigation is a pain because on your way to a quest you will suddenly hit a dead end that isn’t really that visible on your mini-map. The default camera is bad (luckily you can change it to a static camera which is much much better - makes the game play very much like BG:DA).

All of these flaws are present in some degree. It may sound like I’m bashing the game but really I’m not - I’m just telling you the truth. Also, the truth is that these issues are very nit-picky and in the grand scheme of things, well, they’re irrelevant. It seems as though a lot of people are exaggerating these issues. The frame rate stutter is very slight and I noticed it smoothed out a bit when I installed the game on my hard drive. The character development is daunting at first but you get used to it and it’s certainly better then having shallow character development. Enemies get stuck but it’s rare and doesn’t really affect the gameplay. People bash the voice acting and yes it is goofy and over the top - but this game doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is evident right away when you read some of the gravestones and the text for the quests. The whole game is a little bit goofy - in a good way. The only significant complaint I have is that there is a complete lack of a pause feature, which is odd. Even if you hit the guide button on your controller the game will still go on in the background. I’ve read that they may fix this and I hope they do.

Some people complain about the interface but I think it’s done very well. There is only so much you can do with a controller and I think they did a very good job porting over the interface - once you learn the ins and outs of it you will be flying through it in no time. Some people complain about the graphics saying they are outdated. I don’t understand this at all, sure they aren’t perfect but the world is vast and beautiful. On the PC this game is a complete system hog and they were able to port it well to the current gen consoles which are now becoming dinosaurs in computer years.

Look, it boils down to this. Do you like games like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Diablo? Are you a fan of hack-n-slash, looting, dungeon crawling, character buffing games with massive worlds and hundreds of quests? If this is your idea of a fun game then certainly you will be able to look past the technical nit-picky issues listed above. Sacred 2 offers a massive world capable of eating up hundreds of hours, there is no reason you shouldn’t explore it. I am very satisfied with this game - it scratches that console ARPG itch I’ve had for quite some time now.
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