Hardcore RPG fans looking to hone their epic adventuring skills before Biowares Dragon Age: Origins arrives, may want to give Sacred 2: Fallen Angel a spin. The under-the-radar releasea port of 2008s modest PC hitlacks the polish, production values, and accessibility of a built-for-consoles role playing romp such as Fable II or even Too Human, but it still manages to scratch that looting and leveling itch fans of the genre crave.
It offers a sprawling world ripe for exploring, deep character customization, moral paths, village-dwelling NPCs and, of course, tons of beasts and baddies to thwart with a massive arsenal of upgradeable spells and weapons. Much of this by-the-book stuff works pretty well, too. The different character classes are a notable high point, offering a truly unique adventure depending on your choice; the six classeshigh elf, temple guardian, dryad, inquisitor, seraphim, and shadow warriorhave access to their own weapon, gear, and spell types, and even have class-specific mounts. I started three separate games, with a trio of very different characters, and enjoyed a surprisingly varied adventure each time. Having to set your chosen adventurer on a light or dark path packs even more depth, and could ensure at least two play-throughs for 100-percent-completion obsessives.
A brimming selection of magic, ranged, and melee weapons keep Scared 2s combat interesting, too; its beyond bizarre narrativea crazy-ass blend of high fantasy and sci-fiserves as the perfect excuse to equip you with, well, pretty much anything. I tended to stick with Tolkien-esque staples such as swords and fiery spells, but at one point Im pretty sure my elf was capping baddies with what appeared to be a plasma-emitting pistol. Fans of traditional fantasy fare wont be able to get behind some of this stuff, and might find themselves saying Hey, you got your Too Human in my Diablo!, but if you find yourself not digging a particular weapon or quest, stick around, and Sacred 2s variety-soaked content should offer something thats more your style.
While the surface action and exploration makes a relatively seamless transition from PC to consoles, Sacred 2s mouse-and-keyboard roots rear their ugly head through clunky interfaces. Theres lots of menus and text and complex-looking shenanigans that I foundas a console RPG fana bit intimidating. In fact, slogging through the headache-inducing menus made me feel guilty for ever criticizing Fable IIs and Fallout 3 comparatively breezy interfaces.
Sacred 2 wont earn any awards at the end of the year and, actually, its unlikely anyone will even remember it come December. But during a season that sees more movie license mediocrity than titles with much ambition or depth, RPG fans could do a lot worse while they wait for the next AAA time-siphon.
score 6.5 out of ten
verdict Fun combat, crazy depth, and varied character classes outshine clunky menus and complex interface issues. Its certainly no Fable or Fallout, but it does stand out in a season marked mostly by mindless action titles and furry critter-starring titles mirroring the summers big screen blockbusters.
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