Sacrifice Preview
Find out why Sacrifice is bound to be one of the most distinctive real-time strategy games of the year.
In stark contrast to all the attention Messiah received between its announcement in 1997 and its release this spring, Shiny kept Sacrifice out of the media spotlight as long as possible. But when we first saw the game at E3 in May, we were amazed that the developer could have kept such an impressive-looking game under wraps for so long. Sacrifice pairs a unique real-time strategy concept with an updated version of the technically advanced Messiah 3D engine. The dramatic landscapes, wacky creatures, and unique game design intrigued us at first sight, but our brief encounter left us wondering how it would really play. Now that the game's release is little more than a month away, we've taken the chance to explore the game more fully.
Sacrifice combines elements of action and real-time strategy games in a very unusual setting. You play as a wizard who can summon armies of fantastic creatures and cast spells of tremendous power - all you need is the blessing of one of five competing gods and a number of willing souls. In fact, souls are an essential resource in the game. To summon new creatures for your army, you'll convert the souls of heathen opponents by sacrificing them at your god's altar. Furthermore, the definitive method of killing a wizard is to desecrate its altar with a sacrifice of one of your own creatures. The game's other resource is mana, which is required for summoning, building structures, and casting direct spells. Altars and mana fountains only emanate mana within a limited distance, so to keep your magic in constant supply you'll need to keep a few mana-channeling creatures around. Unless its altar is under attack, a wizard will be resurrected, if it can get to a good source of mana.
Sacrifice's gameplay borrows much from conventional real-time strategy games, yet the game's emphasis on action and one central unit is most reminiscent of Activision's first-person 3D real-time strategy game, Battlezone. The biggest difference between Sacrifice and most RTS games is that the third-person camera is locked in orbit around your wizard, which is intended to give a more personal tie between you and the wizard. You'll run around the battlefield, deploying units and launching spell attacks from this mobile perspective. Summoned creatures will form the bulk of your offensive might, and to help you control your forces, there's an intuitive contextual interface, which comes with six formations as well as escort and waypoint commands. Yet you won't want to move your units too far out of sight. With the camera fixed on your wizard, there's little indication of what's happening to units that are maneuvered via the minimap around other parts of the main map. Also, the high-level battle magic can be tremendously potent, so it's actually wise to keep your army within your wizard's protective reach. As your wizard gains experience levels from combat, you'll gain access to more powerful spells, such as one that will make a volcano erupt beneath an opposing army.
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