Sacred 2 seems to copy Diablo 2 feel in every way, but slight differences and controls makes it a little better.
~Story~
Well, the good news is, the world is great shape. The high elves and other evil forces are destroying the world bit by bit, and T-Energy abuse is causing monster mutations that makes them more hostile and grotesque.It's up to the 6 different characters to either save, or help in the destruction.
*Cliche?*
~Gameplay~
As I said before, there's six different characters that are available. All are preset and most are the "Norm" for massive, looting rpg ,dungeon crawling ,click and hit games.You have the light based paladin sort of character called the Seraphim, the dark based necromancer called the Inquisitor,the High Elf Mage, the agile ranger called a Dryad, the tanking Shadow warrior and the new and exciting Temple Guardian.Each characters have their own set of skills that cause many different effects and damage ratio's.
Being preset, you can't do much to the basic character model, but you can obtain different armor pieces to produce a different looking character with the adorned armor, and of course weapons. Each armor and weapon piece may have 'sockets' which allow for upgrades that could be adding an element to adding skill points for a potential skill upon equip or adding chances of evasion. Like Diablo, there are items that stick out completely, these items are rated by stars. 1 star is magical, but not special. 2 stars is better but still not much to talk about. 3 stars is probably the only things worth using as they are usually harder to find. Now 4 and 5 stars are the things you really want. They may contain weapon effects and as many 4-5 sockets on them and they can look so cool!
The world of Sacred 2 is massive and probably a lot bigger than that of Diablo 2.Though you could argue that it follows the same act system in a way. In Sacred 2 you start in a normal forest/meadow sort of region as you would in the rainy grasslands of Act I in Diablo 2. Eventually you hit a Desert in Sacred 2 (as you would in Act II of Diablo 2) and then a swamp(Act III) and then a volcanic dragon nest(Act IV). Now Sacred 2 doesn't just rip off Diablo, it does have other area's that stray from the wonderful game made by Blizzy.You may obtain mounts on the Island of Mounts (Catchy eh?) and you also get to fight many bosses that are part of the main quest and that are hidden/optional.I have fought 3 different dragons and over 6 hidden bosses in my playthrough and have said,"Now how come this guy is so much tougher than the main quest boss?", and it's true some are tougher once you get higher difficulties.
Oh yes, difficulties range from Bronze,Silver,Gold,Platinum,and Niob (HAH! 1 more difficulty range Diablo II!) Even the most petite of monsters may be able to own with 1k damage, and thats with your gear, imagine without it.
*Prepare for grinding and being sucked in for hours on end*
~Visuals~
This games visuals still remind me of a dungeon crawler. Yes they are pretty and I give them props for it but sometimes when you load the game, it will still have to load while you play.Also, some things may glitch out like, if you have a fire sword, and you see a line connecting to where you were and where you are now because the fire effect of the sword is bugging out. Deal with that, and I'm sure it's fine. Also the combat effects are nicely made and each attack shows the number clearly as well.
The environments are well made and really give a regional life like feel. Though sometimes the loading time will deter you from admiring them.
~Audio~
The sounds of Sacred 2 are so-so and the awesome chord battle theme that plays when you fight is cool too, but when you kills things in 3 seconds and it abruptly ends, it's annoying. I mean the soundtrack is cool, Blind Guardian is boss for participating but I hate hearing a 3 chord theme play everytime I fight! I quickly became annoyed and put on my music playlist.
*It's pretty bad that I would prefer to listen to Nickleback then metal*
~Multiplayer~
The online play is really something. You can join a friend or stranger's game and either help with their campaign or you can make a free world and fight the bosses for loot. Most the time I see people looting than anything else. I haven't decided on trying the PvP but if I do, I will be sure to update this review.
I thought the connection would be questionable for this game but it really isn't all that bad. If you and the other person have a decent connection then you will have a flawless game that rivals the offline singleplayer (still has the loading visuals problem).
*Better play this if you beat the game once, you will be lonely if you don't*
~Summary~
Sacred 2 is a great taste of Diablo for those people who never played it, or those who miss it and wanna console it up.Be sure to have a good music playlist to drown out the battle music and a buddy you can talk to about the visuals load times.