There are many classic games of the previous years that I wish to honor, and Sacrifice is one of them.
As mentioned on the blurb above, the ominous name of this game deterred me for a while (I was a little wet behind the ears circa 2000), at least until a friend recommended it to me.
A rental later, and after knowing that it is made by a company none other than the one that made the amusingly fun MDK (and that company later became Double Helix Games), I am convinced that this would be one of the most memorable games in PC gaming history. And it certainly is.
Wading into the gameplay is very pleasant, with the player's Imp providing some handy tips and hints. Sacrifice is first and foremost a strategy game, but one that occurs on a smaller scale (which is a rarity in the RTS genre at that time) due to the limitations on the number of units - or monsters - that a player can have at any time.
This lends the game a sense of momentum in battle, as relatively more skilled players can eventually amass more souls than other players and steamroll over the opposition. It may not have been a feature well-received at that time, but the development of RTS games has evolved in order to prevent frustrating and dissatisfying stalemates (at the cost of the losing players being annihilated infuriatingly quick). Therefore, one can say that Sacrifice is one of the fore-bearers of such a game design decision.
Sacrifice is probably also one of the pioneers of aggressive resource securing gameplay. The inadequate mana from Altars and the sight of Mana Nodes in the horizon are incentives for players to venture out and battle each other early for possession of these resources - something that was lacking in RTS games of that time, which still rewarded static game styles. Granted, this is also one reason that deterred some players, especially those who lack initiative.
Moreover, Sacrifice diverged from the usual "crush-enemy-base" formula, requiring a player to pull off a risky and counter-able maneuver to permanently eliminate an opponent. This is perhaps to offset the fact that said player already has a lot of momentum, and give worse-off players a chance to bounce back.
The story mode of Sacrifice is also quite innovative for its time, since it allows players to hop from one perspective to another (in this case, service to any one deity), garnering different boons (rewards) for each different decision. The plot twists are also quite good too, culminating in a tense but winnable final battle with a cheating boss.
It is rather sad that Shiny Entertainment had one too many eccentric minds, that they would forget about a very great game that they had made, and went on to produce tripe like Messiah and Matrix: Path of Neo.