Review by: William Abner

In Sacred 2, the dangling carrot design philosophy is in full effect. As with most combat/item driven RPGs, the game is less about a story and more about getting better loot and discovering interesting new creatures to kill. And doing it over and over and over. And when you finally get that 5-star sword of maiming you keep playing -- hoping you'll find another -- a better sword of maiming. Or maybe an axe? Or a spear? Or hell maybe even en energy pistol.

Sacred 2, originally released last winter on the PC, is a solid hack and slash RPG. It has all the trappings you expect from this sort of game: tons of bad guys to slaughter, an endless amount of item hoarding, loads of quest and a game world that is flat out enormous. But aren’t these games usually equated to clicking a gazillion times with the mouse button? What’s most exiting about the console version of Sacred 2 is that this normally PC-specific genre has been ported to the TV without missing a beat. Developer Ascaron constructed a brilliant interface which makes the console edition just as addictive as what PC gamers experienced last year.

The game thrusts you into the world of Ancaria, a fairly typical fantasy world with giant spiders and unruly kobolds. It gives you the option to play a good guy or a bad guy – by playing the Light or the Shadow campaign. You can choose to play one of six character classes: the Seraphim (think paladin), High Elf, Dryad, Inquisitor, Shadow Warrior or Temple Guardian (think um…Egyptian canine robot). Each class, as is typical with these types of RPGs, allows you to decimate your enemies in various ways – the Inquisitor uses Emperor Palpatine-like lighting and other spells whereas the Seraphim and Shadow Warrior use skills that are typically more up close and personal – although the game doesn’t restrict you in this regard.

If you want to give your Inquisitor ample skill with a sword you can do it (at the expense of his other attributes). For example, my Inquisitor has a fair amount of skill with spells but he can also dual-wield. So how you play your character is up to you and this sort of freedom is liberating in a genre that usually pigeon-holes character archetypes.

Another freedom offered by the design is that you aren’t restricted to a certain area at a specific time. Once the game starts, the road may lead you to a starter area but after that – go where you want. The enemies auto-level with you so no matter where you go you’re going to get a fair fight. You aren’t going to end up somewhere you shouldn’t solely because of your level. The sense of freedom is important to the game’s design and it opens up the massive world of Ancaria right at the start. Character advancement, as well as weapon/armor selection, is full of tough choices. There’s no “wrong” way to play Sacred 2 but as you gain levels and earn points to increase your avatar’s power you’re going to be stuck with some difficult decisions as to where to place those precious skill points. The decisions are tough but in a good way – again it opens up the system, allowing you to craft the type of character you want.