here’s no way to make the case that developer Ascaron isn’t trying to emulate the towering success of Diablo II with Sacred. The good news is that they’ve succeeded better than anyone before them, but the bad news is that Sacred doesn’t touch the perfection of Blizzard’s landmark 2000 title.

Playing through Sacred is a lot like sitting down for a bit of Dungeons & Dragons. You’ve got your main quest, which guides you through the massive world (though you’re free to roam about on your own), and then you’ve got various sidequests that show up in each town you pass through. All involve killing stuff, and all reward you with loot and experience. What’s nice about Sacred is that you feel a lot more like you’re part of a heroic epic, rather than just slogging through monsters to hit the next level.

The biggest thing in Sacred that sets it apart from the crowd is the fact that you can ride horses into battle, trampling your foes beneath you or scampering away to pound them with magic or arrows from afar. Having a trusty steed to take into the fray can make all the difference, but beware – they can get injured and die just like you can. Also, mounts serve as an excellent way to traverse the huge landscape, minimizing downtime between adventures. A high-level horse can actually outrun arrows, which is entertaining, if not exactly realistic.

The six different classes available to players all play fairly differently, though many share some special moves. Also, the skill system is designed so that two characters of the same type can easily have different strengths, which helps adventurers feel more unique. The variety of equipment that drops aids this as well – it’s as huge and random as any RPG, and ensures that players have different gear. The replay value this would normally imply is hampered by the lack of random maps, though. Playing through as another class will certainly be different, but you’ll still be doing the same quests in the same landscapes.

The overall enjoyment factor of Sacred is fairly high, but it does suffer from some stupid technical issues. Many sections of the interface feel clumsy, especially the skill-switching, and pathing and targeting could certainly work a bit better. On the whole, though, action/RPG fans won’t be ill-served by picking this up.  

MATT MILLER   8.5 You should be worried. Sacred has the potential to steal a great many hours away from your life. The game is immense fun, with beautiful, detailed backgrounds and dozens of individual character animations. The six playable classes are each unique and exciting in their own right. I was truly gratified to find that the menu system, maps, and inventory are all handled flawlessly. It’s unfortunate that this otherwise gorgeous game is marred by some technical flaws in the hack-and-slash combat system. Even so, there are some hardcore Diablo II fans who are likely to find a new religion in the form of Sacred.