There are some times where having to play games for a living becomes a chore. It usually starts with a game, one that makes me regret every waking moment I spend with it. I want to stop playing, but I can’t, because I have to finish it to see if there’s any shred of value that someone like you can find in it.

Usually there’s something, hidden deep down at the bottom of the barrel, that makes the experience even marginally worth it. Sacred 3 has this, but unfortunately it’s the first thing that the game has to offer. After that, it’s a steep slide downhill.

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Co-op couch experiences are making a comeback, spurred by the success of Diablo III on console. From the moment you start Sacred 3 up, it’s clear that the third entry into the series drops everything it learnt in the past to satisfy this new trend. All the systems are in place for multiplayer, so much so that a single-player mode almost doesn’t exist. Instead, you’re left playing an online game only – you can’t even pause to take a break.

That takes its toll on the game in various ways. For starters, it would be a stretch to call Sacred 3 an RPG, because there isn’t much role-playing actually happening. Aside from choosing which abilities to take and which to turf, you have nearly no control over what you want your role to be in a fight. Weapon and armor upgrades are made available for unlock in a completely linear fashion, which takes the place of more traditional (and far more engrossing) loot.

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One aspect of customization that does work is Weapon Spirits. Every now and then an enemy will drop a spirit shard, turning your weapon into a new home for a lost souls. These different weapon spirits affect your damage output, critical hits and defence, and it’s one of the only ways to truly affect your role in a fight. The only downside is that you’re forced to listen to repetitively cheesy dialogue from your sword or mallet of choice.

Voice acting is something that Sacred 3 consistently gets wrong as well. I’m still not entirely sure if that’s the scripts fault, or just the fact that the lines are delivered so poorly. Sacred 3’s narrative tries to make light or the dire conflict you’re plunged into (which is as clichéd as the dialogue), but it’s just comes off as poorly written. Having your guide say that keeping slaves is one thing, but hurting nature is another is absolutely laughable, and just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ridiculous one liners that will have you wanting to block your ears.

Game crack

Closing your eyes isn’t required though. For the most part, Sacred 3 is a rather beautiful game, with colourful and varied environments that ooze fantasy goodness. There’s always a lot happening in the background, which sometimes means you’ll lose sight of where you actually are on the screen, but it does make you feel part of a larger conflict. Unfortunately, the frame rate wishes it was sitting on the sideline for the entire war, plunging whenever something other than your character is moving on the screen.

A lot of this would all be somewhat acceptable if Sacred 3 was actually a treat to play, but that’s where things get really tiresome. My first hour or so was surprisingly enjoyable, and the impact of finishing moves and special abilities really made me feel powerful. That feeling increases as you level up, but the enjoyment just, well, plateaus.

Eventually I found a combination that worked in almost every situation, and since I could just keep upgrading those abilities and have my damage scale with my level there was no reason to change. Light attack, heavy attack, special move and then death, that’s what Sacred 3 eventually boiled down to.

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It also doesn’t help when each level plays out in the same fashion as the last. Main missions usually comprised three smaller fights against slightly stronger than average Elites, ending with a bigger, slightly more engaging boss fight. Between these were regular enemies, which seemed to have scrapped the innovation from the bottom of a very empty bucket. Enemies don’t evolve enough to pose a threat, and so despatching them becomes more of a chore than anything else.

There just as little variety in the smaller side missions you’re partially forced to play anyway, to be left behind by the stringent experience curve. These side missions either have you taking on waves on different enemies, or simply making your way through an extremely smaller area littered with a few foes.

They’re usually enough to keep you in the level game, but I sometimes had to play several over again just to keep on equal footing with the next main mission. I was just building up my character so that she could eventually take down the final boss, something which you can skip right ahead to if you really feel like it. Narrative be damned.

 

Last Updated: September 9, 2014

Sacred 3
Sacred 3 is a complete let down for fans of the franchise, departing from a formula that has somewhat worked in the past in the hope of attracting a wider audience. Instead of building on features, and borrowing some from games that pull off the action RPG genera to a tee, Sacred 3 is disjointed, boring and just downright bad.
4.5
Sacred 3 was reviewed on Xbox 360
51 / 100

21 Comments

  1. How does it compare to S2?

    I jammed the snot out of the Sacred 1 demo, and then finally got the full version years later (although some of the magic was lost for me), nevertheless really enjoyed the game. I have S2, but have not gotten around to it.

    Any inputs from anyone?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      September 9, 2014 at 14:51

      I played S2 ages ago, but it never really grabbed my attention. It had a mundane story and quests. Felt like a cheap Diablo clone. But that’s just me.

      Reply

    • Axon1988

      September 9, 2014 at 15:03

      I still play it. Played it last night actually. It’s buggy, but I love it. Mostly because it’s not a very complicated game. And you can get lost in the world. Co-op feature is fantastic. Though I can’t get it to work through steam.

      Reply

    • Viking Of Science

      September 9, 2014 at 15:24

      The Blind Guardian quest and concert is enough reason to play Sacred 2.

      Reply

  2. Alien Emperor Trevor

    September 9, 2014 at 14:38

    That’s a pity. 🙁 Sacred 1 was a pretty cool action-RPG. Seraphim rocked. 2 is still sitting on ye olde backlog.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Assassin

      September 9, 2014 at 14:39

      We should actually co-op that, since it is on me olde backlogue as well

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        September 9, 2014 at 14:42

        I find action-RPGs pretty crap to co-op. Tried with Torchlight 2 & was bored out of my mind, had more fun playing it SP.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Assassin

          September 9, 2014 at 14:47

          Is S2 action RPG?

          Reply

          • Axon1988

            September 9, 2014 at 15:02

            I guess, it’s a lot of hacking and slashing… running from point a to b. On one gigantic open map.

        • Viking Of Science

          September 9, 2014 at 15:29

          *cough cough* what about Diablo 2?

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 9, 2014 at 15:43

            Played it once SP. Didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as D1, which is the main reason I avoided D3, thankfully 😉

  3. Hammersteyn

    September 9, 2014 at 14:50

    Apparently the game is as exciting as watching Sewende Laan

    Reply

  4. Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)

    September 9, 2014 at 14:59

    It wasn’t made by the same studio which is why it’s so different; Ascaron no longer exists. You’re getting slack LG. 🙁

    Reply

  5. Sk3tz0

    September 9, 2014 at 14:59

    For Fk Sakes.. Because of that dam title i will have Bon Jovi singing in my head all dam day.. fuck this i’m not gonna suffer alone. ..

    http://youtu.be/KrZHPOeOxQQ

    Reply

  6. Axon1988

    September 9, 2014 at 15:01

    You know, sacred 2 worked on almost the same system. It uses a dedicated host process in the background as you start your single player game. So if the server crashes, the client crashes. I have a couple of these happen to me every now and then when I play sacred 2. I still play it, because it’s one of my favourite RPGs. And it’s co-op is great, except that it does not seem to work for me any more.

    SO back to single player, in sacred2 you can also not pause the game. The game keeps running while you press ESC / go to the menu.

    Reply

  7. loftie

    September 9, 2014 at 15:02

    looks like shit, back to PoE. hehe 🙂

    Reply

    • Viking Of Science

      September 9, 2014 at 15:23

      Path of Exile’s Skill map gives me a raging +1 Boner….

      and they haven’t gimped my build at all, even through all the patches… it’s awesome

      Reply

  8. The Adventures of JJ

    September 9, 2014 at 15:45

    I remember sacred 2 had the worst voice acting I’ve ever heard in my life. The game itself was also quite boring.

    Reply

  9. Kensei Seraph

    September 9, 2014 at 18:15

    And now I’m quite glad I didn’t get it.

    Reply

  10. Rags

    September 10, 2014 at 19:57

    This sounds exactly like Diabo 3. Except that got 9.5.

    Reply

  11. Shade

    September 12, 2014 at 16:42

    I bought this and I now regret that decision it wasn’t good since t was build in a way that reminds me of diablo, 1 game is enough and to give people some advice your better of buying diablo 3 it’s much better !

    Reply

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