Sacred 3 Previews

A trio of previews for the forthcoming Sacred 3 have reached the web over the past couple of weeks, all of which appear to be based on a recent build of the game made available to the press.

We start at Mouse N Joypad:

Inevitably, this game is going to be compared to its predecessors, and this is what most people are interested in. So let us begin by saying that the only thing Sacred 2 and Sacred 3 have in common is the camera. And even this is a stretch, since this outing features a much more dynamic, in-your-face viewpoint. Instead of refining the ideas the first two games chose to represent, the developers decided to go a different route with this title. I’ve been replaying Devil May Cry 4 lately, and the amount of similarities between that game and the one we currently have at hand is staggering. At its current state, Sacred 3 is not a hack ‘˜n’ slash RPG. Instead, it’s more like DMC or Lords of Shadows in regards of combat. Of course, this is a much simpler game without the complicated combos and control schemes, but the basic idea behind it seems to be the same. And holy cow, is it fun. Breaking between the two sub-genres, Sacred 3 combines the simplicity of clicking and skill management with the hit feedback and badassery games such as God of War are known for. Blood flows (sprays, actually) while swords, axes and maces cling, and everything serves as a reminder that your character is here to kick some serious ass. However, it’s important to note that those of you who want to play an RPG set in the Sacred universe are going to be disappointed, because it’s not just the combat that has gotten a revamp.

Levelling up, for example, is not an exhilarating skillpoint-fest that it used to be. By gaining a level, the character in question gains new attacks/abilities that upgrade his/her existing skill set. Rather surprisingly, the player is also quite limited when trying to combine these skills, as not everything can be used at the same time. It’s a rigid and unimaginative system, and somewhat at odds with the surprisingly visceral combat. Things could change in the final version, but since it’s less than a month away, hoping for this will probably prove futile. One of the good additions to the character capabilities is the evasive roll. This also doubles as an offensive and movement roll, as it’s faster, safer and cooler than walking is. It’s also terrifyingly easy to spam this thing around, so expect people to roll their way around the levels very often. Another aspect of gameplay that tries to add depth to combat are the Weapon Spirits. These are basically ghosts of creatures/people that are freed by killing monsters. They provide both passive and active bonuses, but aren’t all that useful if you’re playing solo. These buffs are obviously designed with co-op in mind, which brings us to another matter.

Then move to the official Russian fansite (translated):

Warhead is undoubtedly one of the main advantages of playing, along with the graphic component. We can hack, scatter, to turn into a bloody beef, kill, kill, rape, and even a little bit, using the super-hit (it is available only against the bosses and does not look very “super”, but oh well). Besides, commensurate enemy can grab and throw in someone. Or you can do the same with mine. Many enemies, is charged quickly krovischa flying in all directions – fun, colorful, cheerfully.

Enemy drops gold, healing orbs and orbs of energy – and nothing more.

Many recreational mechanic – need somewhere to break the gate, turn the lever somewhere, somewhere to survive waves of enemies. Nothing fundamentally new is not represented, but life diversified players.

Bosses have all sorts of different: and magicians, and pitching, and mechanisms. I will not tell about the battles with them, will soon see for yourself – let it remain a mystery.

And, finally, Calmdowntom:

The lack of (loot) in the build I played instantly felt strange. I got a couple of weapons from bosses and strange equipable spirits that give some bonuses like boosted damage or defence, but no longer do regular enemies drop anything but gold. In fact every weapon I got seemed to be gated entirely by the story with no way to even purchase or sell them. Enemies do however drop gold like crazy, which can be used to upgrade your skills and weapons as you level up.

Levels are joined from a lobby system even in single player, helping push the co-op heavy focus of the game. It’s also where players can spend money to upgrade their skills and buy items, although the only item available in the preview build seemed to be healing potions. There were several levels available which offered fun variations of level design and objectives. Most of them were story based but there were a couple of optional side levels that had objectives that seemed to all have different variations of ‘˜Kill all the dudes in this level’, which could be played through to gain additional gold and experience. The story missions definitely seemed to be the focus however, with larger levels and more interesting environments to fight through.