Enemies will appear in huge numbers creating large scale battle scenarios.
When I popped over to the Ascaron booth to take a look at how Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, the sequel to the Diablo-esque hack 'n slash title, Sacred was shaping up, I didn't expect to be dragged into a multiplayer competition in a game mode and map designed specifically for this year's Games Convention.
The competition, involving two teams of 8 players on each, competing against each other simultaneously to find the best PVE player, began by picking one of four classes, High Elf, Shadow Warrior, Seraphim, and Dryad - there will be a further two classes available in the final version.
The object of the game was to race around a fairly bland forest setting, heading towards the red dots on the in-game map in an attempt to kill as many bears, wolves and other beasts as possible. The gameplay simply involved clicking on enemies - whose health ranged from between 20 to 250 points - and maneouvring your character into the best position for attack, then sitting back and watching him slaughter the beasts with his sword; alternatively you could let off a magical fire bolt from a safe distance. Along the way we were able to pick up extra weapons that were strewn around the environment as well as treasure and health potions. We were only allowed five minutes of gameplay and unfortunately I didn't break the Games Convention record, coming a very poor 6th position out of 8 on the day. The time on the game wasn't really enough to get to grips with the game or really get any inkling on how the game will play upon its release in 2008.
The developers were keen to let us know that this multiplayer game mode was in no way a reflection of how Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will play, although we do know that it will be tailored towards online play and, as in Diablo and Sacred, enemies will appear in huge numbers creating large scale battle scenarios.
Le'’s take a look at the background story:
For aeons, The Creator has been designing worlds. He populated each of these worlds with an intelligent race to ensure He would be worshipped. Since the beginning of time, the Seraphim and their leaders – the Archangels – have been by his side to assist him. And thus the cycle remained in harmony, until the Archangels took it upon themselves to forge their own world. They siphoned the ethereal creative energy without their Creator's knowledge and used it to forge their own planetary creation, placing several intelligent races upon it. Each of these races were given the freedom to pursue their own goals. The Archangels named this world Ancaria.
It was not before long that The Creator became aware of their doings. However, instead of destroying Ancaria he chose to banish the Seraphim to this world and ordered them to protect it. He would only set foot on Ancaria if and when the Seraphim were able to unite all races. Alas, this was not to happen. The High Elves, the preferred race of the Seraphim, took advantage of the creative energy instilled within the very essence of the world. During the following years the Elven hierarchy crafted an environment for themselves in which they were unconditionally regarded as supreme rulers. Still, even amongst the High Elves this plan was subject to controversy.
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageA devastating civil war ensued, with many deaths and horrific losses. The Seraphim suffered tremendously, losing many of their kind during the bloodshed. When the war came to an end, the High Elves segregated into several tribes. Some steadfastly refused to harness the creative energy and turned to nature as a new way of life. Those High Elves advocating the use of creative energy divided into two factions: The first strived to return the world and its races back to its former glory, with the second - a largely religious group - intending to use the creative energy to spread a 'cleansing' fire over Ancaria, determined to emerge as leaders when the fire has fulfilled its purpose. Another civil war looms impatiently on the ever-darkening horizon… Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel takes place 2.000 years before Sacred / Sacred Underworld and leads the player into a world where the creative energy is still active. Many familiar events have not yet taken place and thus, the Humans are still predominantly servants or slaves of the High Elves. The Dwarves still enjoy their somewhat distanced existence, and the world is full of differences to the days and events that will occur in Sacred and Sacred Underworld.
