Sacred

The Good
The game really is very interesting to play through. The characters you can play are unique and have some really nice skills and abilities they are able to use. The game really is a lot like Diablo combined with a Baldurs Gate world. Rather than the relatively small worlds of Diablo 2 (and smaller in Diablo), the world here is much larger and more interesting to see.

The characters you communicate with are varied and the ones with voiceovers have voices that aren't too similar. The wide range of quests in this game allow you to get experience as you go and do things other than just bash your way through the game from start to finish. If you like doing that, you still can... but the quests are there for those who want a little more out of a game. The quests also tend to be in the general direction you are headed. You can get 2-3 quests going that all are in the same area of the map. Then just go complete them and return (if necessary) for your reward. That makes it much nicer to complete side quests than most other games where you are running all over trying to complete the quests. You will still do that here if you don't take more than one quest at a time, but that is your own fault.

Many of the creatures you fight are really interesting. From the undead which will stand back up to fight again until you bash them enough to keep them down, to the goblin shaman who will keep summoning more goblins to attack you (this gets troublesome if you have 3+ shaman near you), you will find dangers wherever you look.

And unlike Diablo and similar games, running around the map is a BAD idea. If you run past an enemy, that enemy is likely to chase you forever. So you might have 30+ enemies around you at once by the time you stop running. Depending on the enemies, this can be a real problem. It does make for a more interesting game... no longer can you just decide you're doing badly and run away to recover.

You are also not able to hide behind things to avoid being hit while you take out everyone around you. About the only way that is possible is if you're on one side of a river and the enemies are on the other and you have a range attack and they don't. Other than that, you have to fight.

Transportation in the game is also a nice addition. Riding around on a horse saves you considerable time and gives you bonuses as well.

As for skills, you have a much greater control over those than in the Diablo games. You can add a new skill of your choice, or put points into any skill(s) that you have. You can get useful skills like disarm and parry as well as ones like vampirism (for the vampiress).

The ability to upgrade/downgrade your equipment is also a definite plus. You can add bonuses to your weapons and armor and then when you're ready to upgrade to something new, just remove the upgrades and have them available for later.

Armor is also a nice change. Rather than only having a few types of armor, there are many different pieces of armor to use from belts and boots to gloves and shoulder guards. You also can have up to 4 rings and an amulet.

Also, portals are very interesting to view. You actually see the land where you are going through the portal rather than just a swirling mist. Even if it's a default view and not accurate, it's still nicer than the standard portals seen everywhere else.

The Bad
Although the graphics were nice, they weren't anything special (although the gore was well-done). They definitely were not 2004 level graphics. They are the type you'd see in late 90s, perhaps. Although graphics don't make the game (in my opinion), they still are a nice addition to a good game.

I find myself not upgrading equipment very often because you do not find items with upgrade slots very often. And when you do, it may not be what you are looking for. Having upgrade slots a little more frequently would be nice.

Items don't remain on the ground. This is annoying when you finish killing 30 enemies and can't carry all the equipment and goodies you got from them.

Attacking from the horse is not an easy task. You can't just click and attack like you can on the ground. The horse has to get close enough, then you can click again to attack. This gets to be such a pain that you rarely will want to fight while mounted.

Normal attacking is not too bad in that you can hold the mouse button to continue attacking rather than killing your mouse button, but it can still be more difficult that way than it is if you are just clicking many times.

The inability to really have much control over your allies' equipment is a pain. Although you can change weapons, it isn't really the same

The Bottom Line
If you are tired of Diablo and want a change, but still want the same type of gameplay, this game is for you. Enjoy the freedom you have in this game that was lacking in the Diablo games. The game is a nice change while maintaining many of the gameplay aspects you enjoyed in Diablo 2.