I spent a few hours over the weekend playing the final version of Scared 2, the forthcoming hack n' slash roleplaying game for the 360 and PS3. For comparison think of Diablo, Titan Quest and other loot-heavy mouse clicking adventures. Sacred 2 was realised on the PC to muted acclaim late last year but this genre is so rare on the consoles that I decided to wait and see how it was adapted to sofa play.
Initial impressions are mixed. The whole game feels very German – unsurprising considering where it was developed – with an inadequate tutorial, generic fantasy styling and numerous rough edges. The interface is fiddly, especially the inventory pages. In fact inventory management – crucial in games like this which practically throw you new goodies every minute – is horribly underpowered.
But multiplayer is where this game comes alive. Offline multiplayer is a welcome inclusion – too many developers forget that not all 360 and PS3 gamers use their console online – and brings back pleasant memories of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. But despite this the online play is still important. Up to 4 players can join a game and with hundreds of players already online – I was playing the 360 version - I had no problem getting recruits last night.
The general lack of polish is evident here though, with players joining your world and then accepting quests which pop text up over your screen even if your are a way off from the action. This gets increasingly irritating as "Boar killed 2/5" appears on your screen while you are involved in an entirely different quest. Now clearly this wouldn't be an issue if you were playing with friends and working together on the same objectives. And playing with friends or in organised groups of four makes Scared 2 a tempting proposition. Games can be saved by the host too, allowing the same group players to continue where you left off in the future. The only thing I haven't tried yet is what happens if you bring a high level player into your world – I'm assuming it means no xp points and hence no advancement of your character.
The world is pretty enough to make you want to explore. It's huge too with three hours of play uncovering something ridiculous like 1% of the map. I was faffing around a bit with the camera and inventory during that time but still. The camera is a bit frustrating actually. The game is best played top down but that doesn't stop you wanting to zoom down and get the full close-up of the action. You can do this but the view is so restrictive you soon resort back to the aerial view.
So far quests have been of the fairly generic kill and fetch variety but the combat and usual role-playing lure of more xp and better upgrades does drag you on.
Early days then but I'm planning to spend some more time with Sacred 2. It's not the "Diablo on a console" you may have hoped for and it has plenty of rough edges but Sacred 2 is a welcome addition to the console party.
