There are such extensions of game franchises in which developers move away from old and familiar ideas and ideas, completely change the game concept and genre. As a result, they get a very good project, but not at all the one that the fans expected. One example from the mass of such sequels is Sacred 3. A review of the game will help the reader understand all its pros and cons, and also understand whether the creators managed to realize their idea and fulfill their promises.
A completely different game
Sacred 3 is the third part of the Sacred RPG slasher game series. It was developed by the guys from the studio Keen Games, and released the company Deep Silver in the late summer of 2014. For developers, the first major project was precisely Sacred 3. A review of the game for this reason will be with small indulgences - because, as they say, the first pancake is lumpy. Having fallen into the hands of a new company, the Sacred series has changed beyond recognition. Even the Sacred 3 genre has changed. A review of the game in Russian considers the game mechanics, the plot, the technical part and the general impression of it.
Not a trace of RPG
If the second part was a self-sufficient RPG, then the third is a real slasher, without any reservations. Having shoveled all the components of the previous game, the developers did not give a chance to take a place under the sun for a project called Sacred 3. The review can be devoted to listing the remaining elements, since almost everything has been changed.
Absolutely all RPG components have disappeared from the game: pumping, characteristics affecting the character’s strength, the world open for research, and the talent system. In Sacred 3, only battles remained. The distribution also included inventory, a quest journal and other joys of RPG lovers. All drop removed from the game after the inventory.
Game process
The frank action movie was replaced by the now-popular session missions. Corridor levels pass quickly and without the slightest hint of branching. All progress is saved according to the system of checkpoints, so the passage of "Scared 3" resembles a marathon running from point A to point B. At the end of each level of heroes, a boss awaits, the complexity of which lies only in a large number of HP and a strong attack. Endless fights are diluted with primitive tasks: pull the lever, turn the wheel and so on. Because of this, the casual nature of the project is immediately visible - it is aimed at an audience with consoles and a cooperative regime. In addition to the main races in locations, the game has two additional types of tasks. The first is the usual arena, in which the player fights off waves of enemies. The second task resembles a brawl with several fairly strong opponents and their commanders. Such tasks are not explained in any way and are located separately from the locations. They only serve to get levels and gold - others fail to justify boring arenas that repeat the main game.
The only echo of the role-playing game is gaining experience for killing. It is not clear why the developers left this element. Weapons and armor appear in the characters as they progress. You can change it between missions. With each level, the character improves his unique abilities. Crystals became a kind of currency in the game, with the help of which you can probably use the most interesting chip in the whole game - your own demon. The creature is freed from imprisonment with crystals and helps friendly characters in battle.
The easiest slasher
The game Sacred 3 with a clear conscience can be called an arcade. Slasher is already much simpler than the RPG genre, but the developers have simplified it. The entire combat system comes down to a few clicks on the mouse. Everything is in the classic style of arcade grind machines - a simple and powerful blow, block and dodge, rolls and two active skills to choose a player. Not a lot for the former RPG "Sacred 3". The camera review is pleasing - the player sees a large area around him, thanks to this you can enjoy good and bright graphics. But this moment is perhaps the only positive in all game mechanics.
Sacred 3 Scene Review
The game draws to the bottom of a shaky story. The plot does not shine with depth and thoughtfulness, but this is not required from the hack-and-slash genre. The story begins a thousand years after the events of the second part. The scene is Ankaria. Its lands have been plunged into a terrible war for many years, which has no end. The classic main villain - Zane Eschen - plans to find a magical artifact "the heart of Ankaria" that can affect the course of the war and the fate of the world as a whole.
The plot is banal and primitive. But the story becomes even more primitive when the main characters of the game become known - four brave warriors with an important mission. They must prevent the villain from taking possession of the artifact at all costs. The developers obviously paid less time and energy to the plot. But it is entirely possible that it is their cunning move to change the genre. After all, it’s stupid to demand an interesting story with unexpected twists and worked out heroes from a slasher, isn't it?
The last stone in the garden of scriptwriters are numerous inconsistencies with the original parts. But this problem will worry only ardent fans of the series, who will have to explore every dialogue and corner of the world with a magnifying glass. Only it is unlikely that real fans of the previous two parts will stay long in Sacred 3. A review of all the oddities and weaknesses of the plot can take more than one page.
But how are things with the presentation and visual component of the plot? Will tomatoes fly into the game designers of this game?
Savings are visible in the presentation of the plot to the player. All videos and cut scenes are replaced with pictures and animated comics. Compared to an advertising campaign that promised spectacular videos and an exciting storyline, the result is sad and desperate. Each linear mission starts with an optional slide stream with narration. It looks cheap and resembles the famous fakes of Polish developers.
Paucity of Sacred 3 Choice: Character Review
The game has only five classes with its unique abilities and skills. The Vazhra character is responsible for the long-range battle. This class is an archer and one of the main Damage dealers in the game. Melee in the game is much more diverse. There are already 4 characters: Marak, Clare, Alitea, Keaton. In the slasher, which is Sacred 3, a review of the heroes is at least a strange activity. After all, they do not have a huge number of characteristics and subtleties of the game. Therefore, you should simply give a brief description of each character.
Marak is a classic gladiator using a two-handed sword that does a lot of damage. Also, thanks to the large reserve of life and armor, Marak can tank strong opponents and bosses.
Clare is a paladin who is both a melee fighter and a mage. Positioned as an auxiliary character due to the balance of the damage and the number of spells, which include healing and buffs.
Alitea is a lancer. Perhaps this is the most original class in the whole game. Alitea perfectly penetrates the defense of enemies and inflicts a lot of damage, while not approaching the melee range. The lancer is a very useful character in the gameplay.
Keaton is the most ordinary assassin, whose feature is increased damage from the back. Like any thief or assassin, Keaton prefers to move covertly and not disturb his enemies with a clear presence.
Each of the characters cannot be distinguished for originality or novelty for the genre. All this was already in other games. These characters are primitized due to the limitations of the genre, the overall simplification of the Sacred 3 gameplay. Class overview is simply inappropriate in such a game, since there are no classes as such, with their own abilities and game features.
Despite a lot of shortcomings and a lot of complaints, the game has some positive aspects. The article goes smoothly to the advantages of Sacred 3 - an overview of the technical part.
Graphics and Optimization
One gets the impression that the developers have concentrated all their resources on programmers and optimizers. After all the failed moments, the visual component becomes a balm for the soul. If you make a list of the most colorful games of recent years, it must be Sacred 3. It is worth starting the overview of the technical part with system requirements. Due to the "camera" concept, the game will start at maximum settings even on a medium-power computer. For Sacred 3, a machine with a budget quad-core processor, 4 GB of RAM and 1 GB of video memory is enough. Thanks to this, the game can be run on a laptop and pass the time away from home.
The picture in the game is very bright and saturated. Each location is drawn to the smallest detail. Animation of heroes and enemies at the proper level. It becomes a shame that such a wonderful implementation of the graphics capabilities of the engine and game design is ruined by the rest of Sacred 3, the review of which is less rosy and positive.
Brain Cooperative
The main problem is that Sacred 3 is a one-time game. With a sufficiently long passage of the storyline, the second time you do not want to return to the game world at all. Perhaps the situation would have been saved by the open world and additional tasks with “achievements”. But the player is only asked to go through the same game, only for other characters. Since they differ from each other in just two special skills, the gameplay is almost the same.
The cooperative mode saves the situation a bit: playing with friends is always more interesting than alone. And, unfortunately, this is not the merit of the game, but the phenomenon of joint gameplay.
And what will happen if you change the name?
The main problem of the project is that it is Sacred 3. The review in Russian considered the game as a continuation of a very successful RPG. If she had a different name, no one would make claims and requirements for her. Apart from the Sacred 3 series, this is a very successful slasher with wonderful graphics, a lively and stress-free combat system, cooperative mode and simple controls that are suitable for both computers and consoles.
Total
Successful slasher game. Unsuccessful continuation of Sacred 3. The review gradually shows the approach to this game. First, any gamer familiar with the series will be disappointed in the new part. After that, he will gradually understand each new game solution and understand the reason why this part is not at all Sacred 3. A review of the game in Russian fully reveals its essence: Keen Games should leave the franchise alone and create its own project based on the third part, who will occupy his niche and find his audience.