With
new characters, weapons, quests and an incredibly
larger world, Sacred Underworld is the quintessential
definition of an "expansion pack." It's
also beginner-friendly yet maintains the same tough
and involved gameplay that is certain to appeal to
fans of the original. How can this be everything to
everybody? Read on!
As
the expansion pack to Sacred, a Diablo-style game
that managed to stand on its despite some technical
issues, Underworld picks up where the original left
off forcing us into new territory with the advantage
of familiarity and comfortableness with the gameplay
and characters. Some of the problems have been addressed
but you'll still get your ass kicked by hordes of
enemies at virtually every turn.
Underworld
allows you to import your favorite character from
the original game long as he or she has a level of
25. Beginners can choose either of the two new characters,
a succubus (female demon) or a dwarf. They both come
loaded with experience points but there is still plenty
of upgrading to be done so you can tailor them to
suit your personality or fanciful whims.
As
I mentioned, there is an awful lot of combat. There
are monsters, demons and humanoids of every shape
and size imaginable. They drop tons of goodies and
can be worth thousands of experience points if you
kill them. Points, armor, weapons, upgrades and abilities
are offered by the ton. You'll collect so many things
that you won't even have enough storage space to keep
it all. Will it all come in handy? I don't know, I've
only played the game for a couple of days but with
all these points, powers and items the game could
seemingly last for years considering that items can
be enchanted and upgraded. Even the blacksmith can
do some further customizing for you with the weapons
and armor. There doesn't seem to be a limit to what
you can and can't do.
The
fact that you can level-up your character to ridiculous
levels means that you'll be able to take on some very
large enemies. This all comes at a price. You really
have to amass plenty of points to reach such levels
but with all the fighting you'll encounter on your
journey it won't take as long as you might think.
If you're like me you'll want to avoid some of the
fighting and try doing some more exploring but that's
not easy. You can choose to ride on horseback, if
you can afford it, but you'll have to dismount every
time that you want to pick up some loot which can
be often.
Building
on the same graphics engine you will be familiar with
the art style but not the environments. There is almost
fifty-per-cent more new areas than in the original
version. Unlike Diablo these environments are pre-rendered
which gives them an atmosphere of being well established
- and thus more realistic. There are some nice 3D
lighting effects that highlight the 2D backgrounds
and make them appear more rounded and lifelike. The
soundtrack perfectly accompanies new scenes and situations
but it's also very sparse in places and prone to repetition
during exploration and at the beginning of battles.
If
you're looking to revive an old friend, Underworld
will bring Sacred back from the dead to live another
virtual lifetime.
|