Video Game Reviews

Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC

The hack-and-slash adventure game can have almost as much substance as a role-playing game. Sure, you don't have to worry about putting together luxurious spells, but just as much thought goes into team tactics and trying to preserve as much "loot" as humanly possible. It's this sort of set-up that makes games like Gauntlet and Diablo III work so well. And, to a certain extent, Deep Silver's Sacred 3.

You choose from one of four particular heroes (each with special abilities and techniques, whether you prefer gruff combat or a more strategic approach) as they do battle with the nasty Zane Ashen and his army of goons. He's snatched up the powerful Heart of Ancaria, which he plans to use for evil purposes. As a bold hack-and-slash expert, it's up to you – and whoever tags along with you – to put a stop to his antics.

Hack, hack, repeat and enjoy

The gameplay in Sacred 3 is spelled out pretty easily within the first few minutes of play. Your character of choice comes with light and heavy attack techniques, along with two special abilities assigned to the shoulder buttons that charge over time. As you might guess, these attacks are really good at cleaning house on basic enemies, and can put a nice chunk of pain on the stronger ones as well. This allows your character to mix together some effective combos, and occasionally grab an enemy to use as a modified bowling ball. And yes, that makes his allies the pins.

Along the way, you can score plenty of gold scattered on the ground, mostly from broken containers, then pay the shop a visit to level up your character accordingly. You can strengthen your current attacks and open up new abilities, becoming a true force of power later on – a situation that Zane isn't going to take lightly. The stronger you get, the better chance you'll have at surviving the enemy forces that come your way – although you can pick up green health orbs to help you out as well.

Not your typical quest

Unlike Diablo, Sacred 3's optional quest system plays out naturally, where you can tackle side missions to earn your character more loot. It takes some of the personable elements out of the game, as you don't really confer with too many folks. That said, it's still an effective way to score some loot and eventually make yourself more of a badass. That's never a bad thing.

As for the main storyline, it stays about the same, with various enemies thrown at you, forcing you to use the same moves to fend them off. Yet, Sacred 3 doesn't really grow tired, and instead keeps you engaged at taking down foes in the most stylish ways possible. The Execute techniques, for example, are over-the-top brutal and incredibly satisfying to pull off. Talk about ending on a high note.

Bring (some) friends

As with all good hack and slash games, Sacred 3 provides the option to bring friends along for the ride. However, its set-up is a little bit odd.

For example, when it comes to multiplayer, only two players are supported locally. This does allow a cohort to join you in battle, which is convenient, but doesn't support up to four like most other games. As a result, it feels like a technical shortcoming.

However, if you hop online, you can have up to four players in your battle party, and it's excellent to see one gigantic skirmish take place with your quartet. There were some technical hiccups when we tried this mode out, but overall, it's genuinely fun, especially when you get a righteous "battle groove" going.

Technical Shortcomings, But Good Modern Approach

The PC version of Sacred 3 we saw a few days ago was running smoothly and with very few problems, and the developer assured us that the console versions of the game would run along the same lines – but with some limitations. And indeed, they're easy to spot.

The frame rate skips on occasion on the PlayStation 3, particularly with two friends on-screen and hordes of enemies jumping all over the place. That isn't to say the game's not beautiful, as it is, but you can tell how aged the hardware is getting by trying to run this game. The environments are great to look at, and the variety of enemies will certainly keep you engaged throughout each fight.

Sacred 3's voicework also benefits from not using the usual boring dialogue you find in an RPG. Each of the characters you come across speak in humorously contemporary tones (how often does a villain boast how well he gets along with the ladies?), and it's a nice change of pace. The music's good, too, although played in spurts. It fits the tone of the game, at least.

My View

Here are the criteria I consider most important for judging Sacred 3.

Gameplay: 8/10

It's hack and slash material with little innovation, but being able to power up and  bludgeon enemies is superb.

Multiplayer: 7/10

Strangely limiting on the local front, but hop online and it's a party.

Graphics: 7/10

Stutters in places due to console performance, but still a moderately good looking game.

Sound: 8/10

Superb, modern voicework and good music round out the audio package.

Overall: 7.5/10

While Sacred 3 isn't likely to steal the crown from Diablo III, it's a great hack-and-slash alternative that's worth checking out. While the technical limitations of the game are too easy to spot, the multiplayer is still a blast, and the audio will crack a smile on your face as you finish off goblin goons. Fans of role-playing games that want to do without the usual bland spell-casting would be wise to pick this game up.

GameCrate reviews represent the opinions of the GameCrate writer who wrote them, and not necessarily those of GameCrate or Newegg. In most cases, GameCrate reviews are performed using products or samples provided by the manufacturer/producer of the product.