Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Review
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Stepping out into the world of Ancaria, your first reaction will likely be a raise of an eyebrow. You might expect that such a budget title would be sparse in detail and interest but every area is well-crafted and spacious (and not in the Craigslist-housing-ad's meaningless use of (spacious)). You will traverse through many lands - forests, sand dunes, rocky bluffs, dragon islands, and jungles, just to name a few - and once you're done with the first act, you'll be amazed at how much there is left to explore. You'll likely open the map (that is, if it doesn't glitch out and refuses to appear at all), only to find that 10% (likely less) of the world has been colored in.
But regrettably, that's both awe-inspiring and sigh-inducing. Apart from patches of slowdown and framerate hiccups, simply put, there aren't enough portals. Waypoints and the like are meant to save you time so that you don't have drag yourself from place to place, but both of these conveniences are mostly ignored in favor of the thrilling adventure known as your feet. You'll frequently find yourself in the far reaches of the land, sending kobolds and orcs to their grave, only to realize that you have to walk all the way back to some town for five minutes just to sell your loot or advance a few quests. You can hand over a whopping pile of gold for a mount to speed things along, but you can't use any abilities while you're on the horse and it's still not as fast as teleportation.
