Sacred (video game)

Sacred is a Hack and Slash game in the vein of Diablo. It follows the hero as he goes on a quest to defeat some demon, destroy the necromancer Shadarr, and save the lands of Ancaria by collecting the five elements. You probably won't notice that much, as you'll be a bit busy using the spells to destroy your enemies. There are six classes in the original (Gladiator, Seraphim, Vampiress, Battlemage, Wood Elf and Dark Elf) with two more added by an expansion pack (Dwarf and Daemon). Each class has its own special abilities learned from runes found around the game world.

An expansion for the first game, Sacred Underworld was released in August 2005, and takes place shortly after the events of the main game. Both Shadarr and the Shakkara Demon have been defeated, but this victory did not come without a price. Prince Valor is dead, leaving Ancaria without a ruler. To make matters worse, a dark wizard named Anducar has rallied the demons of the Underworld (Sacred's equivalent of Hell) under his banner with the intention of invading and conquering Ancaria. With the help of Valor's lover and widow, Vilya, the heroes of Sacred must venture into the Underworld and defeat Anducar before his demonic legions destroy the world. Joining them are two new classes: the Daemoness, a female Demon who was betrayed by Anducar and now seeks vengeance, and the last of the Dwarves.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel was released in June 2009, for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. Set 2000 years before the original Sacred, the Inquisition, a High Elven Corrupt Church, seeks to gain control of Ancaria's T Energy, a mysterious substance that grants great power, but runs the risk of turning its users into mindless mutants. To this end, they have launched invasions into the neighboring nations as they search for the Great Machine, a mystical artifact that is said to be the source of all T Energy, and will grant the one who controls it complete dominance over T Energy, and with it, all of Ancaria. However, not all are willing to let the Inquisition go unopposed, as a small but growing resistance movement has begun to form. In the middle of this brewing conflict comes you, one of six character classes, each with their own backstory and motives. Your character now faces a choice: Will you walk the path of Light, and fight to stop the Inquisition's nefarious schemes and destroy the Great Machine, forever ridding Ancaria of its corrupting presence; or will you walk the path of Shadow, and strive to take the Great Machine's power for your own, slaughtering anyone who stands in your way?

An expansion, Ice and Blood, was released shortly afterwards. This expansion holds two new areas: the Crystal Plane, a region with deep Seraphim heritage where hunters go to test their worth, and the Blood Forest, where a lovers quarrel Gone Horribly Wrong has transformed the once vibrant forest into a dangerous, mutated land where demons and undead fight a neverending battle for supremacy.

The game has a high level of customization, with the item manufacturing and skill systems allowing for many different paths for a character to explore.

Tragically, not long after Sacred 2 was released, developer Ascaron suddenly went bankrupt, causing the loss of the rights to export Ice and Blood to the US. Thankfully, German developer Deep Silver was able to acquire the IP, and has made both Ice and Blood and the international Gold Edition of Sacred 2 available for digital download.

This game provides examples of:
 * Absurdly High Level Cap: 200.
 * After the End: Both games, but most visibly the original, since it takes place thousand years after the sequel.
 * All There in the Manual: Both games have a substantial amount of ingame books. The first game contained mostly lore books which included several theories on the origins of the Seraphim and how Anducar became lord of the Underworld. The second game, in keeping with its Lighter and Softer nature, contains texts on the various gods of the world, descriptions of the various regions, and texts that are just plain silly, such as orcish cooking recipes.
 * And Man Grew Proud: The backstory for the sequel.
 * Apathetic Citizens: The player character is asked to do all sort of tasks in the town, ranging to bring back a chicken to his owner, to kill a monster which lives in near ruins.
 * Artificial Stupidity: Escortees in 2 that wield melee weapons. which will always seek out the nearest enemy in a futile attempt to kill it...and by nearest, we really mean "anything within 10 yards." By contrast, escorts with ranged weapons are considerably more careful and tactical, but sadly these types are very rare compared to melee escorts.
 * The Atoner: The Vampiress, Dark Elf and Deamoness.
 * Bad Guy Bar: 2 has a werewolf inn.
 * BFG: A skill for the Seraphim in both games summons one of these.
 * Big Bad: The first game has two. First is, and then it's Underworld has Anducar. The sequel has.
 * Bigger Bad: In the first game,
 * Bittersweet Ending: Underworld.
 * Bonus Boss: Given that it's an open world, each game has tons, mainly Dragons.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: in Ice and Blood.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Sacred 2 the Player Characters will sometimes complain to/about the player for letting the game idle. Also doubles as Continue Your Mission, Dammit!. Not to mention certain Enemy Chatter.
 * Break the Cutie: Vilya in Underworld.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Tybosso DeElfici in 2.
 * Cosmetic Award: In the sequel.
 * Darker and Edgier: The whole story of the expansion. It is entirely set in Hell Underworld
 * Dark Is Not Evil: A good-aligned Shadow Warrior.
 * Vampiress, Daemoness and Dark Elf from the first game also qualify.
 * Difficulty Spike: There is a world of difference between Bronze and Silver settings, especially in the first game. And then you unlock Gold and beyond...
 * The Dragon: Baron Demordery in the first game.
 * Driven to Madness: in Underworld.
 * Easter Egg: For some reason, Ancaria has a Shadow Vessel, Camp Crystal Lake, Tristram and lightsabers.
 * Enemy Chatter: Mostly in 2.
 * Escort Mission: Many in both games. They range from surprisingly easy to hair-tearingly difficult.
 * Evil Counterpart: In the sequel,
 * Not to mention the Inquisitor to the Seraphim.
 * Expy: The Inquisitor has many allusions to Darth Vader. In fact, one of the additions of the Community Patch is Vader's helmet as an unique helmet for the Inqusitor.
 * Failure Is the Only Option: The sequel's infamous "Henry" quest.
 * Fantastic Racism: In 2, the High Elves consider themselves the best race in Ancaria and look down on everyone else, and the playable High Elf displays a haughty attitude towards the other races even in the Light campaign, while the Inquisitor will coldly tell Human enemies to "get out of the sun". Most Humans hate the High Elves for enslaving most of them. Both races despise the Orcs as bloodthirsty savages, who in turn hate the more civilized races for being "weak". Most of the Seraphim have become distant and aloof towards the mortal races, and even the playable Seraphim exhibits some of this behavior.
 * In the original, Commander Romata (the man who officially starts the main quest regardless of character) is openly leery and suspicious of the Dark Elf and Daemoness, and the Dwarf will occasionally scornfully remark how much of Ancaria's architecture pales in comparison to his people's.
 * Forever War: In the sequel, the Cursed Forest revolves around one of these.
 * Gratuitous German: The Goblins occasionally shout (hard to understand) german phrases. Mostly a side effect of sloppy localization, though -- the game was developed in Germany.
 * Grave Humor: Oh yes.
 * Green Aesop: The Dryad in general. Her entire race is really big on nature and the preservation there of, and her class quests represent that. Light side Dryad's try to preserve both nature and the lives of others, while Shadow aligned Dryads are...considerably more brutal.
 * Arguably, this is the entire point of T Energy. Everyone sees it as a wonderous energy source capable of nearly everything, but in reality its a highly volatile substance that turns its users into mindless mutants and can even mutate the environment. It also arguably draws a parallel to real life fossil fuels.
 * Grid Inventory: Well it is Diablo clone.
 * Guide Dang It: A handful of quests in the second game can automatically fail depending on decisions made during a quest chain, or even if certain quests are accepted and/or completed in the wrong order.
 * Hard Mode Perks: Like in Diablo, higher difficulty means better drop. Also, experience bonus.
 * Heel Face Turn: in Underworld.
 * Technically the Daemoness, who is betrayed by Underworld's Big Bad and exiled to Ancaria.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: in 2.
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Even if played on the side of Light, Shadow Warriors have some pretty bloodthirsty dialogue.
 * Holy Hand Grenade: Seraphim's powers, espetially in the second game
 * It Runs in The Family: According to 2, the Demordrey line has been doing the "Smug Snake Evil Overlord" routine for over 2000 years'.
 * Jerkass: Necromancer Siliar in 2.
 * Kick the Dog: Most of the Shadow aligned characters get one in their intros.
 * The Inquisitor poisons his partner in order to take full credit for the success of their mission, then massacres the tavern he's in because "they're witnesses".
 * The High Elf kills her rival student in what was supposed to be a friendly duel, and then when her teacher scolds her for lack of restraint, she kills him too.
 * The Temple Guardian butchers the two hapless adventurers that activated him. (to be fair, they attacked first)
 * The Shadow Warrior is pretty much a near-mindless pawn of the Inquisition, and his first task is to murder a hapless man as a "test drive".
 * Kleptomaniac Hero: You can steal a lot of items in chests and barrels located inside houses and even stores. Their dwellers won't react if you do so in front of them.
 * Last of His Kind: The Dwarf in the expansion pack and Updated Rerelease of the first game.
 * Level Grinding: Not so much as in other Hack and Slash games, because most of the monsters are generated with a level relative to yours. However, that doesn't mean that you don't grind. Rune Grinding is important for your skills.
 * Lighter and Softer: The second game and its expansion have considerably more lighthearted humor and moments than the original.
 * Lost Technology:  in the sequel.
 * Magic Knight: The Seraphim most prominently, but the Battle Mage and Inquisitor also qualify.
 * The Man Behind the Man: in Ice And Blood's Cursed Forest arc.
 * The Mario: Seraphim.
 * Might Makes Right: The Inquisitor's mindset in a nutshell.
 * Mind Rape: In Underworld,
 * Most Annoying Sound: HEEEEEEEAAAAAAATHAAAAAANNNNNNN!!
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Not so much in the first game, but in the second game, there's at least one friendly member of each enemy race.
 * The three heroes from Exclusively Evil races in the first game qualify - The Dark Elf assassin turns on his own people after falling in love with one of his targets, the Vampiress awakens to the cause of good after drinking Seraphim blood, and the Daemoness assists the forces of good while on her quest for revenge against Anducar. There's also a Dark Elf priestess who will help you until you finish the quest she gives you.
 * No Export for You: When Ascaron, the developer company, went under, the rights to localize the sequel's expansion in the U.S. went with them. Thankfully, the international version of the expansion is still purchasable.
 * Not Quite Dead: in the first game.
 * Our Elves Are Better: Just about all the common varieties of fantasy elves make an appearance in one game or another.
 * Pet the Dog: Shadow-aligned characters are still capable of performing good deeds in certain sidequests. In particular, the Inquisitor's character quest revolves around him protecting and caring for a young lady.
 * Obvious Beta: The first game had an absurd amount of glitches and bugs. Even after several patches, they were still plentiful. Thankfully, the sequel was handled much better, even if it is a little rough around the edges.
 * Obviously Evil: Baron Demordrey and his servants.
 * Our Daemons Are Different: The Daemon player class in the expansion. Could also be a case of My Species Doth Protest Too Much.
 * Religion of Evil: The Shakkara Cult in the first game. The Inquisition in the sequel.
 * Schizo-Tech: Averted in the first game, which had a decidedly standard medieval fantasy setting, but played straight in the sequel(which takes place two thousand years in the past).
 * Sequence Breaking: Arguably. In the first game, when starting a new game after finishing the single player campaign, the player has access to all the portals that were activated over the course of the previous playthrough, which gives premature access to various regions and occasional side effects. With Ice and Blood, depending on what point in the main story you're at when you head to either of the new regions, its possible to obtain your class mount before doing the quest that would normally grant it. In both games, areas can be accessed out of order through the teleportation and flying abilities of some character classes.
 * Shout-Out:
 * A little town in the original game is an accurate copy of Tristram. If the player wanders a bit in it, all inhabitants turn into zombies and attack him/her.
 * In the original, taunts of the Gladiator hero include "Hasta la Via" and "Yippie-kay-ay, pigface".
 * Smug Snake: Baron Demordrey in 2.
 * From the same game, Tybosso DeElfeci, a High Elf Corrupt Corporate Executive and slaver whose misdeeds are involved in three class quests.
 * Stripperiffic: Mostly averted for NPC. However, the outfits of female elf PCs tend to be...revealing. Not to mention Seraphimes' armour.
 * Take Your Time: Played mostly straight in the original aside from certain sidequest. Played completely straight in 2.
 * Timed Mission: The first game has some. Thankfully, the time limits are (mostly) fairly reasonable.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Part of the Vampiress and Daemon's power set.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Completing the Blind Guardian sidequest rewards you with
 * Wide Open Sandbox
 * X Meets Y: Sometimes described as Diablo meets The Elder Scrolls.
 * Villain Protagonist: While any character doing the second game's evil campaign counts, special mention goes to the Inquisitor, who can only play the evil campaign.