Sacred 2 - Preview @ GamesRadar

GamesRadar  posts Desslock's full PC Gamer hands-on preview of Ascaron's Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, which goes into quite a bit of detail regarding the upcoming action rpg sequel:

Sacred was a massive, innovative action RPG that impressed us enough to be proclaimed PC Gamer’s RPG of the Year in 2004. But, like all games, it was imperfect; most notably, its hack-and-slash combat quickly became repetitive, and controls occasionally felt imprecise. After finally playing some of its much-anticipated prequel, I’m convinced that Sacred 2 will address the gameplay faults that burdened its predecessor and deliver an even bigger, more visually impressive world...

...I was also impressed by the combat AI - while Sacred was so combat-intensive that it was difficult to take five steps without being attacked, this time around, enemy AI is complex enough that some weaker creatures fled when I approached, only attacking when in numbers great enough to pose a threat. Organized groups can be frightened off by killing their leader, which saved my butt a couple of times.

Although it certainly isn’t going to break the Diablo clone mold, Sacred 2 is shaping up to be bigger, deeper, and more replayable than its predecessor. Its massive free-form world distinguishes it from most other action RPGs and should make it another genre contender - and I’m looking forward to playing through the campaign in multiplayer.