Larian Studios Forums General Chat RPG Chat Gothic vs Sacred---which is better?

I'm looking for my next game before Beyond Divinity. Checked the shelves at the local gaming stores, and came across Sacred and Gothic 2. Both look interesting, but somebody in my family made this stupid rule that I can only buy one game at a time. (OK, Stupid-Rule-Maker was me. I'd like to pretend to blame someone else, but I really can't. Bloody budgetary concerns...)

Anyway, I've read the Gamespy reviews, the PC Gamer reviews, the Gamespot reviews, and I'm stuck deciding what to buy. So I'm turning to you guys who might have experienced them both. Which is the better bang for my buck?

(Edited to insert "2". Gothic 2. Sorry.)

Hello.

Both are German products. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

From the look, both are entirely different. And from a gamweplay point of view, too.

Whereas Sacred is more Action-oriented, Gothic offers a deeper story with a lot of interaction. If you don't like hack & slash (H/S) but instead prefera deep story, then you should consider Gothic (compared to Sacred).

If you use the Search Function of this Forum, you might find more information / discussions about both.

Alrik.

P.S.: Next RPG ?

Ah, thank you, I will search! A great Hack-n-Slash with a deep storyline is my idea of gaming heaven....

Considered Spellforce? I play it more than Sacred now. I guess I'm a bit of an RTS nut. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />

I would like to play Spellforce too. The ads and the website look fabulous! I don't remember seeing any boxes for Spellforce this weekend; guess that's why it wasn't on my mind when I asked the question. I remember having trouble running the demo...checking the specs for all three games, I should be able to run any of them.

Alrik, I found the link to the english language Sacred website in one of your posts, which I had missed previously. Thanks!

Tough question. I haven't played Sacred, but I played Gothic 2 a lot. If your decision is stuck just between these two games, then choose what is more appropriate to your taste and current mood (yes, if you played isometric RPGs for last year then you probably may wish to try different genre for a while).

Sacred, as I have heard and it is written here is hack-n-slashish RPG.

Gothic is third person action RPG (please guys, I use these termins just to describe the game <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />). Gothic has it world with it's critters. There are large and open ended areas full of quests and mystery. I liked the game and the atmosphere, which is quite unique in both Gothics.

As for other games, you have seen that there are several excellent games released lately.

My top priority for now is: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (I loved the first game and will definitely buy this one, just have to wait until my video card gets fixed). There are also Far Cry and Unreal Tournament, two games that have very high ratings.

True, that we have hardly enough time and/or resources to play them all, so just choose what you like best. Hope this helps.

I love Gothic (1 and 2) for its atmosphere. The dialogues are quite funny at times and there are a lot of different tasks to do (fighting and hunting, too).

Why don't you try Gothic 1 first. It should be pretty cheap by now. If you don't like it, you will not have spent too much money. The graphic is still alright, and the story is great. I am playing it now (for the second time) and must admit that I am addicted to it again.

Whichever you choose: Have fun! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

I endorse Sveltje's Post - If you have not yet played Gothic at all, then play G1 first. 1. it's now cheap, and 2. The stories of G1 and G2 are like chapter one and two of the same book - you'll meet a lot of people from G1 in G2, and the storyline is an immediate logic sequel.

When playing G2, I support putting in the add-on immediately, makes it slightly more difficult, but vastly increases the story (Otherwise, you have to start (as in must, no alternative) from scratch in G2, which you may or may not like.

I played Gothic 2 only for a few minutes before giving up. Sacred, however, I can tell you about.

First, it's a hack'n'slash and doesn't pretend to be anything else. The "combat arts" are fairly interesting, and the variety of character archtypes offered is enough to warrant a replay or two if you are so inclined. The game is one gargantuan map, and you can wander where you want. It is less linear than, say, Diablo 2 and has a somewhat more complex illusion of roleplaying. However, the oversized map has this effect: it's extremely tedious to traverse, and all in all there isn't that much to do except kill repetitive monsters. A bit like Morrowind in this aspect -- all quantity with little regard to quality.

It's a passable game. Good enough to kill time with, but can get pretty old pretty fast if you're looking for any semblance of characterization or story, although it's still far less monotonous than Diablo 2. The graphics are good (so long that you don't zoom in too closely -- the 2D background is pixelated), and the audio isn't bad. The music doesn't distract and adds to the atmosphere somewhat. The voicing is pretty strange, though. Sometimes, out in the wilderness, my vampiress would say, out of the blue: "I like it here. So many shadows and alleyways..." (Hello, girl, you're being surrounded by trees in the middle of nowhere.) Sometimes, standing very still for a prolonged period of time, she would start panting like she's been running at 50 km/h.

The AI is adequate. The NPCs you have to escort, if they can't fight, know enough to run away when a fight does ensue. I haven't had any of them getting themselves killed yet by running away.

In my opinion there are a couple of pros and cons for both games, so I list them up. The easiest way would be download both demo versions and judge yourself <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Gothic's pros:
- good atmosphere
- NPC Schedules
- nice quests and story

Gothic's cons:
-very small world
-crappy controls
-high skill level

Sacred's pros:
-very big and detailed world design
-great graphics for an ISO RPG
-much action and much hack 'n' slay

Sacred's cons:
-almost no interaction with NPCs, world and items
-simple quests / simple story
-many many enemies and unlimited spawning

Gothic 2, no question about it. It actually is a hack-and-slash game with a deep storyline, exactly what you're looking for! It's seriously an awesome game. Best I've played lately apart from Planetside, but that's a pretty different kind of game.

Sacred isn't as good as Diablo 2 at making combat interesting in my opinion. After a while I was reduced to running to the next story-based encounter and stopping ever 30 seconds or so to use "Fist of God" on the horde of monsters that had built up behind me. Haven't finished it yet. Doubt I ever will.

To be honest that's how I'm beginning to feel about the game. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />

The sad thing about Sacred is that no-one seems to care about the masses of Monsters ... the whole German community seems to be filled with MP-freaks who want MP and nothing more (cynically speaking), and the mag PC Games even wrote that the Singleplayer part was really good from the view of gamers. Which ones, I asked my self. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />

Thanks everybody! You guys are great!

I really appreciated all of you weighing in with your opinions, and it did help me make my choice--I'm planning on starting with Gothic 1.

Happy gaming to all, and to all a good game!

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

Uff, now I have a dilemma, after reading all these excellent impressions I am now doubting to buy or not to buy Sacred. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ouch.gif" alt="" />

I loved both Gothic 1 and Gothic 2. Superb atmosphere and excellent world detail make them draw you right into the story. As mentioned though they are quite difficult and it will be some time before you can wander the wilderness (You are best of building yourself up in levels by doing quests for people in the town first) Also as mentioned the controls are quite odd. Once you get used to them, they are ok, but at first they will confuse the hell out of you.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/kitty.gif" alt="" />

I am a bit amazed that you all seem to think Gothic difficult. I am not much of a fighter, in fact, I am definitely a coward <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/puppyeyes.gif" alt="" /> but I got through pretty well. Took me a while longer, I guess, but that was okay since I loved running around in the pretty landscape.

I liked the fact that there are monsters around that you cannot beat in the beginning. Adds a lot of suspense, I think. The soundtrack is great, too. You can often hear the animals before you see them.

I found that at low level, to wander the wilderness was death. If you found a way to survive the onslaught of monsters, I will admit that I hope you will share it with us. Especially tactics that will help me with creatures that attack as groups. Some of those are deadly. Any help much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/kitty.gif" alt="" />

And being high level doesnt count, I already figured that one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Never played Gothic, but Sacred is a great game.

@Mandrake : The monsters are there to block you from areas you arean't ready for. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> That's the whole thing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> You are not meant to slaughter *every* monster - not until you are good enough (in terms of equipment, weapons and skills).