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.
