If you really like the H & S and character development in D2 you'll really like Sacred. If you prefer involved quests then Sacred won't be your style. I also don't like the respawning, but I now play a wood elf with Quick as a Flash and she can easily outrun anything, so when I don't want to fight I just run past. There is a lot to explore here and it is fun. The challenge of developing a great char. in untested waters with a brand new character development system is great.
Womble,
Maybe we could do an MP game some time.
