Sacred 3 gameplay trailer debuts, release date announced

The third game in the Sacred action/RPG series finally has a release date and a more detailed look at the in-game play.

Sacred 3 features classic arcade Hack ‘n’ Slash action centered around drop in, drop out cooperative multiplayer for both offline (2 players) and online (4 players) play. The game brings back fan-favorite characters such as the Seraphim, Ancarian, Khukuhru and the Safiri, as well as introduces a new character, Malakhim. Each character class features its own unique skills and weapons which can be upgraded to match the player’s very own combat style. As they master the art of war, players will fight their way through enemy hordes and try to outshine their fellow companions on their way to become the greatest hero of all. The inclusion of mission stats and online leaderboards will continue to drive competition both locally and online. Victory Is Ours. Glory is Mine.

Competitive multiplayer is an element that not a whole lot of games take advantage of. You basically see a lot of versus play or co-op, but nothing that splits the difference. RPG’s and action/RPG’s see even less of a selection with co-op play being the norm and that’s about it. So Sacred 3 is a bit of a groundbreaker in that way.

Not only does the game support co-op (both online and off), but you get a healthy competitive spirit flowing liberally through it thanks to the leader boards and the quest for glory, which I’m sure beats out ‘victory’ for some players. Sacred 3 is on the way for the PC this August the 26th and will appear for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the series’ original home on the PC.

The game will feature the Malakhim class in addition to what you see above and will offer the ‘Underworld’ story DLC as well. Underworld should be familiar to players of the second game in the series as it will pit you against a climb up a “mysterious tower” to face off against S2’s Black Seraphim. Look for that DLC to be available right at or around the launch of the main game.