回想一下，开发了《圣域 1》和《圣域 2》的团队可谓是‘万里挑一’的存在。能让这么多完全不同的人组成一个平衡且充满正能量的团队简直是不可思议。异想天开的点子大王对上心思缜密的分析高手，胆大包天的新人对上冷静老到的熟手，团队中的一切好像都是那么的均衡。听听这个：我们甚至有能聊到一起的程序员和美工，不可思议，是不是？

In retrospect, it turned out that the team that created Sacred 1 and Sacred 2 was some sort of ‘one in a million'. It is very rare that so many different people are forming a team that's so balanced and full of positive energy. Chaotic creativity against analytical thinking, boldness of the rookies against coolness of seasoned developers, everything in this team seemed to be in equilibrium. Get a load of this: we even had artists and programmers talking to each other! Mindboggling, isn't it?

Franz Stradal
《圣域》项目经理

Franz Stradal,
Sacred's project lead

《圣域 2》也登陆了 PS3 和 Xbox 360 平台，游戏针对主机优化了操作体验，但是《圣域 2》的致命缺陷是它的游戏流程明显不够流畅。游戏世界很庞大，但是没什么节奏感，玩起来也没有气氛，同时主线任务更没能好好地讲述游戏剧情。更不幸的是，有些前作已经解决的 bug 反而再次出现在了续作之中。

不过《圣域 2》仍然在前作的各个方面进行了拓展：角色养成更有深度、添加了更多的战利品、套装、坐骑和多人游玩选项。图像和音乐的升级也让人拍手称快，尽管游戏的镜头设置需要一段时间来适应。Ascaron 风格的幽默也没缺席，加上比前作更多的彩蛋、致敬、蠢蠢的加载信息和奇怪的物品（比如杀手杰森的面具^[3] ），总的来说，玩家基本上会成为《圣域》1 和 2 代的忠实粉丝。

令人悲伤的是，尽管《圣域 2》卖得不错，但是 Ascaron 在开发过程中投入的成本远远超过了游戏的利润。他们仍然发售了资料片《冰与血（Ice & Blood）》，加入了两个新区域和新角色龙法师（Dragon Mage），不久之后公司便解体了。

Sacred 2 was also released for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. The gameplay became somewhat easier to fit the consoles but Sacred 2's real flaw is an apparent lack of flow. The world is huge, but lacks a sense of pacing and atmosphere, while the main quest doesn't convey the story very well. And, unfortunately, some bugs also found their way back into the sequel.

Still, Sacred 2 expanded upon the previous game, with more depth to character progression, more loot, set items, mounts and multiplayer options. The improved graphics and sounds are also pleasing, though the camera can take some time getting used to. Once again Ascaron's typical humour is present, with even more easter eggs, references, silly loading messages and odd items like Jason's mask. Overall, you'll find devout fans for both Sacred 1 and 2.

Sadly, while Sacred 2 sold well, Ascaron spent far too much time and money developing it. They would still release the Ice & Blood add-on, with two extra regions and the Dragon Mage as new character, but the company was dissolved soon after.

很推荐玩家采用《圣域 2》的社区补丁（Sacred 2’s Community Patch）,该补丁修正了很多 bug 并且加入了不少很酷的新东西。另外也可以考虑自由镜头模组（Free Camera mod）和暗黑破坏神 2 堕落模组（Diablo 2 Fallen mod），这个模组以暗黑风的角色和设定对游戏进行了修改。

Sacred 2's Community Patch is highly recommended, as it fixes many bugs and adds cool new items. Also consider the Free Camera mod and the Diablo 2 Fallen mod, which overhauls the game with Diablo-inspired classes and lore.

《圣域》系列的名声还是响当当的，因此 Deep Silver 公司买下了整个系列的授权。他们发售的第一款小型衍生作品名为《神圣堡垒（Sacred Citadel）》。这是一款卷轴滚动式清版游戏，反响褒贬不一。游戏和《圣域》系列联系不大，发售后很快就淡出了人们的视线。

《圣域 3》于 2014 年发售，但这款游戏让玩家们大失所望。系列的重要特征，诸如庞大的开放世界、无数的任务和充分的战利品等（实际上，游戏根本没有掉落了！），统统消失了。游戏摇身一变，成了一款多人街机风砍杀游戏，关卡还是线性的。游戏的对话也特别没劲——可以说是对系列幽默感的拙劣模仿。这些对话最终组成了一连串无脑的冷嘲热讽，比游戏素质的平庸更让人失望。游戏被评论家和粉丝骂的狗血淋头，也让《圣域》系列跌入了最低点。

不管怎么说，系列前两部作品的激情仍然存在，其中蕴含的轻松幽默和开放世界设计也仍然撼人心弦。玩过《暗黑破坏神》的人，都应该来试试《圣域 1》和《圣域 2》。

The Sacred brand was still strong, so Deep Silver bought the series' licence. Their first release was a small spin-off project called Sacred Citadel (2013). A side-scrolling beat ‘em up, its reviews were rather mixed and the game had little to do with the Sacred series, being quickly forgotten after its release.

Sacred 3 arrived in 2014, but sadly it was a huge disappointment. Key features such as the vast open world, countless quests and ample loot were dropped (in fact, there's no loot!) in exchange for a multiplayer arcade-like hack-and-slash divided into linear stages. The game's dialogues are especially frustrating – a poor attempt at replicating the series' humour, they end up as a barrage of witless, sarcastic quips that are more disheartening than the game's own mediocrity. The game was widely bashed by reviewers and fans alike, bringing the Sacred series to its lowest point.

Regardless, the passion for the first two games remains, their light-hearted humour and open-world design still a thrill. Anyone into Diablo should do themselves a favour and give Sacred 1 and 2 a try.

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³ 译者注：杰森，出自经典恐怖电影《十三号星期五》（Friday the 13th，又名《黑色星期五》）系列的经典杀人狂形象，其代表物便是白色曲棍球面具。