In any RPG there have to be heroes, and in Sacred you are presented with six very interesting ones to choose from. There's your archetypal fighter character, the Gladiator, and your archetypal wizard character, the Battle Mage. But from here on in Sacred presents a new spin on the usual list, offering you the choice to play as a Seraphim, a bow toting angelic magic user; a Wood Elf or a Dark Elf, who each have their own fighting combos and spells; or a Vampiress, whose skills change depending on whether it's day or night. Each hero has their own selection of special weapons and magic items.

After selecting which hero you want to play, you are then off to explore the world of Acaria. A more pretty world you will not see. The game is played in isometric view, however you can zoom in and out, which makes a world of difference when you are trying to see what is coming up ahead of you.

Every aspect of the game world is highly detailed, from the trees to the buildings and the wildlife itself. You will pass through wooded lanes and see deer gently grazing, or travel across fields where rabbits hop across your path, and trudge deserts where skeletons await to part your head from your shoulders. Rivers run, flames glow and the towns are alive with people (or 'dead' with people, as the case may be). Almost the entire world is unlocked for you right at the beginning of the game and there are over 30 major settlements to visit and smaller villages to pass through. This game is huge, truly huge.

As you progress and talk to people in the game you are given quests to complete. Including the major story, there are some 300 quests in the game. These can range from simple "please find my cow, mister" and "kill the bad wolf" tasks, through to major expeditions across the whole map. The danger with including so many quests is that it could have been easy for the player to get confused, however the developers have made this easy by showing on the in-game map who wants a quest completed and, once accepted, where you have to go. This may upset some puritans who prefer to thrash about in the unknown but we found it quite refreshing to know our destination up front before we set off.