Sacrifice

From the time in gaming history when the FPS was king, Shiny Entertainment came out with something completely left-of-field in 'Sacrifice'. A Third-Person game, as opposed to First-person, where the importance was on creating creatures to do your dirty work, rather than arming yourself with a variety of things that go 'BANG', it was unique, and still is. There are a few drawbacks with the game (a purely linear level design chief among them), but the graphics are still simply stunning, even by today's standards. Hard to believe simply on that basis it's over 10 years old! Despite the drawbacks, it's definitely a keeper, and deserves to be played by everyone. A game that will hold it's own years into the future.

I had some misgivings about the game at first, but I learned to appreciated it. It's original in every possible way - the world, the mechanics, the strategy. It's unlike any other strategy game and I really wish more such games were made; games that are willing to go against expectations and try something new. The strategy required from this game is different from most other strategy games; the soul mechanics force the player to utilize different methods than other RTS games would make you used to. Even though the only resource are souls and there are only three types of buildings, the game possesses strategic depth; it's impossible to simply rush your enemy with creatures and hope for the best. Though the graphics are dated, the design of gods and creatures is original and fresh. Even classis monsters such as ents or dragons get a unique spin. Finally, the game doesn't take itself entirely seriously. The gods are infantile and quarrelsome and the creatures' voices are often quite humorous. All in all, a game worth recommending. A sequel would be appreciated, but that's unlikely.

I loved playing this game. Played it several different times as each avatar. I only stopped because the CD-ROM had laser rot, making it unreadable.

and original gameplay. Wonderful musics and graphisms. I finished it already 4 times (to see all the maps and different story lines). Lovely.

Sacrifice is a unique and - for me - nail-bitingly exciting experience. What drew me to it back in the day was the visual style, which looks like a well-executed cross between Hieronymus Borsh paintings and an episode of Earthworm Jim. Even today, the uniqueness of the visuals is impressive, and to my knowledge, nothing has come along since that is even remotely like it. The skirmishes in question are incredibly fun. You fight as the wizard from a third-person perspective and summon monsters around you to aid you in combat. The monsters are all specialized to deal with certain kinds of threat - at the first tiers, a simple rock-paper-scissors sort of arrangement, while in the later ones it becomes remarkably complex. The fights are frantic and complicated and reward well-executed tactics. Anyone even remotely interested in real-time strategy should try this game. It is an interesting shift of perspective when you, the general, are right there on the battlefield along with your troops, rather than directing them from your armchair in the sky. There is no radar other than a static map and a small, featureless minimap, and no reconnaissance other than what you can keep in your head. It combines the speedy strategy of Red Alert with its own high-octane brawl and cunning magic system that can cripple an enemy, beef up a friend, or call down death from above. This is an absolute must-play.