So, let’s start at the beginning shall we?

You are a wizard. No, not the "benevolent Merlin" type of wizard that would never use his power to hurt another living thing; you play the part of a Faustian wizard (the description will serve to explain several things about your character) stranded on a different planet. Being the shrewd, manipulative bastard that you are, you begin to run chores for the five gods of the planet, retaining a portion of their powers in the process.

This retention of divine power serves to help define your character. Each mission you take affects the future direction of your character. Should you decide to serve Stratos, the god of knowledge and the Ethereal Realms for your first mission, your first offensive spell will be Lightning, an accurate single target spell that usually serves to kill on contact. Serving a particular god also increases your favor rating with the god (and usually decreases your favor with all the other gods), making your choice of patron from mission to mission a divine balancing act.

Sacrifice’s visuals are intense to say the least, somehow reminding me of those from Magic Carpet or Populous. The landscape shifts and shatters based on you and your creature’s attacks and some of the more noticeable effects include some of Jame’s (the earth god) creature’s special abilities, Pyro’s awe–inspiring Volcanic Eruption, or Charnel’s Wailing Wall. The decision to use a complete 3D engine to power the game is unique to say the least, though I will say that the game began to bog down a bit when I began to construct legions of creatures (upwards of 36). The slowdown was negligible, keeping the game play at a tolerable level.

The game play itself is unique, though at times a bit maddening. Targeting is sometimes a bit of an issue, as you might have trouble picking a particular creature out from a crowd — the addition of a Target Nearest Wizard, Target Nearest Enemy, and Target Most Powerful Enemy command in a future patch would be very welcome. Also, a larger variation in creatures and spells would be VERY welcome; all the gods seem to be varying on a theme, centering a little too much on balance.

Sacrifice's sounds are excellent, with the tone and attitude of the characters taking a decidedly British feel, which seems to fit the mood of the game just fine, as the drama is always well–interposed with dry cuts of humor. A note: the character of Marduk has an excellent voice. Those who are fans of evil characters will definitely get a kick out of him.

The addition of a level editor (Scapex) is not necessarily unique in the burgeoning field of user–contribution driven games in the marketplace; however, this is the first time this editor has seen the inclusion of PAPER DOCUMENTATION with the manual for a 3D game. The manual walks you through creating a first level, though I skipped the tutorial and merely began experimenting with the editor myself. I think anyone new to level editing will be overjoyed at the ease with which you can create levels, something for which Shiny should be commended.

Multiplayer does take a bit to get used to, and accustoming oneself to the unique objectives that constitute a standard Sacrifice mission. Once you are familiar with the pace and structure of the game however, multiplayer is a blast; I can see this game easily becoming the next staple of LAN parties.

My only beef with the game is the apparent lack of support for third–party modification through scripting, or actual modification of game internals. Though the level editor is appreciated, the ability to add new gods, spells, or game play characteristics would advance the game’s playability in terms of years. However, this is not an aspect which reflects on the game’s quality; rather, it is a feature which I would urge Shiny to consider introducing (or at least addressing) within the next few months.

Overall the game is near flawless, and I would recommend it to anyone. If you still doubt me, check out this demo and see for yourself.

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