Is Sacred 2 as fun as the original or does it suffer from the typical next-gen maladies (i.e. too much grey/brown, crappy voice acting, crappy combat, not as fun as the prequel..)?
Just curious as I really loved the first Sacred.

I know how you feel ;-). I also like Sacred, and played S2 for a looong time (right now, I have issues with it under Win7.)
As for Sacred 2, it has both pros and cons regarding its predecessor.
It is prettier (obviously), and the world is even more detailed than in Sacred. For example, NPCs don't play their generic chatter, but engage in conversations with each other (even if they get repetitive quite quickly), children run around laughing, performers (there's one in almost every settlement) sing and play the flute and the electronic guitar (seriously!), etc.
Also, every character has 3 CA classes, which gives more room for different builds.
However, some of the game mechanics are not as well-thought out as in Sacred 1; for example, you have to increase CAs to a much higher level than in Sacred, and they have horrendous regeneration times.
Also, it's protected by SecuRom (2 revokable activations), so watch out for that.
There's even more of the distinct humor of Sacred; there are tombstones, tons of easter eggs, silly messages and such goodness. (Wehter that's good or bad is up to you to decide ;-).)
I'd say, if you liked Sacred, you should give Sacred 2 a try (provided your computer can handle the somewhat steep requirements), as it's not a worse game than Sacred; it's just that I can't really say it's much better.

I would seriously try the demo out before you lay any cash down for this game. I personally found it much worse then the first sacred and I love mindless action rpgs. It probably doesn't help that all the characters look like strippers which gives a wonderful first impression of the game.

It's fun and worth picking up, IMHO.
It's not great, like has been stated, but it's also not terrible.
Well worth picking up if you find it for a reasonable price. :)

I liked it. I bought it for the PC and PS3. I dont regret it.

I think its worth it.
I was on the fence for quite a while about it, as it didn't seem like they were doing enough for the game - tried the demo (once I got a laptop that could handle it) and found it could be engaging. I have had quite a bit of fun now in Sacred 2 (though Sacred will always be my fav in the lineup).
Not playing it much now because the latest patch has a hatred for Win 7 (it took a big step backwards and something changed in the File I/O or Music subsystem), plus lost a decent ring due to a balancing fix (the annoying part about that wasn't losing the ring, it was having the ring replaced by another one which advanced a skill I didn't have.. thus making it completely useless)

*drums fingers, waits for Sacred 2 to be offered on GOG*
*waits*
*waits*
*waits*
Good thing I'm patient. I'll check it out in 4 years or so, hey?

Hehe - if Ascaran clears up their financial problems it might be longer than that. A new expansion is in the works already (slowly)

Me and my missus are loving some sacred2 on X0. Nothing beats 2 player coop on same couch. Totally worth it. Especially if you got someone to it with.
Just bought sacred from gog cause missus wants to play with herself from time to time so I can play sacred 1 on my computer while she plays with herself on the couch.

Sadly, all of the fun in the Sacred franchise may be at an end. Ascaron Entertainment and Studio II (A subsidiary of Ascaran that continued development on Sacred 2 when Ascaron went into Bankruptcy proceedings) have both closed their doors - their official last day of work was Friday, July 31st 2009.
The scuttlebut is that the planned expansion for S2 will be polished up by a few remaining devs, then the publishers gain full control. No idea as to what that means for the continuance of online play - or even standard play (hopefully they will have someone to release a DRM patch when their DRM Activation license expires with the provider for S2).

There is a thread about it on the Sacred International Forum, and it seems there is a 2-year pact with SecuRom for the game activation.
So, it seems we're stuck with that DRM for a while...

now that's why i love GOG.
They even made me buy legitimate games.
the price is good , no hassle and it works perfectly.
That's why i'm waiting on GOG to launch sacred 2 :)

,,, does 'play with yourself' have a different meaning in Finland? :)

Hehe - yeah, not very original with nick's; Use the same for Twitter and have jumped into EIC - pretty good game, slow to get going like most Global Campaign games, but it is in line with my likes so Im enjoying it :)