Here's an early look at the Trophies for the upcoming PS3 RPG, Sacred 2. It looks like a rather tough Platinum to get, with players having to go through the game a minimum of six times to get the elusive Trophy.

Though it's finally been dated, dungeon crawler Sacred 2 has been plagued by delays. Today comes a reminder that getting it right often comes with a price. Developer Ascaron Entertainment confirmed to Gamespot that the company has declared bankruptcy in Germany after a four-year development period on the game.

The news isn't all bad: The move isn't expected to effect the game's release and and the company has met with "several well-known interested parties to discuss a positive takeover." Here's hoping the final damage is as minimal as possible.

Publisher CDV has announced that Sacred 2 will release on May 12 for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. For those who haven't been following the title (already available on PC), it's a traditional fantasy dungeon crawler that's big on grinding and extensive stat management. You know, elves, mages, mounts, spells, that kind of thing. The game also features online co-op for up to four players, which is definitely welcome. Until Blizzard decides to announce a console version of Diablo III, we suppose it will have to do.

Sacred 2 will be available in both vanilla and Collector's Edition varieties.

Ascaron and Deep Silver just announced that a Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Collector's Edition will be releasing to both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms in Q2 2009.

The yet-to-be-priced Sacred 2 CE will come with a standard assortment of goodies, including a soundtrack, art book and poster map. The highlight ... is the Seraphim miniature, thanks to its exquisite workmanship, accurate portrayal of the human form and the curvaceous suit of armor.

Sacred 2 Collector's Edition Contents

• Sacred 2 Game Disc
  
• Art Book
• Seraphim Miniature
• Double-sided 50x50 cm Poster Map of Ancaria
• Soundtrack CD
  

Fat loot aficionados won't be happy to hear that the console debut of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel has been pushed into Q2 2009. Originally, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game were slated to release alongside the PC version, but delays forced developer Ascaron to focus on one platform.

Sure, we're upset that our plundering and level grinding will be put on hold, but considering the bumps in the road Sacred 2 hit when it released on PC last November, we wouldn't mind a few extra months of development. What bumps, you ask? Things like game crashes, flip-book style framerates and wacky collision detection that sent players hurling through terrain, into the empty world below. Small stuff, really.

Killing zombies is fun, whether they're the fast Left 4 Dead variety or the slow Nazis in Call of Duty: World at War. While we go back to some undead-shooting fun, you can check out Big Download's features and highlights from the past week.

Exclusive features

• Reviews: We give our final verdicts on Left 4 Dead, Sacred 2, Quantum of Solace, Strong Bad Episode 4 and American McGee's Grimm: Cinderella.
• Things we love (and hate) about Left 4 Dead: Our gallery feature takes a look at the highs and lows of Valve's latest first person shooter.
• Beyond mods: Our gallery feature takes a look at first person shooter mods that have changed into full fledged retail game titles.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Macintosh gaming is the casual city sim Jane's Reality.
• Boot Disk: Our weekly look at retro gaming takes a look at the original King's Quest.
• Independent Minds: Our weekly indie games feature takes a look at originality in game titles.
• Big Ideas: Why are so-called horror games not that scary? Our weekly look at game trends tries to answer this question.
• Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games is all about the strategy-sim title Simutrans.
• Contests: You still have time to enter our contests to win copies of Left 4 Dead, Sacred 2 and beta codes for Battleforge.

Here's some CGI trailer goodness, brought to you by developer Ascaron and their upcoming action role playing fantasy Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Embedded above is the game's introductory video which is 100% CGI and 100% back story informative. There's also skeleton warrior mutilation, a giant rock monster, a metal dog-looking character that shoots laser from its arm and a chick that rides a giant tiger. Rawr?

After the annoucement that Sacred 2: Fallen Angel has been delayed into 2009, Atari has announced a multi-year distribution deal with cdv, the European publisher of the game. Atari will bring Sacred 2 to the North American market, along with future titles from the publisher. Sacred 2 will be hitting North American soil on February 17, 2009. So, for everyone out there awaiting a decent multiplayer dungeon crawl, mark your calendars, and try not to get confused by the new Atari logo on the box. Everyone else, move along.

You know, a few months ago, we might have been sad to report that the dungeon crawling action of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2009, but seriously, have you seen all the releases dropping this holiday? Yeah, so have we. Just trying to afford a few of these games is already hard enough. We don't need Ascaron's impressive looking action RPG thrown on top of everything else. Then again, next year brings us heavy hitters like Resident Evil 5 and Halo Wars. Our wallets may never be safe.

[Thanks, Ryan]

It's been a while since we last heard about Sacred 2, but now that the Games Convention is underway in Leipzig, it's the perfect time for German developer Ascaron to roll out a brand new trailer. Lest you've missed our previous coverage of the game, Sacred 2 is a dungeon crawling RPG in the vein of Baldur's Gate and Diablo. Oh, and it's real purdy too. The trailer is a bit schizophrenic, what with the crazy fast motion and the like, but sharp-eyed observers will see detailed environments and characters, including a female warrior that appears to be wearing high heels. The trailer also promises over 500 quests and open world to explore. Oh, and genre fans should take note: four player co-op. Sacred 2 will be hitting the Xbox 360 this November.

Okay, so maybe we're not getting a 360 version of Diablo 3 (or maybe we are), but that doesn't mean we can't get our dungeon crawling fix. Of course, there is Too Human coming in August. Too Human is sci-fi though. What about strict fantasy fans? For them, we have Sacred 2. In development for quite some time now -- we first saw it at GDC 07 -- Sacred 2 looks to give fans of dungeon crawling something to smile about. We were impressed with the game when we saw it at this year's GDC, and these videos are looking even better. While the amount of gameplay seen in these two videos is pretty small, what's there looks very pretty. Oh, and did we mention that Sacred 2 will have 4-player online co-op? Yeah, well it will.

German RPG developer Ascaron Entertainment, has announced their upcoming action RPG, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will be hitting the PS3 this fall. "Role-playing game enthusiasts have always been strongly represented on the PLAYSTATION® platforms, and we are delighted to offer a version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for the PlayStation® 3," said Heiko tom Felde, Managing Director of Ascaron Entertainment GmbH. "We've been working on this version for more than a year, and can now proudly reveal it and its new features, to an entirely new audience."

Previously announced for PC and Xbox 360, the PS3 version of Sacred 2 will featured "enhanced graphics," drop-in co-op play and other online multiplayer modes. Through the drop-in co-op play, players can simply pick up an extra controller and press Start to jump in. According to the press release, "the controls and interface have been developed from scratch for the PLAYSTATION 3 to ensure fluid and intuitive game play optimized for the platform throughout." The first images of the PS3 version can be found in our gallery.

It's time for the second installment of X3F TV everyone. For this episode, we have hands-on impressions of Sacred 2 from GDC08. Longtime readers may remember that we saw the game at GDC07 last year. We can honestly say that the fantasy hack-and-slash has come a long way during the last year. But why waste words when a video can tell you so much more? Enjoy our video hands-on and tell us what you think. Subscribers to the Xbox 360 Fancast will also receive the video via their aggregator of choice and the M4V file can be downloaded directly as well, so feel free to watch it on your favorite personal media player (in a much higher resolution).

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace.
[RSS] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[M4V] Download the M4V directly.