Try the game for free http://savage2.s2games.com/download.php. The demo and full game run off the same client. The full game costs $20. The collector's edition pack is an extra $5 and is a boxed copy of the game/manual, 5 scratch-off tickets (persistance items), and the satisfaction that comes with supporting indie gaming. Videos (Take a look at these before you decide) The Stack vs Mercenary Angels Official Savage 2 match (Youtube) [Highly Suggested!] Savage 2: A Tortured Soul Trailer(Youtube) Gameplay 1 (FTP host) Gameplay 2 (FTP host) Gameplay 3 (FTP host) Overview Journey back to the fantasy realm of Newerth to continue the epic battle between humans and beasts. Savage 2 combines real-time strategy and first person action in a dynamic multiplayer environment. It takes the best of the FPS, RTS, and RPG genres and blends them seamlessly into an extremely addictive and complex experience. Anyone who's seen either game in action knows that each match is full of possibilities for epic moments and amazing displays of skill and strategy. Savage 2 improves on the original concept by balancing out key game play elements such as melee and ranged combat, making each character class unique, expanding the quantity and viability of the support roles, and overall creating a more cohesive experience. Most units in the game have a melee attack (swords, daggers, claws etc.) and a ranged attack (guns, bows, magic etc) but the game has a heavy focus on melee combat, which takes the form of a rock-paper-scissors balancing system. Players can block, quick attack, and interrupt their opponents, and these will have varying degrees of success based upon what the opponent is doing at the time. This unique melee system is the core of Savage 2 combat, bringing first person combat to a brand new light. Check out the tutorial for a detailed description of the following information: http://savage2.s2games.com/tutorial/ Commanders and Squads Games in Savage 2 work much in the same way as they would in a traditional FPS game, with players being able to leave/join any game, at any time. When a game is set to start - players nominate to join either the Human or Beast team and are then required to vote on a commander for their team. Players can nominate themselves to command for a game, and the rest of the team chooses their preferred commander from those nominated - the player with the highest votes becomes the commander for the duration of the game, or until they resign. Once a commander for each side is chosen, the commander selects 'Officers' who gain a buff as well as the ability to place 'Spawn Portals' in the game - these spawn portals server much like Garrisons/Sub Lairs but only players from that 'Squad' may spawn there. Gameplay Once the Commander and Officers are chosen, players join squads and the game begins. A game usually starts with players seeking out the closest mines to their base, clearing the expansion point of NPC enemies and the Commander building a Garrison/Sub Lair and subsequently a gold mine/grove mine. Players then generally must make the choice between harassing the enemy expansions/base or moving to clear further gold mines - these types of tactical decisions are usually made by the Commander who will help to direct the flow of battle. Much like in any RTS game, each side in a match needs to collect gold in order to build buildings to advance their technology, skills and magic for the players on the field. In each map in Savage 2, a number of gold mines are placed around the map at strategic locations; these gold deposits can then have a mine built on top of them in order to extract the gold for the controlling team. Gold mines are constantly a focal point for combat in the game as teams attempt to gain map control, or resource advantage over the other team. Because of the heavily contested nature of a gold mine, a Garrison (for the Human side) or Sub Lair (for the Beast) must be built before a mine can be built, this building will provide a forward spawn point for the team, allowing them to quickly defend the mine it comes under attack. For more information on the gameplay of Savage 2 click here: http://savage2.s2games.com/gameplay.php Classes (For a more detailed list click here: http://savage2.s2games.com/gp_units.php) The Legion of Man (aka Humans) Builder: Basic construction and support class. Can build and repair, gets a melee damage bonus against buildings. Can replenish teammates' ammo and put up shields to protect against ranged weaponry. Scout: Quick stealthy recon class. Heavy emphasis on indirect combat, placing electric eyes (keep tabs on areas of the map), demo runs (bombing enemy structures). Pretty good ranged weaponry, lots of stamina for traveling the map, melee combat, etc. Savage: Frontline attack class. Almost entirely direct damage and damage support abilities. Pretty good ranged weaponry, good melee abilities. Really strong in groups. Legionnaire: Heavy assault class. Can give and take a lot of damage. Can self heal, reflect melee damage. Has good melee abilities and good ranged weapons. Chaplain: Healer class - better healing efficiency than the shaman - can heal groups and single targets. Has only one support ability, but it can be very strong if used right. Can revive fallen teammates. Battering Ram: Close-range siege unit. Heavy building damage, but has to be close to the target to deal it. Can defend itself a bit by emitting flames in an area around itself. Steambuchet: Ranged siege unit. Attacks with large boulders. Great for breaking enemy defenses. Probably the most basic of the siege units. Can move while firing. The Beast Horde (aka Beasts) Conjurer: Basic construction and support class. Can build and repair, its melee attack gets a damage bonus to buildings. Has the ability to replenish teammates' mana, root groups of enemies. Shapeshifter: Mix of blitzkrieg and ranged support rear end. Pretty light on its feet, good ranged damage. Can mimic the appearance of enemy players. Can blow itself up to deal significant damage to enemy buildings. Hunter: Frontline attack class. Melee-only, but has a gliding attack that allows it to do a bit of damage in addition to covering range. Can place sentry bats to keep an eye on areas of the map. Predator: Heavy assault class. A bit more melee-oriented than the legionnaire. Most of its abilities debuff the enemy or buff itself. Decent ranged weaponry. Shaman: Mix of healer and utility class. Lots of great support abilities - can root players, distort their view, shield teammates from ranged damage, etc. Mediocre healing, but still very useful in that regard. Can revive fallen teammates. Behemoth: Massive hulking siege class. Attacks with a giant uprooted tree. Tends to draw attention. Can shrug off most ranged fire without batting an eye. Is the most capable of defending itself of the siege class, but still needs to be supported (it's a bit slow to attack so can't deal with the peskier players as well). Tempest: Ranged siege class. Attacks with flaming meteors. Not very well able to defend itself, but generally will at least be able to see incoming enemies and figure out when to flee. Great for cracking bases. Hell Shrines and Hellbourne Units A new addition to the Savage franchise in Savage 2 is that of the Hell Bourne units. These units are a kind of 'super unit' that are extremely powerful, and have extra requirements to be able to use them. In order to use a Hell Bourne unit, the team's Commander must build a Sacrificial Shrine on top of a Scar. There is usually one to two scars on each map - because of the limited amount, these are often highly contested areas, as a team who is able to successfully gain Hell Bourne units, can deal an extensive amount of damage to the enemy team. Once a Sacrificial Shrine has been constructed on top of a scar, the team is able to purchase Hell Bourne units. Hell Bourne units are purchased using 'souls' - a soul is collected from a defeated player every time a player kills an opponent, the more powerful Hell Bourne units such as the Malphas, require a larger amount of souls than other, lesser Hell Bourne. The Hell Bourne units currently in the game are: Revenant: The lightest and cheapest of the hellbourne unit. Best ranged weapon in the game, great debuffs. Has a spell which can instantly carve off a significant portion of a player's health. Pretty junk up close, but still formidable. Devourer: Long-term assault class. Can eat up enemy corpses which prevents them from being revived and gives the devourer a boost to its maximum health, health regeneration, and size (among other things). Attacks with a large cleaver, good ranged damage, but limited ammo. Malphas: Strongest hellbourne class, high health and damage. Difficult to get, sometimes difficult to keep alive (it's the most prominent target for enemy players). Attacks with a giant flaming sword - can clear swaths of enemies if they get close and in front of the malphas. Good attack spells. --- Maliken: Heavy assault class. Generally a melee-only unit, but can throw his sword to damage enemies. Can also teleport to the thrown sword. Attacks come in the form of blade modes, each of which has a different effect on his melee weapon. Can also use a whirlwind-like blade frenzy attack to damage all nearby enemies. For a detailed list of units click here: http://savage2.s2games.com/gp_units.php Melee Combat Savage 2 has a unique melee combat system that is designed to take out a lot of 'button mashing' that occurs in a lot of hack n' slash style games. The Savage 2 melee system revolves around three separate attacks that have varying degrees of use depending on when they are used. The quick attack deals the most damage to a player, and will stun a player who is using an interrupt attack. The interrupt attack will deal no damage to a player unless they are blocking, and if the player is blocking, it will cause the blocking player to be stunned and take damage. Blocking a quick attack stuns and returns damage to the attacking player. As well as these three standard attacks that are available to all units in the game, individual units have special abilities that can be used to aid them in combat. The Savage for example has an ability to inflict bleeding on an opponent causing damage over time, the Marksman has a backstab ability that will cause massive damage should the opponent be facing the other way when the ability is used. Buildings / Technology Human Tech Tree Beast Tech Tree Items In Savage 2 there are a variety of items that can be purchased using the gold collected by a players kills and building damage throughout any given match. These items are must be used within the same game that they are purchased. Items have varying uses such as replenishing health, increasing movement speed or armour, offering a free teleport to base and more. Persistance items, which you carry into each game, are available for both purchase and are given as gifts for achieving awards. Some examples of the many types achievements include: purchase the Malphas unit 3 times in a single game, getting a high score in player or building damage, or even achieving a high score in building repairs. These persistance items are called "runes" and they can give a combination of different attribute inhancements to your character while on the field. Check out this link for more information on the types of items and their abilities: http://savage2.s2games.com/gp_items.php
I played the first one. Servers weren't so great, but it was fun nonetheless. Might check this one out though.