I'm sure that I've said it before on occasion, but sometimes, bad games can be good. Not awful games, mind you (I'm not going to tell anyone to pick up Vampire rain or Leisure Suite Larry: Box Office Bust). So maybe it's better so say that mediocre games can be a blast, if they eschew all pretension for basic gameplay features. It's similar to what the guys are talking about in their discussion of Just Cause 2. As for me, I'm playing through Sacred 2 on Xbox 360, and I don't know that I've ever encountered a game that delights in its ridiculousness quite so much.  
 
For those who may of missed the game when it came out last year - I'm guessing most of you - it's basically a Diablo-style hack-and-slash RPG, in which you pick your character class, explore the world, complete basic quests, get loot, and level up. There's really no story to speak of, or, if there is, I am fully unaware of what it might be. I first realized something was different about this one when I started reading gravestones that contained nothing but bad, terrible puns. Then, when my character began speaking his catchphrases: "I used to either destroy or save villages, depending on my orders," "I am your ultimate fate," etc. I figured out that this game did not take itself seriously at all. As some of the reviews Deadly Premonition have shown, a stupid game that knows it's stupid can be a blast.  
 
I wasn't too sure about Sacred 2 - after all, every bad pun makes my inner child die a bit - until I ran into a random quest called "blind guardian" in which I found myself picking up instruments in random caves. After completing about 5 quests in the line, I was inexplicably treated to this video: 
 
  

I'm sure that I've said it before on occasion, but sometimes, bad games can be good. Not awful games, mind you (I'm not going to tell anyone to pick up Vampire rain or Leisure Suite Larry: Box Office Bust). So maybe it's better so say that mediocre games can be a blast, if they eschew all pretension for basic gameplay features. It's similar to what the guys are talking about in their discussion of Just Cause 2. As for me, I'm playing through Sacred 2 on Xbox 360, and I don't know that I've ever encountered a game that delights in its ridiculousness quite so much.  
 
For those who may of missed the game when it came out last year - I'm guessing most of you - it's basically a Diablo-style hack-and-slash RPG, in which you pick your character class, explore the world, complete basic quests, get loot, and level up. There's really no story to speak of, or, if there is, I am fully unaware of what it might be. I first realized something was different about this one when I started reading gravestones that contained nothing but bad, terrible puns. Then, when my character began speaking his catchphrases: "I used to either destroy or save villages, depending on my orders," "I am your ultimate fate," etc. I figured out that this game did not take itself seriously at all. As some of the reviews Deadly Premonition have shown, a stupid game that knows it's stupid can be a blast.  
 
I wasn't too sure about Sacred 2 - after all, every bad pun makes my inner child die a bit - until I ran into a random quest called "blind guardian" in which I found myself picking up instruments in random caves. After completing about 5 quests in the line, I was inexplicably treated to this video: 
 
  

It is a nice treat hidden away in the game. I remember it mentioned before in this thread. I actually own Sacred 2 now; got it for Christmas last year. However, I still haven't caught up on my backlog of games so it will just have to wait.

Sometimes I almost want to play this then someone compares it to that abortion of a game Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and I back off.

it's only 20 bucks I think I'll pick it up

Sounds like a game I could get behind... for less than $20...

Well, I don't know much about Dark Alliance. But it's safe to say that this game is dumb fun. If you're a completionist, it might be overwhelming at times, but hey it is 20 bucks now, so not a bad purchase.  
 
It's certainly not revolutionary, but not every game needs to be. As a fair caveat, I've not been much of a PC gamer (though I will be more once my Alienware m11x shows up)

Been pretty happy with it so far & while the player might have some rather stupid things to say at times, it's quite fun to just see some of these average RPG games (another one that comes to mind is Two Worlds 2) where the gameplay might not be that awesome but they looked at a fantasy library the size of the Smithsonian museum, stole the contents of all the books, drank huge amounts of booze & left while playing fantasy power metal to go make a game. Granted I'm still early in & probably just going to finish the game with the Dryad (with voodoo undead minion & ranged combat so much dies before it gets within view) but I've been quite impressed with the amount to do in the game & features that people want in other games that's crammed in here. Like mounted combat, unique mounts for each class, ability to remove loot from inventory to get about half of what it's worth in gold, a hero chest to share among your characters, ability to go into some NPC house shouting out "I'm an adventuring hero & I need this stuff in this chest without any complaints from you!" then proceed to loot the chest and leave without worrying about stolen items, ability to just use relics or other skills in just one thing like finding hidden things or critical hits, able to put on whatever armor you find (heavier armor just increases regeneration time), a physics engine that seems slightly unneeded (killed things will just ragdoll & just roll down a hill) & a rather deep skill system that gives you the skill tokens as items in game (and if you don't want to save the skill tokens for your other characters through the hero chest, you can just trade them for skills for your character). Considering the price now for this (which here in the states is easier to get on the 360 as the Steam version isn't available), it's quite recommended as one of those games to dive into.