Dungeon Runners vs. Other Hack n' Slash

I was talking to one of my friends on Xfire the other day about my experiences with the Sacred 2 demo and mentioned that I was trying to decide whether to pick it up. He said, "Why play Sacred when you have Dungeon Runners?"

I had to mull over that a little bit before I came up with a good answer. You see, I do love Dungeon Runners but it only satisfies me for short bursts. It's not something that I will sit and play for hours on end. But, both Sacred and Dungeon Runners are hack n' slash so...what's the difference?

Quests
In Dungeon Runners, the quests feel like they are just sort of tacked on. You don't actually need to complete any of them to advance in the game and...well...even with the cowbell exp. bonus for doing them, I don't feel compelled to go out of my way to complete them. If I happen to complete a quest, great. I'll turn it in. If I don't, I don't worry about it.

Sometimes, I need that extra something to push me forward in a game. Quests usually do that for me. I find just trying to plow through to the next level is pretty darned boring. So, games like Sacred that have a central story and oodles of quests that push you forward appeal to me.

Exploration
There is no exploring in Dungeon Runners. You have one town and you run through randomly generated dungeons that all look pretty much the same. There aren't any nifty nooks to discover or secret passage. One dungeon is pretty much like the next but with different tiles.

Games like Sacred have a world that you can explore. There are multiple towns, lots of NPCs to interact with and a map to open up. I understand that that map, once revealed, is never going to change. However, until the "fog of war" is lifted, I never know what is around the bend. It could be an ancient ruin to explore, a cave system, a bandit hideout....it holds a lot more variety of experiences rather than just running through a dungeon.

Limitations
I know this is going to sound really odd, but I actually like the racial/class limitations that come with most hack n' slash games. It makes finding that perfect piece of equipment for your build that much sweeter because you had to really hunt for it.

Dungeon Runners is fantastic in that you have the freedom to change classes anytime you want and you can use anything in the game. But...I don't feel like I've accomplished much when I do find that super awesome piece of equipment because I know that, if I want to use it, I can always adjust my stats to fit the equipment.

Does that make sense?

Like I said in the beginning, don't get me wrong. I do love Dungeon Runners and I play it often. I just don't play it for long stretches.