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Platforms: | PC, Mac, Linux |
Publisher: | Activision |
Developer: | Raven Software |
Genres: | 3D Shooter / First-Person Shooter |
Release Date: | October 31, 1998 |
Game Modes: | Singleplayer / Multiplayer |
“Make the heathens pay!”
Shame the source was never released, though, because it is rapidly accumulating problems when running on modern systems. To spare anybody else interested in it from searching the web in vain for hours trying to find a solution to one of them, I will document it here.
Raven Software’s dark fantasy saga first saw light when Heretic hit shelves in 1994, becoming the quintessential Doom clone to own that year. Early 90’s shooters were never much on storytelling, but Heretic did stand out with its dark atmosphere, great level design and creative monsters. Years passed and two indirect sequels followed suit, Hexen: Beyond Heretic and Hexen II, with a final fourth game to conclude the story. Yet Heretic II stands out not for rehashing the original game but for being the most different of the lot. It’s a mixed third-person game with some Tomb Raider tossed in as well.
Heretic II starts immediately as the elven protagonist from the original ’94 game returns to his hometown of Silverspring, only to find it ravaged by a disastrous plague. A quest starts to find out what exactly has befallen the town and who’s to blame, one that will take you to just about every corner of the kingdom. The game’s twenty or so linear levels have every flavor of dark fantasy attractions, including a dismal swamp, an ancient flooded city, a mountain dungeon and lots of other places.
A New Perspective on Things
Powering a third-person action game isn’t something you’d expect out of the aging Quake II engine, but here it is regardless. Although suffering from a few noticeable quirks, the camera in Heretic II is quite function for the most part. There are almost none of the clipping problems you’d expect from free-roaming cameras. You can jump around tight corridors, wide-open spaces, and complex vertical levels with ease. And navigate them hectically you will, for the combat is an unforgiving affair. Alongside your normal weapons you’ll be using powerful spells.
Bolts of red light, showers of sparks, and moonlight-blue explosions are hurled through the shadows. Particularly impressive is the Storm Bow, which creates a lethal red cloud over your enemy, complete with magical lightning bolts. Unless you couldn’t already tell, many of the weapon designs featured here were passed over from the original DOS game Even some of the more clever spells make a return, such as Morph Ovum, which transforms nearby enemies into helpless fowl. On an amusing side note, the spell randomly backfires in multiplayer games, turning human opponents rampaging super-chickens.
You get a solid sense that you’re controlling a character rather than just steering him. The complex but configurable interface, which takes some getting used to, allows for everything from tumbling to climbing ropes to pole vaulting. There aren’t a whole lot of combinations on offer, and greater emphasis is placed on fast action than navigational puzzles, but what has been included works well.
Unlike some of Raven’s previous efforts, the enemies in Heretic II are distinctive and varied. This menagerie fits nicely with the game’s fiction, pitting you against sick crazed elves, plague-sprayers, and the unique denizens of the places you visit. You’ll also find some amusing touches, such as the reptilian birds that fly off with your head when they kill you. Action adventure fans should feel right at home here, and there’s really not much reason to shun this game other than the occasionally problematic camera and controls. Those aside, Heretic II is as fun an old-style fantasy shooter as they come.
System Requirements: Pentium 166 Mhz, 32 MB RAM, Windows 95/98
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Overview
The power of the Tome returns you to your homeland, but what you find there is not what you expected. Your medieval land has been ravaged by an evil plague -- your kinsmen are mutating before your very eyes and rising up to attack you. As you struggle to discover what has happened and to save your people from this new evil, the same mysterious disease overcomes you. Now you must embark on a quest to discover the source of the plague and find a cure before all is lost -- including your own life!
Heretic II goes back to the original storyline and to the single main character, rather than the three separate character classes from the Hexen series. While some references are made to events from Hexen and Hexen II, _Heretic II is definitely not a continuation of those games, but rather a true sequel to the original Heretic.
Gameplay, Controls, Interface
Unlike its predecessor, Heretic II steps away from the traditional first-person view to a behind-the-back third-person perspective, much like the Tomb Raider series. But Tomb Raider never had it this good -- the rich depth of the world and the stunning array of weaponry take this game a step ahead. Unlike many other first-person games, Heretic II offers expansive architecture that gives you the feel of a complete world. From seething swamps to dusty old temples, each level is designed to look both real and fantastic.
All the creatures in the game are detailed, especially the hero, Corvus. His movements, whether walking, running, creeping along the ground, climbing or swimming, are all smoothly animated. Most impressive are his combat moves. When using his basic weapon, a long pike, he can perform a variety of special attacks, including a devastating spinning move that can decapitate almost any foe. He also has an array of magic spells and weapons, ranging from simple fireball spells to the deadly Phoenix Bow.
In addition to his offensive array, Corvus boasts several useful defensive spells. My favorite is the meteor shield -- when cast, it creates several shimmering green orbs which orbit you until you get close to an enemy, then the orbs lock on and track even the fastest foes. Combining your offensive and defensive abilities is the key to success.
One of the nicest features is the tutorial that will teach you the basic moves you will need to complete the game, from simple jumping, climbing and swimming to pole vaults and the special attacks of your pike. It's worth playing through for the chance to bash on the whacking chicken alone.
One drawback in the game is the inability to control the camera position. While the camera usually positions itself so that you have a mostly unobstructed view, there are times when it will inhibit some of your peripheral vision, making it difficult to detect enemies hiding to either side. It was also hard to spot objects and clues in some areas -- there was no way to get the camera into a position where you could see clearly. Adding the ability to switch temporarily to a first-person view to scan the area would have helped.
The other main problem is that the game is too short. It didn't take very long to play through all the levels to the ending, and the final story wrap-up didn't really go anywhere. The game really needed to be about half again as long -- there wasn't much sense of having accomplished a great task when it was over.
One area not to miss is cooperative multiplayer. We had more fun playing the game with two going through than playing alone. Most 3D games have focused on deathmatch play (which is also in Heretic II) -- it was nice to see some extra attention paid to making cooperative play just as fun.
Graphics
Although Heretic II is based on the same engine as Quake II, there have been so many improvements added that the underlying engine is almost unrecognizable. If you don't have a good 3D accelerator, you will definitely want to pick one up before playing -- the effects for the various spells and weapons are amazing, and the rich lighting and fog effects used in the levels have to be seen to be believed.
The animation is rich and detailed, from the little things like Corvus brushing away flies to the creepy insect-like movements of the T'Chekrik. Even the violence in the game is lovingly rendered -- all the enemies die in spectacular gouts of blood and gore (this is not a game for younger kids).
Audio
The music and effects are understated, but in a good way. Rather than bowling you over with an in-your-face soundtrack and eardrum-popping effects, the game designers chose to focus on making the game's sound believable. From the soft dripping of water in the swamps to the eerie cries of unseen animals, every sound blends together to produce a rich background. Not that there aren't plenty of great crashes, explosions, and crackles to accompany the fighting; they've just been done with style, rather than overdone.
System Requirements
Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 (with service pack 3), Pentium 166 MHz with 3D hardware accelerator or Pentium 200 MHz with MMX (software), 32 MB RAM required (64 MB recommended), 100% Windows 95 compatible sound card, 4X CD-ROM drive (600 k/sec. sustained transfer rate), hard disk drive with at least 360 MB of uncompressed space available, 2 MB SVGA DirectX compatible video card, joystick and mouse (3-button mouse recommended). Supports network and Internet play via TCP/IP
Bottom Line
Heretic II more than lives up to its predecessors -- this game is in a completely different class. Although it continues the Heretic and Hexen story and holds over many weapons and items from the earlier games, the third-person interface gives it a completely different (and, in my opinion, better) feel. The game isn't as long as I would have liked and the new interface does have some quirks that can make navigating some areas frustrating, but overall it's a lot of fun and worth adding to your collection.
Overall rating: 7.5