Introduction

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Die, Heretic!

I have to be honest with you guys, I was never a big fan of the Heretic/Hexen series. I've always felt they were decent games, or excellent id clones at best - with good graphics, new weapons, and a relatively cohesive plot, but they seemed somewhat uninspired. Admittedly, I am an extremely critical person when it comes to judging games; however, the general lack of breakthrough gameplay or creativity throughout most of the series left much to be desired. So when I heard that Ravensoft was developing yet another Heretic sequel, one from a third-person perspective no less, I wasn't exactly jumping up and down with joy about its prospects.

But one uneventful afternoon, I decided to finally give Heretic II a try - and boy was in for a surprise. (Too many) pizzas, cokes, and coffees later, I was still completely immersed in this one-of-a-kind game. Heretic II is only the second single player game in the past two years that I have played from start to finish. (The first being Half-Life) I think that says a lot about its gameplay, and what an incredible job Ravensoft has done. But before I rave about the game to the point that you'd expect Corvus to reach out of your monitor and grab you, let me get started on the review.

Simply stunning

New shades of green

The Heretic

If you've been following the Heretic series, you know you play Corvus, a tall, strapping young lad of the Sidhe race, sporting pointy, elfin ears and a slender body, much akin to his race's features. His years spent in the Outer Worlds have molded our hero into a tough mofo', forcing him to learn the hard way how to survive behind enemy lines. After years away, he finally finds his way back to home sweet home… but alas if only that were the end. It turns out an evil horde has been spreading a manifested plague throughout the land, infecting his people and turning them into blood-hungry zombies. He must find a way to stop this madness. His mastery of magic and his trusty pseudo axe-staff have taken him this far, and now it's up to you to take him the rest of the way.