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DEVELOPER
Raven/Software Creations
PUBLISHER
GT Interactive
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
Four
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 reetings,
mortal. Are you prepared to die?
In the beginning, there was Wolfenstein. As time went on, the venerable
Doom came to be, now, the 3D action/adventure genre has culminated into
such titles as Tomb Raider and Powerslave. Along the way, somewhere, was
Hexen. Being one of the first titles to add a quest element to the basic
Doom engine, Hexen was truly a cerebral exercise. Now, like Doom, it has
been ported to all of the three major home systems.
Years ago, after an elven victory over the serpent rider, D'sparil,
things seemed to be peaceful. However, the other two, more powerful, serpent
riders were sowing the seeds of destruction in other dimensions. One such
dimension was Hexen, a human dimension. This world was governed by three
organizations, the Legion, the Arcanum and the Church. The leaders of these
organizations, in order to advance their status, were given the gift of
unlife by Korax, the second of the three serpent riders. Humanity was quickly
overcome by their spell. Only Baratus, a warrior of the Legion, Daedelon,
a mage of Arcanum, and Parias, a cleric of the Church, were able to escape.
Now, they have vowed to overcome the leaders they once swore their lives
to.
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Ah... gotta love those fuzzy enemies.
This looks like Brady before his morning cup of coffee.
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The object of Hexen is to, obviously, defeat Korax. To do this, you
must, as one of the three protagonists, make your way through the many
dangerous and twisted areas of Hexen. In order to advance, you must survive
a constant onslaught of enemies, and solve many puzzles. The entire game
is played in a first person perspective, just like Doom. In fact, it's
glaringly obvious that this is where Hexen's roots lie.
Depending on which hero you choose, weapons vary. While the warrior
basically uses close combat weapons, the mage fights at a distance. The
Cleric seems to enjoy a happy medium between the two styles. Along with
these weapons, there are many items to be found, including healing potions.
This game is so much more than just a search and destroy mission, since
you really need to think, as well as experiment extensively, in order to
proceed. The four player death match and/or co-operative play is also a
bonus, even though the screen is almost impossible to see while using more
than two players.
Hexen is somewhat of a testament to the power of the N64. While almost
at par with Doom 64, keep in mind that this game is from the same people
who brought us Saturn Doom, a game that left a little to be desired. The
level design seems to be right out of the PC version, and everything is
very solid. The characters all have a decent amount of animation, and there
is very little pop-up or use of fog effects. While the game does suffer
some slight slowdown in the larger areas, it never really effects the gameplay.
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Although not unplayable, the four player game will
have you straining to follow the action. Plus, there's the ever-present
opportunity to check your opponents' screens.
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Sound effects in Hexen are crisp and clear. Mostly ambient effects,
what little music there is sounds good, for a cartridge. Like Doom, a big
part of the Hexen experience is the fact that you can hear many of your
enemies before you see them. This is a very effective way of keeping you
on edge throughout the entire game.
Although Hexen, technically, is not as impressive as Doom 64, overall,
I feel it's simply a better game. I enjoy being stuck due to a tough puzzle,
rather than because I don' t have enough ammo left in my chaingun. Offering
many hours of gameplay, Hexen is one of the better games in the N64's modest
library, and a great victory for GT Interactive.
-- Greg Sewart
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