Hexen II

So, is the game fun? It sure is, it's exactly what I have come to expect from Raven, and that is a quality of level design and inventiveness that takes the technology used and pushes it to the edge. An action game with a good engine and poor graphic and level design is still a poor game. Hexen II takes the flexible Quake engine and polishes it so that it shines. Bottom Line: Brilliant level design, lovely textures, layouts that really work. Hub design is made even more frustrating by the lack of a map function. Some fluctuations of sound exist. Serious graphic display problems in the first release may cause some frustration, get the patch.

Hexen II is the first of the new wave of Quake-based 3D shooters. Soon to follow in its wake are Quake II, Jedi Knight, Unreal, Half Life and Daikatana. And they'd better be good, because this is simply nothing short of fab.

Quake. Fun in many ways, lacking in many others. As done in the past, Raven has taken the latest id technology and put together a dandy game. As with its predecessors, Hexen 2 combines role-playing elements with the gorgeous Quake engine in a way that will please both hard-core action game fans as well as role-playing game fans. The puzzles aren't brain busters, but they are no walk in the park either. Most of them consist of finding the right number of items and placing them in the correct spot, but some puzzles go a little bit deeper, much deeper than Quake anyhow.

Znakomita gra o specyficznym klimacie i bardzo wysokiej grywalności.Dla każdego, kto na dźwięk skrótu "FPP" zaczyna łakomie przyłykać ślinę, Hexen 2 będzie wspaniałą grą na wiele wieczorów i zerwanych do świtu nocy.

Hexen II has more of what I wanted from Quake. On top of the nice visuals, there are logic-oriented puzzles, better hub integration than Hexen, four character classes, some RPG elements and a lot of personality. As a single-player 3D shooter, this one is hard to beat. The lack of modem play as a multiplayer option, the somewhat scant documentation and the underdeveloped RPG elements keep Hexen II from becoming an instant classic, but it truly didn't miss by much.

Spillet har formået at bevare Quake's gode stemning og spilbarhed, men Hexen 2 indeholder præcis så meget nytænkning, at man slipper for følelsen af, at man spiller endnu et afsnit af Quake.

Op gebied van gameplay heeft Hexen 2 niets wereldschokkend nieuws te bieden. De RPG elementen zorgen wel voor enige afwisseling, maar de aanwezige raadsels en puzzels frustreren dan weer. Grafisch is dit spel echter zo ongelooflijk mooi dat je er uren in kan ronddwalen, terwijl je alleen maar van het decor geniet. Ben je een Quake fanaat dan mag je Hexen 2 zeker niet links laten liggen want het is momenteel zonder twijfel de knapste 3D shoot'm up die je kan aanschaffen. Wil je echter iets vernieuwend dan laat Hexen 2 je een beetje op je honger zitten want op gebied van tegenstander AI en puzzel implementatie is Hexen 2 niet echt geëvolueerd op zijn voorgangers (Quake, Hexen, enz...). En dat is iets waar men toch wat meer aandacht aan had mogen besteden.

Sieć jest tu dostępna na identycznych, jak w Quake zasadach, jednak specyfika arsenału, nienajlepiej przystosowanego do walki na odległość, nie wróży popularności Quake. Z drugiej jednak strony, nie jest tragicznie, bo można fragować na odległość, a prześliczne wnętrza z pewnością skuszą wielu graczy. Mimo konkurencji ze strony innych gier 3D, Hexen II broni się doskonale. Fani jedynki i produkcji doomowatych nie będą zawiedzeni.

Flaws and all, this is easily one of the most involving and interesting first person journeys to come around since Duke Nukem 3D. It's dark, it's violent and it can be remarkably frustrating almost the whole way through. It's also a beautiful looking, well designed, challenging but never impossible and thoroughly entertaining game. If you like a little brain with your brawn this is the game for you and, we can hope, a good sign to what the future of first-person shooters is going to be.

Als Fan des ersten Hexen-Scharmützels (ja, ja, solche Leute soll es geben) fieberte ich dieser Fortsetzung entgegen. Und siehe da: Die Entwickler übernahmen die ganzen lieb gewonnenen Gegenstände vom Vorgänger, und auch die Musik erinnert an das alte Spiel. Als alter Hexer fühlte ich mich so richtig zu Hause. Jedenfalls für die ersten 15 Minuten. Holla, ist der Schwierigkeitsgrad angestiegen? Bis heute weiß ich nicht so recht, wie man dem Bogenschützen mit einer Nahkampfwaffe ohne Verlust an Lebensenergie zu Leibe rückt. Und der erste Level ist im Vergleich zu dem kommenden ein Kinderspiel.

As we march further into 2001, a title like Hexen 2 really begins to show its age. But before you brush it off completely, grab the demo, bump up the resolution, and have some fun. Playing the game at night with the lights off is definitely recommended, though don’t be surprised if you jump once or twice. Hexen 2 has great boss enemies, fun weaponry, and enough puzzles to keep you busy for quite some time. The lower system requirements will also be a bonus to those of us without G4/733's yet.

The first of the highly scrutinized "Quake killers" to hit the shelves, Hexen II delivers a mighty blow, but ultimately fails to knock the king off his throne. Make no mistake: Hexen II is a game with many strengths - its design is superior to the original Hexen, it has a significant payoff for single players winding through its twisted corridors, and visually it is without equal in the action genre. But the game's attempt to break from the standard first-person shooter mold has some nasty side effects, and the end result is a confusing and often frustratingly difficult experience.

Hexen 2 ist grundsätzlich kein schlechtes Spiel, allerdings hätte man die Rollenspiel- Komponente etwas weniger betonen können. Für Leute, die gerne drauf los ballern, ist Hexen 2 mit Sicherheit das falsche Spiel und wird schnell langweilig. Es sind viele - und teils sehr schwere - Rätsel zu lösen, das kommt nun mal bei Shooter-Fans nicht gut an. Die absolute Stärke des Games liegt in der Architektur. Nie sah die "Quake 1-Engine" besser aus.