Heretic (DOS)

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Description

The world has been attacked by the three Serpent Riders from the Abyss. Their mysterious power makes people obey and follow them like sheep. Only the ancient Sidhe elves are immune to the Riders' influence, which led to them being branded heretics. With most of their work done, the two elder Riders leave, leaving only D'Sparil, the youngest and weakest Rider, behind to oversee the oppression. He sends the armies of the Seven Kings against the Sidhe, who have no choice but to extinguish the Seven Candles, vanquishing the armies. The retribution is swift and hard, and most of the elves are destroyed. Now, one of the last remaining Sidhe must take the fight to D'Sparil himself, being the only hope his world has left.

Heretic is the first game in the Heretic / Hexen franchise. It uses the engine from id Software's DOOM and transplants that game's first person shooter gameplay into a fantasy setting.

Like DOOM, Heretic consists of three distinct episodes, playable in any order, the first being available as shareware. The hunt for D'Sparil begins in the City of the Damned, continues in the alternate dimension of the Hell's Maw and comes to an end in The Dome of D'Sparil. Every episode consists of nine levels, one of them a hidden one. The goal in each level is to find the exit, killing everything standing in one's way. Keys must be found and buttons pressed to advance. Enemies include gargoyles, golems, undead knights, sorcerers, ophidian beasts and more. Most enemies exist in several varieties: some have additional range attacks, others have ghost forms and are impervious to certain weapons.

The weapon arsenal is large and varied: the basic weapons are a wooden staff and the Elvenwand that shoots low-damage magic bullets. More powerful equipment must be found: the Ethereal Crossbow dispenses a spread of arrows doing high damage, but at a low firing rate. The Dragon's Claw and Hellstaff shoot with a higher frequency: the Claw hits enemies instantly, the Staff's energy bullets need to travel to them first. The Phoenix Rod fires explosive charges and must be handled with care. The Firemace unleashes steel metal projectiles that bounce across the room towards the enemy. A better melee weapon than the wooden staff are the Gauntlets of the Necromancer, which dispense deadly energy.

Heretic goes beyond DOOM in certain aspects. The engine has been enhanced with the ability to look up and down and the ability to fly, and wind currents pushing the player in (often unwanted) directions have been added. Also new is an inventory system. Many different power-ups can be collected and then be used at the correct time. These include health flasks, invisibility and invincibility upgrades, time bombs, and torches to light dark rooms. The Morph Ovum transforms enemies into chickens for easier dispatching, the Wings of Wrath allow one to fly, and the Tome of Power gives all weapons a substantial upgrade: projectiles become more powerful or split up upon impact; the Phoenix Rod becomes a flamethrower and the Gauntlets remove life force from an enemy and transfer it to the player.

Heretic includes the same multiplayer options as DOOM: both cooperative team play and competitive deathmatch are included.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: id Tech 1
• Fantasy Creatures: Elves
• Gameplay feature: Auto-mapping
• Gameplay feature: Recordable replays
• Heretic and Hexen series

User Reviews

Doom + medieval scenery = Heretic	Sir Gofermajster (493)
Fantasy Doom? What more could a fantasy/action devotee ask for?	Kalirion (667)	unrated
Either an outstanding Doom mod or a really cheap stand-alone game	Maw (884)	unrated
A masterpiece created with the Doom engine, but isn't it really just a Doom clone?	Medicine Man (374)
A medieval Doom with boring weapons	Optimus (83)
Innovative and original 'shoot-em-up' game in very imaginative environments	Derek Reker (2)	unrated
A decent and fun game.	Tomer Gabel (4646)	unrated

Critic Reviews

Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Mar, 1995		100
PC Hemma	Mar, 1995		100
Score	Jan, 1995	89 out of 100	89
PC Joker	Jan, 1995	85 out of 100	85
Power Unlimited	Apr, 1995	8.3 out of 10	83
Just Games Retro	Jun 14, 2009		80
Gameplay (Benelux)	Apr, 1995	78 out of 100	78
PC Player (Germany)	Feb, 1995	77 out of 100	77
Excalibur	Feb, 1995	71 out of 100	71
All Game Guide	1998		70

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Macintosh	11	leilei (329) Dec 15, 2010

Trivia

Awards

• Computer Gaming World
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #3 Best Way To Die In Computer Gaming (being turned into a chicken)