Not an American user?
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
- Games with officially released source code
- Heretic and Hexen series
- Protagonist: Elf
User Reviews
Critic Reviews
PC Hemma | Mar, 1995 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
100 |
Computer Gaming World (CGW) | Mar, 1995 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
100 |
PC Joker | Jan, 1995 | 85 out of 100 | 85 |
Jeuxvideo.com | Nov 12, 2013 | 17 out of 20 | 85 |
Techtite | 2000 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
80 |
Gameplay (Benelux) | Apr, 1995 | 78 out of 100 | 78 |
Power Play | Feb, 1995 | 73 out of 100 | 73 |
Excalibur | Feb, 1995 | 71 out of 100 | 71 |
All Game Guide | 1998 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
70 |
The Good Old Days (Staff Reviews only) | Apr 26, 2014 | 3 out of 6 | 50 |
Forums
Topic | # Posts | Last Post |
---|---|---|
Macintosh | 11 | leilei (339) Dec 15, 2010 |
Trivia
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) โ #3 Best Way To Die In Computer Gaming (being turned into a chicken)
John Romero (1472) added Heretic (DOS) on Apr 09, 2006
Credits (16 people)
Project Director:
Programming:
Artists:
Level Design:
Sound Effects:
Music:
Executive Producer:
Engine Programmer:
Engine Tools Programmer:
Audio Drivers:
Cover Illustration:
Package Design by:
Louis Saekow Design