Software:Hexen II

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Short description: 1997 video game
Hexen II
Developer(s)Raven Software
Publisher(s)id Software
Director(s)Brian Raffel
Producer(s)Steve Stringer
Designer(s)Eric C. Biessman
Programmer(s)Rick Johnson
Ben Gokey
Artist(s)Brian Pelletier
Composer(s)Kevin Schilder
EngineModified Quake engine
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • NA: September 11, 1997[2]
  • EU: September 19, 1997[1]
Portal of Praevus
  • NA: March 20, 1998
  • EU: 1998
Macintosh
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Hexen II is a dark fantasy first-person shooter (FPS) video game developed by Raven Software and published by id Software in 1997. It is the third game in the Hexen/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. Using a modified Quake engine, it features single-player and multiplayer game modes, as well as four character classes to choose from, each with different abilities. These include the "offensive" Paladin, the "defensive" Crusader, the spell-casting Necromancer, and the stealthy Assassin.

Improvements from Hexen and Quake include destructible environments, mounted weapons, and unique level up abilities. Like its predecessor, Hexen II also uses a hub system. These hubs are a number of interconnected levels; changes made in one level have effects in another. Furthermore, the Tome of Power artifact makes a return from Heretic.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Hexen II is very similar to that of the original Hexen. Instead of three classes, Hexen II features four: Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer, each with their own unique weapons and play style.[4]

Hexen II also adds certain role-playing video game elements to the mix. Each character has a series of statistics which increase as they gain experience.[5] This then causes the player character to grow in power as his or her HP and mana increases.

Plot

Thyrion is a world that was enslaved by the Serpent Riders. The two previous games in the series documented the liberation of two other worlds, along with the death of their Serpent Rider overlords. Now, the oldest and most powerful of the three Serpent Rider brothers, Eidolon, must be defeated to free Thyrion. Eidolon is supported by his four generals, themselves a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To confront each general, the player has to travel to four different continents, each possessing a distinct theme (Medieval European for Blackmarsh, Mesoamerican for Mazaera, Ancient Egyptian for Thysis, and Ancient Greece for Septimus). Then, finally, the player returns to Blackmarsh in order to confront Eidolon himself inside of his own dominion Cathedral.

Development

What was originally supposed to be the final game in a trilogy, the sequel to Hexen was originally titled Hecatomb but was abandoned after John Romero left id Software in 1996. Activision, the distributor at the time, pressured Raven Software to split development of Hecatomb into two different games, Hexen II and Heretic II. Activision felt that the previous entries in the series, Heretic and Hexen, were different enough from one another that they should treat them as separate entities going forward, instead of just one final game to complete a trilogy. Only a select few ideas of Romero's from Hecatomb would ultimately make their way into what became Hexen II and Heretic II.[6]

Hexen II was based on an enhanced version of the Quake engine.[4] Hexen II, by way of the Quake engine, uses OpenGL for 3D acceleration. However, due to the prevalence of 3dfx hardware at the time of release, the Windows version of the game installs an OpenGL ICD (opengl32.dll) designed specifically for 3dfx's hardware. This driver acts as a wrapper for the proprietary Glide API, and thus is only compatible with 3dfx hardware. Custom OpenGL drivers were also released by PowerVR and Rendition for running Hexen II with their respective (and also now defunct) products. Removal of the ICD allows the game to use the default OpenGL system library. Much of the music in this game is remixed versions of the soundtracks of Hexen and Heretic to match the hub themes.

Activision acquired the rights to publish versions of the game for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.[4][7][8] Neither port was released.

Hexen II was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007.[9]

Siege

A modification titled Siege was created and released by Raven Software in 1998 using updated QuakeWorld architecture, aptly dubbed "HexenWorld". The production concept was to eliminate a normal deathmatch environment in favor of a teamplay castle siege. The basic premise was to divide the players into two teams—attackers and defenders—with each side either assaulting or protecting the castle respectively. At the end of the time limit, whichever team controlled the crown was declared victorious. The mod featured appropriate objects used in the single-player portion of the game, namely catapults and ballistae. The classes were drastically altered with new weapons and abilities, reflecting the departure from the normal deathmatch experience presented in HexenWorld.[10]

Source release

Following the tradition from Heretic and Hexen, Raven released the source code of the Hexen II engine on November 10, 2000. This time the source was released under the GNU GPL-2.0-only, allowing source ports to be made to different platforms like Linux and the Dreamcast.[11]

Portal of Praevus

An expansion pack called Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus was released on April 1, 1998.[12] It features new levels, new enemies and a new playable character class, The Demoness. It focuses on the attempted resurrection of the three Serpent Riders by the evil wizard Praevus, and takes place in a fifth continent, Tulku, featuring a China -Tibetan setting. Unlike the original game, the expansion was not published by id Software, and as such is not currently available via digital re-releases.

The expansion features new quest items, new enemies, and new weapons for the Demoness. She is the only player class to have a ranged starting weapon (similar to the Mage class in the original Hexen), whereas all other characters start with melee weapons. It also introduced minor enhancements to the game engine, mostly related to user interface, level scripts, particle effects (rain or snow), and 3D objects. Portal of Praevus also features a secret (easter egg) skill level, with respawning monsters. The only released patch for the expansion added respawning of certain items (such as health and ammo) in Nightmare mode, so that it would be slightly easier for playing.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings84%[13]
65% (Portal of Praevus)[14]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge8/10[15]
GameSpot7.3/10[16]
8.6/10 (Portal of Praevus)[17]

Upon its release, Hexen II received mixed to positive reviews. Edge praised the game for being different from other Quake engine-based games, highlighting its inventive and interactive levels, enemy variety, and artificial intelligence. The magazine also credited the game's diversity of weapons and spells for offering different combat strategies.[15] GameSpot summarized, "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." The reviewer elaborated that while the lush, detailed environments and astoundingly animated bosses make Hexen II "one of the most beautiful games ever made", the actions needed to progress are so obscure that they are comparable to what is required to find optional secret areas in most games, forcing the player to undertake frustrating, exhaustive searches of the game's environments.[16] GamePro praised the high speed of the multiplayer sessions, the selection of character classes, and the high detail present when graphical acceleration is used. They concluded, "For replay value and sheer fun, Hexen II is going to be hard to beat; you could spend days playing through all four characters in single-player mode without even entering multiplayer battles."[18]

According to Erik Bethke, Hexen II was commercially unsuccessful, with sales slightly above 30,000 units.[19]

Spiritual successor

3D Realms announced Graven in September 2020 as a spiritual successor to Hexen II, to launch on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. The game will support both offline and online multiplayer.[20]

Reviews

References

  1. ↑ "PC World - Latest Games Now Available". Daily Record: pp. 14. September 19, 1997. https://www.newspapers.com/image/833965875/?terms=%22hexen%20ii%22&match=1. "Hexen II - Out Today" 
  2. ↑ Staff (September 11, 1997). "Releases and Mastering". PC Gamer. http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news090897.html. Retrieved December 5, 2019. 
    "...Hexen II is out..."
  3. ↑ "MacPlay announces Value Series lineup" (in en). https://www.macworld.com/article/154664/macplay-8.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Protos: Hexen II". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (94): 40. May 1997. 
  5. ↑ Boba Fatt (November 1997). "PC GamePro Preview: Hexen II". GamePro (IDG) (110): 110. 
  6. ↑ "So Busy and Yet More Birthdays". 24 February 2003. https://rome.ro/news/2016/6/3/so-busy-and-yet-more-birthdays?rq=hecatomb. 
  7. ↑ "Hexen 2 Announced for Saturn!". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (19): 8. May 1997. 
  8. ↑ "Hexen 2 Saturn bound?". Saturn Power (Future Publishing) (1): 11. June 1997. https://archive.org/details/Saturn_Power_Issue_01_1997-06_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n9. 
  9. ↑ John Keefer. "Legendary id Software games now on Steam". GameSpy. http://store.steampowered.com/news/1141/. 
  10. ↑ "Siege Information Overview". http://www.planetheretic.com/siege/siege.html. 
  11. ↑ "Hexen 2 source released". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/news/november00/hexen2/. 
  12. ↑ "News for April 1, 1998". April 1, 1998. http://ogr.com/news/news0498.html. 
    "April 1, 1998: "Several new games will be hitting stores today: ...Hexen 2 Mission Pack from Activision..."
  13. ↑ "Hexen II for PC". http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/39790-hexen-ii/index.html. 
  14. ↑ "Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus". http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/89273-hexen-ii-mission-pack-portal-of-praevus/index.html. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Hexen II". Edge (Future Publishing) (51): 90–91. November 1997. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Dulin, Ron (1997-09-22). "Hexen II Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hexen-ii-review/1900-2537637/. 
  17. ↑ Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus – GameSpot
  18. ↑ Don St. John (December 1997). "PC GamePro Review (Win 95): Hexen II". GamePro (IDG) (111): 112. 
  19. ↑ Bethke, Erik (January 25, 2003). Game Development and Production. Wordware Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 1556229518. 
  20. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 5, 2020). "3D Realms announces Graven, the spiritual successor to Hexen 2". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-09-05-3d-realms-announces-graven-the-spiritual-successor-to-hexen-2. 
  21. ↑ "Backstab Magazine (French) Issue 06". https://archive.org/details/backstab-magazine-french-06/page/n39/mode/2up. 

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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