Hexen

HeXen: Beyond Heretic (or Hexen) is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Raven Software, published by id Software, and distributed by GT Interactive beginning on October 30, 1995. It is the sequel to Heretic.

Hexen uses a modified version of the Doom engine, which allows (like in Heretic) up and down views, network play with up to 8 players and the choice of three character classes. It also popularised the "hub system" of level progression in the genre of first-person shooter games and featured some architectural elements that could move horizontally or rotate. Unlike previous games, which had relied purely on MIDI for music, Hexen could also play tracks from audio CD. Hexen extended the Doom engine in many innovative ways: larger levels, some doors that opened three-dimensionally, pulsating lights, triggered sounds, and so forth. Many fans consider Hexen to be more of an improvement on Doom than Doom's own sequel was.

The source code of Hexen was released by Raven Software in 1999.

Plot
The main goal of the game is the destruction of Korax, the second of a trio of demon brothers known as the Serpent Riders, who has taken over the world of Chronos. The first Serpent Rider, D'Sparil, was the final boss of Heretic and the third, Eidolon, would later appear in HeXen II.

Players
The three playable characters are Baratus, a Warrior; Parias, a Cleric; and Daedolon, a Mage.

Each character has four weapons, the first having unlimited ammunition, the others are powered by mana, the fourth is built by finding three different parts. There are two different types of mana; blue and green. Weapon 2 uses blue and weapon three uses green whereas weapon 4 uses both types.

The Warrior has weapons that are best used at striking range. This combined with his high strength stamina and life make him easy to power through the beginning of the game but more challenging later in the game. The warrior's ultimate weapon is the Quietus, a sword that can send out a spread of magic.

The Mage has long distance projectile magic which, though weak, can keep him away from attackers and allow him to snipe enemies. Until later in the game when flying capabilities and other spells have been collected, the mage is comparatively weak. The mage's ultimate weapon is the Bloodscourge, a staff that can send out homing fireballs.

The Cleric is well rounded and has a diverse selection of weapons and decent armouring and speed. The cleric's ultimate weapon is the Wraithverge, a cross-shaped staff that can tear apart enemies with a ghostly horde.

Hubs
Hexen also features a fully-functional hub system, which allows the player to move back and forth between maps as if they were a single large map. Hexen, the game, has five hubs:


 * Hub 1: Seven Portals
 * Hub 2: Shadow Wood
 * Hub 3: Heresiarch's Seminary
 * Hub 4: Castle of Grief
 * Hub 5: Necropolis

There are three additional hubs in the expansion pack Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel.

Trivia

 * "Hexen" is the German word for "witches".


 * v1.0 of Hexen contains an incomplete level called "Maze" that consists solely of moving walls with no exit. Its presence in the released game is almost certainly an oversight; the level was removed in the 1.1 update. The "Maze" level can only be accessed by using the cheat code "warp 41" in unpatched versions of the game.


 * In v1.0, it was possible to leave the hub Castle of Grief early. First, the player would simply turn into a pig with a projectile trap that surrounds one of the clock gears. If the player gets under the space in the river leading to the Effluvium portal, the player can simply go to Forsaken Outpost, back to Effluvium, and then Gibbet.  This makes the Axe key accessible, and practically the entire hub can be bypassed. This was an oversight by the designers, and was remedied in Version 1.1.


 * Heresiarch's Seminary contained a shortcut that was found during a speedrun of Hexen. The Orchard of Lamentations would need to be accessible before the shortcut could be attempted.  The same switch that opens the Orchard of Lamentations level also opens a set of bars.  The second set of bars have a gap that is large enough to allow the player to glide between a bar and the wall, essentially skipping the entire hub.  This shortcut is possible in both v1.0 and v1.1 of Hexen.