<s>
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
a	O
dark	O
fantasy	O
action-adventure	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Raven	O
Software	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Activision	O
in	O
1998	O
continuing	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
Corvus	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
character	O
from	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
Heretic	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
fourth	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Hexen	B-Application
:	I-Application
Beyond	I-Application
Heretic	I-Application
series	O
and	O
comes	O
after	O
the	O
"	O
Serpent	O
Rider	O
"	O
trilogy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Id	O
Software	O
owns	O
the	O
publishing	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
titles	O
,	O
Heretic	B-Application
2	I-Application
is	O
owned	O
by	O
Activision	O
since	O
they	O
own	O
Raven	O
Software	O
and	O
its	O
IPs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
modified	O
Quake	B-Application
II	I-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
the	O
game	O
features	O
a	O
mix	O
of	O
a	O
third-person	O
camera	O
with	O
a	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
's	O
action	B-Application
,	O
making	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
gaming	O
experience	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
progressive	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
a	O
controversial	O
design	O
decision	O
among	O
fans	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
,	O
a	O
well-known	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
Doom	B-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
Heretic/Hexen	O
video	O
game	O
that	O
is	O
unrelated	O
to	O
id	O
Software	O
,	O
apart	O
from	O
its	O
role	O
as	O
engine	O
licenser	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
Linux	B-Application
by	O
Loki	O
Software	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
by	O
Hyperion	B-Operating_System
Entertainment	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Macintosh	B-Application
by	O
MacPlay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Corvus	O
,	O
the	O
protagonist	O
of	O
the	O
first	B-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
is	O
forced	O
to	O
flee	O
his	O
hometown	O
of	O
Silverspring	O
after	O
the	O
infected	O
attack	O
him	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
before	O
he	O
is	O
infected	O
himself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
previous	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Heretic/Hexen	O
series	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
,	O
players	O
control	O
Corvus	O
from	O
a	O
camera	O
fixed	O
behind	O
him	O
in	O
the	O
third-person	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
games	O
invite	O
comparison	O
with	O
their	O
respective	O
game	O
engine	O
namesake	O
:	O
the	O
original	O
Heretic	B-Application
was	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
Doom	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
built	O
using	O
the	O
Quake	B-Application
II	I-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
later	O
known	O
as	O
id	B-Application
Tech	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
favorably	O
received	O
at	O
release	O
because	O
it	O
took	O
a	O
different	O
approach	O
to	O
its	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
Tomb	B-Application
Raider	I-Application
series	O
,	O
Raven	O
Software	O
decided	O
to	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Quake	B-Application
II	I-Application
engine	I-Application
to	O
create	O
a	O
third-person	O
action	B-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
add	O
to	O
complications	O
,	O
they	O
needed	O
a	O
software	O
renderer	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
game	O
playable	O
to	O
16-bit	B-Device
users	O
(	O
especially	O
in	O
Europe	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
animations	O
were	O
done	O
using	O
Softimage	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
static	O
world	O
objects	O
and	O
simplified	O
animations	O
were	O
done	O
with	O
3D	B-Language
Studio	I-Language
Max	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Activision	O
's	O
Steve	O
Felsen	O
blamed	O
this	O
performance	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
design	O
:	O
he	O
noted	O
that	O
"	O
fans	O
of	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
—	O
the	O
target	O
audience	O
for	O
this	O
game	O
—	O
stayed	O
away	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
third-person	O
perspective	O
"	O
.Next	O
Generation	O
reviewed	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
three	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
has	O
a	O
lot	O
going	O
for	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
easily	O
earns	O
it	O
space	O
on	O
the	O
shelf	O
with	O
the	O
heavy	O
hitters	O
this	O
season	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
also	O
serves	O
as	O
a	O
reminder	O
to	O
all	O
that	O
every	O
aspect	O
of	O
game	O
design	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
pushed	O
if	O
you	O
want	O
your	O
project	O
to	O
truly	O
stand	O
out	O
"	O
.Edge	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
its	O
mixture	O
of	O
platform	O
and	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
action	B-Application
,	O
saying	O
that	O
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
different	O
enough	O
to	O
stand	O
out	O
from	O
both	O
first-person	O
and	O
third-person	O
games	O
like	O
id	O
Software	O
's	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
or	O
Core	O
Design	O
's	O
Tomb	B-Application
Raider	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
1998	O
"	O
Best	O
Action	B-Application
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
Battlezone	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
editors	O
wrote	O
that	O
Heretic	B-Application
II	I-Application
"	O
proved	O
that	O
the	O
Quake	B-Application
II	I-Application
engine	I-Application
could	O
work	O
in	O
a	O
third-person	O
game	O
and''	O
that	O
a	O
spell-casting	O
,	O
shirtless	O
elf	O
could	O
actually	O
kick	O
ass	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
