<s>
Hexen	B-Application
:	I-Application
Beyond	I-Application
Heretic	I-Application
is	O
a	O
fantasy	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Raven	O
Software	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
id	O
Software	O
through	O
GT	O
Interactive	O
on	O
October	O
30	O
,	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
indirect	O
sequel	O
to	O
1994	O
's	O
Heretic	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
in	O
Raven	O
Software	O
's	O
"	O
Serpent	O
Riders	O
"	O
trilogy	O
,	O
which	O
culminated	O
with	O
Hexen	B-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
title	O
comes	O
from	O
the	O
German	O
noun	O
Hexen	B-Application
,	O
which	O
means	O
"	O
witches	B-Device
"	O
,	O
and/or	O
the	O
verb	O
hexen	B-Application
,	O
which	O
means	O
"	O
to	O
cast	O
a	O
spell	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hexen	B-Application
:	I-Application
Beyond	I-Application
Heretic	I-Application
met	O
with	O
highly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
upon	O
release	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
various	O
1997	O
console	O
ports	O
were	O
negatively	O
received	O
because	O
of	O
problems	O
with	O
frame	O
rate	O
and	O
controls	O
and	O
the	O
aging	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
tale	O
of	O
Sparil	O
's	O
defeat	O
in	O
Heretic	B-Application
,	O
Hexen	B-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
another	O
realm	O
,	O
Cronos	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
besieged	O
by	O
the	O
second	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
Serpent	O
Riders	O
,	O
Korax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
new	O
series	O
feature	O
introduced	O
in	O
Hexen	B-Application
is	O
the	O
choice	O
of	O
three	O
character	O
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hexen	B-Application
introduces	O
"	O
hub	O
"	O
levels	O
to	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
wherein	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
travel	O
back	O
and	O
forth	O
between	O
central	O
hub	O
levels	O
and	O
connected	O
side	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
inventory	O
system	O
returns	O
from	O
Heretic	B-Application
with	O
several	O
new	O
items	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Disc	O
of	O
Repulsion	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
pushes	O
enemies	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
Icon	O
of	O
the	O
Defender	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
provides	O
invincibility	O
to	O
each	O
class	O
in	O
a	O
different	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Heretic	B-Application
,	O
Hexen	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
on	O
NeXTSTEP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hexen	B-Application
uses	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Doom	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
which	O
allows	O
looking	O
up	O
and	O
down	O
,	O
network	O
play	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
eight	O
players	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
choice	O
of	O
three	O
character	O
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
previous	O
games	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
relied	O
purely	O
on	O
General	O
MIDI	O
for	O
music	O
,	O
Hexen	B-Application
is	O
also	O
able	O
to	O
play	O
tracks	O
from	O
a	O
CD	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
own	O
CD	B-Device
contained	O
a	O
soundtrack	O
in	O
an	O
audio	O
format	O
that	O
was	O
exactly	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
the	O
MIDI	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
but	O
played	O
through	O
a	O
high-quality	O
sound	O
module	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
Doom	B-Application
engine	I-Application
uses	O
the	O
binary	O
space	O
partitioning	O
system	O
for	O
rendering	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
enable	O
moving	O
walls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hexens	B-Application
moving	O
walls	O
are	O
actually	O
one-sided	O
lines	O
built	O
somewhere	O
else	O
on	O
the	O
map	O
and	O
rendered	O
at	O
the	O
desired	O
start	O
spot	O
when	O
the	O
level	O
is	O
loaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
Doom	O
,	O
Doom	O
II	O
,	O
and	O
Heretic	B-Application
rely	O
on	O
lines	O
within	O
the	O
maps	O
to	O
perform	O
simple	O
actions	O
,	O
Hexen	B-Application
also	O
allows	O
these	O
actions	O
to	O
be	O
activated	O
by	O
Action	B-Language
Code	I-Language
Script	I-Language
(	O
ACS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
scripts	O
use	O
a	O
syntactic	O
variant	O
of	O
C	B-Language
,	O
thus	O
allowing	O
special	O
sequencing	O
of	O
game	O
actions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
11	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
for	O
Hexen	B-Application
was	O
released	O
by	O
Raven	O
Software	O
under	O
a	O
license	O
that	O
granted	O
rights	O
to	O
non-commercial	O
use	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
re-released	O
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
GPL-2.0-only	I-License
on	O
September	O
4	O
,	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
different	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
AmigaOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
(	O
including	O
eComStation	B-Device
and	O
ArcaOS	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hexen	B-Application
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
many	O
Doom	O
source	O
ports	O
;	O
Hexens	B-Application
features	O
are	O
also	O
compatible	O
with	O
Doom	O
WADs	O
made	O
for	O
source	O
ports	O
regardless	O
of	O
what	O
game	O
they	O
are	O
being	O
played	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
Heretic	B-Application
,	O
some	O
songs	O
in	O
Hexen	B-Application
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
MIDI	O
versions	O
,	O
had	O
higher-quality	O
versions	O
on	O
CD	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
playing	O
in	O
CD-audio	O
mode	O
,	O
songs	O
absent	O
from	O
CD	B-Device
would	O
be	O
replaced	O
by	O
some	O
existing	O
CD	B-Device
tracks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hexen	B-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
,	O
all	O
released	O
by	O
GT	O
Interactive	O
during	O
the	O
first	O
half	O
of	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Probe	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
has	O
the	O
FMV	O
scenes	O
and	O
Red	O
Book	O
audio	O
music	O
from	O
the	O
PC	O
CD-ROM	O
version	O
,	O
but	O
no	O
multiplayer	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
port	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
beta	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
PC	O
version	O
of	O
Hexen	B-Application
as	O
many	O
gameplay	O
tweaks	O
are	O
shared	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
simpler	O
level	O
design	O
and	O
the	O
Fighter	O
's	O
weapons	O
being	O
weaker	O
compared	O
to	O
other	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
version	O
,	O
also	O
developed	O
by	O
Probe	O
,	O
inherits	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
restrictions	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
simplified	O
scenery	O
architecture	O
and	O
the	O
downgraded	O
lighting	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
does	O
feature	O
improvements	O
in	O
certain	O
aspects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
this	O
port	O
shares	O
the	O
FMV	O
scenes	O
and	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
Redbook	O
audio	O
music	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
CD-ROM	O
versions	O
,	O
it	O
also	O
includes	O
some	O
new	O
music	O
tracks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Software	O
Creations	O
,	O
retains	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
graphical	O
quality	O
and	O
scenery	O
architecture	O
,	O
has	O
a	O
consistent	O
frame	O
rate	O
,	O
and	O
includes	O
high	O
detail	O
and	O
smooth	O
filtering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
cartridge	B-Device
storage	I-Device
limitations	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
PC	O
floppy	O
version	O
and	O
lacks	O
the	O
FMV	O
scenes	O
and	O
Redbook	O
audio	O
music	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
CD-ROM	O
version	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
has	O
new	O
narrative	O
introductions	O
to	O
the	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Deathkings	O
of	O
the	O
Dark	O
Citadel	O
is	O
an	O
official	O
expansion	O
pack	O
that	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Hexen	B-Application
on	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
Shadow	O
of	O
the	O
Serpent	O
Riders	O
expansion	O
pack	O
for	O
Heretic	B-Application
,	O
it	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
purchased	O
in	O
retail	O
stores	O
or	O
by	O
mail	O
order	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Deathkings	O
of	O
the	O
Dark	O
Citadel	O
,	O
unlike	O
Shadow	O
of	O
the	O
Serpent	O
Riders	O
,	O
was	O
not	O
packaged	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
both	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
purchased	O
separately	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
expansion	O
would	O
not	O
work	O
without	O
already	O
having	O
Hexen	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heretic	B-Application
and	O
Hexen	B-Application
shipped	O
a	O
combined	O
total	O
of	O
roughly	O
1	O
million	O
units	O
to	O
retailers	O
by	O
August	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewing	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
,	O
Maximum	O
remarked	O
that	O
Hexen	B-Application
sets	O
itself	O
apart	O
from	O
other	O
"	O
3D	O
slashers	O
"	O
with	O
its	O
selection	O
of	O
characters	O
and	O
novel	O
approach	O
to	O
level	O
design	O
,	O
which	O
"	O
leads	O
to	O
your	O
character	O
choosing	O
their	O
path	O
rather	O
than	O
being	O
guided	O
around	O
a	O
rather	O
linear	O
series	O
of	O
rooms	O
,	O
proving	O
that	O
3D	O
games	O
have	O
matured	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
reviewer	O
for	O
Next	O
Generation	O
opined	O
that	O
"	O
Hexen	B-Application
takes	O
everything	O
that	O
was	O
good	O
about	O
Heretic	B-Application
,	O
and	O
makes	O
it	O
even	O
better.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Chris	O
Hudak	O
,	O
citing	O
the	O
differing	O
abilities	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
playable	O
characters	O
,	O
called	O
Hexen	B-Application
"	O
Slicker	O
,	O
smarter	O
and	O
more	O
stylish	O
than	O
Doom---with	O
all	O
the	O
killing	O
and	O
three	O
times	O
the	O
replay	O
value.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Games	O
Strategy	O
Plus	O
named	O
Hexen	B-Application
the	O
best	O
"	O
First-Person	O
Action	O
"	O
title	O
of	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
1995	O
"	O
Action	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
Crusader	B-Application
:	I-Application
No	I-Application
Remorse	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
was	O
far	O
less	O
well	O
received	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
review	O
in	O
Next	O
Generation	O
of	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
reasoned	O
that	O
,	O
"	O
Like	O
oil	O
and	O
water	O
,	O
Doom-style	O
games	O
and	O
console	O
conversions	O
do	O
n't	O
mix	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reviewer	O
recommended	O
Saturn	B-Device
owners	O
instead	O
try	O
PowerSlave	B-Application
or	O
Ghen	B-Application
War	I-Application
,	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
specifically	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Others	O
described	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
port	O
as	O
an	O
exact	O
conversion	O
,	O
and	O
argued	O
the	O
problem	O
was	O
simply	O
that	O
Hexen	B-Application
was	O
too	O
old	O
a	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
console	O
in	O
1997	O
without	O
any	O
improvements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
they	O
disagreed	O
on	O
exact	O
reasons	O
,	O
most	O
critics	O
agreed	O
that	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
suffers	O
from	O
pixelated	O
graphics	O
,	O
dramatic	O
drops	O
in	O
frame	O
rate	O
,	O
and	O
cumbersome	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scary	O
Larry	O
of	O
GamePro	O
gave	O
it	O
a	O
mixed	O
review	O
,	O
summarizing	O
that	O
"	O
although	O
it	O
does	O
n't	O
live	O
up	O
to	O
PowerSlaves	B-Application
standards	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
still	O
decent	O
fun.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
Broady	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
gave	O
a	O
slightly	O
more	O
dismal	O
assessment	O
:	O
"	O
Despite	O
these	O
glaring	O
deficiencies	O
,	O
Hexen	B-Application
nonetheless	O
offers	O
enough	O
enhancements	O
over	O
the	O
standard	O
shooter	O
to	O
warrant	O
a	O
rental	O
,	O
especially	O
for	O
fans	O
of	O
role-playing	O
games	O
who	O
thirst	O
for	O
real-time	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
for	O
the	O
rest	O
,	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Hexen	B-Application
is	O
a	O
classic	O
game	O
of	O
too	O
little	O
and	O
too	O
late.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Rich	O
Leadbetter	O
of	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
and	O
James	O
Price	O
of	O
Saturn	B-Device
Power	O
defended	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
,	O
although	O
not	O
outstanding	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
far	O
superior	O
to	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Doom	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
at	O
roughly	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
also	O
left	O
most	O
critics	O
unimpressed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
four-player	O
mode	O
was	O
praised	O
as	O
an	O
unprecedented	O
feature	O
in	O
console	O
first	O
person	O
shooters	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
graphics	O
were	O
considered	O
unacceptably	O
poor	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
frame	O
rate	O
and	O
the	O
usage	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
's	O
mip-mapping	O
and	O
anti-aliasing	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
which	O
actually	O
worsened	O
the	O
visuals	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
,	O
some	O
critics	O
opined	O
that	O
Hexen	B-Application
was	O
too	O
dated	O
by	O
this	O
time	O
to	O
be	O
receiving	O
a	O
straightforward	O
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
dissenting	O
opinion	O
,	O
Scary	O
Larry	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
Although	O
not	O
as	O
polished	O
as	O
Turok	B-Application
or	O
as	O
fun	O
and	O
creepy	O
as	O
Doom	B-Application
64	I-Application
,	O
Hexen	B-Application
gives	O
you	O
three	O
characters	O
to	O
choose	O
from	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
action	O
's	O
addicting	O
once	O
you	O
get	O
into	O
it.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
gave	O
it	O
higher	O
scores	O
than	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
in	O
every	O
category	O
except	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
was	O
even	O
more	O
negatively	O
received	O
;	O
critics	O
universally	O
panned	O
the	O
port	O
for	O
its	O
poor	O
frame	O
rate	O
,	O
pixelated	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
sloppy	O
platform-jumping	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthlys	O
1998	O
Video	O
Game	O
Buyer	O
's	O
Guide	O
named	O
Hexen	B-Application
the	O
1997	O
"	O
Game	O
that	O
Should	O
've	O
Stayed	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
"	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
while	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
ports	O
,	O
all	O
three	O
were	O
poor	O
conversions	O
,	O
and	O
Hexen	B-Application
was	O
too	O
old	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
they	O
were	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
