Raven takes the third person perspective and mixes in their history as an FPS developer and managed to build something entirely unique.
#Heretic game series software#
Raven Software built a career on creating unique versions of popular genres, and the influence here is 1996’s Tomb Raider. Working in a modified version of the Quake II engine the game utilizes a third person perspective. Heretic II is probably the best example of this in the series. Raven Software proved with Heretic and Hexen that they are experts at elevating a game from a simple clone into something innovative and fresh.
The infected, including Corvus’ own brethren, are enemies as his quest to free his people from the plague does not exclude mass slaughter of those he is seeking a cure. Before reaching him, Corvus will battle a fairly standard array of Dark Fantasy enemies from rats to harpies to chickens. The big bad guy here is a fellow named Morcalavin who used a false Tome of Power, creating the plague that is ravaging Pathoris.
The serpent riders of the first three games are nowhere to be found. It serves to not only protect Corvus from the plague and power him up at key moments but as the primary narrator helping advance the story for Corvus and the player and explain what is going on.
#Heretic game series full#
The Tome in Heretic II is not just an item you pickup but a full fledged character with a voice. The plague causes insanity and Corvus himself is infected, however the Tome of Power holds the infection off. Corvus has wandered the Outer Worlds after the events of Heretic returns to his home of Parthoris to find a plague ravaging the land. Heretic II finally names the protagonist of the first Heretic as Corvus and the game features the richest and most detailed storytelling and cut scenes in the series. Activision’s Steve Felsen blamed the game on being “ahead of its time” and believes the third person perspective turned the fan base off so much that many never gave the game a chance. Heretic II was to be one of Activision’s big holiday 1998 releases and despite relatively strong critical consensus, the game did not move. The success of Heretic and Hexen were the major reasons for the purchase and the development of Heretic II was called out in the original press release announcing the sale.
It was published by Activision, the first game from Raven after being bought by the behemoth in 1997. Just under 29,000 copies left the shelf and it remains one of the hardest PC games to find, to this day. Brain Pelletier, who had been an arts lead on the previous three games led this project with Jon Zuk, who had previously developed a Hexen level pack and would go on to be a big part of the Call of Duty level design teams. Heretic II was developed by Raven Software and was the first game not to be published or associated with ID for anything but the licensing of the Quake II engine.
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