Overview:
Another hit PC title has made its way to your humble little Playstation. The basic game engine has been carried over, along with all of the action that made the PC version a success. Prepare to battle through vast levels and sub-levels, killing anything and everything that stands in your path.

The story of Hexen is two pages long and, although interesting enough, can be summed up by saying you are one of only three humans alive. You must battle your way through huge worlds and plenty of enemies to reach Korax, the Serpent rider. Beat him and turn the world around. Time to be a hero!

Gameplay:
I have heard of Hexen on the PC for quite a long time, but I don't play PC games very often. So I didn't even know what type of game it was. Was it an adventure game? A first-person shooter? A fighting game? Yes, it turns out to be all of these. Hexen is best described as a first-person adventure game that, depending on which of the three selectable characters you choose, uses more short range weapons (clubs, fists, etc.) than a typical corridor shooter. There are no plasma guns; instead, Hexen has magical staffs that shoot fire balls. The game focuses more on puzzle solving and switch tripping than all out assaults on the bad guys. Of course there are plenty of bad guys to beat up on, but this is only one aspect of the game. The gameplay reminded me of Kings Field II.

A big part of the appeal of Hexen is the ability to select from three different characters to try fulfilling the quest. Each of the three characters are quite different from one another. You can play as Baratus, a strong, fast warrior who specializes in close combat. You can also try to beat the evil Korax with Daedolon, a physically weak sorcerer. What he lacks in physical strength, however, he makes up for in magical attacks. The final character is Parias. He is a cross between the other two characters and is probably the best character to start the game with.

Before I continue on, I must issue a warning. If you do decide to purchase this game, you may as well buy another memory card that is solely for this game. A standard memory card has 15 blocks available and Hexen uses all 15. It is also not a progressive usage either. If you take one step into the game and save it, you are looking at 15 blocks. And it doesn't matter how far into the game you are, saving still takes 15 blocks. The reason I bring this up is that Hexen is a big game that, unless you really have no life, you will not finish in one sitting. You will want to save the game and come back to it.

I mentioned above that Hexen is a combination of a number of different genres. I think that the setting and combat styles give it an almost role-playing aspect. Don't get me wrong. This is not Legend of Zelda or Suikoden by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have that type of a feel. For example, each character starts the game with different strength and armor. As you progress, your armor levels increase, and you build yourself up and become stronger.

One thing I did not like about Hexen was the monotony. You will experience the old cliche "been there, done that" feeling more than once. There are quite a few new areas to be discovered, but there are also some rehashed rooms along the way. I will give credit to the developers on one large point: they open up the worlds of Hexen instead of limiting the game to dark, dank corridors.

Graphics:
From a graphics point of view, these types of games have always been rough around the edges. Hexen is no different. Pixelization is a problem as you get too close to enemies or walls. Most games hide this by dark lighting and, on occasion, Hexen does the same. On a more positive note, the enemies are all creative and do look good from a step or two back. All of the worlds look good and there was no mistaking doors or switches. If there was something you needed to interact with, it was obvious. This is not always the case in this type of game. On the whole, the graphics are about par for the course.

Bottom Line:
I enjoyed Hexen for what it was. I can't really call it anything new, even though in many respects it is. I could not really call it revolutionary, but that does not mean it is not fun. I could not call it eye candy but that does not mean that the graphics were poor. I could not really call it a bad game because it isn't.