Heretic II

Heretic II
Cover art by Brom
Developer(s)
Raven Software
Publisher(s)Activision
Director(s)Brian Pelletier
Producer(s)Steve Stringer
Designer(s)Jon Zuk
Programmer(s)Patrick J. Lipo
Artist(s)Brian Pelletier
Composer(s)Kevin Schilder
EngineQuake II engine
Platform(s)Windows, Linux, AmigaOS, Mac OS
ReleaseWindows
Linux
  • NA: November 15, 1999
Amiga
  • NA: May 8, 2000
Mac OS
  • NA: January 1, 2002
Genre(s)Action, third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Heretic II is a dark fantasy action-adventure game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in November 1998 continuing the story of Corvus, the main character from its predecessor, Heretic. It is the fourth game in the Hexen: Beyond Heretic series and comes after the "Serpent Rider" trilogy. Although Id Software owns the publishing rights to the previous titles, Heretic 2 is owned by Activision since they own Raven Software and its IPs.

Using a modified Quake II engine, the game features a mix of a third-person camera with a first-person shooter's action, making for a new gaming experience at the time. While progressive, this was a controversial design decision among fans of the original game,[3] a well-known first-person shooter built on the Doom engine. The music was composed by Kevin Schilder. Gerald Brom contributed conceptual work to characters and creatures for the game.[4] This is the only Heretic/Hexen video game that is unrelated to id Software, apart from its role as engine licenser.

Heretic II was later ported to Linux by Loki Software, to the Amiga by Hyperion Entertainment,[5] and Macintosh by MacPlay.[6]

  1. ^ "Britain's Biggest Choice of Software". Evening Standard. December 4, 1998. p. 204. Retrieved June 11, 2023. Heretic II...Out Today...inc. vat £34.99
  2. ^ "New Releases". GameSpot. November 24, 1998. Archived from the original on June 6, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  3. ^ Blevins, Tal (November 25, 1998). "Heretic II - IGN". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  4. ^ Kenson, Stephen (October 1999). "Profiles: Brom". Dragon (#264). Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast: 112.
  5. ^ Heretic II for Amiga - Technical Requirements.
  6. ^ "Macplay". Macplay.com. Archived from the original on 2003-04-19. Retrieved 2013-02-10.