Mit gut umgesetzten Warhammer-Setting, nettem Soundtrack und einem rundherum gelungenen Gesamtpaket. Wenn man weiß, worauf man sich einlässt. Man spürt zu jeder Zeit, dass es sich um einen B- bis AA-Titel handelt und keinen aus der Liga AAA. Dafür wiederholt sich zu vieles und sind die Mechaniken nicht ausgefeilt genug. Das Spiel kommt zu keiner Zeit an seine Vorbilder heran. Dennoch macht das Spiel Spaß. Und das ist für mich das Wichtigste.
And not only a classic Hexen II was ahead of its time in many ways. First things first: Hexen II is hardcore! There is no auto-map, not even any map at all, no auto-heal, no auto-save, and of course, no quest marker. The game is challenging and demands your full attention even to the seemingly smallest detail. But Hexen II always plays fair. It gives you plenty of hints and tips. You 'only' have to read them and keep them in mind. Sounds more straightforward than it is. You can choose between four different characters, each of them packed with four unique weaponry. So you have plenty of replay value. The art of chaining puzzles together was almost as creative as in many point-and-click-adventures. And this is an FPS game. Imagine that! There aren't any simple locking mechanisms like red and blue key cards. You have to obtain the source ingredient for an item first, process it with the matching machine, and polish it once more with another device before you get the desired object that opens the magically sealed door. Artistically, Hexen II is excellent. Of course, the visuals don't stand up to modern-day shooters. No wonder, since it is almost 25 years old. But the art design is creative, so it still holds up. The map design and soundtrack complete the dense and remarkable atmosphere. The atmosphere is so intense that I remember many details after not playing the game for at least 10, maybe even 15 years. That speaks for itself. To me, those years around the millennium turn were the golden age of FPS gaming. Many great shooters came afterward, but by far not in that quantity, quality, and short time range. And to me, Hexen II holds up to the kings of that era, like, for example, Half-Life, Unreal, or Quake. If you love FPS gaming, you have to give Hexen II a try. You will love it.
The Evil Within 1 received mixed reviews, and I was one of them who rated it as rather not that good. The horror aspect was terrifying from the start, but the gameplay itself lacked in too many ways to excite me. So here we are with part two of the series and to state the most important: the sequel is better in almost any aspect than its predecessor. The horror remains well placed, the visuals are a pleasure to look at, 'Union' is well-designed, and the story is well-presented. You have various gameplay mechanics, like stealth, crafting, weapon upgrades, and of course, shooting. But why do I rate with only three stars out of five when all of this is so impressive? Because sometimes the whole is more than the sum of its parts. And sometimes the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, for The Evil Within 2 applies the latter. It just doesn't do for me. But this is only my conclusion, and I'm sure the game does very well for others. So don't hesitate to give it a try.
I can´t believe you guys brought this game up to gog.com... You´re awesome! It´s one of my alltime favorites and I´ve played it soooo many times. Altough its straight forward with no variation the replay-value is enormous I think. Thanks a lot! :) Great gameplay, sweet graphics, nice sounds and one of the greatest control-types of all times for this kind of genre! :)
