The story of Heretic 2 picks up from the ending of Heretic 1. Corvus the main protagonist has killed the Serpant rider D'sparil who has been terrorizing the land of Parthoris. Upon returning to his homeland he discovers that his country men has been infected with the a plague that is killing them. And he himself later gets infected with the plague. This then begins his journey on finding a cure. His journey takes him through cities, jungles a desert canyons (level that reminds me of desert canyon level in Duke 3D), mines, and eventually a fortress. The diversity of the levels and locations in Heretic 2 is amazing. What is also amazing is the use of Quake 2 engine which Raven made improvements in resulting in better lighting and particle effects. I played the 25th Anniversary custom patch (v 1.07) and mod that fixes and bugs and enables better effects that enables you to play at HD resolutions like 1080P+ with 60+ FPS. The accompanying music is also have been restored that goes great with the game.
With respect to weapons that Corvus has, it includes a variety of spells and his wielding staff. It includes defensive spells which he is protected from attacks (ie spells that will remove him from an area where he is getting attacked to a slightly farther location), good for when he is under over whelming attack or a colored lighting like spheres that encircle and anyone who gets close to it will get injured. There are also offensive spells that could turn an opponent into a chicken for a brief period. These assortments of spells along with his wielding staff and other spells makes for a variety of options in dealing with opponents which was rare from your typical action game from the late 90s. The levels involves you finding doors and pushing buttons and levers or keys to access or open doors or go to the next sections of the game. Problem although is that it sometimes can be confusing and may require a great deal of exploration of the level to find what will enable you go to the next part of the game.
This with an engaging story line gives off a very Witcher like vibe to the game where you travel to different areas to find out who has cast the spell of the plague and remove it from the land of Parthoris.
So, if you even wondered what a Witcher like Action Adventure game would have looked like in the late 90s, then look no further than Heretic 2. It’s certainly one of Raven’s top 3 games it has ever made and is severely underrated.
Note: This game can be downloaded for free from the Abandonware website which includes v1.07 25th Anniversary patch.