Heretic II
One of the most important aspects of a 3D game is the player physics. It has to pull you in and make you feel like you are in the game. When you hit that button to jump, your mind expects something...and if the game doesn't deliver, the effect is lost and you're off playing Quake or Half Life. Heretic 2 delivers. Coming from the Quake world, a third person perspective can be a bit strange. The only game I've ever played (and liked) that had the same feel was Tomb Raider 2. Let's just say I have a new favorite.
The physics in Heretic 2 are very good. My only complaint concerns the strafing movement. It's a bit jerky, and from a third person view you can see the player struggling to go both forward and sideways. But aside from that, player movement is incredible. You can execute amazing moves like a rolling tumble, a sideways jump and a back flip. Moves that would make for some great post deathmatch stories in multiplayer.
For the most part, the monster AI was pretty weak. I didn't meet a single monster I couldn't kill with just a few balls of fire or swipes with my blue magic scythe thingy. (sorry don't know what it's called :) But that's ok since there is a multiplayer aspect to the game and killing or outsmarting a real person is always better than a bot.
The story line also left a bit to be desired. I found myself oftentimes not knowing where I should be going or what I was supposed to be looking for... I just wandered around until a door opened or I found a key, killing monsters as I went and admiring the visuals.
But what visuals. It's hard to believe that this is the same engine used for Quake2. The color was much better, the animations were better, it felt more real. As I wandered through towns and dungeons I noticed the lifelike flame, the billowing tapestries. Pretty sweet.
So what do you get to play with in this game? A ton of spells, magic staffs, incredible bow and arrow combos and a blue scythe thingy :) Overall some cool weapons. The only thing it's missing is a deadly precision weapon for multiplayer (at least I didn't see one). Call me old fashioned but I'll take a railgun anyday.
I'm a major fan of the D&D flavor games and this one fills the void well. Add to that great physics, great visuals and multiplayer support and you've got a great game.
You can also go here for some killer screenshots of the game in action! Overall, this game has great potential. It looks good and feels good and that's what's important. Why would you want to play it? Well, it won't replace Q3 for multiplayer but it would be great if you wanted to be immersed in the whole mythical and magical environment. It has a single player mode which is great for just running around and solving puzzles or playing with spells and things of old.