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.

His quest leads him through the city and swamps to a jungle palace, then through a desert canyon and insect hive, followed by a dark network of mines and finally to a castle on a high mountain where he finds an ancient Seraph named Morcalavin.

Unlike previous games in the Heretic/Hexen series, which were first-person shooters, players control Corvus from a camera fixed behind him in the third-person perspective.

While there are still three weapons the player can collect that each use their own ammo, they also have the ability to use several offensive and defensive spells that draw from pools of green and blue mana, respectively.

Melee combat is also more varied, with the ability to perform several attacks using Corvus' bladestaff and cut off the limbs of enemies, rendering them harmless.

Players are also able to utilize magical shrines throughout the game that grant a variety of effects upon use, such as silver or gold armor, a temporary boost in health, a permanent enhancement to the bladestaff, etc.

[9] Inspired by the Tomb Raider series, Raven Software decided to make use of the Quake II engine to create a third-person action game.

Activision's Steve Felsen blamed this performance on the game's design: he noted that "fans of first-person shooters—the target audience for this game—stayed away due to the third-person perspective".

It easily earns it space on the shelf with the heavy hitters this season, but it also serves as a reminder to all that every aspect of game design needs to be pushed if you want your project to truly stand out".