Hexen Review

The Good Several nice features that don't fit into any particular category, but which are worth mentioning. Being a long-time Mac fan, I always like to see Mac users treated with respect. So I was very pleased to see that Hexen has a real Mac manual, written specifically for Mac users, instead of a repackaged DOS or Windows manual with all the wrong instructions. I was also very pleased that Hexen allows access to the menu bar - unlike Doom - and is multi-finder aware, letting players get back to the Finder while a game is in progress (multi-finder incompatibility has long been a pet peeve of mine).

The Bad Unfortunately, the bad is pretty bad. While Hexen has a lot of nice features, they come at a cost: the game is just terribly slow. I've been playing on a 7200, with a 320 x 240 window, graphical detail turned down, all extensions off, and the game is slow and jerky. I imagine this is due in large part to all the nifty graphical features I described earlier - they're cool, but personally, I'd rather have a faster game.
In addition, this initial release of Hexen is still very buggy. I crashed on a number of occasions while testing it, even with all extensions off. I also experienced a couple of other bugs, including graphics gone completely on the fritz one time while I was changing graphic detail levels on the fly; and failure to open saved games when using the keyboard instead of the mouse to select an "OK" button.

The Ugly Objective criticism aside, the sad fact is that for all its cool graphical features, I just find Hexen to be very ugly. The environments are predominantly gray and brown, with splotches of red and green - the same ugly palettes seen in the Doom series. I realize this is entirely a matter of taste, but I suspect that Doom fans will rejoice while people who disliked the Dooms will also dislike Hexen. And as I stated earlier, the flat, dull palettes often make it hard to distinguish depth and distance of surfaces, making the game tough to navigate and rough on the eyes.

The Network The hallmark of id - graphic, networkable violence - is present, as ever (though Hexen is not quite as bloody or grotesque as the Doom games). And of course what 3D game would be complete these days without an option for network play? Nothing like slamming your friends into little puddles of red goo on the floor. In theory, Hexen is networkable between Macs and PCs via IPX. In practice, however, the game is frustratingly slow, even across a fast network. A co-worker and I played a game - across our 10 megabit ethernet hub, me on my 7200, he on his 8100, minimal extensions at both ends, game set to 2nd smallest window size, graphical detail down - and the game was just barely playable.

The Bottom Line Hexen's improved 3D engine does indeed bring many fun new features, though it's not as revolutionary as one would hope. And despite the additional RPG elements, gameplay is still pretty much the same as it was in the Doom series. What could be a really cool game is marred by bugginess, serious speed problems, and (in my opinion) ugly artwork. If you're a Doom fan, I'm sure you'll love it, despite anything I say...otherwise, my recommendation is to save the fifty bucks and wait for Marathon Infinity, due out next month, or Duke Nuke'Em, which is also due soon for Macs and is supposed to blow everything out of the water.

The Requirements Macintosh '040 or PowerPC, System 7.1 or higher, double speed CD-ROM drive, 30MB hard disk space (optional), 12MB of RAM, 13" 256 color monitor.

[ back ]