Hexen 2 Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus

Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus - to give this new add-on pack its full title - is another 3D-modelled ride through Quake territory, with a swordsand-sorcery bent, hub levels and character-specific weapons. Those of you who liked the original Hexen II will love Portals of Praevus. For starters a new character class - the Demoness - has been introduced, with new modes of attack (including one called Tempest's Staff which acts a bit like a BFG) and the innate ability to fly (read: 'float'). There arc more enemies, including minotaurs and panther-like knights, and more scenery to blow up. Being the 'Tibetan Hub' of Hexen II, Portal of Praevus carries on from the nonsense story of the first game and into snowier climes, as the player heads off to end a frosty curse found lying at the end of 15 new singleplayer levels. The graphics, especially in 3Dfx, are gorgeous, and the atmosphere created by the textures and soundtrack is very credible. Sadly, the game lacks 'backbone'. There's a lack of real purpose or immersion. Portal also seems slightly dated in terms of scripting and game design. It's fun blasting furniture for a while, but you end up wishing Raven had turned Hexen into an RPG instead.