Witchaven II: Blood Vengeance (1996)
Capstone Software
Click here for an overview of both Witchaven games.
While Capstone Software got into the game development business with gambling simulators and platformers, they're mostly known for their series of extremely middling shooters, often piggybacking off the popularity of more well-known titles (which, to be fair, was quite common in the wild and woolly days of "Doom clones," and many of these also-rans have achieved cult status in their own right.) Operation Body Count and Corridor 7 were both relative stinkers compared to Wolfenstein 3D, of which they licensed the engine. Their next two titles, William Shatner's TekWar and Witchaven, were a one-two punch of ambitious mediocrity that utilized Ken Silverman's infamous Build engine, licensed from 3D Realms (née Apogee Software) which was using it to power their upcoming Duke Nukem 3D. This was actually a little bit of a leap forward for them, despite the relatively limited capabilities of the earlier engine version these titles used. By the time Witchaven II: Blood Vengeance rolled around, the engine was much more in line with Duke 3D, with sloped floors and other effects. The fact that Witchaven ever got a sequel in the first place, however, is probably an indicator of the first game's success, that in spite of its jank it achieved its goals and is deserving of its cult status. Or maybe fantasy-loving PC gamers of the 1990s just had no taste. Probably both.
Witchaven II on paper is exactly what it promises: more Witchaven. It looks the same, plays the same, but has a more advanced engine and some new features. So in practice it should be even better, but I'm sorry to say that it really, really isn't.
Much of the game mechanics of the first game remain, of course. The magic and weapon systems are almost identical, with the additional feature of weapon enchantment: find magical wells that dot the dungeons and you can enhance your weapons to do more damage, but it seems to have the unfortunate side effect of decreasing your weapons' durability. (What's even the point, then?) The leveling system has been simplified, now leveling up every set amount of experience points, and the level lock for spells has been removed (probably because it made more sense to carry over the ability to use them from the previous game.) Most of the enemies have been swapped out for new ones, though a few remain like ogres (rather rare) and guardians (new graphics, and starring in the game's amusing installation program.)
The main problem with Witchaven II lies in the level design, which is somehow worse than the original despite being only fifteen levels, and in the combat, which is definitely worse. Most of the new enemies are barbarian types in goofy-looking armor (like Illwhyrin from the previous game, the new guys are photosourced; in this case I suspect one of the game's artists, Kurt Laifatt did the portrayal.) There's also a weird, ugly looking little "imp" creature that replaces the previous game's spiders and can poison you. There's also the final boss, another witch (Illwhyrin's sister) named Cirae-Argoth for some reason and played, I'm pretty sure, by assistant producer Katheryn Gangi. The main problem is that the enemies all have high HP; the going rumor is that their stats were boosted for testing purposes, but the game was rushed out the door before the devs had time to change them back. So right away from the very first level you're going to be struggling against weird dudes in golden fetish armor whaling on you while taking a ton of punishment. I guess if they're dressed like that they're used to a little pain. Will-o-wisps return too, but they're far less of a threat this time, with the level drain ability removed and their HP reduced significantly.
Ultimately, I'm just glad it's done. I think if nothing else, Witchaven II (and its predecessor) serve a purpose in that they're something to look at to know what not to do, but I must admit that they both have a certain charm to them. Rarely does a game date itself so instantly like this -- these games are as 1990s as 1990s gets.
And hey, sometimes that's what people want.
Level 1: Antechamber of Asmodeus
So right away we can see that the engine's had a few upgrades with the cool skull face that you enter to start the level proper. Your enemies are mostly barbarians and they are tough as hell. The main temple complex mostly relies on step-plates to open doors, an annoying feature. Find a way into the eastern yard though and you'll see Will-o-wisps (!!) and other bullshit guarding the church. Yikes!
Level 2: Halls of Ragnoth
This one's a little more sensible, but just a little. It's a mostly blocky series of rooms that has you working your way southwest to get keys. You'll want to watch your step here as nearly every ray of light, especially in the main T-section hallway, triggers a poison dart trap. You can crouch-walk to dodge it all, of course, but it's silly.
Level 3: Loki's Tomb
A more naturalistic level set in a volcanic canyon sort of area, this one has you visiting various caves and temple-like places. It drops you into a swamp, annoyingly enough, but if you've still got a flight spell active from when you were trying to get the nuke scroll hovering over the exit, you can bypass this and indeed just fly through most of the level until you can get a more secure footing. Other than that, not the most exciting level.
Level 4: Forsaken Realm
Ugh, this one's annoying. The opening area with the big skull design on the wall and the slightly boardwalk-y platform over water gives the sense of some kind of pirate hideout, especially with all the barbarian dudes hanging around, but it becomes clear that whoever made this level fucking loves using trip lines to seal off paths. It's bad enough with the little mini-maze behind stained glass, but towards the end it can actually trap you with no way out unless you burn a door-opening spell. Bad!
Level 5: Eye of Midian
This one starts you off in a sunken tower in the center with stairs outside moving circularly around it to the upper level surrounding the tower. The rest of the map generally revolves around this tower, as you'll be revisiting this central area repeatedly to check out the various other branches of the map. There's another spot here where you might get stuck if you don't have a flight or door-opening spell if you happen to leave the way to the black key before collecting it. Bad!
Level 6: Dungeon of Disembowlment
I hope you brought fire resistance because you're dumped in the middle of a lava lake. Bad! The rest of the level isn't so bad, divided into four quadrants (including the lava lake) with a cross-shaped pathway in between. So you've got a creepy chapel, some storage rooms, that sort of thing. The pentagram is practically right there for you to grab, but finding the key to the exit may take some doing.
Level 7: Stronghold of Chaos
This one is confusing, a mostly symmetrical series of rooms. There's three sections to the map, divided by a series of stairs. The middle section is a pair of large rooms with mirror pools and supporting columns in the middle; to the east and west are a series of rooms, accessed via these stairways, that contain various things like enemies, items, a key and the pentagram, and so on. Where it kinda falls down is that you need the black key but it requires a flight spell and possibly a fire spell to grab it safely.
Level 8: Jaws of Venom
Basically one huge circular level, divided pie-shaped into a bunch of different sections. It's pretty emblematic of a lot of Witchaven II's problems in that there's no clear direction, progress is gated behind finding the right trigger line to cross, and one of the keys is hard to find as it's behind some walls that I couldn't find the trigger for so I just wound up magicking the door open. Pretty generic-looking level as well.
Level 9: Descent into Doom
This one centers around a small, squarish, lava-filled room as the central hub. There's some interesting features here like some potions you can only reach by flying over a gap that's just slightly too large to jump, and a rather nice looking room in the south wing where you get the pentagram, but it's a level that's curiously lacking in health potions overall and enemies keep popping through stained glass to come at you.
Level 10: Hack 'N Sniff
Other than an annoying bit where you have to crawl through lava to get a key, this one's fairly straightforward. Lava is seeping up through the ground, but the most dangerous bit is going to be clearing out the pentagram room and checking out the storeroom to the south without getting fried by fireballs. A much-needed ankh will help if you can find it, but escaping the room it's in might be a bit tricky.
Level 11: Straits of Perdition
This one's kinda cool: a sprawling maze of volcanic caverns. Rivers of lava with bordering paths make up the majority of the level, though a couple of spots will require a flight spell to progress (bad!) I admire its commitment to a theme, as opposed to how all over the place much of the rest of the game is.
Level 12: Plateau of Insanity
Compared to most of the rest of the game (and the original too) this level is a breath of fresh air: a genuinely identifiable castle, with throne room, ramparts, dungeons, the whole bit. The map author makes good use of overlapping sectors and using textures to fake light sources to create a genuine sense of place. It looks good, it plays good. A joy to play.
Level 13: Crypt of Decay
While there doesn't seem to be any listing of who designed what map across either game, it's suspected that this map and the previous one were done by the same person, given their intricate, semi-realistic design. This one is set in a sprawling cave complex, and has such features as a bridge through an underground lake, a deep well, and a cute little barracks with a guard desk out front! It's pretty fun.
Level 14: Mausoleum of Madness
This one is a small cave system with a couple of constructed areas connected to it. It's not the most difficult map in the world, but it's reasonably good looking and entertaining. I like the massive, dimly lit storeroom, enemies lurking in the dark.
Level 15: Gateway into Oblivion
The final level starts you off with some bullshit that you're likely meant to use a flight spell to deal with. The next part is a small series of rooms, some of which can be ignored, culminating in a long tunnel that's difficult to navigate until you pop out into the huge clearing that's host to a massive temple. Find your way in -- the key's behind the top level -- and you're dumped into the final boss's chamber. A few nukes and fire spells will make short work of her and her goons, and you're done! Watch some ugly CGI FMVs and roll the credits.
-June <3
It begins with integrationOf new technology,
Interaction now replaced
By pixels on a screen.
The Pinnacle of Entertainment
| Operation Bodycount | Corridor 7 |
| William Shatner's TekWar | |
| Witchaven duology | |
| Witchaven | Witchaven II: Blood Vengeance |
No comments:
Post a Comment