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Breakdown of Hexen's Game Elements:
Graphics:
1 out of 5: OK, here's the deal: Hexen's graphics aren't awful, but they're poor enough to get in the way of gameplay. The walls are mip-mapped, but the textures can be hard to make out sometimes and I often found myself thinking a black splotch on a wall might be a switch or something. Almost everything that's not part of a wall is made of sprites, and these objects look and move in an incongruous way with the polygonal surroundings. The enemies are blurry when seen up close and they are poorly animated as well.
You know something is wrong with the graphics on a console game when there is an option to switch to a lower detail level to increase performance! Even with the detail low, the framerate is often choppy, creating confusion, and in my case, motion sickness :( Another odd thing is that using the control pad to look up or down results in a warped mess that is very disorientating.
Music:
3 out of 5: The instrument samples are nice, and some of the composition honestly makes you think you're watching an old Golan-Globus movie involving some medieval hero. The problem is that the music repeats often, and the almost constant high pitch violin accompaniment can induce a headache rather easily. Keep the music volume low on the options screen for optimal enjoyment.
Sound FX:
3 out of 5: This is kind of a toughie. Some of the sounds are just plain awful, others are outstanding. Some of the effects, such as the owl, cricket, or crow sound as though they're straight from a sound effects album. While there really are some great effects, these sounds are rarely heard during gameplay. What you're more likely to hear is the poor grunts and slaps of fighting enemies. With both good and bad, on the whole, the effects are average.
Play Control:
5 out of 10: The control stick can be a bit touchy. Looking up or down is disorienting, and difficult to do with pressing enemies nearby. I like holding down Z while moving to sidestep, and the use of the other buttons is OK. It can be easy to use the wrong special item, and changing items/weapons is slow. Navigating while using the map is difficult. Hexen's control is a little awkward, but it doesn't interfere with gameplay much, and it's fairly easy to adapt to after extended play. Note that I did not attempt play using the digital pad. I only used the analog setup.
Frustration Factor:
6 out of 10 (10 being the worst):The biggest point of frustration is the poor graphics. They complicate puzzle solving, jumping, and multi-player games. You could probably play through Hexen without too much frustration if you have a players guide (such as Nintendo Power) and you have lots of patience to closely examine each and every odd texture you see.
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