I remember when FPS were all about navigating well designed levels fighting off hordes of monsters while not really caring for much of a story. Games have evolved since then, yet Painkiller wished to stick to the old ways. Was it worth it? Or did it ruin the experience?
Story: Well here is the summary of the plot, your a guy who recently got killed in a car crash. His wife also died during the incident. His wife is now in Heaven, and he's in purgatory. Your task: Defeat Satan's generals to stop the invasion of Heaven by any means necessary. When you do this, you get to go to Heaven and see your wife. Very simple and non-elegant story.
Gameplay: In Painkiller you will run from room to room fighting off hordes of demonic enemies with five different weapons. Each weapon does have a secondary function. This highly increases the variety of gameplay. The physics engine in this game is dated, yet it works well. The game is a FPS if you haven't already guessed, and it was made in 2004. The gameplay is much like the original FPS such as , Quake, Duke Nukem and Doom. You will get the most enjoyment from the gameplay aspect of the game. Oh, and did I mention the massive bosses this game has? It has a couple in here that are probably the biggest FPS bosses you have EVER seen. Seriously. Yet they are not intimidating due to the slight humor aspect, and the non-stop action of the game.
Graphics: Very good for its time. If you play this game on PC the graphics will look great. Sure the terrain can be a little dated looking and sloppy but the models are the best part.
Difficulty: On the first two difficulty options the game is fine. Its not too hard, not too easy. However when you choose the harder difficulty, you will find yourself dying much more due to the fact that you lose health much quicker than normal. Some levels can be VERY difficult no matter what difficulty setting is on. The asylum level is hard in particular.
Fun Factor: The game is fun, and has a very indie feel to it. This game is under-appreciated yet it is no classic. The game will hold your attention until the campaign is done, however you may rage quit due to its difficulty and not come back in quite some time(if your that kind of person). After you beat the campaign, find its expansion, "Battle Out Of Hell", it has two new weapons and ten new levels.
Joel writes: "The new Painkiller is here, but how does the revived first-person shooter cope in 2025? Let me clue you in, but prepare for the worst."
Wow, how mighty have fallen. Forced in co-op, no story, basically it is Painkiller in name and game to please shareholders by being multiplayer. Even for singleplayer you just do multiplayer with 2 bots. 9 levels, they feel same, nothing really is there to mix up gameplay enough to rival Director AI from Left 4 Dead, which gave that game long life. Also I didn't even know they were making this, players too, it has 82 concurrent players at max for last week, from 871 peak of all time, which is 19 days. Left 4 Dead has 25k concurrent right now and that is below 24h or week peaks. Like, if you ask me, if you were interested, just pick Vermintide 2 and you got better game. And if you are looking into boomer shooters, anything will do better job for singleplayer. I haven't followed genre as much, so I don't have recommendation, but Painkiller really missed the mark on what it was supposed to be. And now it is just a hollow skin that was in desperation stretched over new body that isn't Painkiller, but parades with its skin around trying to look favorable, when it looks like butchered monster.
Mahi from NoobFeed writes: I don't think Painkiller is the same beast overall. Painkiller's reimagining is a complicated beast. It's not a perfect homage to the original, nor is it meant to be. Painkiller is still worth checking out if you take nostalgia out of the equation, and I will recommend it even if I can't particularly say it with a clear conscience.
Skewed and Reviewed liked the new version of the game saying that it combined off and new to create a fun combination for action game fans.
I STILL prefer this work to Bulletstorm as it's better in almost every possible way considering it's age and when it was brought to he World. In fact I think it was my respect for the memories of playing this that made me look forward to(and be let down massively by) B'storm earlier this year. PCF have gone backwards a little, imo.
Good review Snr Dave, even if I might be tempted to have gone a touch higher in my rose tinted recollections of the game-which is prolly nowhere near as good as my ageing brain says it is! Deserves a playthrough and is surprisingly OK looks wise after you get use to some lower res textures again.