Game Vortex writes: "Alice Drake has a gift, a gift that allows her to enter another person's dreams and rid them of their fears and obsessions. By "ridding," of course, I mean violently removing the hostile interlopers. This is the premise behind Mindware Studios' newest FPS Dreamkiller. Playing as the psychically gifted Ms. Drake, gamers will enter a dreamscape where the abnormality becomes reality. Best known for their mod-turned-official add-on to 2004's Painkiller (entitled Painkiller: Overdose), Mindware Studios goes back to the drawing board in Dreamkiller to create a bevy of new creatures and interesting environments through which the player must navigate. While the levels are well-designed and somewhat eerie, the game suffers from some severely dated graphics.
On medium default settings, I could have been playing a game developed in 2004 instead of 2009. Turning the settings all the way to maximum produced noticeably better, yet still disappointing results. Some of the particle effects were nice, but overall, there was definitely a polished feel that was missing. On the other hand, the sound effects are spot-on; spooky and creepy when needed, fast-paced and adrenaline-filled at other times. The weapon effects were nice and the voiceovers, while certainly not Oscar-caliber, were serviceable."
Mindware Studios' FPS Dreamkiller is now available to play for free on Steam through the weekend.
It's unfortunately very repetitive and not very addictive, and Mindware has made some questionable design decisions, such as the lack of a manual save system. As a result, the game is better for stress relief than anything else, a source of mindless entertainment as you blast away at hordes of bad guys.
Dreamkiller is an unapologetic throwback to the shooters of several years ago. It is fast and furious, and you will be tested at every point in the game. It can be a lot of fun when things are firing on all cylinders, but with the average visuals and nagging bugs, your frustration level will rise. At the end of the day, Dreamkiller just plays out as an average shooter.
I might have to rent the X360 version when it comes out. Sometime I miss the simplified gameplay of the classic FPS.
