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 Much
like the talented folk at Croteam who introduced us
to a bargain priced FPS called Serious Sam a few years
ago, People Can Fly's Painkiller once again proves
that quality can come from the fringes of the game
industry every once in awhile. While Painkiller won't
be winning awards for plot or innovative gameplay,
it manages to look beautifully violent (gamers will
know what I'm talking about) and will hold the attention
of any shooter fan who has ever wielded a rocket launcher
in the face of danger. Please note that like Serious
Sam, Painkiller is more Doom than Half Life meaning
less thinking and more bang bang.
You'll
play as Daniel Garner, an unfortunate soul (literally)
who is killed in a car accident and misses the boat
to heaven. Stuck in Purgatory, Daniel learns of the
devilish plot to overthrow the city beyond the Pearly
Gates and is thrust into the role of sole Netherworld
protector. The literary among us will have many ethical
and religious questions when confronted with this
B movie backdrop such as "What is God doing that
he's too busy to defend Heaven's honor?" and
"Why are there guns in Purgatory?" Unfortunately
the story unfolds via drawn cutscenes which won't
satiate the inquisitive so it's best to just go with
the flow and shoot everything that moves or as we
say in the gaming world "Please remove brain
before entering".
You'd
be forgiven if you assumed Painkiller would take place
in that world you imagined Purgatory would look like
since hearing about in Sunday school - you know: the
jagged rocks, bleak sky, vendor selling "I was
decent most of my life but all I got when I died was
a one way ticket to Purgatory...AND this lousy t-shirt".
People Can Fly decided to take it up a notch and with
a wave of their artistic license wand, turned Purgatory
into a wild place peppered with insane asylums, abandoned
factories, castles and populated it with evil bikers,
evil ninjas, evil knights and monsters. Notice how
I didn't say "evil monsters"? They AREN'T
evil, you labellers! They're just misunderstood, like
the folks on Jerry Springer. But you can kill 'em
anyway.
As
I mentioned at the outset, Painkiller is beautifully
violent and I meant that strictly in terms of graphical
prowess and animation. Most normal folk would be horrified
at the level of realism in this game, what with the
body parts showering all over the place. But gamers
are the audience I'm talking to right now and they
know that games have been getting progressively better
(or worse depending on how you look at it) in terms
of physics, impact points and giblet expulsion. Painkiller
is the pinnacle of dismemberment and if Soldier of
Fortune turned your crank, this one will bowl you
over. Everything blows up real good in this one. Body
parts fly, blood splatters, bodies stick to walls
with stakes (stakegun anyone?) explosions hurl enemies
and lots of extraneous stuff can be shot to smithereens.
 Speaking
of weapons of mass destruction, it may not be what
Bush has been looking for but there are five weapons
in total. Five doesn't seem like much in the scheme
of things, but each weapon has a secondary fire which
dishes out justice equally as menacing as it's primary
effort. In truth, the game has ten weapons because
the secondary fire is virtually another weapon entirey.
In fact, learn the correct techniques for each primary
and secondary weapon and you'll be able to combo them
- in effect making a third very powerful attack which
can act like an altogether different assault item.
I
know I said Painkiller wasn't innovative but that's
not exactly true. There are some cool ideas put into
action albeit by some old game conventions that are
somewhat out of place within the FPS genre. The most
gameplay altering would be the coin collecting which
allows Garner to purchase Tarot cards at the beginning
of a new level. However cards can only be unlocked
if certain gameplay objectives are met on a particular
level which inflates the replay value quite a bit.
Once you have a few Tarot cards unlocked, you can
use the newfound powers in the next level and even
combine them to create some very nice upgrades.
Online
Deathmatches are fast and furious, reminding one of
the heydays of Quake. While certain matches seem to
be illsuited for the particular weapon choices, there
is enough variety offered so you'll locate something
suits your bloodthirsty palette. My personal favorite
"People Can Fly" (named after the developer)
places opponents in a circular environment where everyone
is bouncing around. To score a hit you'll have to
nail an aerial enemy. It's addictive and quite challenging.
Although
you may never notice the quality of the soundtrack
or the voices in a game of this nature, Painkiller's
audio should not be ignored. The sheer level of background
noise which encompasses yelling and shreiking is not
only creepy but adds to edge of your seat feeling
while playing the game. Other times the game gets
surprisingly silent which amps up the ambience tenfold.
Definitely one of those "It's quiet....too quiet...."
moments.
 Unfortunately
Painkiller isn't without it's problems and for some
it might mean reaching for those over the counter
painkillers to deal with the headache of installation.
Dreamcatcher has already released a patch that will
allow the game to install - but not before pissing
off angry consumers who were sitting at home with
a brand new game they couldn't play. As of this writing
it appears that the patch has eliminated most of the
installation problems. There are other bugs and glitches
in this first release as well which I have encountered.
Some of which were of the obscenity spewing kind and
others were minor annoyances. A patch will be forthcoming
shortly I've been told by Dreamcatcher, but as PC
gamers you probably already knew that.
With
Far Cry the only immediate competition, gamers looking
for a new FPS fix will have to choose whether they
want something a little more cerebral (Far Cry) or
a little more frenetic (Painkiller). Some will argue
that Painkiller's almost non-stop frontal assaults
reach the yawn-o-meter at a rapid pace, while others
will just be looking forward to seeing what People
Can Fly has in store for them on the next level. I
have to admit, that's really what kept me playing.
You'll need a fairly souped up machine and graphics
card to get the most out of Painkiller but if you
have yearned for the return of games like Serious
Sam, Doom and the original Quake your next stop is
Purgatory. Tell 'em I sent you. You'll get a good
seat.
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Painkiller
is all about blasting the ghoulish creatures back
to where they came from. A game loaded with over the
top action and 19 levels to explore. The levels range
from those you would expect to some that will surprise
you for example a nice peaceful waterfall. The game
will be full of surprises and that's the whole point
of the game. Also the game will feature plenty of
creatures to destroy and great graphics. There is
of course a story just do not expect an epic tale
here. The game is meant for those who would rather
destroy things than get an earful of an exciting story.
Some people like to let their actions tell the story
and worry about the details later. Painkiller will
allow you to do exactly that. 
Painkiller
is a first-person horror shooter, designed to satisfy
a gamer's hunger for intense, fast-paced action. It’s
an adrenaline addict’s nightmare, where hellish
monsters swarm in seemingly endless mobs.
