In Painkiller you play the part of Daniel Garner. You have recently died in a car accident and have been placed in purgatory. Your mission is to find out why the gates of heaven are closed off to you. Meanwhile a good vs evil war is brewing between heaven and hell. You are enlisted to fight off hordes of Demons from the depths of hell.

Painkiller uses the physics engine from Havok 2, and is excellent for sending enemies flying. With the power of the rocket launcher you can send your foe hurtling through the sky. Plus the levels are filled with breakable objects that will explode in the course of a frenzied battle. All this as well as barrels of explosives that can be destroyed at the right times to take out numerous enemies at once.

The battle all take place in purgatory and as such the dead bodies of your slain enemies don't hang around for long. Instead you can collect the souls of your enemies to add to your own health points. A green mist appears after your enemy is dead which you can collect. As a nice twist though the fact that you are collecting souls of demons and people sent to hell, once you collect 100 souls you temporarily turn into a demon. You receive special powers and some cool graphical effects. The screen goes all black and white and the enemies are all blood red. During this time you have destructive powers speed and are invincible to enemy attacks.

Painkiller is very linear based and has 24 levels all of very varying themes, from the flames of hell to an opera house. Graphically the game is very good, the gameplay depends on what you are in to. Painkiller is very Quake style as opposed to half life style. Painkiller is a fast paced action game. Its hectic shooting at every corner. It even has the basic deathmatch style multiplayer that quake had that made it so special all those years ago. Painkiller is obviously very old skool in the way you play the game, but very modern in terms of the way the game looks, sounds and feels.

There are only 5 guns in the game but each of them has an impressive secondary fire. Its not what you would expect from a secondary fire either. Its like having two weapons at once. For example the Chaingun has a rocket launcher conveniently attached to it. And the weapon that has to set the game apart from the others is the stake gun. This gun fires wooden stakes at the enemy. The power of this gun takes the enemy with the stake and pins it against the wall, leaving your foe hanging limply off the wall.

Overall Painkiller is a hit for action junkies, I would say this is the best game of that type around. If however you are looking for a slightly more tactical feel to a game then this may just be a little bit too fast for you.

(Click to Enlarge Screen shots - Screens taken from Xbox version)

Features

• Intense gameplay: The player will be constantly outnumbered, fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds.
• Next-generation graphics: The game uses the proprietary 3D “PAIN Engine” capable of pumping out 100X the polygons of some of the latest shooters, while adding increased texture quality and the latest lighting and shadowing techniques.
• Lasting replay value: Painkiller features a standard single player campaign, with additional modes to encourage replay. The game also features full multiplayer support.
• Combo weapons: All weapons come in pairs, with a primary and secondary fire.
• Morphing: Your unholy pact gives you the power to morph into a powerful possessed creature with every 100 souls collected.
• Monster AI: Advanced AI coding will simulate group behaviours. Monsters don't spawn onto the map, they patrol. They are constantly aware of the player, and will coordinate their attacks by retreating, regrouping and counterattacking.
• Physics Engine: Painkiller employs the Havok 2.0 physics engine, allowing for inverse kinematics ("rag-doll physics") and deformable, interactive environments

System Requirements (PC)

• Windows 98\ME\2000\XP
• 1 GHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor
• 256MB RAM
• 4 x CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
• Hard Drive space: 1.2 GB available
• 32MB Direct 3D compatible video card
• DirectX 8.1b or better compatible sound card
• Keyboard and Mouse

Games Zone - Action/Adventure - Driving/Racing - Sports - Strategy/Simulation