"Will Overdose avoid a real overdose?"

Painkiller Overdose was at the beginning a mod, like a Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat or Red Orchestra. Dreamcatcher was interested in it and began to pay the developers. Result is that Overdose became a stand-alone to buy. Goodbye free mod! Overdose is released 4 years after the original Painkiller and its add-on Battle out of Hell. The graphics hardcore fans will say that they are old, ugly, not realistic... But it isn't the only criteria to make a game a good one. I mean, I'm still playing mods using the GoldSource Engine, used for Half-Life... ten years ago. Overdose has some good strong points... but the defaults will discourage players to achieve it, I think mostly about the PK fans. It's just a good game, like an old Doom, you fire first, you think after. So, this objective is reached. But Overdose is disappointing in others domains.

Bugs... Even if the patch (released somewhere around January) wants to delete them, the main one isn't corrected. And it's in Loony Park. Bugs can prevent the players to obtain the Tarot card. One of the fireworks doesn't trigger by itself and is in a place players don't watch. Another negative point (for a lot of players but not for me) is that there isn't the famous hardcore/metal soundtrack like in Painkiller and BOOH: no more electric guitar. But my opinion is that the Overdose soundtrack is great and adapted at each level. That's not what a player want? Third negative point: secrets areas are easy to find... I agree with most players in this one, Painkiller had some great secrets (remember the Docks) and Overdose just makes it easy for you (unless you're in Ragnarok where the challenge for the card is to find these areas). Difficulty isn't balanced: in Daydream, it's an easy task to bring down the demons. Insomnia will not be a real challenge if we continue our logic. Well, for once, it's not true. Insomnia is very difficult, so imagine Nightmare and Trauma.

If you patched your game, like me, you will be shocked to fin that two news secrets areas were added (Desert and Air Combat) and some fights are harder and longer when players were expecting the opposite. And the Black Tarot? Not balanced. Some great cards from PK and BOOH made their way to Overdose (like Iron Will, Soul Catcher, Dark Soul or The Sceptre) and not others (like Dexterity or Rage or Forgiveness or Mercy). Some useless cards (or helpful for filling a challenge) are present: Divine Intervention or Greed. Luckily, five new cards make their appearance in the game.... but three of them are totally useless. I mean, why begin a level with only 5 HP in addition of your initial 105 when you know that Painkiller had a card allowing 50 HP in addition? Only Assault can be interesting when fighting armored demons. Some levels are or seem too long (Asteroids, Nuclear Plant). Even Loony Park - great idea to make come back this great level from BOOH and instead of doing the rollercoaster, make the player visit the park - doesn't meet the expectations that a PK player has the right to have. Deja vu and only two news areas and not the entire place.

But fortunately for the players, the game isn't full of problems. Some great points can be noted. First of all, Daniel Garner isn't the hero but is the one who, without knowing it, frees Belial, the hero of Overdose, child whose mother is a demon and whose father is an angel. Belial had some humor - I wish I could write some of them but I've played the game in my native language (French)... Soundtrack is adapted to the level played. New weapons make their appearance (I love the crossbow - you can snipe with it - but you don't have the stakegun or the electroshuriken anymore). Levels are varied with good graphics (Cataclysm, Japanese Massacre or Air Combat are great and Asteroids is very special). A new bestiary is also presented: some come from PK, others from PK BOOH, others are just a modified version of the two first categories and the lasts are new.

I like Overdose. But I was disappointed by the too much enemies, by some slowing in the game - never had the case with PK -, by the loading time and by the ridiculous Black Tarot.

GAMEPLAY: 7/10 - It's PK, it's intuitive, it's like an old Doom but the bugs are annoying - and you can't go everywhere (like in PK ).
GRAPHICS: 8/10 - With 4 years of age (for the engine), the game is still beautiful - despite what the graphics purists say.
LIFETIME: 5/10 - Too easy or too difficult and there is only 17 levels, making the Tarot board (taken from BOOH) a little empty and leading players to think that there are more cards.
SOUNDTRACK: 8/10 - Adapted to the level - and Belial's lines are good (some are repetitive though - making the community to develop software allowing to disable Belial's lines)
STORY: 7/10 - Classic story of the demon free by a hero but good one even if the ending isn't surprising
NOTE: 14/20 - Overdose is added in my PK universe, going against most players who don't consider Overdose worthy to go in the PK universe. You must try it for making your opinion because I'm special when it comes to FPS. But Overdose will be soon uninstalled - when I'm done with the screenshots - because I can't play with these slowing making sometimes my screen freeze. For the hardcore fans of PK, consider the note inferior to 10 or just 10. So yes, in my case, Overdose isn't an overdose but for some, it will be.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/08

Game Release: Painkiller: Overdose (EU, 11/23/07)