"Good, but not great."

First Person Shooters have begun to move away from their roots. Now, they all try to have “riveting story” or “an interesting narrative” or “something that resembles a plot.” While some FPSs use this “story” to their advantage, making your hero or heroine seem like they are fighting for the common good. But, many times the plot could end up being boring, drawn out, and a nuisance, making the action stop, before moving on a another crowded hallway full of baddies to frag. Painkiller is a game almost devoid of story, but is that a bad thing? It is a joy to play, not because of a story, but because you fighting off seemingly endless hordes of the rotten and seething undead, without any break. You fight 50 demons, you pick up ammo, you move on to another room, and fight even more. Painkiller is like a breath of fresh air compared to all of the other First Person Shooters coming out right now.

Painkiller places you in the role of Daniel Garner, who died tragically in a car accident with his wife, Catherine. Daniel and Catherine are separated at death, so Daniel lives in a horrible plain of existence. At least until he is called upon to fight Lucifer's generals. While Daniel is hesitant at first, he is offered a chance to be by Catherine in death. So, he is given the PainKiller, and he must fight his way through Hell. This entire story is shown in the first minute of the game. Then, pretty much nothing else. You are own your own to explore the depths of Hell.

Painkiller's mood is dark, and it shows it every step of the way. Bones and pieces of butchered animals lay strewn everywhere; the caskets of tomes of the undead lie solemn as you and demons fight in an epic struggle. At least the struggle is epic for you, because every undead creature you fight is cannon fodder. Literally hundreds or thousands of enemies could be fought in a single level. And it is very smart to try and kill all of them. After an enemy is killed, their body lies there for a few seconds, then transforms in to a soul, which should be collected. For every soul that is collected, one point is added to your life. So, if you lose some life fighting enemies, just wait until their corpse turns into a soul and get some life back. And every time Daniel picks up 66 souls, he turns into an evil angel/demon creature that shoots huge blasts of energy exploding all enemies in range. This lasts for only about thirty seconds or so, so hopefully this happens during a large boss fight, but most of the time, it happens after a room is cleared, so you need to search fast for some guys to explode. Scattered throughout each level are coffins, vases, and barrels that should be destroyed, that leave pieces of gold or lead to new areas or holy items. Everything that is found it tallied up for a final score at the end of the level. Gold is important, because you can buy Tarot cards to give you new powers, though most only last for a short amount of time. So, to find more gold, here is a tip: shoot everything. And if you are not sure about it breaking, shoot it again; just in case.
The single player experience is twenty-five levels long, and each take on average of a half an hour to beat. Each level has a new set of demons to frag, and each level is unique, so every time a new level comes up (there is just a minute long load before each level, and small pauses for checkpoints) it feels fresh and interesting.
Along with a stellar single player campaign, there are a few multiplayer modes as well. There are the standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, but everything else is original. Voosh is where everyone has the same weapon and ammunition, but those keep switching during the match. In The Light Bearer, the first person to find the 4X damage power-up in the level will have it until they die, making this kind of like a King of the Hill type game. The last mode is People Can Fly, where everyone has the most powerful weapon in the game, you must attack people only when they are in the air, and otherwise no damage is given.

Painkiller is visually a stunning game, if your computer can handle it. While many low-range PCs will have no chance trying to get Painkiller to run properly, a mid-range PC can run it well on the low settings. If your computer can run Painkiller flawlessly, then you are in for a treat. While the colors may seem bland and lifeless, the style that was chosen fits well with the atmosphere of the game. Each demon is rendered in beautiful detail, to the point where it would look photo realistic (if demons were real.) From the last evil ninja to the first zombie you see: everything looks really, really, great. All of the environments look stunning as well, everything is colored and lit in lavish detail. Everything looks like it really is from Hell, with the blood red splashes on coffins, demonic architecture, limbs poking out of the ground, looking like they may latch on to your body and pull you down. One thing to mention is when an enemy hits you; your screens gets a slight blur effect. It may be annoying to you; it shows that extreme detail was put in the graphical quality and extra touches of Painkiller. Overall, Painkiller is one of the best looking games out this year.

The sound and music of Painkiller is amazing. While walking around normally, there is very little sound at all…at first. Then, a slow wind begins to howl. The sound of crying comes at you from everywhere. A scream pierces the air. Then, a demon appears out of nowhere. Hard rock starts playing, and you need to kill everything in sight. Then, the music stops playing, and the cries of the damned start up again. Everything sounds great, and fits well with the game. Painkiller has a very creepy vibe, and feels like a modern day Doom (except you came to fight them, not them coming to fight you.) All of the weapons sound realistic, with the strange exception of the Painkiller. It does not matter what you hit with the Painkiller, it sounds exactly the same, wood or stone. Otherwise, everything goes boom appropriately.

The single player game of Painkiller will last you a good amount of time, but multiplayer, like most FPSs out today, will suck a good amount of playtime away. Trying and perfecting all the different types of games takes a while. If the single player does not tickle your fancy, then Painkiller's replay value will decrease significantly, because the single player game is very interesting, and can be played multiple times before it gets boring.

Painkiller plays great, but suffers from one flaw: there is nothing that can really make Painkiller distinguishable from most of the other FPSs that are out on the market today. Sure, it is very action oriented, and offers fast paced gameplay. But what other First Person Shooter does not have fast paced gameplay? If a Painkiller 2 is made, then People Can Fly need to find something to lift itself from everything else.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/04