Painkiller

"A must have for any PC collection"

You died as Daniel Garner, stuck between heaven and hell after being killed in a car crash. Sentenced to suffer pain and torture for eternity, the "Heavens" have given you a chance to prove yourself, and gain entry to heaven. To do so, you must take down Hell's army of demons and monsters, and defeat their many massive leaders. Heaven needs a hitman, and they just got one. Welcome to Painkiller

Graphics:10/10

There is no game in recent memory (except Doom 3) that really looks as beautiful and creepy at the same time as this game. The graphics and detail on levels and monsters and weapons is just stunning. It's so beautiful to look at. This game put a lot of effort into giving a spooky but wonderfully detailed world of creatures and demons.

Sound:8/10

The sound of bullets and wooden stakes piercing flesh is nicely pulled off too. It sounds as if this stuff was realistic. Guns' sound effects are simplistic, but thats not much of a problem. Screams of enemies in pain when you shoot them also become repetitive. But why a 8 you ask? The soundtrack, it fits the atmosphere so perfectly. You, a hitman for heaven, going against hoards upon hoards of enemies (while dark rock music plays.)
It's just wonderful.

Controls:10/10

Very easy, pick up and play sort of feel, same movement controls like in many First Person Shooters, same just about everything. While there is a weapon you will need to master (the Painkiller I believe), whats nice is you can customize just about anything about the controls, right down to the HUD (i.e. What the crosshair looks like, and what color it is).

Fun Factor:10/10

The game remains fun for many plays, you'll keep coming back for more. The engine the game uses is spectacular too, almost like a Unreal Tournament's ragdoll physic when a character dies. Its so much fun to watch them get nailed to walls by a stake launcher, or to blast into the air and watch them fall into watch. And the bosses are MASSIVE. You've never seen bosses this big before, about 1000 times the size of you. While this may seem overwhelming, they aren't impossible to beat. And when you kill enough monsters, and collect their souls, you enter a mode called "Demon Mode", everything that is alive (mainly monsters) will appear red on the screen, and everything else white, you aim, click the fire button, and blow them into oblivion, in gory detail. The game is also very gory at times. And to answer another thing, no the game is not scary. I find Doom 3 scarier, but I did not jump once in this game. It's just because there are hellish creatures that made people think it's scary. Well it's not. But sure a hell of a lot of fun. Multiplayer is also enjoyable, but you're bound to be destroyed, people are really good at it, you can get the game for either of the Single Player or Multiplayer. They are both fun.

Rent or Buy?
Demo's are available of Single Player and Multiplayer, try them, see if you like them. In my opinion, it's a must have for any collection.

I give Painkiller a 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/04