Painkiller: Battle out of Hell

"The sequel does not fail to disappoint"

The original Painkiller was fun, but the sequel promises a lot more than the original, with more original level designs, more interesting monsters, and finally an ending of some sort. Not as long as the original, but you can tell that a lot of thought have gone into it.

Battle Out of Hell continues from the 'normal' ending of Painkiller, that is, the endings in the non-trauma modes. Daniel must battle through 10 levels to reach Alastor, and stop him for good.

PLOT: 1/10
Well, in terms of plot, there is nothing. Just some dialogue and cinematics to give the game a reason. Not worth seeing, as little makes sense in game.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
Seeing that Painkiller is the way Doom 3 is supposed to be, it packs just as much as the original, if not more. The enemies are more difficult to kill than the previous, but that is nothing to worry, as you have a whole new set of Black Tarot cards to aid you, including one that morphs you into demon mode at will. The bosses this time around are completely dependant on puzzles, which is a pain for me, as I do not see the point in these puzzles in a game like Painkiller. The level designs in this game is absolutely insane. From the ride-o-doom in the carnival, to the battlefields of Leningrad, this game will amaze you in how well-done and well-thought out it is. The only complaint is the occasional crash that I sometime experience when saving. But not to worry, as there are plenty of autosaves.

SOUND: 8/10
Good eye-candy is nothing with poor sound, which is a good thing that BooH has none of. I am not a fan of heavy metal, which is why sometimes I cannot stand certain tracks, but my favourite would still have to be Leningrad, with the russian chorus singing in the background. Very fitting, and well done.

GRAPHICS: 10/10
Never a big fan of graphics, as it rarely is very important to me. However, in mindless games such as this, graphics and gameplay will be the only thing that keeps you playing. If you have a good enough PC that is able to run this on the highest settings with no slow-down, then you are truly blessed, as the fast-paced gameplay combined with the alluring graphics are a sight to behold.

REPLAY VALUE: 7/10
Sure, you can play this over and over, but in the end, it's the same thing with new Black Tarot cards. Fun for mindless killing, but nothing much after the third time through. Good for killing ten to twenty minutes of your time. The only complaint is the inability to go back to the original Painkiller levels without having to start all over.

MODS: 6/10
Not a whole lot of mods are avaliable for this game, but the Powemad application can certainly make things a lot better, as well as the applications that allows the unlocking of secrets levels in non-trauma difficulties.

MULTIPLAYER: 7/10
Not the best multiplayer game out there, but then again, this is not Unreal Tournament. Fun modes, and definitely worth checking out.

OVERALL: 8/10
Definite flaws, but no one should shy away from the expansion. If possible, find the limited 'Black' edition on one DVD, as it makes things a lot easier.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/05