by Ryan - April 21, 2004

Painkiller is a fast paced action shooter brought to us by �People Can Fly.� Set in various locations such as a monastery or a castle you must battle your way through the hordes of demons that Lucifer has thrown at you. With over 20 levels set in various locations, Painkiller provides you with hours of bloody fun. How does it compare to the newest batch of first person shooters on the market?

Shoot-Em Up Style

Painkiller has one of the more original game play styles I have seen this year. To advance through each level, you must first kill off gangs of monsters that Lucifer spawns. You are given a variety of unique and classic weapons with which to dispatch these fiendish hordes. The monsters become more plentiful and much more difficult as you make your way through the many areas of the game. Painkiller�s gameplay enables you to have hours of fun with its unique style.

The gameplay in Painkiller is simplistic, but fun at the same time. Monsters will spawn in various locations throughout the game surprising you at every opportunity. The artificial intelligence in this game is something that should be a standard for the new crop of video games. The monsters will pick up the dead corpses of its own and use them as shields at points in the game. They will also run from your wooden stake as they see it coming in. As you begin to advance further into the game, you will find yourself at times being swarmed by these creatures. At times in Painkiller the amount of monsters can seem overwhelming, but you are given a multitude of weapons with which to annihilate them.

The men and women of �People Can Fly� have thought of new and creative weapons, which are scattered throughout the game. One such weapon, my favorite, is the �painkiller.� The painkiller is much like a rotary saw that you can use to dice through the monsters and its alternate mode of fire fires off a beacon that makes a laser beam that goes to your gun, which you can use to mince through the hordes. Another unique weapon that I so dearly love is the stakegun, which has an attached grenade launcher. The stakegun fires a wooden stake that impales your enemies and pins them on the closest surface, whether it is a wall or just the ground. Although, some of the weapons are unique you are still given the traditional shotgun or rocket launcher to help you feel like those Quake skills from back in the day are still worth something. As you advance you get the more powerful weapons, but Lucifer also sends more powerful monsters.

Painkiller is packed with over 50 different very detailed monsters, which you must destroy to advance. The monsters in Painkiller include everything from skeletons to 500-foot tall stage bosses. Even the traditional �skeleton� enemy gets a new kick on life by becoming more than just a sword wielder that runs around aimlessly. Instead you are given skeleton warriors that are deceased �veterans� of World War I! The stage bosses are just as interesting. They are absolutely HUGE and just as fun to dispatch in creative ways. There is nothing like killing something that is so much bigger than you that you don�t even compare to its toe! The gameplay for Painkiller is an absolute 10 and has a unique style matched with �fun� monsters.

Gore Galore

The graphics in Painkiller are absolutely amazing. The levels are amazingly detailed and full of destructible objects, which you can gleefully blow up. At times, I found myself just staring in awe as the clouds would circle around the moon casting an eerie shadow on a highly detailed asylum or gawking at the light beams that shown so brilliantly through the stained glass cathedral windows. All of these graphics come at a hefty price, however. The system requirements for Painkiller consist of a 1.5Ghz processor, 384mb RAM and a 64mb DirectX 8.1 video card. However, even worse, the recommended requirements are 2.4Ghz processor, 512mb RAM and a 128mb DirectX 9 video card. Either way you will be treated to a spectacle for your eyes!

Put Your System to Use

Painkiller does an excellent job of scaring you. You will find yourself jumping as the background sounds set the mood. You will hear crows caw and various other noises of the night that build the tension. As you begin walking through the level, you let your guard down then all of a sudden an �amputee� leaps out at you causing you to jump. These situations were VERY common throughout the game making it even more fun and exciting. Painkiller also comes complete with a hard rock soundtrack. There is no greater feeling than blasting your way through creatures as you begin to headbang to the in-game music. This game gets yet another 10!

Sleepless Nights

Painkiller was immensely fun. There were many nights that I just could not stop shooting the mobs of monsters. Painkiller is good for well over 6 hours of gameplay that will make you remember the first days of playing Half-Life! The change in monsters and scenery makes everything perfect. This game was an absolute blast to play. What more can I say?

Is There More?

In this section I am supposed to write about something specific that I personally enjoyed about this game, which in this case is very hard for a very good reason. I loved the ENTIRE game�there is nothing I would change about this game and I can�t think of any specific thing that I loved the best. The multiplayer is just as faced paced and likens that of the quake series. I just can�t wait for mods to be developed, but the game could use some more multiplayer modes! Also, the game still has one minor problem and that is the steep system requirements that may leave that budget system you bought awhile back gasping for more FPS. My adrenaline was pumping throughout the entire game!

Dead End

Painkiller has the makings of a classic hit. Painkiller�s original gameplay, large variety of monsters, detailed environments and interesting weapons make this my top game of the year. This game is definitely worth buying, but be warned that it will consume all of your free time. Why are you still sitting there reading this? Drive to your local game store and pick up a copy and experience the fast paced action of Painkiller!