I was hoping so much from this game and gave me so little.
This review contains spoilers
Amazing game and one of the best First Person Shooters I have played.
Painkiller is just Epic. In the core it is just a First-Person Shooter in which you shoot monsters and progress to the next stage, classic stuff that Doom, Serious Sam and Duke Nukem did before, but this game feels different somehow. It has a unique style of playing and some mechanics that are different in a way that it offers a fresh new concept.
You play as Daniel Garner, a happily married dude who dies, along with his wife Catherine, in a car crash. Catherine goes to heaven and lives happily ever after, but not you. You are sent to Purgatory and are trapped there. Then, an Angel called Samuel makes a deal with you. If you can wipe out the four generals of Lucifers army, to prevent a battle between Heaven and Hell, you will be purified and can join your wife in Heaven. You accept and go off to war. On your journey, you meet a chick named Eve, who is also trapped in Purgatory. She aids you with information on the whereabouts of the next generals and other useful tips.
The graphics in Painkiller are great. The environments are beautiful and detailed, and every level has some sort of Gothic theme that enhances the graphics even more. I especially liked the “Town” level and the “Opera” stage. The animations are perfect too. Enemies have Ragdoll and you can blow them away with your shotgun or nail them to the wall with your stake gun. Explosions and fire effects are really well done too. There are some clipping issues tough, but I take that for granted. Every level is completely unique with different themes, environments and enemies, keeping the game fresh.
The controls are fluent, as can be expected from a fast-paced shooter like this. They feel natural and responsive. The Weapons are awesome. You got some sort of blade spinner as a melee weapon, shotguns, rocket launchers, machine guns and, best of all, your stake gun which lets you fire wooden sticks at enemies, nailing them to every surface. It is just epic.
Some unique mechanics in this game is the soul collecting when killing enemies, which increases your health by one for each soul collected and let you enter demon rage mode, killing everything you point at. You can also earn Tarot cards that give you a bonus in each level if you selected that specific card for the level. You first earn those cards by completing a challenge in a level, for example, kill fifty monsters with explosions, or kill all enemies on the stage. When you earned the card, you need to buy it so you can use it. This can be done with gold, which you can collect and scavenge throughout the levels. I really liked this mechanic, and it gave some kind of RPG feel.
Painkiller offers excellent and well-balanced multiplayer, only matched by Serious Sam. It is fast paced, fair and gives everyone a fair chance. I really liked it back in the day, even tough it is now mostly abandoned.
What sets this game apart for me is the sound and music. I think I can say, without a doubt, that this game has the best music that I have experienced so far, even better than Serious Sam. Every level has a unique Heavy Metal fight track that really gets you pumped up. Combine this with the excellent sound effects of your weapons and the enemy grunts and it makes for one epic experience. It is just a masterpiece.
The ending of the game is true badass style, Daniel knows that the killing is not done yet and is eager to return to the fighting, even tough he is offered to go to heaven like promised.
In the end, Painkiller is a masterpiece in every way and one of the games that I can play any time of the year. It is a real classic and that it why it has multiple sequels and a remake, rightfully so.
You really need to play Painkiller at least once in your lifetime, in my humble opinion.
Painkiller is just Epic. In the core it is just a First-Person Shooter in which you shoot monsters and progress to the next stage, classic stuff that Doom, Serious Sam and Duke Nukem did before, but this game feels different somehow. It has a unique style of playing and some mechanics that are different in a way that it offers a fresh new concept.
You play as Daniel Garner, a happily married dude who dies, along with his wife Catherine, in a car crash. Catherine goes to heaven and lives happily ever after, but not you. You are sent to Purgatory and are trapped there. Then, an Angel called Samuel makes a deal with you. If you can wipe out the four generals of Lucifers army, to prevent a battle between Heaven and Hell, you will be purified and can join your wife in Heaven. You accept and go off to war. On your journey, you meet a chick named Eve, who is also trapped in Purgatory. She aids you with information on the whereabouts of the next generals and other useful tips.
The graphics in Painkiller are great. The environments are beautiful and detailed, and every level has some sort of Gothic theme that enhances the graphics even more. I especially liked the “Town” level and the “Opera” stage. The animations are perfect too. Enemies have Ragdoll and you can blow them away with your shotgun or nail them to the wall with your stake gun. Explosions and fire effects are really well done too. There are some clipping issues tough, but I take that for granted. Every level is completely unique with different themes, environments and enemies, keeping the game fresh.
The controls are fluent, as can be expected from a fast-paced shooter like this. They feel natural and responsive. The Weapons are awesome. You got some sort of blade spinner as a melee weapon, shotguns, rocket launchers, machine guns and, best of all, your stake gun which lets you fire wooden sticks at enemies, nailing them to every surface. It is just epic.
Some unique mechanics in this game is the soul collecting when killing enemies, which increases your health by one for each soul collected and let you enter demon rage mode, killing everything you point at. You can also earn Tarot cards that give you a bonus in each level if you selected that specific card for the level. You first earn those cards by completing a challenge in a level, for example, kill fifty monsters with explosions, or kill all enemies on the stage. When you earned the card, you need to buy it so you can use it. This can be done with gold, which you can collect and scavenge throughout the levels. I really liked this mechanic, and it gave some kind of RPG feel.
Painkiller offers excellent and well-balanced multiplayer, only matched by Serious Sam. It is fast paced, fair and gives everyone a fair chance. I really liked it back in the day, even tough it is now mostly abandoned.
What sets this game apart for me is the sound and music. I think I can say, without a doubt, that this game has the best music that I have experienced so far, even better than Serious Sam. Every level has a unique Heavy Metal fight track that really gets you pumped up. Combine this with the excellent sound effects of your weapons and the enemy grunts and it makes for one epic experience. It is just a masterpiece.
The ending of the game is true badass style, Daniel knows that the killing is not done yet and is eager to return to the fighting, even tough he is offered to go to heaven like promised.
In the end, Painkiller is a masterpiece in every way and one of the games that I can play any time of the year. It is a real classic and that it why it has multiple sequels and a remake, rightfully so.
You really need to play Painkiller at least once in your lifetime, in my humble opinion.
Shurikens, lightning, stakes, grenades, ice shotguns, spinning death wrist blades. Just the things a growing boy needs
If you hate this game then I hate you.
I really wanted to LOVE this game like I feel like I should. My favorite game is Ninja Gaiden Black, so by that same extent I should be a sucker for any game with incredible combat in lavishly designed environments, and Painkiller really does have some gorgeous architecture. I'd say in that regards it has more to offer the world than boring ass shit like Serious Sam, it's mostly that the actual combat loop never does much for me in the grand scheme of things, and the player movement physics are surprisingly crap feeling. Whenever I remember this game I seem to remember a fast-paced action game but it's REALLY lumbering. It's like you are casually strolling through Quake levels and it makes the pacing feel almost glacial.
Also the plot is just asinine. It's 2004, why the fuck is your protagonist Some Guy? Your protagonist for a game called Painkiller that takes place in hell should be a fucking demon or skeleton warrior, it's so obvious. He should look like he is on an Avenged Sevenfold album cover not like he listens to Avenged Sevenfold.
Music kicks fucking ass though. This thing has some fucking riffs on it, and I love riffs. This is what I thought Doom 2016's music was going to be, it's perfect for this kind of game.
Overall, I have tried for years to love this game but sadly I can't give any ground to it. It's a beautiful looking, incredible sounding, but largely average shooter. In recent years we have been flush with spectacular shooters like Dusk and Wrath that Painkiller pales in comparison.
Also the plot is just asinine. It's 2004, why the fuck is your protagonist Some Guy? Your protagonist for a game called Painkiller that takes place in hell should be a fucking demon or skeleton warrior, it's so obvious. He should look like he is on an Avenged Sevenfold album cover not like he listens to Avenged Sevenfold.
Music kicks fucking ass though. This thing has some fucking riffs on it, and I love riffs. This is what I thought Doom 2016's music was going to be, it's perfect for this kind of game.
Overall, I have tried for years to love this game but sadly I can't give any ground to it. It's a beautiful looking, incredible sounding, but largely average shooter. In recent years we have been flush with spectacular shooters like Dusk and Wrath that Painkiller pales in comparison.
First person shooters have come along way, but People Can Fly showed the world that sometimes it’s better to go back then to move forward. You play as Daniel who dies in a car accident along with his wife. While she went to Heaven he got stuck in Purgatory and winds up getting involved in a religious war between Lucifer and the heavens. Lucifer wants to take over so Daniel is sent to stop him. While the story is semi-interesting is don’t really go anywhere except for a few terribly made, low-resolution, CG cutscenes (I mean pre-PSX bad).
The game is all about shooting and it does it well. You get five different weapons through the game (I know the very low variety) and you just blast hordes of enemies coming at you from all angles. Each weapon has a secondary fire like the mini-gun launches rockets, the shotgun has freeze shells, the stake launcher has a grenade launcher etc. Using both in tandem is important because certain enemies and situations will suit different weapons. Even the area you’re in will affect this as well. The shooting is solid and fast paced and ammo pickups are a top priority. You can pick up coins which are used to be able to equip tarot cards that act as perks. These are also essential to staying alive especially during boss fights.
The game is really just shooting hordes (the AI just runs at you), but you can easily die due to sheer numbers. There’s no cover, no special powers, just you and your gun. Every environment in Painkiller is very different so it’s nice to always look forward to the next level. Not one is alike and even the boss fights are massive, tough, and rewarding to bring down. When you kill every enemy in an area the next area will unlock and you can move on. This proves a problem sometimes when there’s on straggler left behind and you can’t find him to move on. The little bit of platforming is floaty and badly done as well and should have been left out or tested a little more. While the environments and look nice navigating some of these levels can be a pain due to the terrible compass cursor and maze-like hallways.
Another thing I like is the huge variety of enemy types. Some of the designs are crazy, gross, creepy, and downright weird. A lot of the time the enemies go along with the level, so it kind of feels like playing a pop-up book. The physics engine was highly regarded when the game came out but seems dated compared to today. Over the years the game got visual upgrades, so I highly recommend one of the new versions which actually looks pretty nice for it being such an old game. The multiplayer is what kept people coming back, but you will rarely find anyone playing these days. Overall Painkiller is a great shooter just to kill things and shoots bullets. It’s solid, smooth, and you can adjust the difficulty for every type of gamer.
The game is all about shooting and it does it well. You get five different weapons through the game (I know the very low variety) and you just blast hordes of enemies coming at you from all angles. Each weapon has a secondary fire like the mini-gun launches rockets, the shotgun has freeze shells, the stake launcher has a grenade launcher etc. Using both in tandem is important because certain enemies and situations will suit different weapons. Even the area you’re in will affect this as well. The shooting is solid and fast paced and ammo pickups are a top priority. You can pick up coins which are used to be able to equip tarot cards that act as perks. These are also essential to staying alive especially during boss fights.
The game is really just shooting hordes (the AI just runs at you), but you can easily die due to sheer numbers. There’s no cover, no special powers, just you and your gun. Every environment in Painkiller is very different so it’s nice to always look forward to the next level. Not one is alike and even the boss fights are massive, tough, and rewarding to bring down. When you kill every enemy in an area the next area will unlock and you can move on. This proves a problem sometimes when there’s on straggler left behind and you can’t find him to move on. The little bit of platforming is floaty and badly done as well and should have been left out or tested a little more. While the environments and look nice navigating some of these levels can be a pain due to the terrible compass cursor and maze-like hallways.
Another thing I like is the huge variety of enemy types. Some of the designs are crazy, gross, creepy, and downright weird. A lot of the time the enemies go along with the level, so it kind of feels like playing a pop-up book. The physics engine was highly regarded when the game came out but seems dated compared to today. Over the years the game got visual upgrades, so I highly recommend one of the new versions which actually looks pretty nice for it being such an old game. The multiplayer is what kept people coming back, but you will rarely find anyone playing these days. Overall Painkiller is a great shooter just to kill things and shoots bullets. It’s solid, smooth, and you can adjust the difficulty for every type of gamer.
𝟖/𝟏𝟎
Amazing design of weapons, monsters and locations
Amazing design of weapons, monsters and locations
[GERMAN]
Aufgrund von ETHAN CARTER nachgeholt. Singleplayer damals nur angespielt und mehr dem Multiplayer gefrönt. Leider, da es auch nach heutigem Standard großartig in Sachen Movement und Mechanik ist. Zwischen- und Bosskämpfe schön intense und auch ein bisschen kopflastiger. Von der ersten Fortsetzung (OVERDOSE) nur das erste Level angespielt und gemerkt, dass das gleich ein paar Stufen schlechter ist.
Freue mich nun umso mehr auf das nächste Projekt der ehemaligen, originalen PAINKILLER-Macher: WITCHFIRE sieht so aus, als würden sie dort beides verbinden -- GEILO!
Aufgrund von ETHAN CARTER nachgeholt. Singleplayer damals nur angespielt und mehr dem Multiplayer gefrönt. Leider, da es auch nach heutigem Standard großartig in Sachen Movement und Mechanik ist. Zwischen- und Bosskämpfe schön intense und auch ein bisschen kopflastiger. Von der ersten Fortsetzung (OVERDOSE) nur das erste Level angespielt und gemerkt, dass das gleich ein paar Stufen schlechter ist.
Freue mich nun umso mehr auf das nächste Projekt der ehemaligen, originalen PAINKILLER-Macher: WITCHFIRE sieht so aus, als würden sie dort beides verbinden -- GEILO!
A product of its time. Pure PC shooter carnage
Yaratıcı silahlarımızı, bölümden bölüme değişen düşmanlar üzerinde deneyerek şeytan avına çıktığımız güzel bir FPS. Boss savaşlarının hepsi epey görkemli fakat ilk yarıdaki boss'lar çok kolaylar. Sonlara doğru zorluk anlamında hafif güzelleşmeye başlasa da (Alastor boss'u güzeldi), son boss'ta ilginç bir konsept deneyeyim derken epey çuvallıyor oyun. Orası üzdü biraz. Ayrıca savaşırken hep aynı müzik çalıyordu, yanlış hatırlamıyorsam.
Bir de küçükken bu oyuna "günah" deyip oynamadığım aklıma geldi. Bu zamana kadar iyi gelmişiz.
Bir de küçükken bu oyuna "günah" deyip oynamadığım aklıma geldi. Bu zamana kadar iyi gelmişiz.
Painkiller is the most fun FPS games of 2004 In my opinion, this game is like the Shrek 2 of First Person Shooters & Video Games of 2004 because of how peak the gameplay is, the weapons/guns, the concept art, battle out of hell levels in black edition, the enemies, music and everything in the game rocks so hard and it was such an awesome FPS Game ever of 04, 2004 brings some very great bangers but games like this are very underrated and i loved it a lot, for those who never heard of painkiller, the black edition on steam is the best one for you, this game is also made by People Can Fly (the devs who made this game before Gears of Wars Series & Bulletstorm).
My favorite part about this halloween metal album is that Half-Life 2's crossbow exists solely thanks to it. If this had a superfluous style/scoring system and/or a lame rhythm game mechanic grafted onto it all the usual suspects would jerk it off no tomorrow for having such deep and involving combat, but alas, as is it doesn't hold a candle compared to all em cerebral moovment chewters that progamers who can't make the jump to the railgun in q3dm6 love oh so much.
such an absolutely uninspired, mindless, slop game
the same damm music in every combat encounter, the same shitty little boxes you fight in, oh gotta kill every enemy in an area to move on, one bugged out, too bad
its just go around shoot random weak enemies to the same song over and over again,
nothing here that kept my interest
brainrot game
the same damm music in every combat encounter, the same shitty little boxes you fight in, oh gotta kill every enemy in an area to move on, one bugged out, too bad
its just go around shoot random weak enemies to the same song over and over again,
nothing here that kept my interest
brainrot game
I got pissed at the end because of the bullshit final boss, I consider it impossible. It's so cheaply done.
"Mom! I want to go play Serious Sam!"
"We have Serious Sam at home."
Serious Sam at home:
"We have Serious Sam at home."
Serious Sam at home:
this game does a few things pretty well
the weapons really neat at times, the shooting feels good, the music has it's moments, the graphics are good especially for 2004 and the atmosphere can be neat at times but this game has many issues that kept me from enjoying it
for the screentearing is really bad
the game can run very very high at time and there is no vsync option and even if you force it to 60fps the screentearing is still bad
the game is built around hordes enemies coming at you but a lot of em feel scattered
when you kill an enemy you can take their soul but it takes a bit for the soul to come out and when you collect about 66 of em you go into god mode pretty much but whenever i got into it there was only around 5 or 10 enemies left
there are special ability cards that don't do much and what makes that really bad is exploration outside of combat is built around finding money to get more of em
levels don't progress well and doesn't make sense at times to how you got to certain levels
pacing through levels is all over the place
overall not the worst fps but I don't think it's good
if you want a fast paced fps that's levels are built around hordes of enemies but doe's it right play the DOOM reboot instead
the weapons really neat at times, the shooting feels good, the music has it's moments, the graphics are good especially for 2004 and the atmosphere can be neat at times but this game has many issues that kept me from enjoying it
for the screentearing is really bad
the game can run very very high at time and there is no vsync option and even if you force it to 60fps the screentearing is still bad
the game is built around hordes enemies coming at you but a lot of em feel scattered
when you kill an enemy you can take their soul but it takes a bit for the soul to come out and when you collect about 66 of em you go into god mode pretty much but whenever i got into it there was only around 5 or 10 enemies left
there are special ability cards that don't do much and what makes that really bad is exploration outside of combat is built around finding money to get more of em
levels don't progress well and doesn't make sense at times to how you got to certain levels
pacing through levels is all over the place
overall not the worst fps but I don't think it's good
if you want a fast paced fps that's levels are built around hordes of enemies but doe's it right play the DOOM reboot instead
There's a quote by Pauline Kael that says films are so rarely great art that it's essential to savor great trash, and I think this applies doubly to games.
Case in point.
Case in point.
Probably the best FPS combat I've experienced. Levels look great, though they don't play as nicely as the Doom-like key hunting system (they're very open, leading to a certain unique feeling, but they might be a bit too open).