PAINKILLER

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : People Can Fly

Publisher : DreamCatcher Interactive

Engine : PAIN Engine Using Havok Physics

Genre : First-Person Shooter

Release Date : April 12 , 2004

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows 2000 / Windows XP

CPU : Intel Pentium 3 Processor / AMD Athlon 2500+

Memory (RAM) : 512 MB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 8.1 Compatible Video Card with Memory 64 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 6500 Series
ATI : Radeon X700 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 1.2 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

The game revolves around a young man named Daniel Garner, who is happily married to his wife Catherine. At the start of the game, Daniel is about to take Catherine out for a birthday meal. As they drive towards their destination at high speed, in the pouring rain, Daniel takes his eyes off the road to look at his wife and while his attention is diverted, he ploughs their car into a truck. Both of them are killed instantly. While Catherine manages to make it to Heaven and lives in harmony, Daniel is trapped in Purgatory and is told that in order to receive purification, he has to kill four of Lucifer's generals in order to prevent a war between Heaven and Hell. With little choice available to him Daniel accepts the task. After killing the first general, Daniel meets Eve who gives him information about the remaining generals. With the forces of Hell seizing and corrupting various parts of Purgatory, Daniel goes through different and random phases of history within Purgatory, which range greatly from ancient times to the modern era. These include Medieval Europe , Babylon , The Crusades , 1800s and even a time slice of modern industry. After Daniel kills the last general, Alastor, Lucifer himself appears before Daniel and Eve and takes Eve back to hell. Daniel decides to go after them, and kills Lucifer. After killing Lucifer he discovers he really did not kill Alastor and that he could only be defeated in hell. The game ends with Daniel defending himself against Hell's demons. Alternatively, if the game is finished in Trauma , Daniel can finally go to Heaven and reunite with Catherine.

There are only five weapons in Painkiller, although each one has a completely different alternate firing mode, and each one is useful, so it's really closer to 10. Ironically, despite the straightforwardness of the core action, the game's bosses are all quite tricky and are difficult to defeat. Not only are they big and scary, but you'll need to find their weak points, which isn't easy. The bosses are impressively huge and really aren't as unfair to fight as they might initially seem, so they make for great set pieces in between multiple levels of manic action. Another great touch is that enemies will even let go of their weapons when hit. You'll be thrilled to blow up huge bunches of bad guys to watch as all their guns or swords blast off into the distance, while large pools of gore, all littered with bullet holes and scorched earth, mark your passing. Furthermore, you'll collect coins in each level, which can be found as you destroy treasure chests or other such objects, and these can be used to select what are called "black tarot cards" before each level. These cards must first be unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions in each level. There are a few minor issues worth mentioning about Painkiller. The default difficulty setting is actually a little on the easy side for veteran first-person-shooter players, who certainly are among the game's target audience, so they should cut straight to the more-challenging settings. Also, the game drops you back to the level-select menu in between each scenario, as if to invite you to take a breather rather than letting you dive right into the next fight. Painkiller sounds great, too. Its enemies can all be heard shouting angrily and unintelligibly, yet in a manner that's unmistakably threatening, thus creating a cacophony that seems decidedly appropriate. Explosions and weapon effects are spot-on, though the limited number of weapons and the sheer amount of shooting to be done means you'll soon grow familiar with the sound of each gun. The heavy-metal soundtrack also fits the game just right. It's like you're playing a game based on an Iron Maiden album cover. The multiplayer mode can be a blast too--if you prefer the simpler days of competitive first-person shooting, which you have every right to, since some of today's online shooters are decidedly more-complicated than is probably necessary. At any rate, Painkiller's a winner and a keeper. Painkiller is a simple first-person shooter at heart, but it's very well-put-together and does what it does exceedingly well.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

Painkiller Trailer :-