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Dark, Scary and Action Packed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: April 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is pure non-stop action. You will not be left in a big boring empty level trying to figure your way out or figure out some boring time consuming puzzle. There is no "wait here for half an hour and snipe" either. The weapons are mostly short range, so for most part you get up-close and personal with gruesome looking creatures. Most monsters are armed with melee weapons too, so this makes a great close range fighting scene with bodies flying around and gut splattering action.

The graphics are incredible, and extremely detailed. The screenshots don't do justice to this game. The levels look incredibly well polished, and the monsters are just very beautiful and scary looking as they try to impale you. The special effects are very nicely done, for example when you get hit by a monster, it is the best "getting hurt" effect I've seen in a game so far.

The physics are incredible. The monsters dangle around realistically as you part your way through a sea of undead creatures.

The sounds are great, the ambient noises really add to the scary feel of the game, especially since the levels are already very dark and scary looking.

It runs very nicely with all the settings set to the highest on my computer: P4 2.8, 1GB RAM, GeForce4 Ti4600.

Stupid you!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: April 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was wary to buy the game after reading several negative reviews, but thankfully I did anyway, and am fully satisfied. It is exactly what was promised, fast paced, mindless killing, That's even part of the damn story! "Kill everything you see!" It says to use CD #3 to start up, what the hell's wrong w/ that? And it runs perfectly, smooth and crisp. Just lower all the detail. A unique idea they added, which I love, is to completely customize your cross hair, minor but fun. The multiplayer is great. What else do you want for the genre? If you don't like mindless killing, go buy SOMETHING THAT ISN'T MINDLESS KILLING. There ya go, problem solved. dumasses

Really impressive demo

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: February 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I tried the recently released 3 level demo of this game and i have to say that it's really impressive. First off, the graphics are simply amazing, this is truly a next gen game. Everything is highly detailed, from the monsters to the gorgeous architecture. This is a very atmospheric game, you actually fell like you're on the places of the game. The particles effect of blood when you kill a monster at a close range are very beliaveble. The physics are out of this world, you have to see to beliave. It's very fun to hit the enemies with the stake gun and see the diferent ways they react to it , like flying away, doing spins on the air, beeing pinned to the ground or wall, very cool. You can interact with almost everything in this game; you push broken parts of the scenario, destroy windows, coffins, and things like that. And now the gameplay, ohhh, fantastic. The gameplay is very smooth and pure action, and the amazing physisc only help it. One thing that adds a lot to the gameplay is that the weapons are so original, especially the stake gun. This game is so fun that i played the 3 levels available on the demo several times. If the demo play this well, i can't wait for the final product. It's a real contender for Halo 2, Doom 3 and Half-Life II.

Awesome game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I guess some are having problems running this game but I have not seen any issues. I have an old Ti4200 with just an amd 2400+ and 256meg ram and it runs just a tad slow but there is no way I am turning down the detail (High)!

Hats off to the engineers on this one, it is completely out of the box different. I have been getting full body shivers for hours on end playing it, its that good (and creepy). Never had those before the whole game.

The HUGE level monsters, and I mean HUGE! (one is 100 feet tall and turns into a very cool tornado!) will certainly get your attention. Also, this game doesn't have just a few nasties that populate the fight scenes, they have over 20 of the strangest creatures ever, bar NONE! The weapons are also very cool (I have only seen 3 so far but I'm only on level 6). You use special cards for power ups throughout the game which is different as well. The sounds are just fantastic, I love picking up the gold coins.

Now if D3 or H2 can beat this (or even just match), than this will certainly be the most incredible year for games ever!

Most fun I've had with an FPS in a long long time!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It's a pity Painkiller didn't fare better in sales. It got widespread critical acclaim and rightly so.

The graphics are superb and the gameplay is fast and furious. The crazy minions of Hell that you have to fend off are wildly imaginative and deadly. My personal favourites are the amputee and the ninja swordmen. There are also some stellar levels... with the asylum map being particularly spooky. As for the level bosses, in a word, huge!

The weapons are pretty much standard fps fare, but the one original weapon, the stakegun, is a hoot. My personal favourite in the arsenal. Combine the stakegun with the superb ragdoll physics and you got some intense action.

Okay there are a few things I didn't like. The puzzles you have to solve in order to beat the level bosses. The load times were a touch long. Some of the later levels (docks and old monastery) were a let down when compared with the earlier ones.

But these are minor criticisms. Seriously, this was the most fun I've had with a shooter in awhile. You can find Painkiller now in the bargain bin so there is absolutely no excuse not to get this gem of a shooter.

As good as mindless action can get

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 27
Date: June 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I almost think of Painkiller like two games. One of them is pure, addictive, incredible-looking, adrenaline-pumping action Nirvana. The other is a dull and sometimes frustrating game when Painkiller deviates from its formula by trying to give you something besides mindless action. Thankfully, the former is what you get to play most of the time, which is why Painkiller is such a great game.

When Painkiller is on, it is really on. This game does "mindless action" as well as any game has ever done. Picture yourself running around the edges of a room, never standing still, shooting at stuff like there's no tomorrow, trying to gun down and blow up dozens of enemies while dodging their punches, axes, swords, and bullets. A wide variety of enemies exists for you to blast into bloody chunks or stick to walls with your stake gun. The generally have simple behaviors. They rush at you, shoot stuff at you, or shoot stuff and then rush at you. There is just enough variety in the enemies though to keep you on your toes and force you to use all of the game's 5 well-balanced weapons. There are enemies that poison you, enemies that slow you down, enemies that take 3 shotgun blasts to kill, enemies that zig-zag when they rush at you, etc. You will quickly learn the hotkeys and alt-fire modes for your weapons and switch back and forth, based upon what situation you are facing at any one second.

The game only has five weapons, but don't be deceived into thinking that this is some kind of shortcoming. They are all really cool and useful, and each has a meaningful and useful alt-fire mode. Thus, the game effectively has ten weapons, all of which you will use frequently throughout the game. The game's namesake weapon, The Painkiller, is like a chainsaw on crack. The shotgun has an alt-fire mode that freezes enemies in their tracks so that you can blast them to bits with one blast. The stake gun is a powerful weapon that showcases the game's rag-doll physics by letting you impale baddies onto walls. The fourth weapon is a powerful chain gun/rocket launcher combo, and the fifth weapon can create a miniature electric storm that fries anyone who comes near it.

A couple of minor upgrades in this game make it slightly different from other run-and-gun shooters. The most notable is the collection of souls, which come from the bodies of your fallen enemies. The souls only stay on the screen for a short time, so you have to run and collect them. When you collect 66 souls, you morph into an indestructible demon for a short time. Thus, the game actually rewards you for not running backwards all day. Another feature of this game is the tarot card system. Tarot cards are basically power-ups that you can use once per level, and that you unlock by accomplishing certain tasks (like finishing a level using only one weapon).

The graphics for this game are gorgeous, and they exist across a wide variety of scenery and environments. Everyone one of the game's 24 locations looks different. All of the scenery is inspired and creative. Painkiller shows an astonishing level of polish and attention to detail that I don't think I have ever seen in a first person shooter. One little example of this is in the game's fantastic Opera House level. All over the Opera House, there are at least a couple dozen paintings on the walls. And all of those paintings are highly detailed and unique. None of them repeat. This is different from most games, where scenery such as this repeats the same five or six items. As I said, this is a minor detail, but it is one of many, many little things that prove that an enormous effort went into this game.

The game's audio is also impressive. Most of it is consistent with the bizarre afterlife setting that the game tries to convey. In most areas you can hear low-pitched moans, whispers, creaks, etc. The exception might be the game's heavy metal action soundtrack, which isn't bad, but seems a bit out of place.

That's the great part. Then there's the "other" game-the one where Painkiller tries to do other stuff, like forcing you to break open a hundred containers on every level looking for gold. Yes, that's right. The game is like Diablo when it comes to breaking open boxes and chests to find treasure. You have to do it, because you need gold to use your Tarot cards. This stuff isn't much fun in RPG's, so it is TOTALLY out of place here. To make matters worse, a lot of the gold and ammo are hidden in secret areas. These areas are insanely hard to find, and just as hard to get to once you do find them. I was able to find over 50% of the secrets in Serious Sam, but I couldn't find 10% of the secrets in Painkiller without help from the message boards. You could spend 2 hours searching a level for the secrets and only find 2 out of 4 of them. Occasionally, the levels are set up in a way that makes it hard to find an exit. Once again, this is when the game is NOT fun. Painkiller would have been better without the material that disrupts the fast-paced action.

The end boss for this game was a huge letdown. I spent a frustrating hour trying to figure out what "magic trick" I needed to beat him. Then I went to the message boards, found out the trick, and beat him in about 2 minutes.

Painkiller takes the old Quake and Serious Sam formula to a new level. While doing so, it also provides an experience that is different from those games, and in some ways, better. If you enjoy defeating swarms of enemies in fast-paced shooters, then you can't go wrong with Painkiller.

Most of these folks are right....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I agree 100% that this program is everything it should be. A fierce battle to the end. Lots of levels. Over a dozen hours of gameplay (on medium difficulty) , and some excellent AI. The levels are sprawling and the 'baddies' are very eclectic. A huge assortment of very intense battles with one very powerful weapon named 'The Painkiller'. This thing could slice through solid steel. And, it leaves quite a mess behind. Especially when you pull out the blade. The weapon selection is limited to , i think, 6 weapons. But, they all have a secondary fire, and that comes in quite handy. So, there's really a dozen weapons. Yes, it's a lot like what we are to expect Doom 3 to be. Much more shallow than we expect Half-life 2 to be. And, a definite stepup from Serious Sam. A blast all the way through ,if you're someone who believes that a shooter should be just that. Only a shooter. No side-missions that have you running around doing RPG stuff. Just direct, messy, in-your-face blastin'. I love this game.

Mindless, Brainless and Wonderful Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This games is simply fun. It's not dumb but it veers away from the recent trend in first person shooters by eschewing complex controls, stealth and in game objectives and instead has one simple premise....if it moves, shoot it.

That sounds simplistic but the game handles the premise so very well that instead it basically distills everything down to pure fun.

The storyline is simple but effective: You are Daniel Garner, who died in a car accident while taking his girlfriend out for her birthday. Trapped in a place between Heaven and Hell, you struggle to uncover the reasons why you are denied entry into Heaven, the only place where you will see your loved one again. Sent on a mission to assassinate four of Satan's men, you become Heaven's hitman. I can do that.

What unfolds is rather majestic in its scope and execution. The game just looks fabulous and with the Havok engine, the environment opponents' bodies fly back, twisting and turning as you shoot them, realistically smashing into doors and other objects. There were times when I had finished off the enemies in some areas when I would just walk around shooting things to watch the effects, it's that impressive. And when you're blasting enemies, there'll be times when you just stop to watch your assailant soar through the air before continuing to the next one. The weapon sounds sound great so you can almost feel the impact of your weapons.

What really impressed me was the level design. We've all seen the endless corridors and rather staid levels in many FPS games but Painkiller takes level design to a new level, no pun intended. There's such a bizarre variety of levels, from Insane Asylums to an Opera House to an Abandoned Military Base to an Old Refinery to. you get the idea. It's creative and feels right in this game.

And speaking of levels, the end game level in Hell has to be seen to be believed. The designer put together a level that in my humble opinion would be worthy of a cinematic treatment. It's a great interpretation of what hell could be, based on the way humans have lived much of their lives.

So, get this one and as long as you aren't in need of the realistic tactical shooter type game, you'll have a blast. I know I did.

painkiller my opinion on this great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

i havent bought it yet but am in a couple of days only due to money problems. I have played it at my friends house. I was staying the night over there and sat up all night playing it. It is a blast pinning stuff to the wall, cutting fat people up and dodging mace swinging tommy-gun shooting, malatov (hope thats the right spelling) cocktails. it is nothing but fun. These people who are putting this game down are in my opinion stupid and i really dont care for them at all. i think this game will be a great one to buy. I laugh in the face at the people who dont like this game. especially that one review, who stated that you wont like this game if you arent in the doom 1 and 2 crowd. thats total bull crap. i didnt even like the original doom games just because i didnt even like the doom series that much and i thought that this game was a blast. I really think many of you out there will as well.

Extremely Imaginative Fun!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just don't get the negative reviews here. This game is the most imaginative, creative, compelling and just plain fun in a long time. The graphics are amazing, the music is fantastic, and it is definately not repetitive or boring, as some have said. There are MANY levels to go through, and it is not all shoot 'em up, though that is the most fun. You have to find hidden items, secret areas, complete a level in a given time, etc.
This game is the most fun I've had since the original Wolfenstein 3D, and that was a long time ago. I guess I'm more old school when it comes to gameplay. I enjoy minimal controls ( jumping, shooting, etc.) rather than all the hard to master (strafing, leaning, etc.) controls so I can ENJOY THE GAME.
Forget Far Cry, Doom3.
This is the one.

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