Been looking around for a new "real" run n' gun first person shooter? Painkiller is just what you need! If Painkiller had to be compared to one game, it would have to be Serious Sam, actually, think of it as "Dark Serious Sam" because that's what it is. The story of the game, if you buy the version that has a story, revolves around a man that died in a car crash with his wife, on one rainy night. Yes, I said dead and that's where the "Dark" in Dark Serious Sam comes in. You'll battle through hordes of varied types of monsters in a pretty large number of sinister environments. What really catches your attention when you play for the first time is the spinning-blade (which is your first weapon) and you'll cut through an impressing amount of enemies simultaneously. Although I do not recommend this tactic for medium and over difficulties, it kills time to just start an easy campaign and shave the levels one by one. Secondly, you will be impressed at the boss sizes because they are all huge, you'll see. The multiplayer mode of Painkiller is passable. What makes it a thrill (for the first few levels) to shoot things in the game is that rag doll physics. For example, don't be surprised to shoot a monster with a shotgun and seeing him flip or fly 20 feet away.
The sad thing about Painkiller is that it really gets boring fast. It's the type of game you want to play for basically just beating high scores. This being said, you get high scores at the end of every level like in Ninja Gaiden. Other than that, the in-game music is awesome and fits very well with the battles. To make things feel a little bit more special, Painkiller has a few cool power-ups, including the famous Berserk, and secondary functions for each weapon, like the shotgun, for example, will shoot an ice bullet and freeze the enemy. Finally, I remained entertained throughout most of the game but it's just too arcady for me. Thankfully, the game now sells for less than 20$ so I suggest checking it out and if you happen to love it, you should know that an expansion is on it's way, if not, it's a sequel.
Graphics are not the strong part of the game but they remain alright. They actually feel a little PS2ish to me. The thing that demands power from your PC, is the number of characters on screen but if you have at least an okay gaming rig, you should run it fine and high settings.
In conclusion to my review, I was overall happy of my purchase and the game really helped me get passed some boring times. It's the time of game that I turn to even if I don't feel like playing a game that much. That's how an arcade feeling game is to me. Just like playing Solitaire or Pinball.
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