GAME (PC) : PAINKILLER OVERDOSE

REVIEW:

• Genre: Action
• Release Date: 10/01/2007
• Publisher: Dreamcatcher
• Developer: Mindware Studios
• ESRB: RP - Rating Pending

In the unending war between Heaven and Hell, passions flare between an angel and a demon, giving birth to Belial - master of time portals and one of the most obnoxious characters ever to grace a video game. After being imprisoned in a dark corner of Purgatory for millennia, events from the original Painkiller set Belial free, and he immediately sets out on a quest for vengeance. Painkiller: Overdose chronicles his long romp through hell and history to get some long awaited payback.

The original Painkiller, released in 2004, and made full use of the crazy physics capabilities that sent bodies and objects flying in all directions, which somewhat justifies the mindless gameplay. Overdose, a user community mod turned into a full stand-alone expansion, recycles practically everything from the original game but puts on some new skins. Basically, if you played the original Painkiller, then you already played Overdose. The developers included some new art, but it's essentially the same game. Players step into in a room, the door slams shut behind them and mayhem ensues. Creatures pop in and players must cut and shoot their way through them. Then a new door opens and the whole thing starts all over again with progressively bigger monsters. Set the whole thing on loop for a few hours, and that's Painkiller.

The original Painkiller put a great deal of emphasis on its extensive use of physics, but this technology doesn't impress today. Had Overdose debuted in 2004, then perhaps it would be a more worthwhile game. The good news is that the game has low system requirements by today's standards. Unfortunately, today's standards also include some much better shooters. Overdose's weapons don't offer variety or complexity. The Hell Cube is practically identical to the Pain/Killer from the original game, which lets gamers set up a laser beam trip wire. Instead of a flash-freezing feature, the shotgun temporarily turns monsters to stone, which isn't all that much of an improvement. Some cute touches were thrown in, like carrying around a severed demon head to fire laser eye beams. Its secondary fire is supposed to be some kind of killer scream, but the animation looks like its taking down monsters with bad breath. The crossbow fires three arrows at a time or can lob a handful of grenades, while the Hell Blade fires both spectral projectiles or thrown out to cut down everything along a guided path. Essentially, every weapon offers a different way to make monsters go boom, and that's all Painkiller has going for it.

Also making a comeback is the demon mode. Collecting 66 souls from fallen enemies enables the demon rage, which renders players temporarily invulnerable to damage and lets them rampage across the level for a short while. Players can also complete special challenges (like completing a level using only the Hell Cube) to unlock and equip black tarot cards, which grant special powers and significantly boosts the player's damage potential.

All the brainless monster bashing takes place across different time periods, which changes the setting but uses the same old monsters in different clothing. Although we like some of the character designs, ranging from Roman gladiators to ninjas in Japan, every creature rushes toward the player as though they can't wait to get shot in the face.

The mindless shooting wouldn't be so terrible if Belial wasn't annoying. He'll spout off a one-liner every once in a while in a seriously bad attempt at wit. After listening to lines like, "Kiss my half-angel butt," "Another one bites the dust," and "I love the taste of dark souls in the morning," for a few hours, being trapped in Purgatory starts to sound like a better alternative.

Players that appreciate hours of mindless blasting against equally brainless monsters will enjoy Painkiller: Overdose. The graphics and gameplay feel like they were grabbed out of yesteryear in more ways than one, but it delivers exactly what people expect from a Painkiller game, and not a single thing more.

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