Painkiller: Hell Wars

Painkiller first started as a PC game in early 2004. It took the ideas of old-school shooters like Doom, Wolfenstein, and Duke Nukem 3D and implanted them into a new-school environment. Unlike the actual sequels to these games, where the original feel was lost to make room for improvements, Painkiller stayed simple and stuck to good old-fashioned level, weapon, and enemy design. Some knocked it for this; others praised it.

The original draw to Painkiller was its graphics, weapons, and fantastic physics. Ragdoll wasn’t a standard just yet, so watching your enemies flying around was a real treat. Well, in the two years it took Painkiller to port over to Xbox that treat isn’t quite as sweet as it used to be. Ragdoll now is a standard, and gamers are looking for a little more substance to go with it.

The game begins when the game’s hero, Daniel Garner, dies with his wife in a car accident. When he finds himself in Hell without his wife, reaching Heaven becomes his number one goal. He learns that by defeating Lucifer’s generals he can in fact earn his way into Heaven.

Painkiller: Hell Wars is pretty much identical to the PC Painkiller with the addition of some new levels. The goal is simple: follow your navigation arrow to the next room, fight the hordes of enemies that flood towards you, and then follow the arrow again. There is no way you can get lost in Painkiller, which also leaves little for the Indiana Jones gamers out there that love to explore.

Limited exploration doesn’t mean the environments aren’t interesting, however. The game starts with some of the more bland levels, but towards the end of the game you see some very impressive backdrops. Unfortunately, even after two years they couldn’t match the graphical level the PC version reached. The textures aren’t quite as rich and some of the graphical effects don’t seem to be intact.

What did stay intact is the awesome weaponry and enemy design. Painkiller still has some of the most creative weapons I’ve seen in a video game. Who thinks to cram a flamethrower into a submachine gun? Or a grenade launcher attached to a stake gun? These weapons are immensely complimented by the physics engine. It’s hard to beat pinning a monster to the far wall with a giant wooden stake.

The enemies are also extremely varied. Within each chapter they all seem to stick to a similar theme, but across chapters they are very different. If you play your cards right, sometimes you can even get them to fight each other. The variety and quantity of enemies in Painkiller: Hell Wars really helps keep the game fresh, but it’s really the only thing that keeps the game fresh.

Painkiller also features tarot card powerups. If certain requirements are fulfilled during a level, you will unlock the tarot card from that level. Each card costs a certain amount of gold to equip and offers the player different abilities or bonuses. There are also two types of cards; one type that needs to be activated during the level and the other gives a constant effect while equipped. The cards that need activating usual have a much nicer affect than the constant cards, but can only be activated a limited number of times per level.

Chapters are broken up by boss fights, yet another highlight of Painkiller that we don’t see much of in recent first-person shooters. The bosses themselves are enormous, but the way they are fought is even cooler. While some bosses have events during the fight, others have attack patterns and weak points. These battles are equally intense as the crowded combat in normal levels, but in their own way.

For a little break from endless waves of hell spawn you can hop on Xbox Live and play a few rounds of multiplayer. The online gameplay was extremely smooth and lag-free, but I had a real hard time finding a match to join. I only found some opposition when I started my own game and ran around alone for 5-10 minutes. Even then it was only one or two opponents at a time.

The weapons are what really make multiplayer interesting, since the actual gameplay is very straightforward. Showdowns with the stake gun are especially fun. There are plenty of levels; enough that when the map list loops you’re ready for the first one again. There are also various powerups that show up in each level granting more power to your weapon, infrared vision, etc.

Since the story is uninteresting and the gameplay is mindless, the biggest draw to Painkiller: Hell Wars is its weapon, enemy, and level design. These combined with the Havoc physics engine make for some really fun carnage. If that’s not enough for you, I’d recommend staying away. Also, if you’ve played the PC version, Hell Wars has virtually nothing new to offer. But if tons of enemies, flying bodies, and heavy metal is your thing, you’re bound to enjoy it.        

Gameplay: 6.0
While some gamers may see the simplicity as a downside, others may enjoy the fact that it’s mindless. I’m on the fence – I enjoy deep gameplay, but sometimes if the game is fun I don’t want to be bothered with finding keys or jumping over pits. Painkiller is just plain fun.

Graphics: 5.2 
The game looks a bit grainy and the textures dull. Even Painkiller’s best levels look a little plain on the Xbox. The physics are great, though, and character models show a lot of detail.

Sound: 7.0
While not the best, the weapons still sound pretty awesome. Levels will also be creepily silent until a monster comes out screaming, triggering music that perfectly fits the mood.

Difficulty: Easy-Hard
Painkiller: Hell Wars offers three difficulties right away, with an unlockable fourth. The middle difficulty is actually pretty easy, but as you play you notice some levels stay locked. That’s because they aren’t available to the easier difficulties. So, to experience the full game you have to play on the hardest difficulty.

Concept: 4.0 
Ports are almost a standard these days, but PC to console ports and vice-versa were always a bit lacking. Considering this Hell Wars was a good port, but it still isn’t quite as good as the PC version. Especially now, after the game has been out for two years already.

Multiplayer: 6.5
I had a lot of fun playing this on Live. Painkiller offers some game modes you won’t find in any other first-person shooter, guaranteed. Its stability online was also very impressive. Even though it was hard to find an opponent, when I did we both had a lot of fun.  

Overall: 5.8
Painkiller is still really fun to play – in small doses. Since the game is so simple, the audience is going to be limited to those that take pleasure in simply blowing away a large number of bad guys. But when you take a two-year old game and improve almost nothing about it, it’s going to be a little stale.