Painkiller Hell And Damnation

A HELL OF A GAME !

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A few days ago we got the opportunity to play Painkiller Hell And Damnation on the Xbox. Painkiller is under development by the guys at The Farm 51 and will be published by Nordic Games. Originally the game was released on PC and is now set to invade consoles in May of this year. Painkiller Hell and Damnation is said to be a modern remake  of the two original classic games called Painkiller and Painkiller Battle Out Of Hell. So what is it all about?, well if you have not already guessed it is a FPS where the legions of hell are trying to kick your ass at every turn. The story goes, after crushing the forces of Hell and Purgatory in the original titles, Daniel Garner was denied seeing his wife, Catherine. Now, with no faith left, he sat in the cemetery, where his quest once began. Suddenly, Death itself appeared, proposing Daniel a new bargain: reunion with his wife in exchange for 7,000 souls. Daniel reluctantly agrees, receiving the Soulcatcher gun.

On the day there was two levels for us to play through, the first one was set in a graveyard and the second was set in a very large church or cathedral. Both of these could be played either on single or co-op, so I gave the graveyard a go on single player. The first thing I noticed were the graphics on this title, they were very pleasing to the eye and well rendered while still keeping a high frame rate. So into the graveyard I walked unaware of what was about to happen, within 30 seconds I was surrounded by Skeletons, Hags and strange child sized skeletons. I found myself cursing and shouting at the Hags while trying to blow their heads off with my shotgun and steel discs shot from the Soulcatcher. The enemies come in a wide range of different types, each one providing their own unique way of trying to rip your head off. I did find it a little strange shooting those child size skeletons, because for me it seemed just a little wrong to be blowing something away that reminded me of a child, but that was just my take on it and soon I was calling the dwarfs and happily mowing my way through them.

The weapons in Painkiller Hell And Damnation are well thought out and work extremely well. If you take the Soulcatcher for instance, it has two modes of fire the first one fires spinning steel discs, while the second mode fires a green stream of power that locks on to the enemy and sucks the soul from their body. My favourite on the day was the Shotgun, which just kept on firing as long as you had ammo so no need to stop and reload while trying to run from the hordes of enemies at the same time. Ammo is plentiful in the game and simply walking over it, picks it up which is handy as rarely do you get a minute to rest in this game as the enemies just keep on coming and coming. We did also try the co-op mode and to be honest, I needed it as I was continually getting slaughtered in the single player even when it was just set on normal.

When the game is released it will have a wide range of modes to play including Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Duel. I saw the game as a cross between Doom and Unreal Tournament, because while in one of the levels there was a spring on the ground that shot you up to the level above, something like you would have in Unreal Tournament. The maps are just amazing and I can imagine playing Team Deathmatch on them while picking up and using the wide variety of hellish weapons. Don’t think it will be easy as there is no kill streaks, weapon upgrades or snipers shooting you from their perch, which is fresh and exciting today in game as all too many players depend on these and other perks to play and win. In Painkiller Hell And Damnation you will have to rely on skill for a change and face to face combat with short range weapons.

Painkiller Hell And Damnation is a blend of heart pounding action, great graphics and original weapons that all make for a game that is going to surprise and delight a lot of players this year. Once you start playing this game it is hard to put down the controller, finding yourself foaming from the mouth for more of the fast and very frantic action. This is one title this year that should not be passed by amid the bombardment of major and better known titles. If you are saving your money for that one game that will give you a thrilling experience coupled with all the online play you could ever want, then hold out for Painkiller Hell And Damnation in May. Believe me you will not be disappointed.

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