Windows

Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell

The underlying premise of an expansion pack is to merely add booster content to a title that is getting long in the tooth. While Painkiller’s "long in the tooth" status is debatable, BooH does much more than function as a booster pack and is probably Painkiller at its absolute finest. While not nearly as long as the original title in gameplay length, BooH is more than worthy of its $20 price tag, considering that the 10 levels are solid in and of themselves, and the new content is pretty good. If you already own Painkiller, there is absolutely no reason that BooH shouldn’t already be on your "Games to Buy" list, as it will undoubtedly be highly regarded by fans of the original title. It may not showcase a cutting-edge game engine or add brand new features to the FPS genre, but Painkiller: Battle out of Hell is, without a doubt, one of the most intense and straightforward FPS rides the genre has seen yet.

Battle Out of Hell manages to remain compelling, serving as a testament to the great design that went into the original game (which still looks pretty damn good). The game is a gore-fest with a twisted aesthetic. It features original weapons and creepy, yet hilarious, enemies. Check it out; you can stake me later.

Painkiller: Battle out of Hell is everything one could want in a sequel to a damn fine original game. It quite handily earns 4.5 out of 5 GiN Gems.

Battle out of Hell added even more content to a very fun game. Unfortunately a lot of gamers need story or structure to enjoy games. They will be missing an excellent title. Just like our Painkiller review said, if you enjoy first-person shooters then tack on some more points to the total and don’t let this one slip by.

Battle out of Hell was the only release I was looking forward to this fall. While some will say Painkiller introduced nothing new to the genre, using old techniques bundled with some twists and turns, I’d say that’s only partially correct. The newness it brought to us in 2004 was exactly the old that disappeared after Quake. Serious Sam was the only notable exception but it differs substantially from Painkiller despite some obvious similarities.

Although this expansion is quite small it is well worth getting as it adds a great continuation to the first game. This is a must buy ($20) for anyone that owns original Painkiller and liked it as much as I did. For those folks that have never tried Painkiller I highly recommend you grab a demo and give it a try.

Nie obeszło się również bez lekkich usprawnień trybu multuplayer. Poza nieznacznym polepszeniem kodu sieciowego otrzymaliśmy garść świeżych mapek oraz dwa nowe tryby rozgrywki – capture the flag oraz last man standing. Oba tak znane fanom FPS’ów, że nawet nie wypada objaśniać o co w nich biega. Mam tylko nadzieję, że za jakiś czas, gdy więcej ludzi nabędzie Battle Out Of Hell wzrośnie nieco zainteresowanie owym trybem. Bo jak na razie serwerów jest całkiem sporo, ale na niemal każdym pustki niemiłosierne. A szkoda, bo jest to produkt naprawdę z pierwszej półki – nie dość, że obdarzony całkiem sporą grywalnością, to jeszcze świetnie wykonany, zarówno pod względem wizualnym, jak i dźwiękowym.

Battle Out of Hell manages to remain compelling, serving as a testament to the great design that went into the original game. A must own for shooter fans!

It’s pretty easy to sum up the Painkiller expansion, Battle out of Hell; as it’s simply more of the same. That’s great news for anyone that enjoyed the first installment but anyone who wasn’t impressed with the first outing is going to find little here to change their minds. Personally we found the frantic gameplay, gorgeous graphics and downright scary soundtrack was right up our street and Painkiller, and its newly released expansion pack are more than worthy contenders to that elusive list of brilliant FPS. People Can Fly have given the fan base exactly what they wanted; another dose of the Painkiller franchise. We only hope it’s a much larger dose next time.

The expansion pack is great. It’s probably one of the best expansion packs for any game released in 2004. If you own the original this is a must buy. You cannot go without this expansion. The levels are twisted and extremely fun. The game doesn’t take too long to complete but that’s not real problem. The weapons are awesome as are the graphics. The enemies offer their own unique look and attacks based on the level at hand. The setting can go from creepy to just funny.

Overall, Painkiller: Battle out of Hell improves the original game by simply giving you more interesting run and gun action, but its gameplay isn't better than the original. The game is weighed down too much by annoyances such as cheap deaths and bugs. However, I still suggest a purchase if you are a fan of the original Painkiller game at a reduced price. It may not be a Brood War or Opposing Force, but it is still plenty o' fun.

If I had to pick a game to be the poster child for the concept of expansion packs, Painkiller: Battle Out Of Hell might well be it. It does exactly what the original did – throw a hojillion enemies at you while treating your eyes to some of the best visuals in the business. Mix in some new weapons, huge bosses, and a silly generic heavy metal soundtrack, and away we go. Not that there’s a problem with that; I certainly enjoy Painkiller’s brand of mindless mayhem, and Battle Out Of Hell delivers rather a lot of it.

Battle Out of Hell is pretty easy to sum up: it's a second, smaller dose of Painkiller. It may not last as long, but it's just as potent. If you didn't like the original, the expansion won't do anything to turn that around, but if you were one of the many addicted to Painkiller will probably want to pop the expansion in, too.

I was almost as impressed with Battle out of Hell as I was with the original Painkiller, due in no small part to the fact that the developers very consciously stuck to a proven formula. "More of the same" has come to have a negative connotation, but if "the same" is good, how can more of it be bad? Battle out of Hell fits this argument nicely. While it's not quite as good as the original, it is only an expansion pack, and expansions aren't really expected to shoulder the same responsibilities as full-fledged games. At the very least it's about eight hours of extreme fun, and you can't really say no to that.

Nieuwe levels, nieuwe wapens en nieuwe vijanden, meer van hetzelfde dus, zowel positief als negatief.

Overall, this game is undoubtedly worth a purchase. The ten new levels should keep you occupied for four or five hours, and there are the multiplayer additions. Best of all, this expansion is just $20. My complaints shouldn’t stop any serious fans of run-and-gun action, who will still definitely enjoy this game. If you don’t have the original, now is as good a time as any to pick it up.

I'll keep this one short. Enjoyed Painkiller? Then by all means, go and buy this expansion pack. Want to use your brains just a little more? Save your money or pick up Half-Life 2, The Chronicles of Riddick or Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault

Popularną przypadłością większości dodatków – czy to będzie strategia, czy erpeg, czy prosta strzelanka – jest to, że w ten sam engine, tę samą grafikę i te same realia autorzy starają się upakować nieco większe wyzwania. Obok starych przeciwników dostrzegamy kilku nowych, pomiędzy starymi lokacjami odnajdujemy parę nowych map i na tym koniec. Painkiller: Battle out of Hell szczęśliwie na tę chorobę nie cierpi. Nadal mamy do czynienia z niezwykle dynamicznym, fantastycznie grywalnym i odprężającym FPS-em, który graficznym i dźwiękowym przepychem dech zatyka, ale nasz wzrok nie spocznie na niczym, co już widzieliśmy.

Battle out of Hell sports great graphics, enjoyable game play, decent sound and is as fun as a barrel full of Spanish speaking monkeys (if you're into that sort of thing). Unless you have a strong distaste for violence in any shape or form, Painkiller's expansion comes with my shining stamp of approval. Fans of the original should definitely check out the expansion, and fans of mindless shooters (ala Serious Sam) should check out both.

Painkiller was an awesome surprise in what's turned out to be a great year for high-quality shooters. With its wildly varied environments, impressive physics, huge cast of creatures, creative weapon design, and a focus on pure action over exposition, it was both a throwback and a hair-raising step forward in relentless intensity. Battle out of Hell, the game's official expansion pack, doesn't mess around with the winning formula. It features 10 new levels (each with an original set of enemies and an unlockable tarot card), two new weapons, and some new multiplayer modes and maps. While some of the new levels match the quality of the original, roughly half of them feel like content that simply didn't pass muster the first time around. And now that the game's novelty has worn off a little, some of its design and technical flaws have become more glaring. It's still an impressive ride; it's just somewhat more sporadic than the original.

Goed, je krijgt nog steeds drie geweldige levels, en enkele middelmatige voor een interessant prijsje. Meer van hetzelfde - als dit reeds erg goed was - is niet erg? Maar, we zijn streng, want Painkiller heeft de lat zo enorm hoog gelegd, dat we niet minder dan het beste verwachten voor elke uitbreiding van het spel. Dus: weg met de puzzels! Weg met het springen! Verkort de laadtijden! En meer meeslepende levels zoals het weeshuis. Alstublieft. Heel veel Alstublieft. Met een kersje erop.

People Can Fly nous sert un add-on bien court et qui aurait pu corriger quelques défauts de-ci, de-là mais pour tout fan de Painkiller avec un prix aussi attractif, on ne voit pas pourquoi on se priverait de ces 10 nouvelles missions vraiment de bonne qualité. Bon, sur ce je vous quitte, c'est l'heure de mon cachet. D'ailleurs, vu que je viens d'éternuer 2 fois, vous serez gentils de me dire à "tes souhaits" et à "tes amours".

When Painkiller came out back in April, it reminded many of the Serious Sam days, with armies of enemies, brutal weapons, and enough viscera to fill a grain silo every ten minutes or so. Some of us, though, saw it as a step backward in the advancement of the genre. There was lots of eye candy, plenty of action, and lots of chunky slicing, but the pornography-thin story was incoherent, the waves of enemies became numbing, and the set pieces few and far between. The expansion has done a lot to rectify some of these problems, but at it's heart, it's still Painkiller, and that's an acquired taste, especially in the face of more rewarding fare like Far Cry, UT2004, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Tribes: Vengeance, and Call of Duty: United Offensive. When you're "in the zone" with Painkiller, it's fun. But it doesn't stick with you like these other titles.

In the end I must say I have enjoyed this expansion even with the crashes, load times and sad, sad storyline. Just like its predecessor its nice to find a shooter that isn’t in WWII or Vietnam, in fact it is very reminiscent of Heretic. I will never get sick of stack gunning a demon to a wall and watching them flail around trying to free themselves as I walk up and stack them right in the head at point blank range… do I need therapy? So, if you have the original and enjoyed it, grab this expansion. If you do not have the original and are looking for a nice FPS and you can find a copy of the original grab it, it’s a cool game, just not for the kiddies.

The biggest gripe anyone can have with an expansion pack is that it doesn't have enough content to justify the purchase. Battle out of Hell comes dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, but with the help of new bosses, optimized net code and added multiplayer facets, it manages to hold on by the skin of its teeth. I mean this is still a fun game to play, and fans of Painkiller will like it. Nonetheless, the expansion dearly needed more content and a more consistent level design.

Sagen wir’s so: Wer Painkiller bisher nicht mochte, den wird das Addon nicht bekehren. An KI-Schwächen und arg eintönigen Metzeleien hat sich nämlich nichts geändert. Fans kriegen hier aber eine mehr als faire Erweiterung. Die Waffen sind cool, die Levels beeindruckend, mal abgesehen von den nervtötenden Geschicklichkeitseinlagen. Vor allem den Multiplayer-Part wertet das Addon auf – die neuen Maps eignen sich hervorragend für heiße, mittelgroße Deathmatch-Orgien.

Un poil court, presque dépourvu de nouveauté, Battle Out of Hell s'en sort malgré tout plutôt bien, notamment grâce à certains niveaux vraiment bien fichus et par son prix réduit.

Painkiller is to FPSs what running round playgrounds making machine gun noises is to war. Unsophisticated. Likely to end badly if an adult tries it. As PCG's original review said, it was "aiming at monsters and firing - and that's it." This add-on, Battle Out of Hell, seems a little embarrassed by its simplicity.

In the end, I don’t think I fall into the target demographic for this game. Maybe I just want too much and can’t appreciate the game for what it’s worth, but I don’t think so. I think Battle out of Hell is a fresh coat of paint for an old car that has a lot of unattended problems under the hood. It’s certainly pretty, and I bet if you liked the first one a whole lot you’ll probably play through it, but I just can’t recommend this one whole-heartedly.

Malgré le gain visuel notable et l'originalité de certains niveaux, Battle Out of Hell demeure un add-on assez décevant. Les environnements soignés du départ laissent vite place à des cartes correctes mais bien moins inspirées, et ce jusqu'à l'arrivée d'un boss final aussi époustouflant à voir qu'il est pénible à affronter. Du côté des maigres nouveautés, les deux nouvelles armes sont sympathiques et les modes multi viennent surtout combler un manque du titre original, sans offrir le mode coop tant souhaité. Un contenu plutôt mince mais classique donc, qui est cependant suffisamment efficace pour ceux qui ne jurent que par les FPS bourrins, un peu à la diète ces temps-ci.

At the budget price, we weren't expecting miracles, and nor should anyone else Battle Out Of Hell is a well-meaning expansion pack that offers almost exactly what you expect - more of the same crazed traditional Doom-alike madness for a reasonable asking price. If the parent release fulfilled your thirst for Mentalist twitch shooting and you feel like topping up then you can't really complain at what's on offer here, but for us it's almost the dictionary definition of an average shooter. For those wanting something a little more cerebral and fulfilling, this sure as hell isn't it.