Painkiller

The Good
The candy. Ohhh the eye- candy. Absolutely stunning graphics, great level design (extremely straightforward, but graphically impressive), amazing textures. And artistic choice of coloring. The physics (Havok 2) are also impressive- one can spend hours experimenting with the rag doll effects, the angle of impalement, the effect on each leg, member, head and so forth.

Another attempt for "depth" is the Tarot Card system. Each level carries an objective- kill all monsters, collect all gold, destroy all objects, complete level only with a certain weapon. If the objective is completed, the player is awarded with a Tarot card. These are used in game, costing a given sum of gold coins, they give away 2X damage, speed, etc.

The multiplayer aspect is of great importance- the expected modes are all there, and some new ideas are brought to flesh correctly (namely, the People Can Fly mode). The community of Pro-Gamers have been expecting this game, and major tournaments have incorporated it in their schedules.

Other cool stuff: the mini-bosses, the big-bosses, the dark mood. The demon mode: a time-limited god-mode called forth when 65 souls (dropped from perished enemies) are collected. The story (if you like silly scenarios while blasting away at the legions of doom).

The Bad
This is an extremely straightforward and simple game- Daniel dies, gets stuck in the Purgatory and must banish 4 great generals of evil... and the zillions of demons before them. All exits close when the player enters a new area- the monsters come rushing in and head straight for the bored Daniel. No tactics are involved- just speed and quick turns. Once all are dead, on to the next area. The weapons- yes, they are very perty... but the shotgun is too powerful at times. Each level presents a maximum of four different monsters- there is no variety in terms of monster models within a level. AI is completely absent.

I do not like comparisons, but many have used Serious Sam when describing Painkiller. Well, Painkiller is in fact, even more straightforward and simplistic at its core. No weird levels, no reverse gravity, no round, revolving stages: its the same "all exits close/monsters appear/monsters are slain/exits open" again and again. Its level design, in terms of architect, visualization and imaginitive use of tools, seems to suffer greatly at this point.

Other uncool stuff: The cut scenes: they seem to be missing something- i think it's called "persuasiveness". The story (if you want profound stories wrapping your gaming experience).

The Bottom Line
Somehow, it +feels+ like a Quake-game, simple and straightforward. At times, TOO simple- not even a duck command is included.

As one, a flood of mods is expected (the first mod is up as you read these lines...). My point is: Painkiller is a decent enough game. It will get a lot better.