The story of Painkiller Hell & Damnation is an afterthought, but the player does get a quick look back at the other releases in the Painkiller series to begin the game before the player sets off to begin racking up their kill count. Daniel Garner is the star of the game, and he is sent on a mission to capture and return 7,000 souls to Death in exchange for another chance to reunite with his wife Catherine. His wife currently resides in heaven, while Daniel is stuck between the planes of existence. There likely aren't many architects or game designers whose souls are stuck in this world, and that's reflective in the game's level design that does include a variety of different locations, some of which aren't much to look at. Every few missions, another layer is added to the Painkiller Hell & Damnation storyline, but a good measure of the talking in the game is done when Daniel spouts off some funny one line in true classic shooter fashion.
Painkiller Hell & Damnation doesn't offer much to differentiate itself from other class shooters. Characters move at high rates of speed, and there is no aiming down the scope as in most modern shooters. Players replenish health by finding health packs and souls littered around the map, and a few upgrades are available for players to unlock via tarot cards. Players will also be able to find hidden secrets around the various maps in the 14-stage campaign. The variety of locations offer changes of scenery, but will mostly force a player to clear out one room full of enemies before moving on to the next horde in another closed arena. There are some stages that change up the tactics needed to succeed such as the Looney Park that forces players to quickly shoot down enemies in an on-rails roller coaster ride.
Enemies in Painkiller Hell & Damnation come in a good variety of shapes and sizes including plenty of notable encounters with larger than life bosses, but the common enemy types suffer from poor AI and design choices. Painkiller Hell & Damnation attempts to overwhelm players with smaller rooms or arenas filled with plenty of debris to be slowed by, while enemies rely on numbers to damage the player rather than any real tactics. Most all of the common enemies in the game will need to get close to perform melee attacks whether with clubs, swords or body slams even when their looks can vary drastically from humanoid enemies to demons to large mounds with pig snouts. Similar to many modern zombie games, circling enemies in the best strategy and getting backed into a corner could be game over, though the game does feature a generous checkpoint system to help get right back in the action.
Bosses on the other hand will come at players with a variety of tactics. Most are colossal abominations that pack a heavy punch and have a good reach advantage on the much smaller player. Typically, a boss will have a variety of attacks to keep players honest, and a large life total means plenty of ammunition will need to be wasted to take down these foes. Boss fights offer what are easily the most exciting moments for Painkiller Hell & Damnation, and they offer a nice change of pace from blasting away the dumber enemies in the game from short range while they mindlessly chase the player around arenas.
Painkiller Hell & Damnation features a nice variety of weapons not seen in many other games. Rather than going the traditional route with pistols, shotguns and snipers, Painkiller Hell & Damnation prefers to fire saw blades from high-powered rifles or blast lightning from a handheld cannon at the demons in this world. Nearly every weapon in the game has some sort of secondary attack and can be quickly swapped in combat. One example is a minigun that doubles as a rocket launcher to produce one of the strongest and most versatile weapons in the game. Mastering the various weapons in the game takes a bit of time, since most players have become accustomed to having the same weapons in every shooter game they play, but the hellacious weapons offer a good change of pace for the genre and show some imagination by the design team for the game.
Multiplayer doesn't do anything special, and player will mostly overlook this aspect of the game save for matches with friends. Unlike the weapons featured in the game, Painkiller Hell & Damnation features your standard set of game modes that includes Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. The maps in the game aren't the best designed and spawn points can be tricky as more players join the session. Painkiller Hell & Damnation doesn't seem to have much of a fan base to support multiplayer at the moment, so you'd likely need to play the game with friends to enjoy what few game modes there are in the game. A Survival mode for up to eight players does offer some redeeming qualities as the only way to team up with more than one friend with Horde mode like ideas for anyone that has played Gears of War or most any other recently released shooter.
Painkiller Hell & Damnation exudes an old school vibe, but the game doesn't look horrible and features graphics that are built on Unreal Engine 3. There is rarely slow down or graphical glitches in the game and character design is strong for the most part. Guns also feel heavy and seem to pack a real punch with every shot fired to help evoke the feeling of being a true badass while blasting away in a bloody gibfest. Voice acting is pretty good and also a constant reminder of old school shooters such as Duke Nukem, especially since Daniel is voiced by none other than Jon St. John. The game's soundtrack isn't terribly impressive, unless you're a fan of generic metal themes, but the sounds do fit the action of the game well and seem to pop-in at the most opportune times to make certain scenes feel a bit more special.
Painkiller Hell & Damnation isn't perfect, and there are surprisingly more new versions of classic shooters on the video game marketplace than you may realize, but the game is still a solid choice for a game that can be picked up for less than $30 but give a return value of more than that. Painkiller Hell & Damnation is an action-packed ride through Hell, Purgatory or whatever strange plane of existence you would call the bizarre setting, and the great variety of weapons in the game give players plenty to experiment with on more than one trip through the game. Cooperative modes give players an excuse to pick up the new title to play with friends, and plenty of hidden secrets and some unlockable difficulties only increase replay value. If you're a fan of old school shooters, Painkiller Hell & Damnation may be just the game you've been waiting for. Check it out on the downloadable marketplace of your choice today!
Painkiller Hell & Damnation is now available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and can be purchased for $29.99. Painkiller Hell & Damnation is rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore & Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Painkiller Hell & Damnation website.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer: The Farm 51
Publisher: Nordic Games
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewed) & PC
Release Date: October 1, 2013
