Painkiller: Hell Wars
To Hell with this…
Tags: Painkiller Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Jake McNeill on Nov 14th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller (title page) | 1+ | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| First Person Shooter | Yes | ||
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A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Xbox Live Arcade version of Doom, the classic FPS that kick-started the genre. The genre has made quite a lot of progress since the original landmark game, integrating true 3D controls and environments in games like Quake, seeing tremendous leaps in puzzle design, level design and AI in games like Half-Life, real strides in multiplayer co-op in countless games, and an emerging distinction between various types of FPSes, from the huge multiplayer warzones of Battlefield 1942 and the squad-based gameplay of titles like Rainbow Six to the creepy dark corridors of Doom 3 and the fully-realized futuristic arsenal in games like the Halo titles.
In my Doom review, I could look at the title objectively, in spite of this massive world of progress and say, yeah, this is how games used to be, and in light of that, it’s pretty awesome, and still fun to play today. As a nostalgia piece, as well as an example of classic game design in an era where developers had to make the most of what they had, the quality in that title shines through its age. These are qualities Painkiller: Hell Wars simply doesn’t have.
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In a way, Painkiller harkens back to the days of Quake, when FPS games were just about shooting everything that moves. The plot is a paper-thin excuse to shoot things, the enemy AI is simple as they come, and the only real thinking involved is which weapon you want to use. Now, while games like this were all the rage back in the days of Quake and Hexen, Painkiller’s original release on the PC was in 2004, when people were anxiously awaiting the soon-to-be-released Half-Life 2 and Halo 2. To call it a throwback is an understatement – Painkiller is a catapult-back.
Now, two years later the game is being brought to the Xbox along with some content from its expansion, and it looks even more out-of-place. The Xbox versions of Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 came out a year ago, and the platform is now collecting dust and settling in for retirement, fully content to pass the spotlight on to the next-generation of platforms. To release Painkiller now, when even its most direct competition was released a year ago, and would have trounced it even then, makes this game look downright geriatric.
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If nothing else, the game does at least look sharp visually. The graphics are pretty good, and the game sports some very inventive character designs and a very diverse range of environments (Hell apparently looks like a cathederal, a circus, an orphanage, and a WWII battleground. What, no “waiting in line at the DMV” level?). Also nice is the physics engine that shreds apart enemies, pins their bodies to the wall with the stake-gun (the game’s signature weapon), and blasts them apart. It is unfortunate, then, that the fast-paced action is marred by a framerate that jumps from silky-smooth to skip-city.
As for the rest, it’s gameplay no one over the age of 8 will enjoy for long, wrapped in a bloody, M-rated package that claims they shouldn’t be playing it until they’re 17. As previously mentioned, enemy AI is practically nonexistent, generally running straight at you and attempting to overwhelm you with numbers alone. So simple is their programming that you can jump from one balcony to another and watch them instantly turn 180 degrees and walk the other direction as their pathfinding determines the shorter path to you has changed.
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When fighting, you’ll invariably find yourself running around as fast as you can (which in this game is quite fast), as a large number of the game’s enemies only have melee attacks. With enemies that have ranged attacks, good ol’ circle-strafe does the trick, and ultimately the only skill involved is your speed and accuracy when it comes to aiming.
There are some interesting weapons here, from the previously-mentioned stake-gun to a melee weapon that’s like a quesinart on steroids. However, there’s not much here that you won’t still tire of after a few hours of non-stop use, and the move to the Xbox has made the use of them even less efficient, as the weapon-selection mechanic is awkward at best (you assign each weapon to a D-pad button and if you want to select one that you haven’t assigned, you need to do it in a menu).
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Still, Painkiller: Hell Wars’ main problem is not that it’s a bad game, but that its gameplay is at least a decade late to be appreciated. As the genre has matured, so too have our tastes, and while this title may have been huge if it was released back in the days of Quake, these days we’re playing our Halos and Half-Lifes, and when we play a game like Doom, we can look at it in the context of playing an old classic. Painkiller is neither modern nor a classic, and at this point it’s a game that’s hard to really recommend to anyone.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Fast-paced action + Mostly very nice graphics + Decent physics engine |
6.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- This gameplay belongs back in the 90s. It looks outright archaic now - Framerate issues - Weapon selection is wonky on the Xbox |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you're looking for a shooter on the Xbox, there are countless others that are more involving than this one. The gameplay in Painkillers: Hell Wars has been out of style for a decade. | |
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Tags: Painkiller
Posted by Jake McNeill on Nov 14th, 2006 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
