When I first decided to do the review for Painkiller, I needed to check it out. I went to the game's website and browsed through the info. After about an hour, I ended up getting so intrigued that I went and downloaded the demo while waiting for the full version. Since I've always enjoyed first person shooters, from Doom, Quake, Rise of the Triad, Heretic, and their respective sequels, I figured I'd seen it all. Just from the short two level demo, I realized I was quite mistaken. When I finally had the actual game in my hand and installed, I realized I was even more wrong than I thought.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of the game is that it has a pretty solid plot. You play as Daniel Garner, who, after a deadly car crash involving him and his wife Catherine, is pulled somewhere between heaven and hell. His wife is brought to heaven, leaving him alone to fight the minions of this dark and gruesome purgatory. An angel named Sammael gives him a chance to seek penance for something in his past which had kept him from heaven that is unknown even to Daniel.

From here you battle your way through five chapters, each containing between four and six levels in them. It's your mission to defeat Lucifer's four most powerful lieutenants before finally facing him in Hell itself.

The levels themselves are utterly stunning, with beautiful architecture and photorealistic textures. The designers manage to set a mood which is different with each area, ranging from suspense, to beauty, to downright fear. I remember when I first walked into a humungous opera house, tiered with balconies and just stopping for a moment to marvel at the sheer magnitude of it. They even manage to bring a sense of awe to areas as innocent as a train station, or a Venice-like city on the water masking the beginning of your journey into the pits of Hell. You don't get too much time to ogle though, since there are demons standing to crush you at every turn.

The monsters themselves are diverse, and very well designed. There are about twenty-six different monsters, not including the bosses themselves. They range from simple lumbering zombies, to Freaks, which are gruesome undead with what looks like the skull cap to an electric chair strapped to their heads. When they get too close, their heads will explode, and cause you damage.

The bosses are interesting, and I had no idea what to do the first time I ran into one. How do you kill something that doesn't go down with 50 shotgun blasts to the face? A lot of the boss fights in Painkiller actually require you to do a bit of thinking. Instead of relying on brute force, you may have to use a certain weapon, or do something with the level in order to destroy them. I don't want to go into details, since I hate spoilers as much as the next person, but it is fun and rewarding when you finally figure out what you need to do.

Painkiller has five weapons, but every weapon in the game has a dual function. The basic 'Painkiller', which doesn't use ammo, yields a devastating attack with its spinning blades that will rip apart any enemy close enough to use it on. The alternative fire launches a warhead that will stick to a wall and emit a beam back to the Painkiller so long as you're facing it. Any enemies that walk through it will regret that decision very soon after.

Some of the other weapons are a Stakegun, which is fun since you can stake your enemies to the wall with its high powered rounds, coupled with its grenade launches; the Electrodriver, which shoots high speed shurikens and an electric beam; the Rocketlauncher/chaingun (an instant favorite, but eats up ammo); and the Shotgun/freezer which allows you to freeze your enemies then shatter them into small pieces with a high powered shotgun blast.

What happens if your enemy gets to you first, though? While yes, you are technically dead, you can still take damage. When you take enough damage, your body is destroyed and it's game over. There are plenty of ways to avoid this, though. Throughout Painkiller, you can find Armor, and Health pickups. These are great for getting a boost to your health or your defense, but what happens if you need a quick fix?

Every enemy you kill, when they die, they release a soul. This will stay behind for several seconds, and when you walk over it you gain one health point. This may not seem like a lot, but when you tear through a gang of 20 demons running after you, it helps. Plus, they have another use. Every time you collect 66 souls you'll briefly morph into a demon yourself. The world goes black and white and all enemies appear engulfed in flames. You can't be hurt, are much faster, and unleash a devastating attack whenever you fire.

Another interesting feature of the game is the Tarot Card system. On each level you'll find one or more Black Tarot Cards, or when you finish a level a certain way, such as with only one weapon, or within a certain time. They give you special abilities, but since they're so powerful, they can be quite difficult to find. The two types of Black Tarot Cards are the Golden, which are temporary, and the Silver, which are permanent. These cards can range in ability from receiving twice as much ammo from every pickup, to becoming invincible. They generally last for 30 seconds and you cannot use them again during that level unless you have a card which lets you. Between levels, while viewing the 'map', you can choose to use cards during the next area. You can put five cards into your Tarot Card board, 2 permanent, and 3 temporary. Things aren't that simple though. In order to place cards on the table, you need Gold. This is found throughout the game in boxes, coffins, crates, pots, and many other breakable objects. You can also find them in the form of jewels and artifacts in secret areas.

As with any good First Person Shooter, Painkiller comes with a diverse multiplayer environment where you can test your skills against other players over a LAN or the internet. Painkiller has several options, from Free-for-all to Voosh, where everyone has the same weapon with infinite ammo, occasionally changing to a different weapon. It's a relatively easy system to use, with lots of options, and lots of fun.

Painkiller had me sitting on the edge of my seat, with the light on for most of the time I was playing. Aside from the game freezing a couple times, and a small issue with the cut scenes stuttering (most likely an issue on my end), I had a great time with this title. All of the features, and the frequent saves (after each area in a level) left frustration down to a minimum, and let you focus on the actual fun of a game, without worrying about dying. The characters were innovative, the monsters downright freaky, and the plot was interesting. Let's hope the sequel is as fun as the original!

Graphics: Stunning, with photorealistic textures, and smooth 3D. Included are lots of options to turn down any unneeded or unwanted features to speed up gameplay. It has incredible detail on the monster models and beautiful levels.

Sounds: The sound definitely pulls you into the atmosphere of the game, with the ambiance constantly pulling at the back of your mind with the sound of a woman screaming in the background to the tell-tale head thumping of the next checkpoint. The music was very fitting, with different styles for different levels, and changes in style and tempo when a fight was starting got your heart pumping.

Gameplay: The gameplay was very enjoyable, without getting repetitive. The change in scenery, and the constant new monsters made it fun without being redundant or boring.

Control: Basic first person shooter controls. At times I wish I could have jumped a little higher, but that's not the game's fault. The controls were simple to understand and became second nature soon after I started playing.

Story: Very nice. It's not overbearing, but you remember what it is. They give about 5 minute cut-scenes after hours of playtime.

Re-playability: I would definitely play this title again.

Multiplayer: Interesting, easy to use, and adrenaline pumping fun.