Painkiller: Hell Wars

Rating ESRB: Mature Genre first-person-shooter Publisher DreamCatcher Interactive External Links Official Painkiller Website

If given the choice to spend eternity in Purgatory or fight a Holy War for God, what would you choose? Luckily for us, Daniel Gardner chooses the latter, accepting a mission sent down through God's Messenger to wipe out four demonic generals and avoid the war to end all wars. Is Gardner the chosen one, or is he less innocent than he leads on? Well, the last thing I want to do is spoil the plot for you, so all I'll say is this game is definitely worth playing to find the answer.

Painkiller: Hell Wars revolves around Gardner, and although the gravity of his situation is relatively unclear after the opening cut scene you'll soon understand the backbone of the game's Campaign Mode. Once you step into Daniel Gardner's shoes you will realize your role as a one-man demon-killing machine. Armed initially with an odd harpoon-like contraption, you are immediately thrust into a stark, evil atmosphere filled with shadows and evil minions. Luckily for you this interesting weapon lets you grab and pull enemies and environmental objects at your leisure. The more comfortable you become with its functions, the more fun you'll have grabbing enemies, pulling them through other enemies for more damage, and spinning the weapon's blades to bring about all sorts of demonic gore.

Once you adapt to your sinister environment, playing Painkiller: Hell Wars will feel much like any other Xbox FPS. Besides, what shooter would be complete without the staple weapon, and my personal favorite, the shotgun? When it comes to shooting, Painkiller will spoil you with an accuracy and range of effectiveness that is largely unrealistic, although I doubt the game would be much fun otherwise. As far as multiplayer goes, you have your basic staples of FPS games, including Death Match, Last Man Standing, Free For All, and Capture the Flag. Seven levels are included, and up to sixteen players can go at it using XBox Live.

The graphics are quite impressive, with interactive objects (coffins, crates, and other typical destructible items), detailed characters, and advanced lighting. I noticed a bit of slow-down when a hoard of enemies enters the play area, which may be partially due to the game being a bit too big for the Xbox to handle. On the flip-side, the levels were rather lackluster, not seeming to take full advantage of the Xbox's capabilities. I find myself forgiving the game, feeling that having 20 unique levels to blast through cancels out the lack of detailed environment. The sound is also great; the deadly quiet of being alone in a graveyard is paralleled expertly by the "oh shit" music that comes on when enemies draw near. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Unfortunately, each level just loops the same track every time a fight breaks out. A bit of variety would have been nice, but the music compliments the action so well that the repetition seems excusable.

Other action elements add to Gardner's arsenal, including "Dark Tarot" cards that give him particular attributes in a given level, such as taking half damage in a given level, or increasing your health. Collecting the souls of fallen enemies adds another dimension the gameplay. After obtaining 33 souls, Gardner transforms into a demonic form that gives him super powers, alters the environment into an eerie black-and-white spectrum, and provides one-hit kills of his cursed foes.

To round things off, I have to admit that the enemies, while incredibly fun to disembowel, are way too easy. You have supercharged weapons, and they are quite happy to run straight at you in order to ease of their own demise. The environments can be pretty boring, but the musical timing and interactive objects add a much-needed depth. Basically, if you want a mindless game to use as a venue of digital destruction, this game is for you.