Given
Dreamcatchers history, I was surprised to see that they are publishing
a first person shooter. All cracks about prerendered adventure games
aside, Painkiller is shaping up to substantially up the standard for
first person shooters, both in terms of graphics and physics if not
gameplay.In
Painkiller, you assume the role of Daniel Garner, who has recently died,
and must go on a quest to find out why hes not being allowed into
heaven, a quest that will have him killing thousands of monstrous beings
in twenty different environments.
Based on the
early, three level build that I was able to play, I have to admit that
the story isnt going to matter a lot in this game, and neither is the
AI. This is a game about killing things in huge numbers with shiny guns
that splattering red all over everything. The only breaks from the
frantic action are the slightly more thought provoking boss sequences,
which are spectacular to watch as well as play. The mostly proprietary
engine (the Havok 2.0 SDK, also being used in Half Life 2, was used for
some of the physics) sports the best looking visuals Ive seen in a
shooter to date. This is no exaggeration, with a plethora of effects
including numerous different explosive reactions that send monsters and
detritus flying and sprawling, thanks to well implemented "ragdoll"
physics.
The alpha
only had two different weapons available, but Dreamcatcher is promising
a large and robust arsenal in the final product. What seems sure to set
Painkiller apart from the rest of the herd, aside from its next
generation graphics, are the boss battle sequences. Painkiller has some
of the largest polygon based monsters Ive seen. The environmental
detail throughout the game is decent, but in the boss arenas, special
care has been taken to make for unique battles. For example, a fight
with a minotaur type creature is set in the middle of a ruin, and
pillars and arches collapse around and on you in the fray.
The struggle
now facing People Can Fly is to polish what they have into a compelling,
new experience that fully takes advantage of the Pain engines power,
while also offering up something new in terms of gameplay. There is a
risk of this title turning into another "me too" generic FPS, and that
would really be a shame given the potential that Painkiller has. If the
level design can be implemented well, its a fair bet that Painkiller
could provide single player entertainment well past the twenty hour
mark, and there is a decent potential here for online play, as with any
FPS.