Painkiller: Hell Wars Review (Xbox)

People Can Fly’s first-person shooter (FPS) “Painkiller: Hell Wars” (published by Dreamcatcher Interactive) has finally been released for the original Xbox console. The game blends elements from the both the original PC title and its expansion pack. But after numerous delays, is the game still worth picking-up for the aging Xbox console?

“Painkiller: Heaven’s got a Hitman” was originally released in 2004 on the PC. The game garnished plenty of critical praise for successfully creating a fun and entertaining old-school first-person shooter similar to id Software’s “Quake” and Croteam’s “Serious Sam”. Many reviewers even went as far as saying that the game overshadowed the overly hyped “Doom 3″. Painkiller eventually spawned an expansion pack dubbed “Battle out of Hell”, and soon after an Xbox port was revealed to be in the works. The game was first slated to be released in Nov. 2005, but was pushed back as the developer wanted to make sure the port lived up to it’s PC counterpart.

As Painkiller: Hell Wars finally rolled-out onto store shelves, it was obvious from the start that People Can Fly successfully managed to deliver the same old-school charm that was originally a staple in the PC iteration. But what the numerous delays actually ended up doing was to place the title straight into the current-to-next generation transitional phase. A move that will more than likely have a negative effect on the overall sales of the game, as it might be overlooked by gamers who are eagerly waiting the new consoles. It doesn’t help that the game isn’t currently backwards compatible with the Xbox 360 console.

In the game, you play as Daniel Garner, a soul who recently passed away following a car accident that also killed his wife. Instead of being granted passage into the afterlife alongside his wife, Garner was sent into an alternate realm between heaven and hell where constant conflicts with the undead are routine. Trapped in solitude within that world, Garner is given the opportunity to set things right and escape the darkness by Sammael, a representative from heaven. In order to be granted entrance to the afterlife, Garner must confront an army of hellish creatures that are led by four of Lucifer’s top generals.

Painkiller: Hell Wars features over 20 single-player levels where you get to face off against over a dozen different in-game monsters. The title also has seven different multiplayer game types that include deathmatch, capture the flag, last man standing and free-for-all. All-in-all, Painkiller: Hell Wars is a well-rounded Xbox title that features enough single-player and multiplayer elements to keep your average console FPS fanatic entertained for weeks.

Even after two years, the game still looks amazing on current-gen hardware. Hell Wars uses People Can Fly’s proprietary PAIN graphics engine which is capable of producing high polygon counts that’s able to combine solid visuals with current shader technology. Painkiller also uses the Havok 2.0 physics engine to re-create the rag-doll effect within the game’s environment.

Painkiller: Hell Wars has pretty decent character design, but the game reuses the same character model so many times that it gets tiresome after a while. Even the death animations are the same, enemy after enemy, presuming you’re killing the same character model. You’ll be rewarded for your patience at the end of each sector when you face-off against one of the game’s gigantic bosses. These giant creatures are by themselves worth purchasing the game. That is, if you haven’t experienced the PC version.

The game runs smoothly, but slowdowns are noticeable when the on-screen action intensifies. The game loads up during various instances of a level and the load times are represented by portals, which give you the sense that you’re moving from one area to another and makes the waiting time more respectable while not impeding on gameplay.

Hell Wars uses the standard Xbox first-person control scheme that was first introduced in Halo. The controls are also incredibly smooth and responsive — something that’s extremely important when dealing with the game’s fast-paced action.

If you’re longing for a decent first-person shooter on the Xbox, then Painkiller: Hell Wars is the answer for you. At $30USD, you can’t go wrong with this title as you get both an entertaining single-player game and an expansive multiplayer element. Painkiller: Hell Wars is rated Mature. A version of Hell Wars will also be released on Sony’s PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable later this year.

Andre Barriault writes for Gaming Cult, an independent Web site dedicated to the world of gaming, entertainment, and technology.

[tags]xbox,painkiller,painkiller hell wars,people can fly[/tags]