Painkiller Series[]
| Painkiller | |
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| Developer(s) | People Can Fly |
| Publisher(s) | DreamCatcher Interactive |
| Composer(s) | Marcin "Cedyn" Czartynski |
| Engine | PainEngine (using Havokphysics) |
| Version | 1.64 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox (as Painkiller: Hell Wars), Android and iOS (as Painkiller: Purgatory HD) |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | First Person Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Media/distribution | CD, DVD, Steam download, GOG.com download |
| System requirements
Minimum System Requirements:
Recommended System Requirements:
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Gameplay[]
The game is inspired by such classic titles as Quake and Doom, with the emphasis on killing large numbers of monsters. The game is divided into five chapters, each about five levels long. The player's objective is to get through each level, from start to finish, by slaughtering hundreds of monsters. One of the game's most important aspects is its diversity. Each level presents a new location with various themes and art styles. The levels include castles, monasteries, an opera house, Venice, graveyards, and more. Monsters are also very different, with new ones almost every level. There are five "boss" levels where player fights a boss. The game presents an option to complete a special task each level, which results in the player getting a "tarot card", a rare, hard-to-obtain bonus. Each equipped card provides different bonuses for a small amount of time, like powered-up weapons or slow motion. The game features multiplayer, which includes classic modes like Deathmatch and capture-the-flag.
Plot[]
The game revolves around a young man named Daniel Garner, who is happily married to his wife, Catherine. At the start of the game Daniel is about to take Catherine out for a birthday meal. As they drive towards their destination at high speed in the pouring rain, Daniel takes his eyes off the road to look at his wife and, while his attention is diverted, he ploughs their car into a truck. Both of them are killed instantly in the crash.
While Catherine manages to make it to Heaven and lives in harmony, Daniel is trapped in Purgatory. One day an angel called Samael tells him that in order to receive purification, he has to kill four of Lucifer's generals in order to prevent a war between Heaven and Hell. Lucifer has been secretly organizing a massive army that could overwhelm Heaven, taking over Purgatory in the process. Small portions of the army are already beginning the march. With little choice available to him, Daniel accepts the task. With the forces of Hell seizing and corrupting various parts of Purgatory, Daniel goes through different and random phases of history within Purgatory, which range greatly from ancient times to the modern era. These include Medieval, Babylon, The Crusades, 1800s, and even a time slice of modern industry.
After killing the first general, Daniel meets a woman named Eve, another soul who has been in Purgatory for a long time. She gives him information about the whereabouts of the remaining generals and small elements of Lucifer's army already mobilizing. She also tells him about life in Purgatory, and the possibility that he could be dragged to Hell should he fall in battle, and become lost forever. While this is all understood, what Daniel does not understand is why he came here, but Eve insists it is because of something in his past, and it is up to him to find out.
After defeating the second general and reuniting with Eve, Daniel travels to meet a demonic friend named Asmodeus for information about new rallying positions for Lucifer's armies. Asmodeus once saved Daniel's life after he single-handedly defeated four demons at once one day, almost losing himself in the process. Eve is wary of Asmodeus and questions as to why he did not finish Daniel when he was weak, but he insists that he did not come to Purgatory to fill the graves with lost souls like the others. He also questions Eve if she is really the "Eve" referenced in the Bible, to which Daniel jokes: "Where is Adam?" before continuing on.
After the third general, he confronts Samael, having had enough of the fighting and wanting out of Purgatory, but Samael remains firm with Daniel that it is not that simple to leave and he must finish the task given to him. After being directed to the whereabouts of Alastor, Lucifer's right hand and final general, Daniel is warned that Alastor is already aware that he is being pursued and his own elite soldiers are prepared and waiting. Daniel reluctantly continues his quest for purification.
After Daniel kills Alastor, Eve arrives at the scene in shock, realizing Lucifer will no doubt be on his way and they should make themselves ready. Surprisingly, Asmodeus arrives, complimenting Daniel for his victory and examining the scene. Suddenly, both Eve and Daniel find Asmodeus highly suspicious and try questioning him as to why he is really in Purgatory, to which he eventually replies: "I dig graves". Suddenly, he dissolves into a ball of fire and Lucifer appears. He mocks Daniel while recognizing him as a worthy opponent and thanking him for removing Alastor, who had been constantly arguing with Lucifer that the armies should have attacked sooner rather than wait. He snatches Eve, whom he claims had escaped from Hell, and takes her with him before disappearing back into Hell.
Samael appears, congratulating Daniel for his success and informs him his task is done. Now he may proceed to Heaven and reunite with Catherine. But Daniel refuses, knowing that it is not over yet, "not even close" to use his words. He also knows that it would be only a matter of time before Lucifer can fledge a new and massive enough army, but the next time would be far worse. He decides to go after them, but Samael tries to make him reconsider, for if Daniel goes to Hell, there will be no escape from there. Daniel turns down the offer once more and asks that Catherine be told not to wait for him, for he will not be coming. Samael gives in and shows him the direction to the gates of Hell, warning him that they are protected from the inside by the most elite of the demonic forces, for the purpose of keeping the souls of those who are damned within Hell.
Daniel eventually emerges in Hell, a twisted landscape made of torn fragments from various wars throughout history. After vanquishing enough souls of the damned, most of which are recognizable as foes he has defeated, he confronts Lucifer in Demon Mode and kills him, rescuing Eve in the process, who has been rendered unconscious. After killing Lucifer, Alastor reappears before him, with hordes of demons around him. Daniel learns that he did not really kill Alastor as he could only be defeated in Hell. With Lucifer gone, the position of Hell's ruler is open. Alastor has already taken it and announced his ultimatum. He leaves Daniel to the mercy of the demons around him. Daniel eagerly accepts the challenge. The game ends with Daniel defending himself against the neverending hordes.
If the game is finished in Trauma (the hardest difficulty in the game), an extra ending is presented. Daniel is now finally able to go to Heaven and reunite with Catherine at last.
Expansions[]
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell[]
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell is an expansion pack for Painkiller, released on November 22, 2004. It was developed and published by the same companies as Painkiller. Painkiller: Battle out of Hell features an all-new, 10 level length, single player campaign, two new weapons (with two fire modes each), new multiplayer game modes, and improved visual effects.
The story continues where the original left off: Lucifer is killed and his position as ruler of Hell is now free. Alastor, one of the four Hell generals Daniel Garner was assigned to kill in the original game, appears with a horde of demons and confronts Daniel, who now has to retreat with the help of Eve. Daniel's new goal is to battle out of Hell and eliminate Alastor, who is now the rightful ruler of the demonic forces. Before confronting his powerful enemy, Daniel visits such places as an orphanage full of possessed children, a hellish circus named Loony Park, a pirate bay, the Colosseum, the Necropolis, and even a twisted version of Leningrad in World War II. After taking out Alastor, Eve thanks Daniel for allowing her to take control of Hell. Eve offers Daniel the chance to rule by her side, but Daniel refuses. Eve then invites Daniel to leave and join Catherine in Heaven, but Daniel again refuses, and begins firing his gun at Eve as the screen fades to black.
Painkiller: Overdose[]
Painkiller: Overdose is an expansion pack for Painkiller, released for Windows on October 30, 2007 worldwide. Originally being developed by Mindware from Czech
| Painkiller: Overdose | |
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Republic as a fan-made game mod, DreamCatcher granted the project full financial and technical support. In Overdose, the player takes the role of Belial, a half-angel, half-demon gatekeeper. The game contains 6 new weapons, 40 monster types and 16 new levels. The story is a spin-off and is said to tie wandering ends and provide a bridge between the original game and a potential sequel.[3] On October 17, 2007, the demo was released.[4] On October 23, 2007, DreamCatcher announced that the game had started shipping to retail stores.[5]
The story is set just after Daniel kills Lucifer. The death of Hell's leader allows Belial, the prisoner and outcast, to escape and start his vendetta against those who imprisoned him: the demonic beast, Cerberus, and Samael, an angel who betrayed his own kind. Belial starts his journey with killing his prison warden (and later using his head as a weapon). After traveling through various hellish places and defeating countless demons, he kills Cerberus and reaches Samael's lair. There, Belial defeats the fallen angel and rips his wings off as an act of vengeance.
Painkiller: Resurrection[]
Painkiller: Resurrection is a first-person shooter video game developed by Homegrown Games and published by DreamCatcher Interactive (now acquired by Nordic
| Painkiller: Resurrection | |
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| Developer(s) | HomeGrown Games |
| Publisher(s) | JoWooD Entertainment |
| Engine | PainEngine (with |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | October 27, 2009 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter, Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Games). It is a stand-alone expansion to the 2004 Painkiller developed by People Can Fly, and runs on an updated version of PainEngine. It was released for Microsoft Windows on October 27, 2009.
Gameplay[]
The game's basic gameplay is similar to that of the original Painkiller: the player has to face off numerous enemies and defeat them, moving from one location to another. All the weapons, as before, have alternative fire regimes. The slight difference in gameplay is this: the levels are large, with various paths and sections, which require the player to explore the environments between battles. Sometimes, minor objectives are given to player to accomplish. The main gameplay difference from the original game, is that the player most of the time can freely access the whole map, without waiting in one particular closed place, until all of the monsters will spawn; this enables a somewhat freedom of movement feeling and confusion as well, as often it will be unclear where to proceed next. This drastic change of gameplay is a questionable feature, because certain spawn and waypoint related bugs will appear due to that. The majority of enemies and all the original weapons are presented, and there is one new new type of monster included. The game features some new additional gameplay elements not seen in original or its other expansions. These include:
- Only six levels (and 7th hidden level).
- A new protagonist with new phrases.
- 2 new weapons (one of which was not made available until a later patch).
- The voice of an ally, Elyahim, accompanies the player throughout his journey, giving him advices and objectives.
- The cutscenes are presented as a comic book similar in style to Max Payne.
Plot[]
The story begins outside of the events depicted in other games and stars new protagonist: William "Bill" Sherman. Blown to pieces by his own C4 payload, with which he wanted to eliminate a group of mobsters. The fact that he also accidentally blew up a bus full of innocent civilians has given rise to an all new problem - Hell doesn't exactly have any issues with claiming his soul. Now Bill's in purgatory and he's caught the eye of one of the Elyahim, the female spirits who guide the souls of men through purgatory. Guided by the Elyahim's voice, Bill, like Daniel Garner, is sent through this unholy realm to save his soul by destroying evil beings. After he defeats Aamon, a monstrous dog demon, a greater demon appears, revealing himself to be Astaroth, one of the generals of Lucifer. He asks Bill to join him, but Bill rejects. Surprisingly, Astaroth leaves Bill to continue his fight. After defeating a powerful spider-like demon, an angel, Ramiel, appears, asking Bill to continue his fighting and clean the purgatory in exchange for a chance to return to life. Later, after more fighting through demons, Bill is greeted by Elyahim in person. She explains that Ramiel betrayed the Heaven and now he and Astaroth are planning to conquer the purgatory, so it could become their dominion. As Hell and Heaven are weakened, they would be able to claim all the new souls coming to the afterlife and soon become the most prominent force in the world. However, to do so, they needed Bill to eliminate the majority of demons, so none of them would reveal to Hell Astaroth's true motives. Now, Bill has to battle both of them at the same time. He kills Astaroth and wounds Ramiel, who begs him to spare his life. In exchange, Ramiel will return Bill back to Earth. From this points, the three endings are possible.
- Bad ending: Ramiel fulfills his promises and sends Bill back to life. But it is all a trick, as Bill is sent to the exact moment he committed his greatest sin and died. Bill, again, tries to save the bus... but is killed again, this time being sent to Hell forever.
- Good ending: Ramiel fulfills his promises and sends Bill back to life. Bill arrives a night before the incident happened. He takes the C4 off the car and throws it to the sea. Bill smiles, being happy for the first time. He decides to never return to killing again, understanding that the sole meaning of life is the life itself.
- Neutral ending: Ramiel awaits Bill to agree to be sent back to life, but Elyahim appears. She warns Bill that the angel cannot be trusted as he has become corrupted. From her, Bill receives a holy sword: the only weapon with which a mortal could kill an angel. Bill strikes Ramiel and kills him. From now on, he is awarded by the heavens to be the ruler of the realm of purgatory.
Painkiller: Redemption[]
Painkiller: Redemption is an add-on released in February 25, 2011, as a downloadable game. Similarly to Overdose, the new expansion pack was originally a mod,
| Painkiller: Redemption | |
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created by a small group of fans under the label "Eggtooth'". Additional development by "Homegrown". Official publisher of Painkiller: Redemption is DreamCatcher. It features new heavy metal soundtrack, minor graphic changes, and 6 levels with nearly 6000 enemies to kill. Painkiller Redemption features the return of Daniel Garner and Belial, both as playable characters. The development team has released free post-release support for the game, which includes extra content for multiplayer, or a new single-player chapter. Eggtooth Team didn't create any new content, so the maps used are the ones originally found in Painkiller multiplayer, and all monsters are taken from previous Painkiller installments, including the final boss, who uses the model of King Alastor from Battle Out of Hell.
The game is narrated through animated text messages, and starts when Belial, the hero of Painkiller: Overdose, saves Daniel Garner from Eve, the current queen of Hell. Together, Daniel and Belial fight a big battle through her minions in the Purgatory, until they've found Bill Sherman, the protagonist of Painkiller: Resurrection. With Bill's help, they are able to strike at Eve and destroy her. The game ends with the surprising arrival of Samael, an angel of God who once tasked Daniel with destroying Hell's leaders. With Eve dead, Samael plans to use the dark essence left by her to become a new ruler of Hell. The game concludes with Belial and Daniel understanding that the battle is not yet over.
Painkiller: Recurring Evil[]
Painkiller: Recurring Evil is an add-on featuring 5 new levels with about 4000 enemies. It was released digitally on February 29, 2012 by Nordic Games GmbH via
Steam, and developed by Med-Art and Eggtooth.
It continues the story of Resurrection andserves as a side story for Redemption. Bill Sherman becomes the ruler of Purgatory, blessed with power of the Sword of Seraphim. However, the fallen angel Samael (now wingless after his defeat at the hands of Belial in Overdose), who took the power of Hell from Eve, steals Bill's sword and sends him to Purgatory's unexplored locations, forcing the fight to start again. Bill reaches Samael in the end of his journey, but game ends without a fight, as the fallen angel defeats Bill. Depending on difficulty, Bill is either killed by Samael, or rescued by Belial.
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation[]
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation is a remake of the first-person shooter video game Painkiller, developed by The Farm 51 and published by Nordic Games. Painkiller: Hell & Damnation was released on October 31, 2012 for PC and is set to release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in January 2013.
Gameplay[]
The player has to get through each level, from start to finish, by slaughtering countless monsters. The game is divided into several chapters, each with several levels.
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Painkiller: Hell & Damnation will also add several multiple modes to the series. The entire Single Player campaign can be played by two people and the level of difficulty adjusts in accordance with the 2 players, either through the number of enemies or the amount of hit points. In Survival mode, up to eight players battle for survival in a limited area of one map. Endless waves of enemy hordes will attack the player or players. Other player vs player based game modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Duel. Each level presents a new location with various themes which include castles, monasteries, graveyards and more. Several classic weapons will be returning, including the Painkiller, the Stakegun, the Shotgun, and the Electrodriver, however, new guns will also be available such as the Soulcatcher (a.k.a. the Small Sucking Gun), which shoots saw blades in primary firing mode and sucks the souls out of the enemies with its secondary firing.