Painkiller is a game released in 2004 by the Polish studio People Can Fly. At one time, the new first-person shooter took pride of place among classic arena shooters. For me, Painkiller was one of the very first games. At one time, having seen the first levels on my neighbor’s old computer, I became interested in this work. The dark gloomy atmosphere, the unusual first weapon, the creepy background music and the opposite energetic battle music, probably these factors are so well ingrained in my memory. The purpose of this blog will be an attempt to talk about the features of painkiller that I liked so much stylistically.
First of all, I should say a https://mediabetcasino.co.uk/ few words about the plot. The main character, Daniel Garner, dies in a car accident along with his wife. It just so happens that the protagonist ends up in Purgatory, a place where lost souls end up. As the story progresses, Daniel is forced to make a deal with heaven in order to be reunited with his wife. To get to heaven, the main character must help eliminate the generals of Lucifer himself. The plot will give us a couple of twists, but, unfortunately, we shouldn’t wait for the finished work. In fact, it’s a shame that it’s as if the story wasn’t quite written to the end, which makes it seem a little ragged.
The gameplay is a melodic destruction of crowds of monsters, from room to room, until the end of the level. This is accompanied by very cheerful rock compositions, some of which still remain my favorites. In between battles, the player is invited to listen to the background melodies of the location, reflecting its motives and atmosphere. The player is allowed to collect the souls of fallen enemies, thereby restoring health. Having collected 66 souls, the local berserker mode is activated (at the highest difficulty level, these functions are not available). To add variety to the gameplay, the player can collect Tarot Cards – local upgrades that can be permanent or activated once per mission. You can get them by completing various tasks, and buy them for gold. The gold itself is hidden in all kinds of barrels, boxes, chests. Some gold is hidden in secret areas. Some secrets are easy to learn, while others will ask you to break the space bar on your keyboard. And finally, it’s worth mentioning weapons. Another feature of Painkiller is that the guns have two firing options. The choice of guns is modest, but each one has a use. For example, we can note: a universal shotgun with freezing; an ingenious combination of a machine gun and a rocket launcher; and of course, the Russian folk kolomet.
I consider the main advantage of Painkiller to be its varied levels. Places of Purgatory, all of them are quite real, but seem to be torn out of our usual surroundings. All locations of the game, although distinguished by a general gloomy atmosphere, are completely different in execution and chosen themes. The stages can be divided into several groups: Cemeteries and temples made in Gothic surroundings; historical places, in the form of castles and fortresses; levels of a more modern look, associated with cities; military and industrial facilities. Each chapter of the game greets us with a completely new environment. We start among crypts and graves, and then smoothly move to military bases, with hangars and tanks. In my impression, I especially remember the opera house in the slums of the city, and the giant metal bridge located somewhere in the mountains. Others will probably remember the final episode of Hell – a place where the horror of war was frozen in time. Or a hospital, with its horror component, chilling ambient and its vile inhabitants. Speaking of inhabitants.