So… anyone played it yet? What are the new weapons? How is it? Someone say something!
Also, I’ve been worried about this, perhaps Gladguy can furnish an answer: will I still need my save from when I beat Painkiller the first time? Because I don’t still have it. Because I reinstalled Windows. How will the cards work in the expansion? Would I have had access to the original cards in the expansion if I still had my save?
ARGH
Battle Out of Hell is installed like a separate “campaign”. When you start a new game, you can select Painkiller proper or Battle Out of Hell. If you’ve unlocked tarot cards, which I believe a saved game will indicate, it asks if you’d like to use them in your new game.
As for the new weapons, well, that would be telling… :)
-TomWhen I played the original, one of the weapons I dreamt up for the expansion was a flamethrower/acid sprayer. According to a preview on some site, my dream was half right, and real life is only 25% as exciting.
I played it for a review on GameSpy. It’s a ton of fun. If you liked PK, you should like this just as much.
I played the expansion on top of a fresh install of PK, with no saved games at all. It gave me a bunch (maybe all) of the tarot cards off the bat. I had to play a couple of levels before I had enough gold to use them, but they were there.
The new weapons are a minigun with a flamethrower alt-fire, and a rapid-fire sniper stake rifle.
Oh my god. I so wish I hadn’t asked.
I’m gonna have to get this. Painkiller was great fun.
Since it has been a little while, can anyone spoil what happens in the special ending you get when playing the hardest difficulty? I got about halfway through, but stopped when my HDD flunked out and I also had to do a complete reinstall. (Never got to see the hard-exclusive forest stage either…)
[size=7]YAY!!![/size] I’ve been calling EB every single day asking if it’s out yet. Heheh. /me loves Painkiller even more than TomChick.
SPOILER
BDGE: When you beat it on the hardest level, instead of having that final scene with Alaster and all them rolling up on you and Eve, you ascned with Eve into heaven.
So if you beat the game on Hard mode, the expansion just makes no sense?
I don’t know how the story will tie it. Maybe they have some kind of thing where you are going up to heaven, but you get there and tell Archangel Gabriel to let you go back down and rescue Eve or something. Kinda like how Karate Kid 2 picked up right after the first one ended. :P
No idea honestly. Whatever it is, I have no doubt that the game will kick ass. I’ll be picking it up day one and playing it throughout the night (without a 2 hour “authentication” process). This I swear.
Dude. It’s a video game. What? You need a plot. Ok, Satan is not really dead. In fact, he comes to heaven and steals Eve to get back at you for messing up his master plan in the last battle. Happy?
Since I never picked up Painkiller, I’m waiting for the “Painkiller Gold” pack that has the original game and the expansion.
Dude. It’s a video game. What? You need a plot. Ok, Satan is not really dead. In fact, he comes to heaven and steals Eve to get back at you for messing up his master plan in the last battle. Happy?[/quote]
Dude, I don’t care. Painkiller is the best FPS ever, I’m willing to forgive it a tiny bit of discontinuity.
So reading the love for this game over HL2 in the backlash thread, can someone explain to me why people think this game is so good? I’ve only played the demos, but I did try them all, and I found it to be average at best. The game is completely on rails and hides it poorly. And I also found the action and combat rather meh. I rather enjoyed Serious Sam too, which I think did this style of FPS much better. When someone says “Painkiller is the best shooter ever” as above, I’m really left going “Huh!” I mean the demos haven’t even inspired me to pick this one up when it hits budget price. I just really don’t understand.
The demos are a poor representation of the game. I was underwhelmed by them as well, but loved the actual game when I played it. That said, I would hardly consider it “the best FPS ever,” though it is very good, and I highly recommend it.
I have to agree I played through the entire game and it is an average FPS, why people get so excited about it is beyond me. Serious Sam is a far better example of how to do being overwhelmed by monsters and PK doesn’t offer much tactical depth so it is pretty much just an in between kind of mix. The bosses were the only thing that stand out. Personally I would put HL2, Halo 2, Far Cry, and probably even Doom 3 ahead of it although that is a closer call. Despite getting repetative at least Doom 3 had palpable tension in the first 5 or 6 hours. I never felt like I was in any danger in PK.
Still I don’t think PK is a bad game just not a great game and definitely not worthy of being called the best FPS.
– Xaroc
TomChick’s review does a pretty good job of describing why a lot of us think PK is great:
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/painkiller/507189p1.html
I don’t think it’s nearly as good as HL2, but there is an almost ineffable quality to the game that makes it so fun. It’s balls to the wall action, superlative level design, amazingly detailed character design, great sound, fantastic visuals. It’s got a lot of the right pieces. In many ways it feels more like a Doom sequel than Doom 3, which I think gives it a bit of a nostalga factor, too.
Yes, it’s linear, but I don’t care that I’ on a ride if it’s a good one. The story is a complete throwaway. But for what it is, it’s great.
… and don’t forget the massive end of level bosses and the amazing final level … :wink:
Actually, the end-level bosses are kind of a wash for me. They’re jaw-dropping when you see them, but they’re mostly annoying puzzles where you get inadequate clues as to what the hell to do. The final boss in the expansion is actually the worst of them all.
The final level in the original game kind of falls under “superlative level design,” but you’re right; it’s so incredibly well done that it deserves its own mention in the “Pros” column.