Painkiller Expansion: Battle Out of Hell

Rating:
Summary: Worth playing if you loved the original
Review: "Battle out of Hell" changes up the Painkiller formula a bit and offers 8 new levels and 2 boss battles. Some levels are shorter and smaller than the levels in the original, and they generally have less enemies. The game also seems more frustrating and less satisfying this time around, and it has some terrible technical effects on the original campaign. Most of the changes aren't all that good, but the game still has some great levels, and it's cheap. So, if you liked the original, then "Battle out of Hell" is worth playing. After all, it's still Painkiller.

The original game usually opted to through a large number of enemies at you, but didn't really make one enemy very dangerous. Battle out of Hell throws less at you, but makes them tougher, and also seems to cramp you into a lot tighter spaces. This is especially true of the orphanage level, which only has about 70 enemies in it or so and is over pretty fast. There is also one rail shooter sequence that mostly everyone who has played it hates, and a jumping puzzle here and there that isn't too hard, but just a bit annoying. The tarot cards are a lot harder to get. The loading times are just like the original - bad. This problem sticks out more now because of the increased difficulty level. Battle out of Hell has some cheap trick traps that are aggravating. It also has a few maddeningly difficult waves of enemies who are almost perfectly accurate and can take down all of your health in a few seconds. You will find yourself staring at the loading screen a lot. The game's hard parts become very frustrating when you spend one minute looking at the loading screen for every minute of gameplay.

The level design took a step backwards in some areas. One of the requirements of a run-and-gun shooter is that you need lots of space -- space for running around while you dodge rockets or bullets. Serious Sam and the original Painkiller got this right, but Battle out of Hell fails in numerous areas. The problem gets worse after the halfway point of the game. In some sequences, you are forced to fight a score of grenade-launching enemies in a small room. These parts are nearly impossible and very frustrating, and they kill the pace that made Painkiller so unforgettable.

Painkiller also carries over the inane puzzle boss convention of the first game. The game's first major boss isn't too bad, but the final boss is horrible. The ending of "Battle out of Hell" will leave you with a lukewarm feeling. The game's two pre-rendered cutscenes are so bad that they make cut scenes in the first game look like Oscar material. That's saying a lot, since the story and cut scenes in Painkiller were so silly.

What "Battle out of Hell" does carry over though, is the beautiful graphics, fascinating attention to detail, and creativity that the original had. There is so much creativity poured into every area that it's easy to excuse the fact that there's only 10 of them. The game always leaves you wondering: "What's coming next?", and it hardly ever disappoints. The Loony Fun Park, The Lab, and the City of The Dead (my favorite level) are some unforgettable locations that are every bit as incredible as the Military Base or the Industrial Facility in the first game. The Colisseum is a bit more generic looking, but it is an exciting romp with a fantastic climax at the end. The Leningrad level looks and sounds great, although it doesn't play that well. Ultimately, it would be worth playing "Battle out of Hell" just for three or four great levels, because they are that good. They feature some wacky enemies, like angry clowns and demonic nurses who attack you with syringes that say "HIV" on them.

The worst part about this expansion pack isn't the new content. It's the fact that it practically breaks the old stuff. If you have this expansion pack installed, you literally cannot replay the original game. This expansion introduces tons of annoying crashes and bugs into the old levels, and one major game killer on The Docks that makes the level unfinishable. The new levels run wonderfully, but it seems like the old ones weren't even tested once. If you are planning to buy the original game and this expansion at the same time, then I highly recommend that you pass on the expansion for now.

If you loved the original game like I did, then you're going to find this expansion pack worth playing. It's not great from start to finish, but there are enough fun parts to justify the low price. I'm still pissed that the expansion makes the original game almost unplayable. But, I got to experience some new exquisite locations for blasting a wide variety of enemies into bloody chunks, and that's what I wanted the most.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent expansion, Cant wait for Painkiller II
Review: Expansion is a little buggy, but nothing that cant be patched up.

The graphics are excellent. Better than half life 2 and

better than doom 3, because in doom although the graphics are the

best in any game they are extremely taxing on ANY system at the

present.

I have a Dell xps 3.2, 2 gigs ram with ati radeon 9800 Pro.

Monitor 1200 x 1024.

The game feels a little short, but then again this is an

expansion, not a full release.

I cant get enough of this game; I put half life 2 on pause for

while I play through battle out of hell.

You dont have to deal with the damn steam activation as in

half life 2.

I highly recommend you get painkiller and the expansion.

Rating:
Summary: Battle out of Hell
Review: First make sure this games system requirements won't do battle with your system. Although it's an expansion back, it's S.R.s are higher than Painkillers. This game is in serious need of a patch. It is still quite playable but could be better.
The new cast of foes is great. From the killer clowns to leggy nurses and body bagged tots, never has fragging been so much fun. The new weapons only add to the mayhem. If you liked P.K. your going love this one. Suicidal zombies plummeting off of roof tops, orphans with knifes, giant spiders, what else could you ask for? You'll have to wait and see.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Funny but Buggy and Difficult as Well
Review: First off, if you liked the original, you will probably enjoy the expansion as well. Yeah, it is pretty brainless, but it is also quite fun. However, you may also find a few parts that are annoying and even buggy.

1) The new nurse characters have no destruction graphic. Every other enemy you kill has some sort of explosion/dismemberment sequence if you hit them with the freeze gun or painkiller weapon. The nurses simply lay there until they disappear.

2) The game seems buggy, but it could be other software issues. I have 1.5 gb of enhanced latency OCZ memory, but am ocassionally getting a memory read error that kicks me out of the game. I know it is a problem I am having with the expansion pack as it is the ONLY software I am running where I get this error (Half Life 2, Doom 3, etc.). However, there are many other pieces of software and hardware drivers that could also be causing the issue. Gotta love PC's and Windows XP!!!
3) THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL IS TREMENDOUSLY DIFFERENT!!! I played the last game on the 2nd easiet setting and then this one and am getting my [...] kicked.

Overall, alot of eye candy. Maybe my eye isn't trained enough, or maybe I haven't learned how to regurgitate everything that is in print about all video games, but I found this game as visually pleasing as Doom 3 and Half Life 2. I didn't say it was better or that the science behind it can even be compared, but I thought the game has a great atmosphere and look.

For $19.99 you can't really go wrong. If you liked the first, this one will please as well, just be prepared to patch sometime soon. I assume one is on the way.

Rating:
Summary: Fixed It Until It Broke
Review: I can't think of a better description than that. They fixed the game until it broke. Immediately plan on turning off the "high poly weapons" (which looked better in Painkiller by the way than they do in this expansion) because it'll simply put most systems into slow motion, especially with the flamethrower. I could max out PK at 1024 before, now with all these new effects that really don't make much difference, I have to turn stuff down and the game looks worse than it did previously.

The expansion pack seems to have taken away the cool music and replaced it with a weak sort of techno droning.

The best part about this thing is that it causes the original game to run like garbage too, so not only can you not enjoy your new game, but you can't enjoy the old one either!

Aside from the graphics and music, the game is relatively the same. You can't complain much about the gameplay when it's just kill everything that moves. As another review stated, do watch out for cheap tricks and surprise death pits.

I had crashes with the old Painkiller two or three times, but I've already had a problem with this one and that was in the 2nd level. In the end though, if you bought the original you might as well buy this (and at least an ATI 9800 Pro+).

Rating:
Summary: Horrible levels, short play time and terrible AI !!!!!!!
Review: Painkiller was an awesome game. I still love it and anyone who has not played it should get it! If you don't have it you will need to buy it before you can play this add-on.

Now for this expansion pack...it is total garbage! How the guys behind Painkiller could have sunk so low, so fast, leaves me mystified!

The GOOD -
1) This expansion pack offers a serious upgrade in graphics quality compared to the original game. Very nice, but not enough to justify the steaming pile of stink this add-on is.

The BAD -
1)Disgustingly short gameplay time. Basically, I think the levels are leftovers picked up from the floor of the "crappy idea" department at DreamCatcher.

2)Frustratingly stupid enemies. Hide behind a pillar or in a corner and just shoot them as they do nothing to get you. Stand in a doorway and watch as they do nothing!

3)Watch as rockets and other weapons go THROUGH the enemy without hurting them. Big time clipping errors!

4)Mario style jumping puzzles and timing puzzles. This is a first person shooter, not a Mario and Luigi game! So if you can imagine trying to do jumping/timing stunts in first person mode with a character that handles like an 18 wheeler!

5) One measely BOSS character that is no fun at all to fight.

6)Nothing new or original in this expansion pack. It is just crappy, leftovers that a very smart guy decided not to include in the original game and for good reasons!!!!!


SAVE YOUR $20. $20 is halfway to a copy of Half-Life 2! Also, there are some awesome releases coming this first quarter of the new year. This add-on is not worth $5. I wouldn't even let my dog pee on it.

If you have played PainKiller, you will be on a very exciting high after surviving such a thrilling, creepy roller coaster of game play. If you expect the same thing from this add-on you will be dropped into the depths of a suicidal depression. YES, IT REALLY IS THAT BAD!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Poorly tested add-on to a fun game.
Review: The first painkiller was a ton of mindless, violent fun. BOOH takes the exact same formula and adds a few new weapons and new maps. The problem I have with the game is the VERY steep jump in the difficulty level half way through. On the map called Stalingrad they suddenly give all the baddies guns, grenades and damn good aim. You go from losing life in 5 percent chunks to taking hits that kill a third of your life meter. You take a few of those hits, die, and then stare at a VERY long reload time while trying to memorize a new path that won't instantly kill you. Rinse and repeat. Not fun.

So why not just turn down the difficulty? Because if you do, the game will disable the "cards" that grant you special powers and the game won't be half as much fun. So basically the developers all but demands you play it on default difficulty then cranks it up to an absurd level half way through. Of course the fan boys who consider it an "acomplishment" to "beat" a video game will eat this up. But this game is rated Mature and should therefore be designed with adults in mind. I don't know many adults who will put up with the frustration.

Rating:
Summary: Crap
Review: This is crap. Painkiller plays great on my system (Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, 1 GB ddr ram on motherboard, Nvidia 5200 w/128 MB ram). But Battle Out Of Hell is S.L.O.W. And it plays heck with my video card. It also took several attempts to get the game to install and when it did it took forever. Totaly unplayable. Make sure your system plays the game before you buy it or you will be extremely disappointed like me. There are much better 1st person shooters out there than this piece of crap. I'd flush it down the toilet but it might get stuck and flood my house with sewage.