Painkiller

Rating:
Summary: 1 word: WOW
Review: I got one word for this game, WOW. This game will keep you glued to the screen for hours. Insane graphics and soundtrack. Incredible AI keeps you stuck trying to beat this game forever.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome game!
Review: I guess some are having problems running this game but I have not seen any issues. I have an old Ti4200 with just an amd 2400+ and 256meg ram and it runs just a tad slow but there is no way I am turning down the detail (High)!

Hats off to the engineers on this one, it is completely out of the box different. I have been getting full body shivers for hours on end playing it, its that good (and creepy). Never had those before the whole game.

The HUGE level monsters, and I mean HUGE! (one is 100 feet tall and turns into a very cool tornado!) will certainly get your attention. Also, this game doesn't have just a few nasties that populate the fight scenes, they have over 20 of the strangest creatures ever, bar NONE! The weapons are also very cool (I have only seen 3 so far but I'm only on level 6). You use special cards for power ups throughout the game which is different as well. The sounds are just fantastic, I love picking up the gold coins.

Now if D3 or H2 can beat this (or even just match), than this will certainly be the most incredible year for games ever!

Rating:
Summary: Like Duck Hunt.... With zombies!!
Review: I have a system that actually falls BELOW minimum system requirements (a 32 meg nVidia card, rather than 64, everything else is above the minimum requirements). This means that the menus don't load right, nor can I view any cut-scenes. Yet, I LOVE THIS GAME!! The in-game play looks gorgeous, even on my machine (if you meet the min specs, buy the game). The architectural textures are at times simple, but stunningly used. Lighting, rag doll physics, weather effects, and character details are simply supurb. I rarely wanted to turn down any details, even if the framerate slowed a bit in large open areas with scores of enemy attackers.

Those looking for a tight plot... well, I can't really tell you what the plot is (like I said, my system won't play the cut scenes). But it doesn't matter. If it moves - mutilate it and harvest its soul. That's all I need to know.

Enemy AI? Who cares? How intelligent do limping zombies ripping off their flesh and throwing it at you have to be? And what about the guys that drag themselves around on the ground by their hands, only to stumble to their feet long enough to begin munching on your neck? You expect them to duck for cover or call in backup? No? Good, then you won't be dissappointed.

So, without knowing the plot, and without smart enemies, why would I recommend this game? The pure rush of being locked in a graveyard (or cathedral, or village square, etc.) with zombies, gouls, witches, ninjas, skeletons, and more (oh my!). Imagine dozens (and I mean DOZENS) of enemies limping, crawling, wailing, moaning, and putrifying all around you at every moment, constantly drawing slowly towards you as you start running low on wooden stakes.

Extra challenges, such as finishing a level with only your stake-gun, or harvesting at least 100 souls, unlocks bonus powerups that you can use in subsequent levels.

The save-game bugs some have mentioned have been fixed with a second patch (download it at dreamcatcher.com). While I usually hate games with save points, this game gives you the additional option of quicksaves (which I rarely have had the need to use). The save points are REALLY well placed, leading to a nice game-flow without the worry of having to re-play a long sequence over and over.

Can't wait until I upgrade my vid card and find out why the H-E-double-hockey-sticks I had to dismember so many freaks of nature.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the money
Review: I have played both the demo's that can be downloaded from the internet and they are great fun. I will buy this game as soon as it hits the shops. The no-save option mentioned below is a demo glitch as in the city on water demo this is possible at any time in the game. It is a step up from Serious Sam and it'll be interesting to see how DOOM3 can improve on the engine, the imaginitive levels, the scary monsters and the sometimes hilarious animation. If you have the DOOM, Quake and Serious Sam titles on your shelf you will not be disappointed with Painkiller.

Rating:
Summary: painkiller my opinion on this great game
Review: i havent bought it yet but am in a couple of days only due to money problems. I have played it at my friends house. I was staying the night over there and sat up all night playing it. It is a blast pinning stuff to the wall, cutting fat people up and dodging mace swinging tommy-gun shooting, malatov (hope thats the right spelling) cocktails. it is nothing but fun. These people who are putting this game down are in my opinion stupid and i really dont care for them at all. i think this game will be a great one to buy. I laugh in the face at the people who dont like this game. especially that one review, who stated that you wont like this game if you arent in the doom 1 and 2 crowd. thats total bull crap. i didnt even like the original doom games just because i didnt even like the doom series that much and i thought that this game was a blast. I really think many of you out there will as well.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Imaginative Fun!!!!!
Review: I just don't get the negative reviews here. This game is the most imaginative, creative, compelling and just plain fun in a long time. The graphics are amazing, the music is fantastic, and it is definately not repetitive or boring, as some have said. There are MANY levels to go through, and it is not all shoot 'em up, though that is the most fun. You have to find hidden items, secret areas, complete a level in a given time, etc.
This game is the most fun I've had since the original Wolfenstein 3D, and that was a long time ago. I guess I'm more old school when it comes to gameplay. I enjoy minimal controls ( jumping, shooting, etc.) rather than all the hard to master (strafing, leaning, etc.) controls so I can ENJOY THE GAME.
Forget Far Cry, Doom3.
This is the one.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been named Doom 3!!
Review: I played this game with some reservations. After all everyone has been there with the first person shooter blow em up style games. Once I started playeing though, I couldnt stop. The graphics are one of the best I have seen in a fps. The audio is very good, and the enemies in this game are quite amazing to see. The variety of different demonic and monstrous enemies make the shooting interesting. If this game makes John Carmack nervous he rightly should be. This game could have easily been named Doom 3 and I wouldnt have thought twice about it. From the screenshots I have seen of the real Doom 3, I am actually a little nervous myself as they are not all that impressive. I was more impressed by the screenies of this game than Doom 3 but I will not judge it until it is released supposedly next month in July. (yeah right)

Rating:
Summary: a mind numbingly repeatative Serious Sam clone.
Review: I should have read more online reviews of this game before I wasted my money on it. Let me say that I did not enjoy Serious Sam. Serious Sam, as with this game, is a bunch of wide open areas with tons of bad guys swamping you at every turn. The weapons are woefully inadequte for mass combat. The boss levels are tedious and aggravating. There is a serious lack of ammo in relation to the number of bad guys you encounter. There is a variety of weapons, but in most cases only one or two weapons are useful at any one time. I have a good system and video card (amd 3200 64 bit, 512mb ram, geforce fx 5200) and I have to turn most of the graphics stuff down or else it runs completely sluggish. This is typical of a Dreamcatcher FPS.

The good aspects of the game are that it looks great. The levels are detailed, spooky, and dark. The Asylum level is nifty with the background screams and such. There are definitly some fun parts of the game.

Overall, unless you enjoy mindlessly circling hoardes of monsters and using your quicksave constantly, I would advise against purchasing this game. This game is two steps backward as far as FPS games go.

Seriously, it is decent eye candy, but worthless as a FPS.

Rating:
Summary: Really impressive demo
Review: I tried the recently released 3 level demo of this game and i have to say that it's really impressive. First off, the graphics are simply amazing, this is truly a next gen game. Everything is highly detailed, from the monsters to the gorgeous architecture. This is a very atmospheric game, you actually fell like you're on the places of the game. The particles effect of blood when you kill a monster at a close range are very beliaveble. The physics are out of this world, you have to see to beliave. It's very fun to hit the enemies with the stake gun and see the diferent ways they react to it , like flying away, doing spins on the air, beeing pinned to the ground or wall, very cool. You can interact with almost everything in this game; you push broken parts of the scenario, destroy windows, coffins, and things like that. And now the gameplay, ohhh, fantastic. The gameplay is very smooth and pure action, and the amazing physisc only help it. One thing that adds a lot to the gameplay is that the weapons are so original, especially the stake gun. This game is so fun that i played the 3 levels available on the demo several times. If the demo play this well, i can't wait for the final product. It's a real contender for Halo 2, Doom 3 and Half-Life II.

Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to the cheapskates below....
Review: I ventured and bought the game...and I love it.

Sure there aren't really any puzzles...but that doesn't make it bad. This game is good for what it's supposed to be, a mindless click-happy FPS. Think Serious Sam meets Duke Nukem.

The graphics are great...I can't run everything on high due to my 1.8ghz, AIW Radeon 8500, 1.024GB RAM configuration, but the engine chugs along pretty well for the most part. There were some slowdowns during a few scenes.

If you want a game with NON-STOP action, choose Painkiller and prepare to get some finger cramps from clicking so much! Monsters come at you from ALL directions and there are some very cool special effects.

Fun game, great graphics, cool weapons, nice physics....What more could you want?