Pain Killer Hell Wars is just a helluva good time.
There are over 20 levels in the single player campaign with 5 chapters and of course 5 boss fights. I was impressed with the boss fights. There is a puzzle factor to the fights which I liked, but was surprised after all the run and gun throughout the game The boss fights are well done, they move you into each next chapter smoothly and they are impressive fights. While there are not a lot of different weapons, the ones that you get sure are fun to use. There is a stakegun which is exactly what it sounds like, it fires stakes that can either impale, or rip enemies apart. There is also a flamethrower submachine gun combo that is very satisfying to use.
The look of the levels may be insanely different from one to the other but gameplay is blessedly(no pun intended) intact., For the most part, this is pure run and gun.. You clear a level, move onto another level, music starts pounding (ohhhhh the sweet, sweet soundtrack) and enemies spawn everywhere. The enemies are wickedly cool. You have a compass that moves you on to the next level when you are done..
Physics effects are really really good. This is something that I have only very recently started to pay attention to in games. Hitting an enemy in this game can impale them to a wall while they flail with complete believability, enemies may explode into pieces with said pieces twitching and flailing, chain reactions (which I love in games) can be set off with wicked abandon using the explosive barrels.
The game is fast paced and the controls are tight except at long range which was a bit annoying, the weapons switch system is totally a pain. It takes too long to switch weapons, which I hate but got used to eventually. The compass in the game sometimes stops working and I wandered at times aimlessly to find a checkpoint. Frame rates once again rear their ugly heads, as the game froze up when the action got heavy a couple of times.
The OMG that was amazing: the soundtrack is wicked, the premise of the game is very cool and a couple of the guns are beauty. The levels are wicked cool. Weird and totally disconnected to one another in anyway, but wicked cool non the less. Kill enough minions and you temporarily turn into a demon that kills anything that moves. Yeah, it’s cool.
The good.: Tight controls and destruction with wanton abandon. The minions are diverse and interesting and mean. They are not adverse to using some of the minions in front of them to make your life that much more annoying. The boss fights are hard and have a puzzle factor to them that breaks up the run and gun a little bit. Bosses are BIG and very cool looking. The weapons are good, and there are enough in your arsenal to keep it interesting.
The Meh, whatever: The graphics are ok, but not phenomenal which I found a surprise. There is definitely nothing wrong with them, they are just not what I have come to expect graphically from games of late.
The downright annoying: Soon I am gonna take frame rate issues off this slot and move it up to Meh whatever, because for all intents and purposes, all games have frame rate issues. But not today, today this particular problem is staying here. The compass at some points just completely stops working and you get to wander around like a noob looking for a checkpoint. Loads of fun.
To sum up, this is a borderline great game. Action is great, enemies are interesting and diffficult, levels are superb and minion deaths are viscerally satisfying. Fantastic effort from developers and exceptional replay value.
7.9