Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"These grisly battles in the game culminate in a Big Boss, in the final level, who may not be as challenging due to his very simple (for most gamers) vulnerable side, and yet this Boss' level is, irrefutably, one of the contenders for Best Level of the Year in 2004, if not the early winner entirely ...John Carmack; your level designers have been challenged! Doom 3 levels will be judged, quite harshly, by this final level alone."

---from the review

-----------------

Sidebar :

-----------------

Are harder modes worth it? That's all in the translation. The "bonus levels" in Nightmare and Trauma modes are fun enough, though very short. It's the "REAL ENDING," in Trauma mode, that sells the ticket to play at all. In short, you get to see what easier modes only imply; [spoiler made invisible, unless highlighted next]: the reuniting of Mr. Painkiller (or however he's named) and his wife, in heaven. [end spoiler] Yeah; that's worth it, right?

Too Tough Not to Cheat...? Not for most people, though for a game critic working on a deadline...YES! So for anyone else who'd like to see the real ending and get back to bed early, here's the ways to cheat your way though it.

The first method of cheating is the easiest: just play the movie file! The files use "Smacker" technology, a company that up to the point of this article's posting, still sell their Smacker Video Player for free. Just go to their web site and download the free Rad video Tools, then go into your game's installed folder, enter the data and movies subfolders, and choose to play "Outro." The end...the easy way!

Then there's the more exploratory approach: cheat codes! Trouble is, clicking the tilde "~" key and typing the cheat codes only works in lower difficulty settings...well, sort of. Just toggle these cheat codes on while playing the game in a harder setting, then load any save game from the harder difficulty modes (even an automatic save). No more "cheats not available" message! Your cheat codes still count, even when restoring a different save game.

-----------------

Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

------------------

Painkiller

Click picture to order this game (PC/windows version)

A Techtite Review

Can a game design company best associated with adventure games, make a heavy-on-the-action "shooter" once in a while? Sure; they just have to keep it simple their first time out, with strictly classic "shoot everything moving" suspense throughout. Such is the success of Painkiller; a shooter-game from Dreamcatcher, which until now was a company best known for adventure games. The real wisdom in their first attempt at an FPS is: they didn't boldly try to be the next Half Life 2 or Doom 3, first time at bat. Instead, Painkiller is a homage to the classic shoot-'em-ups of the good ol' days...and does a great job doing it.

The story behind Painkiller is a simple one. An apparently Average Joe goes out with his wife to celebrate her birthday when they get in a fatal car wreck. Yadda yadda yadda, the wife is pure as the driven snow, the husband...not so much. He must "prove himself" to be worthy of the pearly gates of heaven, using an apparent military background to defeat demons close to escaping the confines of you-know-where, and send them back where they came from. Simple, right? Yeah...sure.

Your weapons for this mission are the sort that would make Buffy the Vampire Slayer proud; a stake-shooting crossbow, for example, showcasing the sort of "undead" creatures you're up against. You may think this means your enemies are standard vampire and werewolf fare, and that's where you're only slightly-right. I must admit I was dismayed at how many (not all) of the enemies were well rendered, animated, and designed, yet still only typical skull-headed zombies and gray-haired witches. The only exception was an enjoyably challenging lava-like creature whose skin is 99% impenetrable to all attacks. I was actually quite amused when a grenade --which explodes on impact on all other enemies-- bounced off these lava creatures with no effect. No; you must aim carefully for their singular weak spot, revealing their glowing, skeleton-clad interior. Cool! Of course that means getting face to face with them, so, no, this is no easy game...in a good way.

Here's where the real fun begins. Each defeated enemy leaves behind a glowing, green "soul." Collect 66 of these souls and you engage in "demon mode." Imagine the thrills of a Pac-Man power pill in a Doom clone, and you can get a feel of how fun Demon Mode is. This beastly form --complete with mono-color vision and glowing red enemies-- leaves you invulnerable and unstoppable, for about 15 seconds. "Shoot" at any enemy, and they fall into pieces, even if they are a mini-boss. Ka-boom! You can engage in demon mode as much as you want, provided you can find the 66 souls to do it. Cooool.

More good news. Each mission has optional mission tasks. Complete these tasks and you win a tarot card. These cards can then be used in any future level, depending on their strength. Gold Tarot cards can only be used once per level; Black Tarot cards alter the entire level itself (turning all souls into "health packs," for example). Further showcasing how the hardest difficulty setting is only for diehard masters; the "Trauma" difficulty setting only unlocks if you find 23 out of 24 cards.

What's more surprising than the fact this game is from a company best known for adventure games, is the strikingly impressive game engine their first time at bat. The graphics here are truly extraordinary; a common comment on an annual basis, I know, but in 2004, this is a superb game, graphically speaking. From strikingly well done opaque ghosts to lava demons with glowing bellies and "secret" holy artifacts that glow even when seen far away...? Sure, unlike similar shoot-'em-up Serious Sam, this game is not discounted; with graphics like this, did you expect it to be?

The downside of a "classic" shooter format, is that the arcade elements of the game (keep alive; keep shooting enemies) is all there is to do. For some modern gamers, this may be a caveat; no puzzles, no inventory to find, and a very linear path through each level (so linear, in fact, it's often an unintentional "puzzle" to find the next open door to proceed in the level). The good news, again, is in the graphics. Such FX more than make up for the loss of any puzzle or strategy elements. If you like classic shooter games, this one is truly breathtaking.

Here's the better news: "boss" characters, seen at the end of each of the five Chapters in this storyline, are exactly what makes a perfect boss: seemingly invulnerable, until you find their Achilles' Heels. These battles culminate in a Big Boss (final level) who may not be as challenging due to his very simple (for most gamers) vulnerable side, and yet this Boss' level is, irrefutably, one of the contenders for Best Level of the Year in 2004, if not the early winner entirely. In this deepest region of you-know-where, you're fighting in a sort of Armageddon frozen in time. The battlefronts frozen in time range from a catapult breaking down a castle wall --the bricks floating in mid air!-- to a mushroom cloud that is actually a "prop," not a background graphic, enhancing its effectiveness. John Carmack; your level designers have been challenged! Doom 3 levels will be judged, quite harshly, by this final level alone.

If only I could give as much praise for the unforgiving difficulty arc. "Daydream" mode is fun enough, but you are not allowed to use any Tarot cards. Jump to the next harder level and suddenly enemies are a menace! Thankfully, there are both "automatic save points" and a save-at-any-time option, so the game cuts you some slack there. There's also the tarot cards to exploit. Then again, gamers may not like the fact that the two hardest difficulty settings have one level, each, which is only obtainable in those difficulty settings. In addition; the actual ending --not the "open ending" you see in easier settings-- is only viewable if you get through the hardest difficulty mode of them all. Unless you cheat a little to see it (see sidebar), that's a bit unfair, isn't it?

Overall, however, this is a very well designed shooter. Dreamcatcher may be best known as the distributors of adventure games, though if they wanted to prove they could dabble in other game genres, this was the game to prove it. It may be unrelenting in its harder difficulty modes, but overall this is a nice salute to classic shooters, with top notch graphics to boot. Just keep your own, real-life painkillers at the ready, if you intend to see that "real game ending." Got any aspirin...?

---Techtite