Painkiller: Resurrection

Last updated

Painkiller: Resurrection
PK Resurrection.jpg
European PC box art
Developer(s) HomeGrown Games
Publisher(s) DreamCatcher Interactive (North America)
JoWooD Entertainment (Europe & Australia)
Engine PainEngine (with
Havok)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: October 27, 2009
  • EU: November 6, 2009
  • AU: February 25, 2010
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Painkiller: Resurrection is a first-person shooter video game developed by Homegrown Games and published by DreamCatcher Interactive (now acquired by Nordic Games). It is a stand-alone expansion to the 2004 Painkiller , and runs on an updated version of PainEngine. It was released for Microsoft Windows in 2009. There was a planned Xbox 360 version, but was cancelled.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Gameplay

The gameplay of Painkiller Resurrection is identical to the original Painkiller , in which the player must complete a linear set of levels by means of clearing out various arenas that the player is locked into, and fighting off large groups of varying types of enemies using the unique arsenal of the original Painkiller.

Whenever the last enemy dies within an arena, the doors to the next room will open up, allowing the player to continue forward through the level. This process is repeated throughout the entire length of the level, and eventually leading the player to an exit portal that will end the level the moment the player touches it.

Along with needing to reach the end of a level, the player is also given the option of completing an optional side task within the mission, which will reward the player with a new tarot card that can be used to give the player a boost on the next mission. These optional side tasks tend to vary in terms of difficulty, with some tasks being quite difficult to complete, if not impossible on a first run.

However, where Resurrection differs from the original Painkiller, is that the levels are large and open, which in turn, allows the player a bit more freedom to explore them for items. Often times, almost the entire map is immediately accessible to the player, which unfortunately leads to a few problems involving the player losing their direction, leading to situations in which it is unclear to where they are expected to go. The larger, opened areas of Resurrection also presents a few navigation and spawn glitches, that can further hinder progress.

As an expansion, Resurrection mostly uses assets from the original Painkiller, with the addition of two new weapons, along with an original storyline featuring comic book styled cutscenes, similar in style to the first two games in the Max Payne series of video games.

Plot

The story begins outside of the events depicted in other games and stars new protagonist: William "Bill" Sherman. Blown to pieces by his own C4 payload, with which he wanted to eliminate a group of mobsters. The fact that he also accidentally blew up a bus full of innocent civilians has given rise to an all new problem – Hell doesn't exactly have any issues with claiming his soul. Now Bill's in purgatory and he's caught the eye of one of the Elyahim, the female spirits who guide the souls of men through purgatory. Guided by the Elyahim's voice, Bill, like Daniel Garner, is sent through this unholy realm to save his soul by destroying evil beings. After he defeats Aamon, a monstrous dog demon, a greater demon appears, revealing himself to be Astaroth, one of the generals of Lucifer. He asks Bill to join him, but Bill rejects. Surprisingly, Astaroth leaves Bill to continue his fight. After defeating a powerful spider-like demon, an angel, Ramiel, appears, asking Bill to continue his fighting and clean the purgatory in exchange for a chance to return to life. Later, after more fighting through demons, Bill is greeted by Elyahim in person. She explains that Ramiel betrayed the Heaven and now he and Astaroth are planning to conquer the purgatory, so it could become their dominion. As Hell and Heaven are weakened, they would be able to claim all the new souls coming to the afterlife and soon become the most prominent force in the world. However, to do so, they needed Bill to eliminate the majority of demons, so none of them would reveal to Hell Astaroth's true motives. Now, Bill has to battle both of them at the same time. He kills Astaroth and wounds Ramiel, who begs him to spare his life. In exchange, Ramiel will return Bill back to Earth. From this points, the three endings are possible.

The neutral ending is the decisive ending where Bill's story continues in Painkiller: Recurring Evil.

Reception

Painkiller: Resurrection received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic [1]

IGN rated Painkiller Resurrection as painful citing it as a "repulsive cocktail of inconvenience, design missteps and frustration that fails to entertain on any level." [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Doom 3</i> 2004 video game

Doom 3 is a 2004 survival horror first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. Doom 3 was originally released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004, adapted for Linux later that year, and ported by Aspyr Media for Mac OS X in 2005. Developer Vicarious Visions ported the game to the Xbox, releasing it on April 3, 2005.

<i>Painkiller</i> (video game) 2004 first-person shooter video game

Painkiller is a first-person shooter video game developed by Polish game studio People Can Fly and published by DreamCatcher Interactive in April 2004 for Microsoft Windows and ported to Xbox in 2006. The game's single player campaign follows a dead man in Purgatory who is offered a deal to defeat the invading forces of Lucifer's army in exchange for being allowed to enter Heaven. The game was particularly well-received for its multiplayer experience and was featured for two seasons on the Cyberathlete Professional League's World Tour.

<i>The Nomad Soul</i> 1999 adventure game

The Nomad Soul is an adventure game developed by Quantic Dream and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows in 1999 and Dreamcast in 2000. The player can engage in unarmed and armed combat, explore the three-dimensional environment of Omikron City, and talk with non-player characters to progress the story. It follows an investigation into a case of serial killings, which unravels the supernatural truth behind the city's ancient history.

<i>Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil</i> 2005 video game

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is a horror first-person shooter video game developed by Nerve Software and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows on April 3, 2005, as an expansion pack and sequel to Doom 3 and on October 5, 2005, for the Xbox video game console. The Xbox version does not require the original Doom 3 in order to play, and includes The Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth and Master Levels for Doom II.

<i>Afterlife</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Afterlife is a god game released by LucasArts in June 1996 that places the player in the role of a semi-omnipotent being known as a Demiurge, with the job of creating a functional Heaven and Hell to reward or punish the citizens of the local planet. The player does not assign citizens to their various punishments and rewards since the game does this automatically. Instead, the player creates the infrastructure that allows the afterlife to function properly. Players are accountable for the job that they do because of their bosses, The Powers That Be, check in from time to time. The player also has the assistance of two advisors—Aria Goodhalo, an angel, and Jasper Wormsworth, a demon. Aria and Jasper provide warnings when things are going wrong with the afterlife, and offer tips on how to fix the problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Winchester</span> Fictional character

Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series Supernatural, along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed by Hunter Brochu (toddler), Ridge Canipe (child), Nicolai Lawton-Giustra (pre-teen), Brock Kelly and Dylan Everett (teen), and Chad Everett (elderly).

<i>Painkiller: Overdose</i> 2007 video game

Painkiller: Overdose is a stand-alone expansion pack for the first-person shooter video game Painkiller, developed by Mindware Studios. Mindware originally intended it to be fan-made mod but the publisher DreamCatcher Interactive granted the project full financial and technical support, and officially published it in 2007. The expansion offers 40 types of monsters, 16 additional levels, and six additional weapons. It is the second expansion of Painkiller with the first being Battle Out of Hell.

<i>Muramasa: The Demon Blade</i> 2009 action role-playing video game

Muramasa: The Demon Blade, known in Japan as Oboro Muramasa, is an action role-playing game developed by Vanillaware for the Wii, and later the PlayStation Vita. The game was published in 2009 by Marvelous Entertainment (Japan), Ignition Entertainment, and Rising Star Games (Europe). The Vita version was published in 2013 by Marvelous AQL in Japan and Aksys Games in Western territories. Using a 2D side-scrolling perspective, the gameplay revolves around a beat 'em up fighting system, while incorporating role-playing elements such as leveling and questing.

The Goetic demon Astaroth, whose name is derived from Ashtoreth, the biblical spelling of the name of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, has appeared many times in modern popular culture.

<i>Ghosts n Goblins</i> Video game series

Ghosts 'n Goblins, known in Japan as Makaimura, is a run-and-gun platform video game series created by Tokuro Fujiwara and developed by Capcom. The first entry in the series was Ghosts 'n Goblins, released in arcades on July 7, 1985. The series has subsequently been ported to and released on a variety of personal computers, game consoles and mobile platforms and spawned several sequels and spin-offs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purgatory</span> Religious belief of Christianity, primarily Catholicism

Purgatory is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations and Islam, an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory is the final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. Tradition, by reference to certain texts of scripture, sees the process as involving a cleansing fire. Some forms of Western Christianity, particularly within Protestantism, deny its existence. Other strands of Western Christianity see purgatory as a place, perhaps filled with fire. Some concepts of Gehenna in Judaism resemble those of purgatory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivier (comics)</span> Comics character

Olivier is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the antihero the Punisher. Olivier was created by Bernie Wrightson, Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski, and first appeared in The Punisher #1 as a reimagined depiction of an already existing individual: Frank Costa was created by Tony DeZuniga and Archie Goodwin, and debuted in Marvel Super Action #1.

<i>Painkiller: Hell & Damnation</i> 2012 first-person shooter video game

Painkiller: Hell & Damnation is a first-person shooter video game, both a remake of and a sequel to Painkiller, developed by The Farm 51 and published by Nordic Games. The game was released on October 31, 2012, for Microsoft Windows and for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 28, 2013, in Europe after suffering multiple delays. It was released in North America for Xbox 360 through Xbox Live on October 1, 2013, and for PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation Store on November 26, 2013.

<i>Devils and Realist</i> Japanese manga and anime series

Devils and Realist is a Japanese manga series written by Madoka Takadono and illustrated by Utako Yukihiro. An anime adaptation was animated by Doga Kobo and aired from July 7, 2013 to September 22, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venom Snake</span> Fictional character from the Metal Gear series

Venom Snake, also known as Punished Snake, is a fictional character from Konami's Metal Gear video game series. Created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa, he is most notably the protagonist in the 2015 game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. He is performed via voice acting and performance capture by Akio Ōtsuka in the Japanese version and by Kiefer Sutherland in the English version.

<i>Darksiders Genesis</i> 2019 action role-playing video game

Darksiders Genesis is a top-down hack and slash action role-playing video game developed by American studio Airship Syndicate and published by THQ Nordic. The game was released for Stadia and Windows on 5 December 2019, and was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 14 February 2020. It is considered a spin-off prequel game in the Darksiders series and introduces the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Strife, as the protagonist. Strife can also team up with his brother, War. Upon release, the game received positive reviews, with many reviewers praising the combat.

<i>Neon White</i> 2022 video game

Neon White is a first-person shooter and puzzle-platforming game developed by Angel Matrix and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and the Nintendo Switch on June 16, 2022. It was released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on December 13, 2022. It is also in development for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

<i>Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection</i> 2021 video game

Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Switch. It is the 8th game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series and was released on February 25, 2021 to celebrate the series' 35th anniversary. Ports for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One were released on June 1, 2021. The game received mixed reviews upon release.

<i>Ultrakill</i> 2020 first-person shooter video game

Ultrakill is a first-person shooter video game developed by Arsi "Hakita" Patala and published by New Blood Interactive. It was first released on Steam through Early Access for Microsoft Windows on September 3, 2020. The game uses retro-style graphics and movement capabilities reminiscent of 1990s first-person shooters such as Quake and Doom.

References

  1. 1 2 "Painkiller: Resurrection for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ Todd, Brett (October 30, 2009). "Painkiller: Resurrection Review". GameSpot . Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Onyett, Charles (November 9, 2009). "Painkiller: Resurrection Review". IGN . Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Painkiller: Resurrection". PC Gamer UK. December 25, 2009. p. 116.
  5. ↑ "Painkiller: Resurrection". PC Zone : 74. January 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.