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Painkiller PC Demo Debuts
Thanks to Blue's News for their story noting a single-player PC demo of DreamCatcher's FPS Painkiller is now available, with the 228MB trial version BitTorrent-able via GameTab and at AixGaming. According to the publisher: "The demo contains 3 Single Player levels including the never-before-seen Oriental Castle, the medieval town level and the Thor level where players will get 'hammered' with one of the biggest, meanest and downright scariest bosses of all time, Saphathoraél." There's a recent hands-on look at the title at C+VG which explains its style, suggesting: "Painkiller is usually likened to Doom or Serious Sam, and that's more or less spot-on, although this is Doom and Serious Sam utilising next-generation technology."
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-The main weapon, a wooden spear-gun, has a nice projectile arc to it. Haven't seen that in any FPS.
-As other posters have mentioned, it's just plain FUN. No objectives, no stealth, just take your time and nail some corpses to the ground.
-The system specs said that it required a 1.5 GHz machine, so I was a bit leery, but with my 2000+ Athlon, a GF 4200 128MB and 512MB DDR it ran perfectly smooth on 1024x768 maxxed. What a pleasant surprise!
Really, really fun gameplay. I'm definitely a SP gamer, so this is a nice change from the last few days -- Onslaught in UT2004 :)
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
What has impressed me so far in Painkiller are the innovations in Artificial Intelligence. Half-Life 2, eat your heart out! The enemies act exactly as zombies do in real life, if zombies were in real life. Since zombies feel no pain (they're already dead!) they'll actually run straight at you while you're shooting at them. And as we know, zombies are a collective lot but aren't privy to working in teams so much. You hit one, and the other is completely oblivious that you're hitting his once former brother or wife. That is so realistic! Anyone seen 28 Days Later? Anyone? You remember thinking how great it would be to finally have realistic zombie intelligence and planning recreated in a video game experience? Well here it is!
What's even more impressive are the higher levels of AI, yes I said higher. The horny wizard dead fellows, for example, exhibit completely different AI patterns than our zombie friends. Instead of leaping at you, they'll actually walk slowly as if they're running but they're not, and if you approach they'll push you back! They know when you're close to them! Painkiller effectively integrates LBRS: Location Based Response Subroutines. Really, that's just fancy shmancy lingo for "realistic zombie shootin' fun"!
What will, unarguably, be posted in message boards across the internet in the coming weeks before the release of Painkiller are awestruck comments of its graphics, the use of the latest in crate movement technology (otherwise known as the havok physics engine), or in depth analytical discussions of its plot. However, one should not neglect the unseen "behind the zombie" technological developments exhibited in Painkiller. The AI is undoubtedly one of the most significant "zombie" leaps forward (no pun intended! or maybe it was!) in AI programming since, well, Black & White, if I may say so. And everyone remembers how much fun that game was! This is tenfold! Tenfold! Based on the demo, Painkiller is ramping up to be for zombie games what Full Spectrum Warrior is for the tactical U.S. Military command simulations, nothing short of zombie training. If anything, Painkiller might suffer from too much zombie realism. Hopefully, before the game comes out they can strike that sweet spot of balance between AI that is just too simulation-esque due to realism and AI that is still realistic and yet definitively playable. Here's hoping, zombiefied gamers!