Quick review

[lordbarni]

So, I've finished the 6 maps that the game has to offer in 3.9 hours (countless retries inclueded) in insomnia difficulty. Every map is ~30 minutes long, so if you don't fail as much as i did you can easily finish it in 3 hours which is much less than that 7 to 10 hours that is promised in the main page.

Also I have to say that the maps are really small. We have to kill tons of enemies in tight corridors and tiny rooms, so sometimes the fights can become a bit tedious...and at the beginning frustrating. The learning curve is really weird, either i got CONSIDERABLY better as i progressed through the game, or the first map is MUCH harder that the followings. I was always low on ammo, enemies came from every possible side, I died at least 30 times, the latter maps are much easier, so don't be discouraged by the 1st one!

The steam page suggests that the enemies are smarter, i don't remember how was the AI in the previous games, but here the bad guys often got stuck on objects or walls so i don't think that it improved that much, not that it matters in a painkiller game.

The graphics are kinda the same as in the previous games, it's outdated, but good enough for this game.
Oh and the music...was...awesome!! It's definitely worth 5 bucks just for that.

I know that my little "review" was a little harsh and negative, I was trying to gave some constructive criticism, these are the things that should be fixed in your later games or in the DLCs of this one.
Anyway I actually enjoyed the game, it's a really good way to kill some for those who can't afford Bulletstorm or just for those who anxiously want some old-school action game and can't wait for the new duke game
5$ is a fair price for this game, and i we'll really get new maps and a coop mode in the future DLCs than it's an absolute no-brainer.
So if you like Painkiller/Serious Sam like games, buy it, you won't regret it.

Sorry for any mispellings/language mistakes i made, it's 1 am here. From Hungary with love: Barney

[inkubus]

Yeah I can see how the stuff you mentioned could be fixed in later updates and stuff. Plus I'm pretty sure they will be adding other Chapters, at least a Chapter 2, which will obviously increase longevity

I laughed at your bit about enemy AI...yeah...Painkiller games have been about stupid monsters who just rush you blindly :P I saw the thing about "improved AI" and thought "what, they strafe a little now?"

[Eggtooth]

I will try to rebuild first map a little, add more walking monsters, to make learning curve.

[NalgasDLemur]

Originally Posted by lordbarni

Also I have to say that the maps are really small. We have to kill tons of enemies in tight corridors and tiny rooms, so sometimes the fights can become a bit tedious...and at the beginning frustrating. The learning curve is really weird, either i got CONSIDERABLY better as i progressed through the game, or the first map is MUCH harder that the followings. I was always low on ammo, enemies came from every possible side, I died at least 30 times, the latter maps are much easier, so don't be discouraged by the 1st one!

The learning curve is more like a learning vertical cliff. It'd probably be easier if it hadn't been 2+ years since I last played the original game, but it's been a while for me. I also never played any of the others, because I heard they were terrible, so I have no idea how Belial's weapons work. Dropping people straight into that is kind of brutal at first and took me a little while to readjust to, too.

I very, very much so agree with the "tedious" part, too. It's kind of fun, but it drags a bit having to kill hundreds of enemies just to get to the next room sometimes. It was really discouraging after the "trap" checkpoint in the first level seeing that I'd still only killed 364 out over over a thousand enemies on that level. I kind of have to agree with whoever it was in one of the other threads that said it makes it feel more like Serious Sam than Painkiller, which is unfortunate, because I never could get into Serious Sam at all, but Painkiller is possibly my favorite single-player FPS I've ever played, or at least pretty high up there.

A lot of people have also said that it gets better after the first level, though, like when you're not stuck with Belial anymore, so I'll see how that goes later, I guess.

[inkubus]

Originally Posted by NalgasDLemur

A lot of people have also said that it gets better after the first level, though, like when you're not stuck with Belial anymore, so I'll see how that goes later, I guess.

It does, especially since I think only one other level has over 1000 levels. The other have ~900. Still a lot, lol.

[MADDOGGE]

Well I got 5-ish hours out of it on easy the first run through. The game is definitely more frenetic than the original which I was actually in the mood to finish up after finishing Redemption yesterday. Keep in mind that the maps are much smaller compared to the original game and set inside whereas the original has huge outdoor maps as well. I'm personally impressed that the game runs bug free for me and the few things I have seen reported are minor and mostly personal complaints that involve feelings.

[Eggtooth]

Originally Posted by MADDOGGE

Well I got 5-ish hours out of it on easy the first run through. The game is definitely more frenetic than the original which I was actually in the mood to finish up after finishing Redemption yesterday. Keep in mind that the maps are much smaller compared to the original game and set inside whereas the original has huge outdoor maps as well. I'm personally impressed that the game runs bug free for me and the few things I have seen reported are minor and mostly personal complaints that involve feelings.

And most of these bugs are fixed.