Painkiller impressions

Architecture, whether destructable or not, is moody and effective.

Los Angeles
When covering an event such as E3, there is no way you can cover everything in great depth. Instead you choose the select few companies and events that you believe will have the biggest and best news (such as the Sony PSP announcement yesterday) and focus on those. During your spare time, browsing all of the other stands in the various halls becomes your priority, partially for your own interest, perhaps to find a game you’re looking forward to, and partially incase you find something intriguing that hasn’t had much coverage. Painkiller is one of the latter type.

Having just pleased myself with a presentation in the Square Enix booth, I was casually passing the publisher Dreamcatcher stand, when one of the monitor’s caught my eye. A first person shooter created for the PC, running at an impressive frame rate, and yet with a fun Serious Sam style gameplay. This is the only survival horror title where the monsters are the ones fighting to survive.

Pick on somebody your own size

Huge bosses, destroying all of the architecture using realistic physics models (Havok).

The poor player of the game seemed to be up against a 100 foot tall tailed creature who was stomping around some beautiful ruins knocking them at him, and it was primarily the size difference that drew me to the screen. At this point, the creature and his house sized sledge hammer managed to squash the player, putting a subtle Game Over over the top. I seized the machine and as commanded, hit the enter key to restart the level, so while I was waiting for it, I took a look around the stand.

On another screen was a different part of the game, where hordes of demonic creatures try to attack you, only to be cut down beautifully with the various weapons available. The Havok physics engine is a primary part of the game, with the now standard rag doll deaths looking more impressive than ever, perhaps because of the naturalistic speed of the movements, and momentum transfer of the shots. My game was loaded and I prepared for a large fight with the monster, but I was greeted with a surprise.

“Where did this all come from?”

People fly around like... well, like they should when blown up with a rocket.

The level was different. The beautifully detailed ruins I had previously seen had been replaced with tall gorgeous structures, and suddenly I realized that they were remarkably familiar. Then it began, as the large creature stormed onto the scene and headed towards me, crashing through the structures. The ruins I had previously felt were so impressive had been created through the havoc physics engine, with stunning motion, and the most brilliant destruction sequences I have seen in a video game.

Mathematical calculations determine how the towers fall down, blocks crashing to the ground and spinning off as perfectly as I could imagine. I have often mentioned my thoughts that after the transition to 3D and the revolution that is online gaming, physics will be the next big thing, and having a game with a dangerously integral part of the gameplay, and your character’s survival resting on physics truly fits my ideas. The game will include a multiplayer mode, and should be released in North America in the Autumn, but as of yet, no European publisher has been announced.

Painkiller teaser