Painkiller

THE GOOD:
+ Some Great graphics
+ Some nice effects
+ Huge environments
+ These massive levels do NOT have any loading between sections
+ plenty of secrets and items

THE BAD:
- Pretty weak story
- Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly
- Very restrictive physics and environment
- immersive music was used too sparingly
- Seemed like a very limited number of monster types

SUMMARY:
The strongest points about this game are the graphics, the massive levels, and some of the thematic elements of the levels. For instance, the Mosque and Militar Base levels are VERY nicely created, being very immersive and large enough that the levels feel like mini game environments unto themselves.

The major problem with the game, however, is its repetitiveness. Whenever you enter an area, the exits are sealed shut, and enemies rush out at you. The areas might be small rooms, or massive outdoor arenas, but the premise remains the same: you kill every creature and then the exits are unlocked.

Not only is this setup very very unrealistic, it feels so restrictive.

The redeeming point here is that the action is quite furious. There are times when you aren't sure if you can even make it through, but the levels in general lack the visceral quality of some earlier classics like Half Life.

There was also a complete lack of cohesiveness from level to level - you never feel like you're in a WORLD, but rather just passing through different levels created by the level designers. In the original Unreal classic, there was a lot of feeling like you were on a journey. Such a feeling is completely lost on the gamer here.

If you can stand the repetitiveness the game isn't a bad play. Some of the levels are cool enough to warrant a run through. The game would be a lot more tolerable if you have access to cheats.