Recenzja Painkiller Resurrection

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Cytat: SYS

What a game... I feel I have to say that even Overdose was better than PKR: maybe OD was "sick" a bit but it had much more originality, much more variaty, new weapons and new monsters. Sure, PKR is better in Secrets, but I'm afraid that is ALL...

My opinion is based after completing the game only 1x yet, though I'll keep playing it for maximum stats and all, at least until I'm not feeling it's only about wasting my time. Cause buying it now is wasting money only. I'm afraid almost noone will buy the retail version and then probably JoWood will start thinking (no, of course they won't, they will only blame the Creators for everything)...
From now some spoiler-tidbits might come up, so read carefully...

In general I was progressing extremely slowly: when I saw stats about 600-700 monsters to kill, I thought OMG, I don't have the mood/time for another few hours of boringly repetitive shooting at the same hordes and then few more hours to search for the well hidden or buggy Secrets. So it was always hard to get the feeling to start a new level...

Definitely, "The Cathedrale" is my best level from this game. It's like in the previous games, simple straight-forward gameplay, nice atmosphere and good Secrets. Painkiller was always as simple game like that, shouldn't have been needed to be this overcomplicated/overmixed/oversized like how it feels on the further levels. However I'm afraid also of giving the same simple straight-forward gameplay during the rest levels..yep, that wouldn't have been worked either. Maybe...
Also even here on the first level it was noticable that the map wasn't very original. And here's a question what I thought of: which you like more, the already overplayed cathedral from the original PK still or this cathedral from PKR? Because I still rather would play the original! At least if I want to answer from heart...
Here on the 1st level we already get our only 1 new monster, what can be called as "Mr. Shitman" or so, cause yep, it looks like that in colour and form as well... Smile Not much, that's sure, and not much thoughts behind it...

Then yep, we got "The Forbidden Valley", and just like how RJ thought, I had the same feeling: OMG, please not to search for all damned monsters, not all the 609 please! It was tedious. Yes, it was tedious to visit all pixels on the map to trigger the next hordes of monsters. But in the end I got all. Also I missed only 1 Secret from this map, hm-hm, wondering where that is (cause I had 4*, with only 1 missing Secret, so must be a Heath Item or MegaHealth in it), will see it next time, I hope...
But what I had to notice and what really started bugging me even more: the crazy stealings from all the previous games! I realized complete buildings, rooms, and even level-parts from the previous games. Many places remembered me to areas from levels from the earlier games and for example the long bridge were taken from the "CTF_Forbidden" MP-map. I think it's OK if you have the "OMG, copycat" feeling 1-2 times, but come on, I felt like this many times on this level! Like the creator of this map had no ideas? No creativity? No originality enough to find out something NEW? The map was filled up with areas from previous games, and this indeed looked very sad...
I found bugs too here, a lot. Mainly editing bugs, like I could leave the level at many places and I stucked and got being "drown" into rocks! Or for example I stucked into that blue crystal altair or what was that: I simply stucked into it and couldn't get out and it was not higher than the feet! I had to reload then, many times happened and of course it might happen if someone is looking for Secrets... Also, there was that bug with the "big dog" (can't recall his name at the moment..ahh, Aamon I think): I ran further towards the big gate (what opens in the end for God knows why, no Secret there, nothing, only you can get out of the playable area again) and "big dog" simply died. At least Ivan mentioned on JW-Forums that they will fix this bug..I hope so...

Then I had to see "Gloomy Mountains" again, but this time with 600+ monsters! I thought OMG, no please, even 445 was far enough in the demo. *sigh* Of course I couldn't find all, not much of a fun to search for all monsters even for a maximalist... Very Happy There was 1 extra and easy Secret added comparing to the demo and the level looked better, more textured and so on, though still wasn't ready (waterfalls and still some untextured objects, many stucking points, many level-leaving points, etc.)...
However I hated the INVISIBLE teleports very much, no idea why those were needed at all, it's really a stupid thing (that only ONE was good and enough in the demo). Especially with the final Secret, even the buggy bridge was less annoying than this: unluckily going/falling into the invisible teleport before getting the Holy Item - and then running back a lot to try again, GG...
Also the "taste of freedom", ehh: I don't know if we really need such a "freedom" in progressing or if it's any useful. I thought this again after somehow I messed up my progression and during 3-4 CheckPoints the CPs appeared BEHIND me! Now that looked odd and felt odd: when I was progressing towards the "wrong" way and the "next" CP actually leaded me to that area what I just had done... Surprised Then this is odd "freedom" for the player...
At least I didn't have the "omg copycat" feeling, but watching the too much rocks, big grass-fields, and some stretched textures really wasn't healthy for the eyes...

The 4th level, called "The Haunted City" was the one I found the most tedious so far, I was almost sure I won't get any worse than this (I was very wrong with that thought as it turned out later). Lots of boring backstreets, almost 700 monsters to kill, extremely long time to reach the end of the level even if you're just shooting. I found here about 8 Secrets for the first run without doing any serious search, and in the end I got tired of the level too much and had no mood for any backtrack to find the rest...
At least I found I think 1-2 new objects on this map and even textures! Surprised Was surprised. But I also found levelpart-stealings from earlier games again, here and there...
Also, nice bug in the end: angel sexyvoice mentioned a big monster in front of me at the harbour, but then I got the final portal only. Will be fixed soon, I'm sure...

Then yep, the "Hangar" was the next level and I had to change my mind. The 2nd worst level in PKR, definitely. If not the 1st, hard to decide. Total flat, short, ultra-linear in the bad way. It was kinda a "bosslevel", but only 126 tough monsters to kill, 2 easy Secrets, and GG. Also again the hangar itself was a complete copycat from a part of "Abandoned Factory" from the original PK. But ye, I got use to it till I reached the 5th level...
Also the half of the level was completely untextured and the dear updater stopped with this error, so yep, I had to finish it with vomit-look...

However the horror didn't end: got "High Seas", the "last" and the WORST map ever in PKR and from all PK-games (OK, I haven't seen the bonuslevel yet)... Only just 888(!) enemies to kill optionally of course (I got 840 but I know some places I skipped), extremely overbrighted level so you can see almost NOTHING, deadly water and areas at many points so easily can get "surprised" (and pissed off from the sudden GameOver-screen), totally flat and boring environment with stupidly long and paralell islands, overfilled with the worst monsters (especially the rocket-guys from OD's "Air Combat"), and God knows what more bad to say. This is the level what I would completely remove from the game and the game would be BETTER from that, not worse... Shock
It's unbelievable how the creator of this level had absolAnd we have to watch the same boring, repetitive and empty look for hours. This level would be far enough just with the lame final fight with the last 2 guys, Astaroth and Ramiel (hehe, maybe it's even possible to do with the "freedom" we got in the game). I completely lost my patience here, just wanted to finish it before the eyes would burn out..still found 2 Secrets from the 4 easily, but God knows where are the rest 2, and God knows how to get 1500 gold here without using up the SoulCatcher/GoldGrabber card...
The DemonBooze weapon also made me to have a bitter smile only: totally unoriginal, no real idea behind it. Come on, it shoots only straight burning stakes with no reloading-time (yeye, good for skill=0 players, hope it won't be accessible in the MP ever), and the secondary is actually the combo of BOOH's SMG, so releases a gas-cannister with mega-oversized splash-radius to kill all monsters in front of the player and the player himself too hehe, if he wasn't careful enough. Of course there's NO combo for this "new" weapon...

Then finally the horror ended. Here I must mention the storyline and background. I find the background enough detailed, but the storyline itself is very simple, though it really started promising, but then: it's only about Bill keeps complaining about "how many horror left, how many monsters to kill, when my suffering will end, etc." and Astaroth, Ramiel, and then angel sexyvoice visits him and promising things, then they all vanish... Then in the end of course Bill makes a WRONG decision, what was easily predictable and the end too: I KNEW that such end will happen exactly like that way as it happened! I had to watch only what I expected myself as well, cause yep, it was so obvious and easy to find out what will happen and how! However I'm interested in the Trauma-end, maybe that will show something more interesting and surprising...
Also about the background, I said it's nicely detailed. Angel sexyvoice talks a lot, trying to navigate Bill, and she even mentioned Daniel and Belial. Nice, nice. However then I don't know why Astaroth mentions he is Lucifer's 3rd General, when Lucifer is actually DEAD already. Cause yep, Daniel killed him, that released Belial out of his prison, so Lucifer is surely dead! But OK, Astaroth still can be Lucifer's 3rd General, even though his boss is already dead, just he doesn't tell to Bill that his real boss is actually a SHE (Eve, as we know, unless Daniel killed her too). Ramiel was a good choice, as I know he is also the "Angel Of Death", just like Sammael, so even the same look is something what I can accept...
Angel sexyvoice talks hot and a lot. But her voice is extremely overeffected (way too much echo) and my English via listening (or how to say) is not too good, so I understood more or less NOTHING from her background-explainings. What a pity, cause I'm really interested anyway..still I can say some "bubbles" or some written text would look nice while Bill and she are talking (at least Bill was easier to understand)...

The audio/music stuff I think was done in a bad quality anyway. If I listen let's say the Ambient of "Gloomy Mountains", then it sounds like it was sampled at 22050 Hz or so. It sounds NOISY and there are SCRATCHES in the music, like it's playing back from a gramophone at some points. Also the same is true about the voice of the actors: bad quality, scratching sound, like they used up a cheap microphone or I don't know. Or the studiowork was so bad, no idea... And still we can hear Belial's voice while playing and getting hurt in the game...

If I say that the storyline/background is the strongest point of the game, then in this case this isn't really a good news and doesn't mean something really positive... It's almost only about mixing things from former titles, as Cyody said: filling it up with the known enemies in mindless way, mindless copying areas from earlier games' levels, giving a very-very repetitive and therefore shoote
utely NO ideas and creativity, made just an oversized and boring map with many-many monsters and that was all. And we have to watch the same boring, repetitive and empty look for hours. This level would be far enough just with the lame final fight with the last 2 guys, Astaroth and Ramiel (hehe, maybe it's even possible to do with the "freedom" we got in the game). I completely lost my patience here, just wanted to finish it before the eyes would burn out..still found 2 Secrets from the 4 easily, but God knows where are the rest 2, and God knows how to get 1500 gold here without using up the SoulCatcher/GoldGrabber card...
The DemonBooze weapon also made me to have a bitter smile only: totally unoriginal, no real idea behind it. Come on, it shoots only straight burning stakes with no reloading-time (yeye, good for skill=0 players, hope it won't be accessible in the MP ever), and the secondary is actually the combo of BOOH's SMG, so releases a gas-cannister with mega-oversized splash-radius to kill all monsters in front of the player and the player himself too hehe, if he wasn't careful enough. Of course there's NO combo for this "new" weapon...