Painkiller: Hell & Damnation

The player has to get through each level, from start to finish, by slaughtering multitudinous demons. The game is divided into several chapters, each with several levels. Each level presents a new location with various themes and includes castles, monasteries, graveyards, and more. Several classic weapons return, including the Painkiller, the stakethrower, the shotgun, and the electrodriver. New guns are also available such as the Soulcatcher, which shoots saw blades in primary firing mode and sucks the souls out of the enemies with its secondary firing.[13]

Painkiller: Hell & Damnation also adds several multiplayer modes to the series. The entire single-player campaign can be played by two people and the level of difficulty adjusts in accordance with the two players, either through the number of enemies or hit points.[13] In survival mode, up to eight players battle for survival in a limited area of one map.[13] Endless waves of enemy hordes will attack the player or players. Other player vs player based game modes include deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and duels.[13]

After crushing the forces of Hell and Purgatory in the original titles, Daniel Garner was denied seeing his wife, Catherine. Now, with no faith left, he sat in the cemetery, where his quest once began. Suddenly, Death itself appeared, proposing Daniel a new bargain: reunion with his wife in exchange for 7,000 souls. Daniel reluctantly agrees, receiving the Soulcatcher gun. He is sent to familiar places, battling hordes of demon-spawn, again defeating the formidable Necrogiant, Alastor, and Swamp Thing. An old ally, Eve, reappears during this quest, warning that Death cannot be trusted, but Daniel didn't forget her own betrayal at the end of Painkiller: Battle out of Hell. Daniel avoids her as she tries to persuade him that everything is not as it seems, and the only reason that he is so successful at killing demons and not succumbing to their power is that he is not really dead.

Eventually, Daniel returns to Death, with the Soulcatcher filled. Death, however, is not pleased, as there are only 6,999 souls, and not 7,000, but still advises Daniel to get the final soul: that of Eve. Daniel, disgusted by such a turn of events, spares Eve, infuriating Death. Battle ensues, culminating with Death's defeat and an opening of a strange white portal. By taking the portal, Daniel discovers himself alive, lying in bed, in a hospital. All this time, he was alive, but in a coma, bound by Death to an endless battle in Purgatory. Suddenly, Eve appears, claiming that the souls collected enabled Death to reunite with his brothers, the other Horsemen of Apocalypse: Pestilence, Famine, and War, which are now plotting to invade Earth. Daniel feels that he will be unable to battle the hordes of Hell without the power that he wielded in Purgatory, but Eve comforts him, saying that they are not alone and he will be just a sidekick. A door opens, revealing the demonic visage of Belial (from Painkiller: Overdose) who calls Daniel to stand up and help him fight Death and his Horsemen.

Painkiller: Hell & Damnation has had a mixed reception among gaming publications. The Windows version of the game holds a score of 64/100 on Metacritic while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions hold a score of 40/100 and 53/100 respectively.[21][22][23] The average review score of the Windows version of the game on GameRankings is 67.48%[18] while the average review score of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions is 42%[19] and 59.86%[20] respectively. Many have praised the graphical quality of the game, with GameSpot's Nathan Meunier saying it has had a "great visual makeover".[26] Other positives are the great weapon variety and craziness of the weapons, IGN stated the game has a "great selection of totally over-the-top weaponry".[29] GameZone's David Sanchez gave the PS3 version a 7.5/10, stating "Hell & Damnation is a good FPS that harkens back to an era that was all about shooting sh*t up and not giving a damn. There's little variety, the game sticks closely to a formula that fans of modern shooters won't dig, and at about four hours, it's painfully short."[28]

According to critics, one of the biggest gripes about Painkiller: Hell & Damnation is the enemy AI. IGN called the AI "dumb and often glitchy".[29] GameSpy's Mike Nelson expanded on this saying "the poor AI makes them [bosses] susceptible to getting stuck in the environment".[27] Other reviewers had issues with the short campaign and problems with multiplayer.

• Official website (archived)