In 2004 Painkiller struck a chord with the masses through its unusual settings and old-school FPS gameplay. I can still remember one of the best levels I’ve ever played from the original consisted of fighting your way through a frozen representation of every era in human history. Fast forward three years with the release of Painkiller: Overdose, a “continuation” of a fast-pased, story-anemic thrill ride in which an offspring of both heaven and hell travels through spiritual dimensions to destroy those who reject and punish him. Need I say more?

You play as Belial, a sarcastic hybrid who is part angel, part demon but has been rejected by both parties. You will be battling some crazy enemies just like the first time around but with some even crazier weapons. But Painkiller’s level design keeps everything grounded in a very controlled, linear fashion. The game throws endless hordes of enemies at you in a sealed room where you basically strafe sideways and blows them to pieces and afterwards collect their souls for health. When you collect a certain amount, Belial bursts into full demon mode. Your screen blurs and all enemies now move in slow-motion during which you completely destroy them.

And the new variety of enemies is quite staggering just by the sheer amount of diversity in each. Some float, some crawl, others run and even others slither. I really don’t even know what kind of twisted minds are required to come up with this stuff but Mindware Studios has them. The boss battles are truly epic in proportion and the levels themselves vary as much as the enemies. You fight through parts of hell, space, deserts, castles, and even Japan. And all of your foes fit and look like they originate from them… but horrifically mutated, of course.

Heaven's and hell's minions aren’t the only thing mutated. Your weapons themselves are sadistically altered in some way from the original. Your shotgun is made of bones now and the Painkiller blade is now some kind energized cube of razor pieces that spin and shoot in the same manor. You also wield a decapitated goblin head which discharges lasers from its eyes as well as a crossbow which chucks explosive skulls. It’s all a little over the top, but it is definitely fun.

If endless hordes of mutants get old, you can try your hand at multiplayer with a decent amount of game modes and a new stats system that keeps track of all your info. And, of course, it’s compatible with all of the old maps from the original.

Mindware Studious tips their hat to the heritage of the original Painkiller, and successfully extends the world with new weapons, enemies, bosses, and levels that will fulfill any adrenaline junkie’s craving. If you enjoyed the first Painkiller or you’re the kind of person that continuously mashes the escape key to skip the cut scenes so you can get to killin’ quicker, Overdose is definitely for you.

Gameplay: 8.5
Great non-stop action with over the top environments, weapons and enemies.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics surprisingly aged well. The environments are so spectacular that you won’t mind the dated textures or polygon counts.

Sound: 7.5
A lot of the sounds are mediocre and sound like they came from an effects library. The music is very 80s-slash sounding, but the voices are still the best effects, sounding very demonic and sometimes funny.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
Not much of a story, but who hasn’t wanted to be an angel or demon at some point in their lives? Now’s your chance to be both and kick butt at the same time.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Fast-paced, and over the top, just like the single player, but nothing stands out as extraordinary.

Overall: 7.8
Being a fan of the original, I really enjoyed this game. It’s a good distraction that will keep you looking forward to the next level just to see how over the top it will truly be. Overkill is a high-octane thrill ride from beginning to end... or in other words, fun.