Over 19 unique levels, Painkiller's proprietary 3D engine delivers 100 times the polygons of the most recent first-person shooters, while simultaneously adding texture quality and the very latest light and shadowing techniques. Graphically, Painkiller is unmatched.

The 'kick' in the Painkiller formula is the fast and frantic gameplay. Painkiller allows players to shoot anything that moves and, once killed, the souls of enemy monsters can be consumed to increase player health. Once shot to pieces, monsters and objects leave gold coins behind which allow players to upgrade speed and weapons as well as maps and numerous other 'power ups' between levels.

Painkiller's key ingredient lies in its incredibly advanced physics. Painkiller uses the Havoc 2.0 physics engine, allowing realistic simulation for breakable objects, collisions and explosions. Inverse kinematics ('ragdoll physics') are integrated within the skeletal animation system, allowing for realistic death animations for ghouls and monsters. No more static death throes, then.

Painkiller contains 19 unique single-player levels, with virtually no regurgitation of texture, each comprising a staggering average of 350,000 polygons. The levels are illuminated through both static and dynamic lighting, including accurate 'real world' light using a light distribution model that creates photorealistic ambient lighting and separate real time lights for enemies, objects and weapons. All the levels also incorporate advanced vertex and pixel shaders, including water, glass, volumetric lights and fog.

Painkiller features 20 different enemy monsters, each with their own unique behavioural patterns and attacks. Enemies are formed from a whopping 3,000 to 4,000 polygons each, with up to 8,000 for boss monsters, and animation is skeleton-based, allowing for damage area detection.

Painkiller's weapon system has been designed specifically to avoid 'weapon overkill', by providing the ideal number of weapons, each with primary and secondary modes, so that each is truly useful. For advanced Painkiller players, primary and secondary weapons can be used in spectacular 'combo' attacks.

Finally, Painkiller's adrenaline-numbing effects give an extra punch in multiplayer mode. Painkiller developers, People Can Fly, are Quake world champions and fully appreciate what makes a truly great multiplayer game. As such, up to 32 players have been allowed for across five multiplayer modes including 'Deathmatch', where the player takes on the world; 'Team Deathmatch'; 'People Can Fly', a modification of Deathmatch 'one on one' with rocket launchers; 'Voosh', where all players have the same weapon and 'The Light Bearer', which assumes that Quad damage never wears off. The multiplayer modes really are hardcore.

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