First-person shooters have seen some radical changes over the past decade or so. The days of mindlessly blasting demons, aliens, and pigs in cop uniforms are a thing of the past. Instead, we're consistently treated to more tactical or mission-based shooters. And while these games are certainly fun, they sometimes lack the visceral thrill of their ancient cousins. Painkiller Overdose, just like Painkiller before it, is almost a tribute to the run-and-gun action that is all but dead in today's gaming landscape. Unfortunately, Overdose also suffers from numerous technical blemishes and level design flaws that take away a lot of the fun that would otherwise be abundantly present.

There is technically a story in Overdose, but it's pretty irrelevant. You play as Belial, a half-angel, half-demon who has just been released from a long imprisonment. As expected, he's unhappy with his incarceration, and vows revenge on those who put him there. Outside of some overly long cutscenes between chapters, there's really nothing to the narrative, and that's probably a good thing, as the plot isn't particularly interesting to begin with. Then again, the story is not often a focus in games like this, so the fact that there is one makes little difference either way.

While many of the levels are aesthetically pleasing, their poor design hampers the experience.

Overdose is largely based off of the original Painkiller, but also takes a lot from the Serious Sam franchise as well. All of these games had a significant focus on the core shooting that was prevalent in the late 90's, and this is no different. You will often be circle-strafing around dozens of enemies while simultaneously mowing them down with a variety of weaponry. Since there's nothing inherently wrong with a "kill everything that moves" focus in gaming, it's quite surprising that Overdose manages to turn this process into a chore.

This can be attributed to numerous factors, but the primary culprit definitely lies with the level design. While some of the maps look nice aesthetically, it's not hard to notice that you're essentially moving in a linear fashion from one simplistic room to another. The game rarely deviates from this generic form of map design, and it can lead to sessions of extreme monotony. Making matters worse, the placement of ammunition throughout these levels is way too sparse. When there is such a serious focus on shooting swarms of enemies, it's quite distressing to see how frequently your ammo runs out, even when you're precise with your shots. It's irritating how you'll often need to comb areas you've cleared to ensure that you didn't miss anything, as ammo is rarely placed in plain sight. This really takes the focus away from the shooting action, and it's unfortunate because there is some fun to be had when the low ammo isn't an issue.

It doesn't help that many of the weapons seem a bit underpowered, with it being commonplace for an enemy to take two or three point blank bonegun (shotgun) blasts or multiple rockets before finally kicking the bucket. There are eight weapons in the game, and each has its own alternate fire mode. They're all pretty fun to shoot at first, but soon enough, you'll realize that many are just slightly tuned and re-skinned versions of the original Painkiller arsenal. And by slightly tuned, we mean slightly worsened. For example, the stakegun has been replaced with a crossbow that offers zoom functionality on top of the ability to pin enemies to walls. Outside of the lost coolness associated with shooting stakes, the crossbow now fires three bolts at a time instead of just one. So, for maximum damage, an enemy needs to get hit with all of them. The secondary fire also has been changed in this fashion - instead of dropping one grenade like before, you now drop several.

This may not seem like a big deal, but when combined the aforementioned lack of ammo, it ensures that you will only be able to use the gun for a brief period of time. Since several other weapons also suffer from this consumption problem, it's just another reason why the limited ammunition is such a lingering annoyance. That said, there are still a few noteworthy additions here like the ultra-powerful alien remote grenade and a spinning dagger that can be moved while in mid-air. You can also collect souls, which remain after you dispatch enemies. If you collect enough of these, you'll enter a god-mode of sorts for a brief time, which turns you invincible and allows you cause creatures to explode without the use of a weapon.

If you can look past the flaws, you'll find a fast-paced, mostly enjoyable shooter. In addition to the crazy weapons, you'll come across a variety of enemy types during your progress through the game's eighteen level campaign. They range from melee and projectile-based grunts to hulking monstrosities. Since each map has a different theme, enemies generally look different from level to level. This leads to a few instances where you'll see some memorable adversaries, such as the B-movie electro-camera man or the fairy tale creatures that explode into flower pedals when they die. After each chapter, there's a boss fight with a particularly large enemy, and while they aren't quite as intimidating or creative as those seen in the first game, they provide more than enough challenge to warrant being there.

There's also a multiplayer component in Painkiller: Overdose. It features all of the modes you've come to expect from a game like this, but there are a few interesting spin-offs like the People Can Fly mode where you can only kill enemies who are airborne, or Voosh, where everyone has unlimited ammo and their guns automatically change after a brief time. The multiplayer does have its moments, but many of the weapons in regular deathmatch aren't well suited to the game type, which can lead to you sticking with the more interesting variants. As for online play, nobody seems interested in it. The server browser is empty most of the time, and if you are lucky enough to join a match, there's a high probability that it'll be plagued with lag anyway.

When you're not scrounging around for ammo, shooting things can be quite enjoyable.

Overdose runs on the same engine that was used to power the first game, which was released in 2004. It hasn't aged well, and the visual fidelity simply does not compare to other recent shooters on the market. There have been a few improvements this time around, like the blood splatter on the camera, but many of the same problems that were previously present are here as well. The character models are simplistic, the textures are bland and blurry, and the frame rate frequently dips into the single digits when there are too many particle effects or smoke on the screen. Despite these technical limitations, there a few instances where the art style shines, and maps like the fairy tale land and B-movie studio show off a bit of creative vision. Unfortunately, every one of these levels have hefty load times, with waits that often last up to a minute or more. Every time you die and restart, it forces you to go through the loading process again, so if you save in a particularly nasty spot, you're better off just restarting from an earlier point.

The audio aspect is a little better, but still leaves much to be desired. Probably the most disappointing aspect is the music. Instead of the heavy metal songs that dominated the original, you're now offered a combination of orchestral and techno themes instead. And while these tracks aren't necessarily bad, the metal music was a recognizable part of the series that's now gone. There's some voice work that takes place both during cutscenes and in play. Your character will frequently spurt little phrases after specific actions, a la Serious Sam. For instance, when collecting an enemy soul, you'll sometimes hear Belial exclaim "tastes like chicken." The phrases do seem a bit out of place in the context of the game, but they don't really benefit or hinder the experience in any significant way. The sound effects are all top-notch though, with weapon fire and enemy grunts sounding appropriate, and the splattering of entrails make a satisfying, albeit slightly disturbing noise.

Ultimately, Overdose suffers most from its overall lack of polish. Had the levels and balancing received a bit more attention, this could have been another solid entry in the Painkiller series. There is still some mindless enjoyment to be had here, but the dated presentation and slow loading times conspire to spoil that too. With so many viable shooter alternatives available this quarter, it's extremely difficult to overlook the glaring flaws that litter Painkiller: Overdose.