The most pointless fun you can have on your PS3
Simply, catapault some moron out of a giant catapault and hit stuff to score big points. Perform tricks and hit multipliers like buses, exploding boxes and people to beef up your pointage. It's a cross between Tony Hawks, Burnout and the but in Flatout where you stop and fling the driver through the windshield. But, it all work incredibly well, with extremely satisfying results.
Single player options, like the entire game, is limited. And, can drag on a bit as it isn't as much fun a group pain-athon. There's your basic Paindemonium where you try and unlock skill points and medals and is also a brillaint oppertunity to prat about and find all the good combos in the level, so next time your mates a round, you can thrash them. Mime Toss, sees you chucking Mimes at glass panes which has limiting appeal. Spank the Monkey, which sees you launching into monkey ass and Fun with Explosives sees you chaining together a string of points with exploding crates. Sounds a lot but doesn't really hold your attention.
Mimes a hard to grab and throw and the endless supply of apes in Spank the Monkey grow annoying and tedious.
However, multiplayer is a different story. I urge you not to buy High Velocity Bowling, as PAIN has an excellent alternative, which sees you catapaulting your bloke into 10 foot pins and other players exploding stuff at your face to stop you from scoring. it's a lot like game shows you'd find on kids TV presented by Dave Benson Philips with gunge dunking at the end for the loser. Aswell as being fun, it has a slight tactical edge, thinking what you should explode in order for you to put the player off.
The game of HORSE has also been reinvented for PAIN. Select targets, smack into them score more than the other person, sometimes it can go on for a while but it does get very VERY competitive. Choosing the scantily clad bikini girl ontop of the hotel is always a favourite target for us as is the granny who dosses about minding her own business.
Graphically it isn't brilliant but it does the job and materials do react realistically enough with glass smashing and wood splintering convincingly. Your bloke and other characters in the game come out with some comical lines such as "Why am i doing this?!!?" and "Saaaweeeet!!" it all adds to the comical hilarity the game provides.
There is however only one level, which is initially disppointing, but I haven't got bored of it yet, I keep finding secret things to hurt myself on. The potential on offer though is outstanding, this could become a leading title in Sony's Network offerings, if they keep providing constant new content and levels at a reasonable price, I'll be happy.
Yes, it's pointless fun and has no story tieing it together, in depth character backgrounds, upgradable weapon options or revolutionary cover system but if you have a fiver worth sparing, you can't go wrong with PAIN. It may not be great to play alone but with mates it's excellent. Ignore Ski Diving and forget High Velocity Bowling, next to Warhawk, this is the best thing on PSN to date. You do not get a lot of console games like this.