This is one pointlessly violent game that works.
Painkiller doesn't need the weak narrative, the game in itself is perfectly good at being a linear shooter without having the irritating videos between levels.
Killing stuff is the entirity of the game, the Tarot cards that give the player extra powers are a fun idea and using and collecting them make the campaign more interesting and challenging to play. I just can't be bothered to search for the Holy Items...
The visuals are niceley detailed and the environments look great, the games nature of having obscure locations means that their is plently of variety so you'll never get bored. The physics are implemented to make the levels scenery movable and destructable and the sight of seeing barrels exploding and the debris flying everywhere adds to the feelling of chaos.
The games main weakness (and the reason I stopped playing for a while) is the compass; sometimes it doesn't work and just points in one direction, not leaading you anywhere, just leaving the player wandering aimlessly around the area trying to find a way out. However, this can be overcome by saving the game before entering a new section, or by actually finding a plausable exit point, something I have yet to do.
Buy this game if you like arcade action, you won't find a story or interaction and puzzle solving here. It looks better than Serious Sam but its not an Unreal beater in terms of game play, just a different looking FPS with an age old design.