Welcome to a crash course review of the entertainingly funny PlayStation Network release, PAIN. We’re not sure if any PSN title has been given as much content for download after release, as quickly as PAIN has. From wallpapers to extra characters, this game isn’t anything but updated. It’s too bad that the potential this title had, never was reached.
Right off the bat you’re going to notice that the game offers a sluggish feel. It’s almost as though the game itself can’t keep up with some of the actions taking place. This doesn’t take away from what little the game is offering; however, it does annoyingly present itself every time you pick up the controller to play.
The game revolves around you taking aim with your character who just so happens to be strapped into a man-sized slingshot, and your purpose is to sling him across the environment to cause as much damage as possible. You’ll multiply your score for hitting multiple collisions and creating more pain for your character.
The first environment based around a downtown atmosphere, is neatly designed. It gives you a little bit of everything, from billboards to coffee shops. This just means that it gives you a lot more stuff to destroy. Idol Minds will be releasing further locations to wreak havoc upon in the near future.
The game modes in single-player are Mime Toss, Spank the Monkey, and Paindemonium. Each game mode offers a unique experience that quickly loses its appeal. With the repetitiveness of them, you’ll probably lose interest pretty fast.
Mime Toss has you launching yourself towards an awaiting mime that you’re then supposed to grab and throw through several panes of glass. Don’t miss the mime and send yourself hurling through the glass or you’ll have a 20 second penalty placed on your time. Each benchmark is designed for you to complete the task before a certain time. Though the idea sounds good, the game itself is a challenging yet frustrating experience.
Spank the Monkey is probably the most repetitive game mode offered. A monkey will sprout up somewhere in the environment and you must launch yourself at him to knock him over. That’s pretty much all there is to it. After the 30th monkey, the game gets a little excessive and boring.
Paindemonium revolves around creating as much havoc, pain, and damage that you can. You’re placed inside the downtown environment and just let loose. This mode is also benchmarked with scores.
As for multiplayer, it too leaves a lot to be desired. Multiplayer revolves around three game modes as well: Bowling, Horse, and Fun with Explosions.
Bowling has you trying to destroy the environment while your opponent tries to score points by knocking pins over. Horse is your typical horse-style game; you perform a manic slingshot of destruction and your opponent must best you. Fun with Explosions has you trying to set off all of the explosions in the downtown environment. Only Horse has any sort of lasting appeal.
The controls are pretty basic and easy to get a hang of. The tutorial that happens before you can play the actual game will demonstrate how to do everything necessary to become a pro.
There are two characters you can play with on the full game, Jarvis and the Cow. If you choose, you can buy two additional characters at $0.99 each from the PSN store. These characters involve a scantily clad Mrs. Clause, named Cookie, and Santa himself. Each character comes with different costumes that you can unlock, as well as their own lineup of zany and ridiculous lines of dialogue for when you’re throwing them face first into billboards.
Overall, PAIN is just that, a pain. The game lacks any real substance or any staying power whatsoever. With repetitive elements and sluggish gameplay, not even the outstanding physics or regular downloadable content can help save it.