When I bought my 80 GB model Sony PlayStation 3, it came with a free download code for a game called Pain. I knew nothing about it, other than it was free and could be obtained from the PlayStation Store. This morbid little game regularly sells for $9.99.
The whole object of this game is to put a guy on a catapult and launch him into an interactive environment that resembles a downtown area. The game was programmed using a pretty accurate physics engine to determine weight, bounce, velocity, and more for each object in the arena. Your job is to simply explore the area by way of inflicting pain upon the guy you play. The problem is that you only have one area to explore.
There are a few ‘challenge’ levels in the game that can be pretty tough. In one, there is a mime floating in the air and you have to grab him and toss him through a bunch of glass panes. You get extra points for how quickly you do it. In another you try to catch monkeys perched up on various places in the map. In another, you grab explosives and throw them around to earn points. These challenges can be quite difficult to perform.
I do admit the premise of this game is quite bizarre. I mean, you’re slinging a guy into the side of buildings! What makes it so interesting is the way the environment reacts. For example, there’s a big bowling ball on top of one building, and you can actually grab hold of it, then pull it down so that it goes crashing down the street below. In another part, you can make a truck wreck that will set off a series of explosions to wreak all kinds of havoc. You can literally spend hours just seeing all the trouble you can get into, because there are tons of hidden little gems within the game.
The main downside to this game is that you only have one arena in which to play. This has brought on some justified complaints from other gamers that the whole game is basically just one level. An expansion called Amusement Park was recently released for $5.99, and it features a whole new world for inflicting pain on your hapless characters. However, that brings the total price of the game up more than what it ought to be. The Amusement Park add-on should have been free to people who bought the game.
Although fascinating and original, I think Pain relies a little too much on gimmick. It has a lot of potential, but there just wasn’t enough to it for the price. In the end, it plays like a demo for what should have been a bigger game.