homegrown-games posts

Last fall's release of the first person shooter Painkiller Resurrection was ... well, "disappointing" doesn't really cover it. The game itself was short and not very engadging and the promise of a co-op mode was just that; a promise (at least until a patch was released a few months later).

Now after several months, the title from developer Homegrown Games and publisher JoWood has gotten a new update via Steam and it's actually all about content. The patch adds a new map, the Tower of Power, to the title. It's described in the patch notes as "the ULTIMATE challenge for all Painkiller enthusiasts." We think the real challenge is to find people who care about this game anymore.

Publishers JoWood and its subsidiary Dreamcatcher Games have been promoting their just released first person shooter Painkiller Resurrection as having co-op support for the single player game. But is that totally true? A post on the game's official message boards by a JoWood community manager reveals that the "co-op support" isn't quite as advertised.

The message states, "To play a coop game you have to start a dedicated server with the tool provided together with your game. Pull in the campaign maps from C9L01 to C9L06, choose FFA and start the game. You can also add / remove bots accompanying you there." Obviously most people think of setting up a co-op mode in a game via other means. The message adds, "We will add a more convenient ingame coop menu with the next update " So if you were expecting a normal co-op mode out of the box, this is just a heads-up.

Other people on the message boards have complained about other aspects of the game (filled with bugs, only six levels, price differences between Steam version and retail version) but those issues are really for reviewers to pounce on. However we felt the issue with the advertised co-op support should be addressed in a news article as an FYI to consumers.

[Thanks Matthew D]

Download the updated Painkiller: Resurrection Demo

Looks like the rush to get a demo out for Painkiller Resurrection has caused some issues. While the game's publisher JoWood (and its US subsidiary Dreamcatcher Games) are not recalling the single player demo to the upcoming first person shooter, they are admitting that the current demo is not up to their standards.

A JoWood spokesperson states on their message boards that, " . . . we accidentally released an old demo version. We really feel sorry for that." Never fear, however, as the publisher plans to release a new demo for the game next week that will mirror the quality of the final shipping version of the title. In the meantime Painkiller Resurrection is scheduled to be released on October 27.

Download Painkiller: Resurrection Demo (1.3 GB)

This is the playable demo for Painkiller: Resurrection. System requirements are shown after the jump.

"Developed by Homegrown Games with former developers and modders from the previous Painkiller games in collaboration with Studio Med-Art and with a Catholic priest advising, Painkiller Resurrection combines rock-hard, no-frills action and an exciting story with painstakingly researched details. In a bizarre world influenced by medieval ideas about hell and purgatory and Dante's Inferno, the mixture of fast, straightforward levels and enormous, explorable regions containing the worst scum of any hell provides a unique gaming experience."
Download Painkiller: Resurrection Demo (1.3 GB)

The third stand alone game in the Painkiller first person shooter series is supposedly ready for your enjoyment. JoWood's subsidiary publisher Dreamcatcher has announced that Painkiller: Resurrection has now gone gold and will ship to stores and via download on October 27.

As we mentioned earlier this month, Steam is offering all of the previous Painkiller games for free when you pre-order the Homegrown Games' developed Painkiller Resurrection title. Dreamcatcher has also mentioned that a demo of the game should be released "shortly". The full game will feature a co-op mode through the game's all new single player campaign (a first for the series) along with improvements to the Painkiller graphics engine, new items and monstes and more.

[Via email press release]

JoWood's upcoming first person shooter Painkiller Resurrection is now available for pre-order via Steam. Pre-orders get 10 percent off the game's already low $29.99 price tag. But that may not be the only reason to consider paying some money up front for the game from developer Homegrown Games.

In addition to the discount pre-orders get not one but two games for free and for immediate download. The Painkiller Black Edition (the original 2004 game from developer People Can Fly and the 2005 expansion pack) and Painkiller Overdose (the 2007 stand alone game from Mindware Studios) are actually quite fun to play, especially the first game in the series, and will give you a leg up on Painkiller Resurrection when it comes out in late October.

Last week IGN broke the news that yet another game in the Painkiller first person shooter series was coming our way. Today it's publisher JoWood made it official with its press release announcing Painkiller Resurrection. The title from small Austrian based Homegrown Studios is due for release this fall.

Along with the official announcement comes the first screenshots from the game which unfortunately are mostly levels and enviromental visuals. As we reported last week the new game will use an enhanced version of the original Painkiller engine but with new features such as " . . . improved shadows, a higher texture resolution, moveable light sources, post processing, motion blur and ambient occlusion . . ." The game will also have an new co-op campaign mode, the first such mode for any Painkiller game.

Can you believe it? There's another Painkiller game in the works. Yep, IGN has the first word on Painkiller: Resurrection, the third stand alone title in the wild and woolly first person shooter series. Publisher JoWood/Dreamcatcher Games have recruited the previously unknown developer Homegrown Games to create this installment which is due out late in 2009.

This new game willl apparently have more of an actual single player storyline than the first two games in the series as you play the role of a CIA assassin who is thrown into the battle between Heaven and Hell. Expect to see lots of enemies to take on, an enhanced version of the Painkiller engine and multiplayer modes. Oh, and for the first time in a Painkiller game there will be a two player co-op campaign.