by William Bartholomew

Created on: March 09, 2009

Before you decide to buy PAIN you must first be sure that you have a bit of a twisted sense of humor. If you meet that qualification then you should enjoy this game and get more than your moneys worth.

The basic idea of PAIN is you launch your character from a human sized slingshot type device. This device can be aimed and you can also adjust the power to launch your character precisely where you want. Your goal is to send your character flying through the air and into objects or people. The first setting is a few city blocks. There are buildings, moving cars, people (like an old woman with a walker or a guy in a cow suit), signs, explosive boxes, scaffolding, a subway train and many other objects that you can cause your character to "interact" with. The goal is to set off a chain of events by launching your character into just the right spot. For instance, on the first map, if you launch into the scaffolding at the right spot it will fall into the street and get hit by cars which can then wreck into other objects and people. You also have a small opportunity to move your character once he or she lands from the initial launch. This is called an "ooch" and you can use that method to try and make your character hit other objects or people. As you create more and more calamity the points keep adding up, the points don't stop adding up until your character stops moving. Certain amounts of points or different types of "damage" to your character (like smashing his private parts into a pole) can also unlock different options (such as a new clothing style for your character). The destruction is a lot of fun and you will find yourself trying to knock down the old lady with the walker and laughing the whole time.

There are a few different maps and some other game types (like mime toss) and a weekly update that lets you test out some new ideas on the drawing board. Also you can purchase add ons such as maps or different characters to launch (like a drunken looking dirty old Santa). Each different character says different things and can do different things while flying through the air. This game is fairly simple, a lot of fun and very addictive. You will find yourself saying "just one more launch" at least a half a dozen times before you can pry yourself away. Unless you are an uptight person with a not so funny sense of humor, in that case I would recommend maybe a crossword puzzle.

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