LANAESTHETIC

PAINKILLER returns, and this time it's brought friends

- By Rick Lane

My favourite part of the new Painkiller was also the last thing I tested - the submachine-gun. In a series famous for its enemy-impaling Stakegun and eponymous fan-bladed melee weapon, I dismissed the SMG outright, certain it would be the reboot's least interesting firearm.

Boy, was I wrong. This unassuming death-spitter, the bane of self-respecting Call of Duty players worldwide, might be nu-Painkiller's secret MVP. Partly, this is because the SMG excels at clearing the larger, co-op attuned hordes of the sequel.

Mainly though, it's due to the fact the SMG comes with a wicked alt-fire option that shoots an enemy-bursting electronic beam. Moreover, this can be upgraded so that explosions radiate outward to nearby foes, splat-splat-splatting them in a cascading wave of gibs.

It was this moment, watching a tsunami of blood ripple through the enemy masses, that sold me on nu-Painkiller's potential. A feeling of surprise that epitomises Anshar studios' game more broadly. It's a more radical reimagining of People Can Fly's 2004 shooter than I'd expected. Much of this is exciting, while there are a few elements I'm still to be convinced by. But whichever way you slice it (and there are many ways to slice things in Anshar's shooter) Painkiller gets the most important thing right - it has an absolutely cracking arsenal.

ASPRIN TO GREATNESS

We'll rifle through Painkiller's gun cabinet in due course. For now, it's worth going over what