You know the deal by now, there’s no story to play through, no deep characters and not much thought needed. Instead what we have are beautiful levels jam packed full of baddies and other creatures from the netherworld spread across 10 brand new levels. Whilst this will undoubtedly please fans, for the rest of us you can’t help but feel a tad disappointed that the game doesn’t attempt to do anything more.
The gameplay is decidedly old-fashioned and each level sees copious amounts of enemies tearing towards you with little concern for their own well-being. Whilst this approach is undoubtedly action packed it does get a tad repetitive and perhaps slightly disconcerting after Half-Life 2 showed just what could be done with the genre.
In addition to the new levels Battle Out of Hell gives you two new weapons to wreak havoc with. The best is the modified stake gun, which now comes complete with a zoom to enable you to use it like a sniper rifle whilst the second is a sub machine gun, which can also be used as a flamethrower. To the developers credit the new levels have obviously been designed with the new weapons in mind and provide ample opportunities to try both out.
One of the best things about the original game was the huge, expansive levels and thankfully things are no different this time round. The graphics throughout are stunning and the levels range from a disused orphanage through a wacky fairground to a bizarre recreation of Stalingrad.
There’s definitely an indulgent pleasure in playing through the new levels yet it’s ultimately an empty feeling as there’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Not only this but the new levels won’t take you that long to play through and as such even die-hard fans will ultimately feel slightly let down.
Same old, same old
Sign up here for The Discworld Newsletter! Your weekly guide to everything that's happening on the site and in the PC gaming world in general.
Packed full of competitions, special offers, and links to all the best stuff on the site it's an essential read.
Email address