Painkiller

Opinions! We have a lot of 'em, but in this edition of PC Gamer's Playlist, we've somehow managed to distill our complex views on the big subject of classic shooters into a list of just five of our favorites. Note that our choices aren't based on some all-encompassing algorithm which weighs historical context, impact on the industry, and public consensus—these are the much-debated personal opinions of each editor, and we've focused on choosing titles which we still want to (and do) play today...

The afterlife is a commonly held human belief. Many of the world’s major religions hold some concept of an eternal paradise for the virtuous and a lake of searing fire for society’s scum. Some belief systems even have a holding chamber for the guys that fit somewhere in-between. While certain concepts and particulars about Heaven and Hell vary between cultures and faiths, the basic ideas are universally understood, and we all have one thing in common: we love depicting Heaven and Hell in our entertainment media...

“Guns don’t kill people, bullets do.” But do they have to? Not at all, and in fact, this is all the destructive power you’re going to get out of shooting bullets.

Believe it or not, there are PC shooters out this year that aren't called Half-Life 2 or Doom III. And leading the way in non-sequel action-based FPSers is the intriguingly-titled Painkiller, currently nearing the end of development by Polish coders People Can Fly. We visited them in the somewhat chilly climes of Warsaw to see how the game is progressing and to play through the first few levels.The game marks a return to the roots of FPSing: pure, arcade-style blasting, with nary a whiff of