7.6 /10 1 Votes
Initial release date 29 November 2007 | 7.5/10 GameSpot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment Developers Idol Minds, SIE San Diego Studio Similar Idol Minds games, Other games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pain is a 2007 action video game for PlayStation 3, developed by Idol Minds. It was originally released as a downloadable title available from the PlayStation Store and was first released in North America on November 29, 2007 and in Europe on March 20, 2008 and became the most popular downloadable game on the PlayStation Store. In June 2009, SCEE announced that the game was to be released on Blu-ray Disc. It was launched in Europe on June 24, 2009, in Australia on June 25, 2009 and in the UK on June 26, 2009. The Blu-ray version includes the original game as well as several other levels and features released as downloadable content for the PSN version. It is now available in a collection which is available to download from the PlayStation Store called the 3D Collection. On November 26, 2013, the game's online features were disabled.
Contents
A free-to-play version was announced at E3 in 2014 for a summer release exclusively for PlayStation 3, however it's yet to be released as of March 2016.
Gameplay
In Pain the player attempts to damage the ragdoll character they play and the environment as much as possible by flinging them from a rubber-band slingshot, using the Havok physics engine. The characters have distinctive poses and phrases, can move by "ooching" and can grab things to throw or hang from. Replay videos can be watched, and can be edited and uploaded to YouTube or the PlayStation 3's hard disc drive.
Characters
Besides the regular characters available, Santa Claus, Katsuaki Kato (Famitsu editor-in-chief, called Kato-san), Elvira, Flavor Flav, George Takei, Andy Dick and David Hasselhoff were remade in the game. PlayStation characters Buzz, Daxter and the titular Fat Princess are also available.
Levels
The game download includes only the original environment, Downtown, which is a sandbox level with 3 unlockable environments. Downtown offers the modes Fun With Explosives, Spank The Monkey, Mime Toss, and Bowling. On November 24, 2010, Idol Minds provided long-time fans with a free environment called Hurt Falls, sponsored by AXE deodorant. It includes the mode Fun With Explosives.
Downloadable content
Two Pain pinball machines are available for download, which have elements of Abusement Park and Area 69.
Development
On October 26, 2010 a new patch was released for PlayStation Move capabilities.
Reception
The game has received mixed to positive reviews and has an aggregate score of 71% on Metacritic. GameSpot gave the game a 7.5/10, praising the game for its "great use of Havok physics engine" and "smartly sophomoric sense of humor," but criticized it for having just one level. IGN gave the game a 6.8/10 commenting that "One level, two characters, no online multiplayer and no way to share crazy clips sucks. However, there are a ton of trophies to unlock."