A Flight at the Museum
We take a peek at the next expansion for PAIN.
Published: April 29, 2009
Though it seems everyone here in the office forgot about PAIN long ago, it's evident that the experiment in physics-based masochism is still on the minds of plenty of PlayStation 3 owners, much to the delight (we're sure) of developer Idol Minds. Though the game was originally touted as having the ability to record videos and share them with friends (among other features), it's slowly started to emerge as one of the biggest founts for microtransactions Sony has on the PSN right now -- and, yes, now includes videos and YouTube upload support. Not bad for a game that we claimed was a little skimpy on content for the original price, eh?
No shortage of add-on packs, including an "Abusement Park" and a movie studio, plus new modes for each, not to mention what seems like dozens of add-on characters (usually of the abrasive, borderline offensive or, uh, busty variety, though we're not sure how many of those categories apply to David Hasselhoff, who was added a while back), have helped funnel tons of post-release cash Sony's way. The addition of little bite-sized levels, called PainLabs, have also trickled out over the past few weeks and months to help round out the whole package quite nicely.
That the game was the top-selling game of last year proves beyond a shadow of doubt, though, that the plan has worked, and Idol Minds isn't slowing their stream of DLC just because we have avoiding their handiwork, because obviously we're in the minority. That includes a new museum-based area that actually -- gasp -- looked like it could be rife with stuff to suck us back in. Yep, shock, awe, all that fun stuff.
Like most of the games on show at Sony's Gamers' Day event, we didn't spend a whole lot of time with things, but equally in line with most of the games, we were pleasantly surprised by our limited look. For starters, the fact that our favorite little Ottsel, Daxter, would be popping up certainly gave us reason to cheer (if only because it means Max Casella can hopefully record more lines as the furry little dude and take home another paycheck). Also rather entertaining? The addition of a centrifuge (or perhaps more accurately, a human-sized version of a roulette wheel with sloped sides that made for some hilarious bits of flinging around.
By far, the best use of the whole grab-something-and-release mechanic that was introduced with the Mime Toss at the game's launch, however, was the inclusion of a game of horseshoes in what looked like one of the museum's main rooms. Sure, is was just launching, grabbing the floating ring and hucking it a pole, but it's harder than you might think to even get the thing to connect, and demonstrates the Havok-based physics quite nicely.
Okay, so maybe we aren't quite done with PAIN just yet. It's clear that the complexity and variety of some of the new areas has the appeal to draw even our cynical asses back into taking another look, and now that the game has patched in everything from Trophies to YouTube uploads, there should be plenty waiting for us (and you if you're of the same mind) when the museum comes crashing onto the PSN.
No shortage of add-on packs, including an "Abusement Park" and a movie studio, plus new modes for each, not to mention what seems like dozens of add-on characters (usually of the abrasive, borderline offensive or, uh, busty variety, though we're not sure how many of those categories apply to David Hasselhoff, who was added a while back), have helped funnel tons of post-release cash Sony's way. The addition of little bite-sized levels, called PainLabs, have also trickled out over the past few weeks and months to help round out the whole package quite nicely.
That the game was the top-selling game of last year proves beyond a shadow of doubt, though, that the plan has worked, and Idol Minds isn't slowing their stream of DLC just because we have avoiding their handiwork, because obviously we're in the minority. That includes a new museum-based area that actually -- gasp -- looked like it could be rife with stuff to suck us back in. Yep, shock, awe, all that fun stuff.
Like most of the games on show at Sony's Gamers' Day event, we didn't spend a whole lot of time with things, but equally in line with most of the games, we were pleasantly surprised by our limited look. For starters, the fact that our favorite little Ottsel, Daxter, would be popping up certainly gave us reason to cheer (if only because it means Max Casella can hopefully record more lines as the furry little dude and take home another paycheck). Also rather entertaining? The addition of a centrifuge (or perhaps more accurately, a human-sized version of a roulette wheel with sloped sides that made for some hilarious bits of flinging around.
By far, the best use of the whole grab-something-and-release mechanic that was introduced with the Mime Toss at the game's launch, however, was the inclusion of a game of horseshoes in what looked like one of the museum's main rooms. Sure, is was just launching, grabbing the floating ring and hucking it a pole, but it's harder than you might think to even get the thing to connect, and demonstrates the Havok-based physics quite nicely.
Okay, so maybe we aren't quite done with PAIN just yet. It's clear that the complexity and variety of some of the new areas has the appeal to draw even our cynical asses back into taking another look, and now that the game has patched in everything from Trophies to YouTube uploads, there should be plenty waiting for us (and you if you're of the same mind) when the museum comes crashing onto the PSN.
