Painkiller Overdose is the third sequel to the original Painkiller game. For those not familiar with the series here is a brief synopsis. You have been tasked with fighting off hell's minions. They come at you in great numbers, they are vile and putrid and often quite amusing despite themselves. The story, such as it is, is kind of a tacked on afterthough, but I don't think it was meant to be taken seriously. Gameplay is fast paced and twitchy, you don't think a whole lot. Many people liken Painkiller's gameplay to Serious Sam, they would be right, but I'd argue Painkiller has a bit more polish and substance. While that may sound dull in the long run it isn't. Gameplay is as simple as it can be, but it is done very well. There are secret areas to find, gold to accumulate and tarot cards to place. The cards are one of the signature features of the series. You earn cards on each level by passing that level's criteria to get the card, and each level will have a different criteria. Cards come in two flavors, Golden and Black Tarot. Once you have one or more Golden cards you pay a certain amount of gold to "equip" them. Once in game you can invoke the cards to benefit from their unique characteristics. Make hay while you can because the effect only lasts about 30 seconds. The Black Tarot cards also require gold to equip but their effects last until you unequip them. The original game was hightly acclaimed for it's simple yet engaging gameplay, well designed levels and great graphics and physics. The sequels, including this one, deliver more of the same. There is little that is new. The weapons have different names and a different look but really don't have a different impact. Istead of a shotgun you may have a bone gun. They do exactly the same thing. Not all the weapons are so similar, but there is not enough evolution to make the game play or feel any different. Same with the monsters, they look different but there isn't anything they do that departs very much from those in the original game. So basically, the sequels give you the same Painkiller experience on new maps. That may sound bad but I personally don't think it is. I loved Painkiller. When I finished it I wanted more. This sequel and the earlier Battle Out Of Hell gave me exactly that