I played Pain on PS3 for a while last night. I was originally on the fence about the game, wondering just how long the fun would last shooting a guy at buildings. Let me tell you, it will last a long time. Pain is terrificly fun and provides more depth than expected.

There are three single player and three multiplayer modes in the game. In single player, you can play Paindemonium mode, which is freestyle mode to see how many points you can rack up and how much pain and damage you can cause. There is also Mime Toss mode, where you have to catch a mime suspended in mid-air and throw him through carefully setup panes of glass. This mode is timed and there are set goals to reach for each medal level. The same is the case with Spank the Monkey, where you have to find and hit a series of monkeys (usually 38 of them) in a set period of time. This can be quite difficult to master, which keeps you coming back for more.

In multiplayer, you can play Pain Bowling, where you sling-shot your character into a giant set of bowling pins. Standard bowling scoring applies, so you need to see how many points you can rack up. There’s also a game of Horse, where you have to match your opponent’s hit targets and try to get more points. Finally, in Fun With Explosives, you have to bounce from one explosive box to another to see who can rack up the most points. Unfortunately, these multiplayer modes are offline only. The developers have stated they’re working on an online component to add to the game, but for right now all you get is leaderboards online.

The gameplay is fun and provides a lot to do, especially if you can find someone else to play the game with. The upsetting part is that for $10, you only get 1 “Theme” (stage) to play in and 2 characters (one is locked from the start). Two characters, Santa and Cookie, are available to purchase for $0.99 each. Personally, I think this is a rip-off to spend 1/10th the price of the game essentially for an avatar. IdolMinds has said that additional Themes will be available to purchase down the line, but given the pricing of the characters, I’m scared to think what these might cost. I’m really hoping we don’t have another case like Lumines Live on our hands here. Please IdolMinds, do the right thing.

Expect a full review this week as I make Jarvis fly through the air and fart on a monkey.