via IGN


If you got home late last night and were itching to play a round of Pain, chances are you went to bed unsatisfied. Just hours after posting the PlayStation Network game that has players launching a character from a giant slingshot and racking up high scores for the damage that ensues, Pain was removed from the PlayStation Store.

Scott Groyl, a public relations specialist with Sony Computer Entertainment, said the removal was to address several issues the game was having -- namely, two characters that would not load as well as the lack of online leaderboards and a broken video on the community page.

"It is something that should be working today," Groyl said.

Gamers who downloaded Pain before it was removed can still use their title but will probably notice the inability to play as Santa or the scantily-clad woman known as Cookie. If you try to select the characters in the single-player option, a message appears stating you need to re-download and install Pain from the PS3's "Transaction Management" option.