Punisher, The

PC/PS2/XBOX

Sub platform: Mobile

Genre:Action/Shooter - Third Person
Developer:Volition
Publisher:THQ
ESRB Rating:M

When this game came out on my local game store's shelves in 2005 (after the 2004 movie) I was a very happy chappy, I had always thought the gory, vigilant, angry Frank Castle would be well suited in a modern shooter game. I payed about $80 Australian for this and it was worth every cent.

Intro:
The intro movie sets the punisher in a dark room outnumbered by over a handful of thugs, frank quickly disposes of these thugs in true Punisher form. He makes his way down to the front of the building where he is surrounded by police and law enforcement with no choice but to surrender. Each level is introduced with a conversation taken from an interrogation at the prison Frank is being held at, which I thought was much better than a debriefing on a loading screen.

Gameplay: 9/10
This game is a standard 3rd person, run around and gun them down game with a few very nice twists. The game somewhat revolves around a point system, you gain points by eliminating and interrogating enemies. At the end of each level your rated with bronze, silver or gold medals as to how many points you've earned. You also use your points to buy upgrades such as more ammo, better accuracy and so forth. You can interrogate enemies by many default methods, such as strangling, punching and pushing a gun against their head, you have to be careful not to go overboard or your thug may easily die at your hands. Around each level are special interrogation spots such as drill benches, fish tanks with killer fish, knife racks and furnaces just to name a few. There are also special kill spots in the game where you can drag a thug and use the surroundings to eliminate them such as windows on tall story buildings, coffins to throw your thug in followed by a live grenade and hydraulic car jacks.

Weapons are dropped by your enemies which you can pick up for ammo or temporarily duel wield, as the game progresses you unlock new weapons which you can choose before starting your level. As you kill people your rage meter fills, once full enough you go into rage mode, the screen goes an artistic black and white, you cannot be hurt, you kill your enemies with throwing knives and you can pick them up and toss them around. This is quite fun and is a great way to dispose of a room filled with thugs.

The game has several mini bosses which you don't see in many games today, these mini bosses aren't that difficult to beat but they're a nice reminder that your getting somewhere in the game. The game itself isn't very hard to play, Franks life regenerates a little with each kill you make. As I was playing the game I never really took any notice of the health meter, I was having too much fun finding drills and saw benches to kill people on.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics in this game were quite good at the time (2005), textures in this game have a dark and dirty feel to them but they're are well done and set the mood nicely. Special effects such as explosions and destruction aren't the best looking but they have a realistic movement to them. The lighting, I thought was perfect. Not too dark, but just dark enough to remind you what sort of game your playing.

Sound: 8/10
The quality of recordings is above average and they suit the characters well. Weapon sounds are realistic and don't get too repetitive. The game occassionally has background music to set the mood, I didn't notice it the first time around though.

Final Recommendations:
You can find this game in your bargain bins for $10-$20 Australian, the system requirements aren't very high and you can easily get away with playing this on the average laptop. This game is all around fun, from memory it took be a minimum of 5 hours to beat and for less than $20 bucks you cant go wrong.

If you liked this, then you will like:
Max Payne 1 & 2
The Sopranos


Images:

I don t know becuse I never heard of it omg that is so gay
DH says: Ignore this post, it looks like an interesting game

I was actually interested at the one button "quick kill" in the game.