Reviewed: February 19, 2005
Reviewed by: Tyler Whitney
Publisher
THQ
Developer
Volition
Released: January 17, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature
8
7
8
7
8.0
Supported Features
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
I have been a huge fan of The Punisher for years, ever since I used to run over to my buddy’s house and read his War Journal comics, where all the goodies the Punisher used were on display. I even liked the Dolph Lundgren movie, and the recent one at that with a dead on look-alike Thomas Jane doing a better job, I might add. There was even a great NES game back in the day that was one of those side scrolling light gun games…ahh yes…good times indeed.
Now the fine folks at THQ and Volition bring us the best Punisher installment to date, the immersion factor is unparalleled, and the artwork mirrors the recent movie as well as the comics.
The story picks up after the Punisher is done with a harried killing spree, and actually plays out the sequences in a sort of “active” flashback series, not unlike Max Payne does. After nearly every mission, your interrogators at the police station help to feel you in on the continuing story by summarizing where you went, who you knocked off etc, this really helped me remember that there was a succinct story line here, not just random carnage.
Your base of operations borrows from the Thomas Jane movie heavily; a run down apartment, complete with a bulletin board for intelligence reports and mug shots of targets, a war room stocked with un-lockable weapons from flamethrowers to dual machine pistols, to the war zone itself where you pick your next mission. You can also spend points on upgrades, such as increased body armor, better aim and longer Slaughter mode.
The latter is akin to Max Payne’s “Bullet time”, but unlike that gimmick, Frank Castle has unlimited knives, regains health slowly and becomes faster. You earn points for this special feature by entering into interrogation mode primarily, or by using the quick kill specialty. The quick kill is available once you are close enough, you can do a number of different automatic murder animations, such as throwing your gun at the bad guy, then jamming your Rambo-esque knife into his skull, or flipping them on their back and taking them out execution style with a single shot.
Overall, this is the highlight and most enjoyable aspect of the game, as you truly feel like this famed vigilante as you mow through baddies, pumping rounds one moment and knifing the other, while being barely scratched. I noticed that at times it was a bit easy wading through all the enemies, and really only had problems with snipers and boss battles, but as long as you had cover, used your Slaughter mode sparingly for health, you’ll come out on top every time.
As I mentioned earlier, the interrogation mode is the other highlight as well, and it fits into the gruesome quick kill category, but with even more imagination. You grab the assailant with x and have a choice of 4 options-head bash, gun tension, choke or the good ‘ol punch. The analog stick, giving you tremendously sadistic feedback on your torture, controls each one. There are even special interrogations that truly display the depravity of some of the Volition developers.
Case in point; the Punisher is at the zoo trying to rescue his lady friend, when he happens upon a special interrogation point near a pool of flesh-eating piranhas…poor SOB who was standing close by was shredded into a million bits after I extricated the info. Another grisly example is at the funeral home, where an incinerator takes care of one mafia goon quite nicely.
There are plenty of comic book cameos as well, from the gigantic Russian (famous apartment scene from movie), to the cybernatically enhanced Bushwhacker, fans will enjoy the attention to detail and the combination of both movie and comic worlds into this fine game.
Volition did a solid job with the visuals, especially on the Punisher himself. He is an imposing figure as he mows through enemies, trench coat billowing around him and skull prominently displayed on his chest. They borrowed a lot from the recent graphic novels and comic series with the gritty nature of the graphics. Everything seems very “real”; nothing is overly cartoony or out of proportion, and smart level design in some cases makes it more believable that you are Frank Castle.
Concerning animations for quick kills and special interrogations, they are well done and varied, and the rag doll physics allow for some interesting death postures as bodies go flying to and fro. The environments are mainly indoors, but do branch out into more creative atmospheres like the more wide-open zoo missions for instance. Explosions are handled excellent as well; lots of things go boom and fly around, very pretty stuff.
Sadly though, this game isn’t the strongest showing on the PS2. It is full of muddy textures and overly dark areas, everything seems to be subdued a few shades. Most of the levels will get repetitive too, a lot of opening of doors, leaning around boxes etc. The enemy design become redundant as well, and you will grow tired of wading through the same low life mafia or Yakuza scum over and over.
The sound is pretty standard action fare throughout, although a few areas do stand out. The voice acting is really well done, especially Thomas Jane as the Punisher, with his gritty hard-line responses to the ongoing police interrogation, and "smart ass" remarks to various villains that stand in his way-PERFECT. The supporting cast is also very well done, and I felt as though they hired a lot of people from the Max Payne series, especially when it came to the mafia voices. For example, Ma Guccioni will make your spine tingle with her incessant whining and pleas for help as you hunt her down.
Musically, it’s your standard score, with action building a crescendo of orchestral tones, some of it seemingly pulled from the recent motion picture, but Volition does a good job of setting a nice mood for the slaughter, I will give them that much at least.
The single-player campaign will take you through 16 levels, that can be unlocked and replayed in various challenge modes, but basically you can play it all in a “Punishment fest weekend” if you so desired. Still, with the plethora of ways to kill- mind you it’s a very enjoyable and sadistic experience to do so- Punisher should keep you and your buddies content for a while.
No multiplayer sadly, a nice vs. mode would have been a good treat, lots of weapons, good architecture to support free roaming, split-screen or online environments, but sadly this wasn’t to be.
With solid graphics & sound, wicked interrogation/kill systems, and dialogue written by Punisher comic legend Garth Ennis (also of “Preacher” graphic novel fame) this title is hard to pass up for any die-hard Punisher fan.
The un-lockable covers, cut-scenes and bonus art add even more to the fan boy appeal. Even those who aren’t privy to the outstanding Punisher and Marvel universe will still enjoy this game as a gory, intense action title that’s hard to put down. I’m eagerly anticipating a sequel filled with more vigilante justice from Mr. Frank Castle.