Forgotten Game Greats: "The Punisher" (2005)

- by Ninja Ross, 3 September 2012

You know what would be really cool? A Punisher video game. Yeah, that sure would be cool... Hang on a minute! They flipping made one! But wait, it must have been a bit crap, right? It’s never on any top 10 lists, it’s never mentioned. Must have been some awful movie tie-in, right? Well, hang on for another minute! This feature’s called “Forgotten Game Greats!” It wasn’t bad, it was just forgotten!

This little gem was developed by Volition, Inc (known for developing the Saints Row series and Red Faction) and was published by THQ, who has owned Volition, Inc since 2000. It was released on the PS2, Xbox, PC and mobile phone in 2005.

The graphics are one of the first things you notice about the game. Obviously taking inspiration from Tim Bradstreet’s covers, they’re sharp, focused and quite stylish, helping the gore and killing look real nice and... Fleshed out. FLESHED OUT! See what I did there?!? Flesh? COME ON!

The second thing you notice, of course, is the gore. Not something you’d expect from a Marvel game, am I right? But there it is! Blood everywhere! The game is filled with great violent scenes including special kills and special interrogations. As if the regular kills and interrogations weren’t brutal enough. I am not exaggerating when I say you really can’t count the amount of different ways to kill people in this game. It’s like Manhunt but with better graphics.

You can lock somebody in a coffin with a grenade, chrome somebody’s head, throw a guy in a trash compactor, feed someone to a shark, kill a fella in an Aztec Ritual- the list goes on!

This game rarely shies away from the excessive gore, only ever doing so when you kill somebody in a special interrogation. Even then, you get to see most of it while also being treated to blood spraying all over Castle’s face. And the easy to use controllers with dual wielding weapons, a dive button and a very pleasant Quick Kill button, make filling the streets of New York with blood easy and fun!

An interrogation. This guy will get thrown in there anyway.

But blood and gore is pointless without a good story! And this game has a pretty cool story, justifying my love of killing gangsters and Mafia hitmen. While it says it’s written by Garth Ennis, it’s pretty much just all his Marvel Knights Punisher mixed with some of his MAX Punisher. But, of course, this is no bad thing!

The stories are linked together, leading up to some fresher content involving a couple of guest stars. But these guest stars aren’t stealing the show. They only make brief appearances and these brief appearances pretty much always add to the plot. Although, there is one that adds NOTHING but is pretty entertaining in it's own way.

Each mission lets you take control of Frank Castle, giving you the chance to wreak havoc on the scum of New York. And these missions are pretty varied, not including the special kills and interrogations. One minute you’re cleaning out a crack house, the next you’re fighting alongside Nick Fury against The Russian on a mercenary infested jungle.

Frank in his jungle attire.

So you’re never bored. There is fun around every corner, plus you’re given the chance to upgrade Castle’s skills. Kind of pointless since he starts off pretty awesome and doesn’t need to advance all that much through the game. But if you’re trying to earn the gold medals on hard mode, it’s pretty freaking useful.

But these are all just the big points of the game. The story, the gameplay, the graphics, the gimmicks. But this game also has plenty of small points that help make it even better.

I advise you to interrogate people in every section of the game, whether they have useful information or not (Indicated by the white skulls above their heads) because if they say specific phrases, you’re “rewarded” with collectible images called Flashbacks. For example, after smashing a thugs face into the floor several times (That’s a standard interrogation practice, by the way) he might say “I’m innocent” which will cause an image of Castle’s family, from one of the many Punisher comic books, to flash up on the screen. And when you kill the thug, Castle will say something like “So were they.”

And since the Punisher is voiced by Thomas Jane (The Punisher movie and Dirty Laundry). That’s right; Thomas Jane actually enjoys playing the Punisher so much he plays him in a game that isn't a movie tie-in!

So, at the end of the day, this game is as close to a perfect third person shooter as you can get. It has fantastic gameplay (but could do with some cover mechanics), a fun plot and some awesome voice acting along with the little details like concept art and special kills! It’s available CHEAP on Amazon and in most used game stores. I suggest you buy it and set aside a weekend for fun, wholesome violence!

If you're a Punisher fan you NEED to have this game.

Tagged: video games, Forgotten Game Greats.

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