Speaking as somewhat of a comic book geek, I die a little inside every time Hollywood butchers my favorite comics. Elektra broke my heart, The Punisher rather disappointed me, and I felt bile rise to the back of my throat as I watched the trailer for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie.
Suffice it to say, I viewed The Punisher, THQ and Volition’s recent offering, with scepticism. As I read the back of the case, my heart started to race. What was this? Written by Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti, the two geniuses behind Marvel’s explicitly violent “Welcome Back, Frank?” I was immediately sold.
Allow me to break off on a short tangent for those not “in the know” on comics. Back in the so-called “golden age” of comics, comics were generally cheesy, cheaply made, screen-printed rags. It didn’t help that the “Comics Code” quelled gore and bad language, especially for a character like The Punisher. Enter the mid-1990s. People were a lot harder to shock, and new advancements in computer technology (read: Adobe Photoshop) meant that the art could express a lot more for cheaper. Smaller studios, with backing from giants like DC and Marvel, started churning out edgy, violent comics, such as Spawn and Marvel’s Max series.
This is where Garth Ennis comes in: Ennis is a talented writer in whatever genre, with an ear for dialogue and a legendary ability to mix humor, profanity, and pathos in an extremely enjoyable ball. So, with Ennis’ talent applied to a video game, I was more than willing to give it a shot.
In the first place, the story paid off in spades.
Frank Castle’s (aka The Punisher) story begins in a way reminiscent of Max Payne. As the final bullet punctuates a bloody rampage of Punishment, police sirens wail outside. Castle, outnumbered, surrenders. The story is told in a series of flashbacks as Frank, voiced by Thomas Jane, is interrogated by the police.
The basic story will be somewhat familiar to fans of the comics: Castle, a veteran from the Vietnam war, vowed to punish all evildoers after his family was gunned down in the crossfire of a gunfight between warring Mafia families. Catching wind of something bad going on, Castle hits a crack house near his apartment and learns about drug-running operations carried out by the Gnucci crime syndicate. From there, the story balloons into an insidious plot involving the Russian Mafia, a Yakuza syndicate, and the Kingpin of Crime himself.
There are a few levels that struck me as absolutely brilliant. The first is Bobby Gnucci’s funeral, in which Frank hides himself inside Bobby’s coffin with an M60 machine gun. As the congregation bows their heads in prayer for the departed, Frank sits up out of the coffin and mows the group down. I haven’t experienced a more sublime or satisfying scene in a game in quite some time.
The fight with the Russian, a bulletproof powerhouse who drops by Frank’s apartment, is also brilliant. Unable to harm the juggernaut, Frank must hop on his back and lead him into various environmental hazards. There was nothing funnier than seeing Frank take a man twice his size, and beat him with a refrigerator door.
Gameplay is standard run-and-gun fare, with several twists that keep the action flowing. Frank can dual-wield almost any weapon, from shotguns to pistols, simply by picking them off the ground, and the corresponding trigger button fires each gun. Adaptation is key in firefights. Frank’s ability to grab any nearby enemy as a human shield is necessary for survival, as is the clever use of cover and his entire arsenal. If a hapless goon is unfortunate enough to get within melee range, Frank can carry out a “quick kill,” that is animated in various entertaining ways.
Once the majority of your foes are bleeding on the ground, the real “fun” begins. Certain enemies, marked with a skull above their heads, possess useful information that can be extracted in a variety of ways. Frank can beat the information out of the goon in a number of ways, yielding information, a health boost, and sometimes a flashback that can be reviewed at any time from the “Extras” menu. Certain elements in the environment, marked with a white “skull splash” can be used in interrogations. For instance, Frank can hold a goon up against a rhinoceros cage and pull him back before the rhino strikes. Interrogations are built on stress – keeping the captive’s stress meter in an orange field for three seconds will yield info. Too high, and you risk killing him. The interrogations, the big selling point of the game, take a steady hand, and can be a lot of fun. They are also the reason the game undoubtedly deserves its Mature rating. Varied use of interrogation techniques, weapons, and quick kills yield style points, which can then be spent on weapon and armour upgrades such as silencers and improved body armor.
There are also a variety of “environmental kills” available, ranging from a simple defenestration to dropping the goon in a lead coffin with an active grenade. Racking up the kills builds the Punisher’s “slaughter meter.” This mode is essentially a berserk rage in which the Punisher drops his guns and goes to town on any hapless enemies with a pair of huge combat knives. While in this state (reminiscent of Max Payne’s “bullet time”), the Punisher is nearly impervious to harm, regains health, and has unlimited throwing knives. This is useful for building a little health and wiping out a huge number of foes in a short time.
The music and sound effects are superbly carried out and help set the mood for a big firefight. The voice acting, however, is where the aural aspect of this game really shines. Nearly every character emotes beautifully and helps set off the illusion. Ma Gnucci’s voice is especially well done, as is the feared Russian’s.
The Punisher was a fantastic surprise and is well worth a look. The story, acting, and atmosphere are very reminiscent of Max Payne, as are some of the Punisher’s pathos-ridden Film Noir soliloquies. Interrogating enemies is a real treat and makes for a nice break between firefights. Add to the fierce gameplay the writing talents of Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti, and you have a real winner of a game.
