The Punisher (2005)

"The best Punisher game ever made."

After a long wait, fans of the Punisher get a modern game based of just that. And it's good. I started this game with low expectations. Not on purpose, I just didn't think they'd pull the Punisher idea off. But I was blown away by what I got.

Graphics: 7/10
In game graphics look very good. No Half-Life or Doom 3, but still very good. When you shoot a guy in the head, you can see brains fly everywhere. I would give it an 8/10 if it weren't for a couple of things. First, is of course the black & white filter. Now, I'm not really one to complain about censorship since censorship happens to everything, but what I don't like is how the black & white filter is used. I wouldn't mind it, but when it comes on, colors start to blend together, and it just doesn't look good.
Another problem CGI cutscenes. There are only 5 of these, don't you think we could have had some better quality scenes? The problem is that the color is all grainy, and everything looks sort of distorted. These cutscenes would be really freakin' cool, if they just didn't have the color problems.

Sound: 9/10
Great sound, fantastic voice work. As a fan of Thomas Jane and his role as the Punisher, I was excited to hear that he would be doing the voice work for the Punisher, and he didn't disappoint. The Punisher sounds like the Punisher should, not like the wimpy Punisher from the Spider-Man:TAS. And all voice work is rather good. Especially the henchmen. Their screams are wonderfully acted, but it gets rather tiresome to only hear two confessions when you interrogate really henchmen per level. I really think Volition could have gone the extra mile and recorded at least 5-7 more confessions.

Gameplay: 8/10

The gameplay is fast and furious. Interrogations are the best thing in the game, with special deaths a close second. Even regular shooting is fun. At first. It doesn't take a genius to see that this game would eventually become tired and repetitive. That's what I thought, and I still do. But the interrogations and team-ups will definitely help you get through to the end. Interrogations never get old. Except for one type. Although there are many types of interrogations, one happens far too often. Dangling a person from a ledge and almost dropping them. I don't know how many times I've come across this, but only two ever really grabbed me. The first one, and one which is actually a variation.
Something I didn't expect at all was the A.I. I was genuinely impressed with the enemy A.I. They'd rush me, loose their guns, and go and pick them back up. But the real impressive A.I. are your occasional allies. You don't get to team up much, but when you do, it's a real joy. Your allies are fast, response well, and are sometimes a deadshot. It makes me sad that a game like this had such great team A.I. while a huge game like Half-Life 2 had the worst A.I.

Overall: 8/10
If you have any interest in the Punisher at all, be it from the comics, movies, or past games, pick this up at once.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/21/05