The Punisher

Reviewed by Yanta Morrow
April 2005

Developer: Volition Website: Click Here Publisher: THQ Platform(s): PS2, XBox, PC Players: 1 ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

The man with the huge skill icon is back! Not in Marvel comic books, but in his own game. The Punisher is on a mission to take out the trash and beat bad guys to a pulp in order to try to save the city from being run by mobsters and gangsters.

The Punisher is a third-person shooter with a unique way of getting information from bad guys. That's right, an interrogation system that gives you the chance to punish an enemy to the point to where he sells out his gang in order not to get punished. The Punisher starts off with his family getting wasted by the mob, and he's out for revenge. The story is told in various flashbacks. Frank Castle's finally has been caught at the end of a three-week killing spree and crime fighting.  The game opens with the Punisher being interrogated by the authorities on Ryker's Island. They talk to him about the last three weeks, fading out and in to game play at certain points after you pass the mission. Through the fading points in each mission, the Punisher tells his story from his point of view.

The Weapons in the game vary from Machine guns to 5.56mm assault rifles to shotguns, flamethrowers to anti-tank weapons a.k.a. Bazooka, grenade launchers to machine pistols, and of course, handguns. Other weapons like grenades and melee weapons like bats and crowbars are also in the game. You can also hold two shotguns, two handguns and two machine guns in order to take out the scum in the city.

Also in the game, there is a special icon colored white that gives you a special interrogation, so if a bad guy is standing near a piece of machinery or even a pool of piranhas, you have the chance to use that element to get the information needed. When in the special interrogation mode, there is a bar that manages the fierceness of the punishment the enemy receives.  Keep the pressure bar (red color) in the yellow about 3-5 seconds and the guy will spill the beans. The cool part is that the bad guy changes when he is getting punished by the interrogation, in the piranha scene when you dip the bad guys face in the pool you see the man-eating fish feasting on his face and when you pull his face back up you see chunks of his face missing, then when he spills the beans you can either spare him or just throw him in the pool and see the fish have an early lunch. In each special interrogation, you can either spare the guy and save points that are useful to buy different upgrades for the Punisher at his apartment or you can just see the bad guy get tortured by the element. There are other interrogations you can do you can choose from: Choke, Face Smash, Punch, or Gun Tension. In these modes, if you succeed in getting a quick kill you get the chance to fill up your Slaughter Mode.

In Slaughter Mode you have the chance to move in a way similar to the famous bullet-time. But in this mode, you cannot use your guns; instead you have the chance to throw unlimited knives to take out your enemy. In this mode, you do not sustain massive damage; you get less damage from any weapon fired at you, you have increased speed, and an auto target on the nearest thug.

Overall, The Punisher is a game people may like because of the interrogations of the bad guys as well as the game play of the slaughter mode. They may even like the way that The Punisher uses the two shotguns or other guns and how he reloads. Also, the game is good on how you can make various upgrades as you go thru the game. The Punisher also has other side games you can unlock by passing missions; you can always go back and play missions over to get other games. I give the Punisher a High Evo Factor. This is a good game if you like to torture enemies.

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