Not many of you may realise this, but the first big-screen adaptation of  The Punisher came in 1990, casting
Dolph Lundgren in the lead role and bearing little resemblance to the comic book that
spawned it. Fourteen years later, a second film made a straight-to-DVD leap in the UK (all
but some selected cinemas – which it is believed only received the title a week prior
to DVD release) and now another year on, the game-of-the-film-of-the-comic has arrived.
With both the comic book and the film having a rather violent appeal it would merely be
following-suit for the game to do so, and so Press Releases stating mass destruction and
gruesome tortures came as no surprise, and neither does the title’s BBFC 18
Certificate.
The game is structured like many action-adventure releases of late that boil down
to little more than running-and-gunning. The game is divided into levels beginning and
ending with story-progressing cut-scenes, and within those levels individual set-pieces,
distinguishable by loading times. The HUB offered is represented by your apartment, which
offers the ability to replay previous levels as well as upgrade abilities (using points
earned for kills in-game), view unlocked weaponry and other extras.
The levels themselves range from incredibly well-mapped - allowing vantage points
and cover  aplenty during hefty
gun-battles - to plain lazy, twisting corridors with bland textures resembling just about
any other third-person “adult” release over the past two years. While being very
linear, the levels are also very straight forward – the game does not contain a map
feature simply because it’s not needed. Some of the Boss Fights levels offer a little
spice, “The Russian” in particular invites some clever ideas and a smartly
expanding level, with multiple possibilities for progression. However the initiative
demonstrated has been dulled by the obvious placement of such techniques with the use of
glowing icons. The Interrogation procedure follows a similar pattern. At first, they
represent an almost pointless and tacky “gimmick”, waiting until later levels to
prove useful.
This seems to be the ethos of The Punisher – simple and pointless at
first, but violently happy once some progress has been made. Other added affects such as Kill
Mode, Quick Kill and Kill Zones are exactly as they are intended –
cool effects with little relevance – a translation from its film counterpart
directly. Abilities such as double handed weapons, taking human shields and melee kills
are nice touches, but are really mainstay for the genre by now. Many weapons are available
and can be freely chosen as a starting armament once collected on a level from an enemy.
The Sniper Rifle, Flame Thrower and Grenade Launcher were certainly the developers
favourite and, although the Sniper Rifle in particular takes some getting used to, are all
very rewarding.
While the title has some nice touches and effects which are obviously of
top-calibre PlayStation2 quality, some bland textures, awkward animation and terrible
slowdown place The Punisher, by no fault of its own, at an “above
average” position graphically. The carnage the title is echoed by the
developers’ decision to keep the enemies lifeless bodies in position for as long as
possible, often allowing you to see where you came from by the trail of dead. The sound
however, is remarkable, and although clearly limited voice samples and rock music are
nothing inherently special, it’s pin-sharp.
Through all my gripes and
moans – The Punisher is clearly not a bad game. It seems that it has wisely
chosen to be a “good” game, as opposed to striving for greatness. If only Enter
The Matrix  had settled for the just-good-enough nature
the The Punisher seems to have adopted early on in development, it’s
half-finished state may have been overlooked. A very solid, enjoyable romp which excels
little at anything in particular, but offers more than most as a well-rounded package
– albeit a violent one.
|
