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Better Than I Thought It Would Ever Be

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 19
Date: January 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had low expectations for this game. When i saw the demo version available for play at EBGames, i gave it a try. Wow, i was totally taken aback by the awesome controls, smooth graphics and insanely unique "quick kills." For example: You walk up to a criminal, hit the "quick kill" button and you toss the bad guy your shot gun, which he proceeds to catch with both hands. Once he has time to look back at you, you have already pulled your pistol out, put it at his head and popped him one. There are over 100 of these unique kills, not to mention surrounding, tangible objects you can use to further your mayhem. Just to wet your appettite, you can use a wood chipper to dispose of said enemies.
I cannot stress enough how fun this game is. The storyline is crafted by comic book veterans and they stay true to the comic book character. Even the actor Thomas Jane, who portrayed Frank Castle in the movie version of the comic book, voices the Punisher throughout the game, which also adds another great touch to an already 5-star worthy game. Trust me; this game will be the sleeper hit of 2005. Buy this immediately.

AWESOME SHOOTING GAME BASED ON MARVEL CHARACTERS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 28
Date: January 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've been waiting a long time for a Punisher game. I played the demo in Game Stop and it is awesome. A lot like Max Payne, but populated with various Marvel Comics characters, including Black Widow, Nick Fury, the Russian, Bullseye, Kingpin, Jigsaw, Iron Man, and even Matt Murdock.

All kinds of exotic Punisher weapons, Punisher attitude and Punisher humor. You can make the Punisher interrogate crooks to gain health. One example is by stuffing them into a pool of piranhas to make them talk. But don't keep them under too long or the piranha will eat their face off before they talk.

You can use the crooks you catch as human shields until they are shot to death by their own guys. Great graphics and a good-looking Punisher character. Lots of shooting and situations. Just awesome. It get progressively more difficult as you make your way through the game.

After buying the game I'm even more impressed. The Punisher in the game has Tom Jane's voice from the movie. Great writing and quotes. The opening movie is CG but so photographically stunning you're not sure if it's live action. You unlock other CG movies along the way and they are something else.

The Punisher gets additional health from interrogating bad guys and breaking them for info. He also has a Slaughter Mode that gives him superhuman strength and restores health. The music is top notch too.

This game is rated M for a good reason. There is a lot of obscene language and the Punisher tortures crooks for info. Sometimes they die if you push to hard. So, maybe not for young kids.

I hope there is a Punisher 2 and that it involves him going after Middle Eastern terrorists. I could really get into a game like that. Here they limit it to safe Russians. In a CG movie by Kingpin it is implied that there may be a Punisher 2. I will be looking forward to that. This one had some great chapters. My favorite was at the funeral home where he hides in a coffin and pops up during a funeral to mow down "the family".

You'll love this game if you like single player shooter games or Marvel Comics. And once you've worked your way through once, you'll want to go through again, increase your score, and more fully explore Slaughter Mode and the Quick Kills.

Max Payne Meets Mortal Kombat !!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: January 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This Game MIGHT just be the GEM of 2005 It's so Cool and fun to Play.. Does have a few Prob. The Audio during the Cut Scenes Being one of them But, that can be over-looked The Story Line is Smart Takes Place after the events of the Movie Saint's Name is Brought up a few times The Voice Acting is Realy Good,(Tom Jane returns as the Punisher) The Gun Play is Fun and Looks Sharp! Has some Unique Moments One takeing Place at A Wake!
Without a Doubt Not for Kids The Mature Rating is Pushesed to the Limits (More Violece & Extreme Gore Then The GTA Games)
The Prev. Punisher Games in the Past have been very Lame
You can tell Both THQ and Marvel did a Great Job on this Action title
If you Enjoyed The Movie or a Fan of the Comic Books you will like it! If you Loved the Max Payne Games you'll Love it
The Best Comic Book Game I've ever Played! Hopefuly if sales are High on this title they can Make a Sequal to the Game and The Movie!
Close to A Perfect Game I give it a 9.5/10

Great Play! Addictive and exciting!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The Gameplay, the graphics and the soundtrack are great! The Voice acting is impressive and it is great that we can connect the voice of the film Punisher with the game Punisher since they are one and the same! The unexpected appearances of some much loved or loathed characters added to the gameplay! I won't say who for those who have not finished the game yet but you will be somewhat impressed. The controls on the X-Box version are smooth and the controls on the Playstation 2 version are good too.
Remember to interrogate as many as possible. Even in a fire fight, you can move back to a more secluded place to interrogate.
Remember to take your time with a boss if you have a weaker weapon. The onslaught of typical bad guys gives you ammo.
Stick to the walls or some kind of obstacle in the large gunfights (That is probably just common sense but I thought I'd add it.)
During your second time through try to hop on higher platforms if you can and crouch to avoid damage.
Great game and when you defeat it, play it again!
Semper Fi!

...It's Punishment

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

"The Punisher," Marvel's anti-hero with powers more befitting an avid member of the NRA than your typical superhero (in fact he has no super powers to speak of save a seething hatred for all things criminal), finally makes his way into the world of video games post "Max Payne" and "Dead to Rights," and it's immediately clear that he belongs here. Despite simple, derivative gameplay in settings and scenarios that do little to surprise, "The Punisher" manages to entertain thanks in no small part to the character's cold, remorseless demeanor, conveyed in the game via special kills, brutal interrogations, and a John Woo style ballet of bullets.

The game's story, though penned by respected comic book writers regular to "The Punisher" series, does little to envelop the uninitiated in the ruthless world of Frank Castle (aka, the Punisher) beyond the bare bones minimum, but it's enough, coupled with Tom Jane's excellent vocal portrayal. The plot's potential for suspense is foiled by the game's penchant for flashbacks, which represent every mission in the game until the finale, thus killing most any tension it might otherwise have provided. Still, in the most basic fashion, it provides ample excuse to terrorize the criminal underworld and commit unspeakable acts all in the name of cold-blooded vengeance.

It's immediately apparent that "The Punisher" owes a considerable debt to "Max Payne," in that, aside from bullet time, both games are rather identical. Even Castle's forward dive, guns out, looks strikingly Payne-esque. Regardless, "The Punisher" mixes things up a tad by replacing Max's aforementioned time bending fete in favor of slaughter mode, which essentially allows Castle to temporarily throw aside his firearms, flick out a never-ending supply of knives, and have at the bad guys with brutal efficiency. Though it's rarely if ever necessary to switch to slaughter mode, thanks in no small part to the Punisher's resistance to bullets and anything that really resembles pain, it's still a hell of a lot of fun, and some of the quick kills are gleefully sadistic no matter how many times you see them.

With guns blazing, "The Punisher" is a fairly standard and less than awe-inspiring third person shooter, but again the aforementioned quick kills, though perhaps to easy to actually pull off, liven things up considerably. Add in location-specific special kills that allow you to sacrifice thugs upon a pagan alter in a museum or throw old mafia moms from five story windows and you've got a good variety of death-dealing tools at your disposal, and as long as you're not squeamish about violence in your shooters, that's definitely the game's strong suit.

Interrogations are also an option. You can capture bad guys and beat, throttle, or otherwise threaten information out of them, which provides you with a health bonus and, on occasion, some extra goodies for your efforts. None of this is particularly necessary, but of course the true reward is the sadistic practice of draining criminals of all information they possess and then killing them anyway as they plead for mercy they won't actually receive.

"The Punisher" offers a fairly large assortment of weapons, but only a few of them really feel all that different from the rest, and later in the game you'll almost certainly find what you like and stick with it `til the end, essentially killing the initial sense of variety here. And no matter which weapons you take into battle (and you're realistically limited in your selection per mission), the game is far too easy. In fact, it's an out and out cakewalk. Despite Castle's lack of superhero powers, the man is either wearing mithril Kevlar (which is strange) or he's entirely unbothered by your garden-variety bullets (which is stranger). Walking directly up to your standard villain and quick killing him is exceedingly easy because said villain's constant stream of ammunition seems more irritation than out and out threat.

Though the game provides some stirring set pieces (such as a funeral home slaughter), most of its levels are of the "been there, done that" variety - especially the docks and warehouses which are enough to elicit groans. What's more, the gameplay rarely ever offers up anything new as it goes, what with its lack of puzzles (at least any that are remotely challenging) and lack of combat diversity. Thank god it's so much fun to interrogate, assassinate, and throw your enemies, because if it weren't the game would proffer little else of value.

What with its linear gameplay, lackluster story, and grossly simple action, "The Punisher" definitely won't tickle every gamer's fancy, but I dare say its sheer, shameless brutality will certainly win over many who give it a chance. All in all, it equals a fun romp that, while not devoid of problems, does a fine job of bringing the comic book character to life in a brand new medium. A tighter storyline, more interesting environments, and a tad more challenge would go a long way toward making a sequel glisten with quality.

Best comic hero game ever!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Outstanding! From the graphics to the music, dialogue, storyline, and of course the blood and gore. A perfect 10. I do wish the game had been a little longer, but I guess I'll wait on pens and needles for the second in the series. Who would have thought a game would translate this well from the comics to the xbox?

simply astonishing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

well i dont know what to say what hasnt already been said so i will just restate the fact that this game has beautiful graphics, great gameplay, wonderful environment interaction, and an even better storyline:)

Play Max Payne 2

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: February 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is essentially a Max Payne 2 clone, or perhaps "Xerox" is a better term, as it loses much of the greatness.

Much was made about the violence of this game. Allow me to say the violence was vastly overrated. There's actually very little blood in the game. You typically just shoot a guy and move on without much gore at all. Occasionally you get to do one of the scripted torture scenes, and while these are entertaining (chroming a guy's head was a standout), they are rare. 95% of the time you have the same four dull methods of torture.

The levels are absurd. The first level is the longest string of apartments you'll ever see. No attempt was made to make the level realistic, it's just a ton of identical apartment rooms strung together as one long chain. You move linearly through them with absolutely no variation in eye candy or tactics. Typically the levels are very cramped and leave little room to strafe let alone change attack methods.

Later levels find guys above and below you. Picking them off feels less like a joy and more like a chore. I can't put my finger on it, but it just isn't fun.

Three of us rented this one weekend. We fought over who got to play it first, and the guy that paid took the honor. He played for the first two levels as we watched. He turned and asked if we wanted a turn, and we declined. Watching him took all the fun out of it. It was just boring to watch. He laughed, and said he was sick of it anyway.

If watching a game for half an hour convinces you not to play it, well, it says a lot about the game. Avoid this one.

Rent It

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

When I first picked up this game, I wasn't as excited as I thought I'd be. Maybe, just maybe, I'm psychic. I'm glad I didn't invest $50 into this game, however, this game is definitely worth renting.
The controls take a couple minutes to get used to, but once you get used to them, you'll be rolling in no time.
The special kills and interrogation spots are fun, and they don't get as repetitive as I thought they would.
The enemies aren't too stupid, they gave me a challenge here and there, and I used the normal difficulty.
The bosses can be annoying, very freaking annoying. Luckily, some dude invented the internet, and all I had to do was look up a walkthrough.
The reasons this game is a must play are the obvious. You get to be the Punisher. You get to dual-wield nearly every weapon in the game (even shotguns and M-16s). The special kills and interrogations are quite entertaining.
The biggest reason this game is in the "rent" category and not the "buy" is due to the fact that I could not make myself imagine playing it again. I beat it, it's done, time to take it back to Blockbuster.

It's okay

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: January 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Frank Castle (better known as The Punisher) may ultimately be a crime-fighting hero, but he's still not a very nice guy. After losing his family in a mob crossfire, the guy has come a bit unhinged in search of revenge. Spider-Man cordially hangs criminals by a web from a building; The Punisher tosses criminals off buildings then make a wise crack. In bringing The Punisher to PlayStation 2 and Xbox, THQ and developer Volition have vowed to maintain the integrity of the gritty Marvel Comics character. The result is a third-person shooter that has captured a Mature rating and then tossed it off the nearest building. As with any modern action game, you have an arsenal with which to dispatch the many baddies that cross your path. When something less traditional is preferred, Punisher resourcefully takes advantage of his surroundings. For instance, you can fire up a forklift so it rolls into a support column and take down a gunman on the catwalk above. Further showing off Punisher's people skills, interrogation provides pertinent info tidbits (and health benefits), as well as more cheap thrills. By grabbing the nearest foe and wiggling the analog stick just right, you'll menace him until he breaks (emotionally) then after he tells you what you need, you can break him (physically). Still more vengeful variety is offered at spots designated by a floating Punisher logo, at which you can make a special interrogation(such as pushing a criminal's face toward a whirring grindstone) or relieve him of Castle's misery via a "special kill" (such as chucking him out a window). Style points are earned for creative life-taking, though some especially nasty takeouts result in points being taken away. (Perhaps THQ didn't want to seem too eager to reward lethal ingenuity, even if it's in pursuit of retribution.) The Punisher's fun at first, but soon becomes repetitive both in terms of the Punisher's actions and the criminals' voice responses. Add to that weak graphics and animation, as well as not enough opportunities to "enjoy" Punisher's originality, and you end up with an adventure that turns a bit stale too quickly.

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