Entry wounds, superior rag-doll effects and more scripts than you can shake a combat knife at. Volition delivers here.
Fans know this: The Punisher is one of the baddest asses that the Marvel pantheon counts. That bitter, vengeful nam veteran who will slay the petty burglar and the crime boss with equal remorse. The intro says it all, really. A group of would-be yakuza-like characters stumbles into Punisher and are utterly annihilated in a hail of bullets, without landing a single shot on their merciless nemesis. One unfortunate survivor rises from the body pile and runs away in a panic stumble, only to get shot in the back. Punisher leaves the building and surrenders in the red-and-blue shower of light that awaits him outside along with the less-than-accomplished detective Soap.
Fighting fire with fire, Frank Castle (who became the Punisher when his family was killed in a mob hit), descends into the world of crime and confronts various groups and known enemies of all good, decent, law-abiding Americans.
This is where the game starts; Frank is taken into custody and interrogated for his reckless killing spree. Each level will start with a cinematic sequence, where he is confronted with the crimes, of which the player is about to commit. A good concept that serves to flesh out the exact scale of gritty, vigilante heroism that is undoubtedly the strongest points of the series.
Beyond the default lock-and-load, shoot'em up gameplay, the Bullet Time feature and the array of firearms that most shooters consider a standard these days, The Punisher introduces an interrogation mini-game that is vital for both game progression and self-preservation. By grabbing an enemy you can either use him as a shield or threaten him to deliver you information or, in example, convince him to tell his friends up ahead to let you pass without shooting. Admittedly, I never found out if the latter works or not - I was simply having too good a time to let him go in peace.
Certain phrases of fully interrogated criminals will recall traumatic Flashbacks of his days in Nam. These are in turn collected as unlocked material, complete with a picture relating to the trigger-phrase. "I'm getting married next week!", "I'm only a soldier!", "It's an ambush!" ect. A pretty grotesque feature, yet nerds of the series will recognize the classic comic drawings from Frank's most memorable moments. Players will also unlock an essential (not huge) array of firearms and will make fine use of these, since weapons can be set up at the beginning of each stage, boosting the replay value efficiently with the promise of going over that crack-house again wearing a spitting flame thrower and dual uzis. Players can also pack two assault rifles at once, if picked up from dead enemies.
The sound itself is discrete, moody and makes good use of orchestral string-themes, adding a cinematic twist to the mix at the most hectic shoot-outs. It just plain works when you kick open a door and immediately hear your enemies cry out in fear. And I smile whenever they request for an open casket and whimper "Please, not in the head." The voice acting is nothing extraordinary, yet the game earns merit in having voice acted the aforementioned trigger-phrases of the flashbacks with several different accents, giving the player the chance to "collect" these from all types of enemies. The corny one-liners are there, of course and anyone who is disencouraged by these should stay as far away from this game as they did with Max Payne.
The graphic effects are excellent, right down to the inner anatomy of the fallen foe - emptying a clip into someone's head is vivid and the player is informed in detail as the bullets peel away the skin down to their exposed cranium. In certain scenes where enemies are plentiful, the last, killing bullet will have the camera following it to the point of impact - a very nifty and convincing feature for players who don't just shoot, but takes their time to aim for the head.
Entering the equivalent to Bullet Time, called Slaughter Mode, the colours will fade into black and white, flashback trigger-phrases will echo all around you and a bit of blur effect will inform you that Frank is ready to get mid evil. Using an unlimited amount of throwing knife, you can use the trigger buttons to throw these with increased accuracy or simply enjoy the quick kills up close.
The controls are sharp; the triggers are assigned to each of the upper shoulder buttons (L1, L2), which is perhaps the closest you'll come to shooting a fictional gun with the Dual Shock pad. The reloading button is absent, but luckily Frank suffers from a severe post-traumatic paranoia and will happily reload his guns whenever you give him a short break from his killing spree.
No success without flaws and The Punisher is no exception: The game appears over-scripted with more than 10 ways (not counting Slaughter-mode) to force scum-bags to the river Styx in a single button close-combat move. While I appreciate the excellent animations of a brutal execution, it appears rather simplified. Also, you will be deducted points for killing enemies during or after the interrogation mini-game. This doesn't quite add up, as you will be awarded points, if returning the interrogated individual to the human shield position, after retrieving the information and THEN shooting him dead. It cheats the player of seeing the most gory, environmental executions in the game and this is less than fair. Head shots aren't lethal either (save for the higher caliber ones) and I, for one, am not ready to embrace the idea that bullets often ricochet off cheeks. Finally, I completed the game in 8 hours.
Shameful.
But what great 8 hours that was. One whole section to pay homage to the rag doll effect incorporated into the game. You'd like a realistic setting post-postal and, again, the game delivers. Bodies will slide slowly down walls, hurled around by frag grenades, lie scattered around in awkward poses and, save for a scarce number of bugs, this is a major force of the game. Rag Doll - check!
Bear in mind, however, that the game does not introduce any new concepts to the genre. Rather, it takes well-proven elements of the modern shooter and gathers them in something that looks and feels very much like The Total Package.
If you're a fan of Punisher, and still wondering by now, this game is no abuse of the franchise and you should buy it. You'll recognize and enjoy the guest-appearances, no spoilers given. The game gives a great feeling of being feared by and far superior to your opponents, something that lacks in similar action games. If you can recognize this craving, or simply looking for a good shooter, you should buy it too.
If not for the action, then for the hints provided on how to remove blood stains from clothing. No joke, I used to use hot water myself.