Gritty, Not Pretty
Story
Not exactly the highest point of it, but if you are familiar with the franchise then you should be familiar with the characters. I have to say that I loved the inclusion of Soap. He is a cop that admires what Frank does with the streets and gives him help from time to time both in the comic world and surprisingly here too. Again the story follows a path of revenge for Frank Castle and it gives ampe reasons for him killing everything in site. I will say that the pacing was a bit lacking, but the missions followed through with what you didn't understand.
Gameplay
If you play shooters than this is nothing new to anyone. The only thing that is a bit wonky is that some of the areas that you traverse get tight and if you have vertigo, then you might not find this game to be the one for you due to the twists and turns.However, one of the most intriguing part of the game is the interrogation system. Now I have played games in the past that have tried to utilize something like that and they were not too successful., I have to say that Punisher gets it right. There are people that will have white skulls over their heads. That means that you can gain information that is vital from them. However, there are special means in which to do so. There will be glowing white areas with the skulls overhead that you take them too which prompts a special interrogation. They include all types of things like being at an autobody shop and using a saw, or being in a kitchen and using a knife rack. Very interesting is the fact that you have to hold them for 3 seconds before they break. Too much and they die. Too little and they blow you off. The developers make it easy for you because the people don't come out of your grip unless you manually let them go. I found it to be an interesting way to keep people going thorugh the game.
THere are also gold skull areas that you can grab any baddies and put them in a special death. This also varies from throwing someone in a casket and closing the lid with a bomb inside to making someone get choked by a snake. Again, a good shooter in my opinion as you really did feel like the Punisher who is angry. He is like the Kratos of the comic world.
Sound
I would say that some weapons sound better than others. I didn't quite feel powerful shooting two Dirty Harry type revolvers. But I did feel good with the grenade launcher. The sounds get very funny when you kill a bunch of baddies and 1 or 2 of them literally fall on their knees and say they give up. It is your choice to leave them be or punish them for thier past sins. But their begging and pleading is what might actually get to you after awhile.
Graphics
Last but not least. It could have been better. The Punisher model is much more drafted for the War Journal series of comics and Thomas Jane does a perfect job of bringing the character to life (even more so than the movie). Aside from that, everything else is drab. There are some levels that are gritty and they match Punishers frame of mind. Otherwise, you won't find anything earth shattering but they are good enough for you to get through the game.
Overall
I think this game is worth the score. If they only focused a bit more on dialogue of the rest of characters in the game and fleshing the story out more for those that are not a comic fanboy, they could have had a real hit. BUt otherwise, this should not be passed up if you are a fan of the The Punisher. ANd besides, who doesn't like tearing away at the grit of crime with 2 uzi's?