The Punisher Review

Games that are made from movies or already existing sources are often poorly made and are no fun to play. Developers think "aah, well the story has been set, all we have to do is make it look good". THQ are no strangers to this concept, and sadly, The Punisher just adds to their lineup of such games.

Except, THQ have gone a step worse. Not content with having the storyline done for them, they go and copy the controls and gameplay system of other games. If you've played the Max Payne titles, you'll know what I mean.

Even the "bullet time" sequences in Max Payne have been copied. I suppose copy isn't exactly the right word, because THQ seem to have paid a little attention to this. The Punisher uses "slaughter mode", where the game slows down a little, and Frank's guns are replaced with a supply of knives for you to throw at your foes.

The only feature in my eyes that is unique is the ability to interrogate your foes, and even this manages to disappoint in the long run. Firstly, there are only a handful of people in each level that have anything worth hearing. The rest just mumble stuff that is totally irrelevant.
Should you get annoyed, you can kill the person you were interrogating anyway, but if you choose to do this the camera zooms out and turns black and white while the deed is done. It really kills the mood, and you'd expect to see at least some blood and guts from a game with an M (Mature) rating.

The graphics side is where The Punisher really comes through, and it's evident that a lot of time and effort has been put into making them look good. The environments of the levels are different, which adds a fresh sort of feeling when you start each new level. Although a lot more could have been done to allow Frank to interact with the environment, it's generally good as it is.

Audially speaking, The Punisher is so-so. A lot of voice acting has been done, but everything else seems to have been thrown together messily. The gun noises aren't realistic enough, some things don't make a noise when they should, and everything seems to be done in an "I can't be bothered to do this properly" kind of way, which is disappointing.

Overall, The Punisher serves to annoy rather than impress. You'd be better off looking in the direction of Max Payne if you're in the mood for a good third-person shooter.

This review was added on 22nd January 2005 by Dan Clement.