I haven't been entirely enthralled with the games that have been coming out from MARVEL.
Don't get me wrong. Some of the games I liked. The Spider-Man video games (in conjunction with the movies) were good... except for the one from the Nintendo DS from what I've saw of it, and the PC... you should probably avoid those. But other than that there are too few games from MARVEL's stock that really got me excited. I mean considering how much of a Universe MARVEL has you'd think they'd be rolling out a ton of good games, but that's not so.

With the exception of the recent X-Men game (X-Men Legends) most of the X games have been rather dreadful to play. They have not yet done a decent, or any Avengers game (at least as far as I know of), and there has yet to be a game that I can say I would rave about unendingly...

Then The Punisher came along, and that came to a quick end.

Based more on the Garth Ennis run in the last ongoing Punisher series (which, if I remember right, got cancelled sometime ago) than the Punisher movie, the game is flat out the best MARVEL game I've played yet... and it's even a solidly done shooter to boot!

Rotating between Frank's "interrogation" by Ennis character Detective Soap while in the care of the police (after being arrested) and events which started three weeks ago, you plow through the game with lots of energy and even more killing. It all started with the purge of a next door crack house, which lead you down the bloody brick road to the Gnucci family (mobster), then the Russians (and a big boss character NAMED The Russian... guess all the good names was taken...) and a trip up the MARVEL crime tree which leads to guest appearances by several different MARVEL characters on both side of the equation (good and evil).
Characters like Bushwhacker (the guy with the cybernetic gun arm), Black Widow (sorry guys, if you always imagined her having a sexy voice you'll be disappointed with this version) and more appear! Now I don't want to spoil it all for you but there is a few good appearances of MARVEL characters in this game that is another plus for this game being based on the MARVEL Comics and NOT on the movie!
Sigh... it's all really good but I better not say too much! Now I'm getting out of hand. Sorry.

But the real charm of the game isn't the MARVEL alumni who appear, it's the gameplay which is the wickedest gameplay I've seen yet! Of course having all that MARVEL regulars appear is nice as well.
Yes. You do shoot your way through level after level of villainy. And the voice acting is downright solid, by the way, from the top of the chain (the Punisher, who may or may not be Thomas Jane, but is solid good voice acting regardless) to the "little people" who all sound damn good as they're either talking to each other, attacking you, or screaming about how they're all doomed as you wipe them out! Excellent!

The real charm of the action, however, isn't just the fighting, it's the "special" way you can treat your enemies, mainly the "interrogation" mode. After you grab an enemy (and clear some of the "trash" around you since you need some "alone time" with your "human shield")

you can interrogate them. You have four options but some are better than others... choking is the best since I've screwed up other interrogations and it's not as hard to do as, say, gun threatening the guy... you tend to blow heads off more than get vital information if you do it wrong. Oh, and you'll do this a lot since you will get back some of your health each time you interrogate which means you'll be spending lots of "quality time" with the baddies in this game.

There are also special interrogation sections (marked by white skull images) but some are really for experts of this game (I.e. it‘s way too easy to accidentally "kill" a vital target with important information if you are not too careful). Me? I just use these "special" interrogations after I finished my choking interrogation for a little "Special" violence. And if you need more ways to kill? There are even special kill sections (marked in gold skull images) that just put a little bit of extra omph in the kill. Oh so good.

Weapons are solid. They all work quite well, and there's lots of variation so you don't just have the same generic weapons to kill with. And with 18 weapons to use you'll have lots to get your hands on for the killing. Now if you only had this kind of variety when you go out to kill zombies in Resident Evil then your work would be so much easier. Sorry, no lock on mode, but then again that's fine with me since I enjoy the hands on killing in this game more than enough to forgive that faux pas.

Of course there are innocents in the game, and Frank CANNOT kill them. Once you save an innocent talk to them, mostly to convince them to get to safety or hide. And, unlike Evil Dead : Fistful of Boomstick, once you save them they stay saved (which is nice).

But wait! There's more! Besides the weapons, interrogations, and special interrogation/kill zones you also have "Slaughter" mode, for those of you who need more ways to kill a digital baddie.
By pressing the triangle button you can slam Frank into Slaughter mode, watching him become an unstoppable killing machine (reliving the pain of his family's deaths) as you go to town wiping out whole sections of enemies. No harm comes to you in Slaughter mode, and each kill you do in Slaughter mode restores some health to you (so I usually save Slaughter mode for a large room of enemies, or heavily armored enemies to gain the most benefit from Slaughter mode that I can)!

Slaughter Mode is really useful in later levels when you fight enemies who are wearing body armor (prompting a head shot kill) since you can easily dispatch them in one shot in Slaughter mode, another plus of this most useful gaming mode! The one downside (at the start) is that Slaughter Mode is kind of short at the start... but not for long. As you play you can lengthen this mode (not to mention make a wide variety of modifications to Frank and the gear he carries) by purchasing upgrades... which is just another good thing about this game (and there's a host of great things)!

The levels are big, but there is no map to traverse these levels as far as I can see... but then again I

never needed one. Yes, the levels are big AND there doesn't seem to be an auto mapping feature (or any mapping feature) in this game... and yet I seem rather flippant about it. That's because you don't need it.
To find your way through this game simply follow the trail of soon to be formerly living. Bodies stay where they fall, and don't disappear (realistic huh) which means you can't get lost because you'll know which rooms you've "cleaned" and so you know where to look for fresh "prey" (and thus move forward).

A few things are timed rather tight, but you should have no problems solving them.
For instance in the Zoo you have only a few minutes to save your neighbor Joan before she's eaten alive by piranha. Simply climb up a few levels in her area to drain the water below her of water (and nasty bitey things) and that's that. The switch is in one of the rooms, but again no problem... oh, if you have problems there IS one guy who you can interrogate... just don't kill him.
Another thing is the saving of hostages at two points of the game, but there's no time limit on that job.

The boss fights are solid. Some are hard (The Russian is hard until you know how to get him, same with the other boss characters from that point forward) but once you got their patterns down pat you should have no problem. Of course it's work to get their pattern down, but the game is so fun a little extra effort isn't much of a hassle in my book!

Cut scenes are fine, but even more fine are the five theatrical "cut scenes" which really look keen!
The opening scene is the first you get to drool over until you reached a long way into the game, then your treated to an even better one! The third one is the first cut scene revisited... but wait! It just goes OVER the first theatrical cut scene which means there are still THREE "movies" to see (and I think I'm just about done with Easy mode)...

Looks like this game gives you lots of incentive to play the harder modes, like the fact that you can't even unlock all of the theatrical cut scenes unless you move on up to a higher level! Devilish!!

All your micromanagement of upgrades and so forth is handled at Frank's apartment. Here the game excels. - Besides working your upgrades you can view extras and movies you unlocked during gameplay (by earning medals during each "mission" you can unlock extras which can be viewed here).
- You can view your Armory and get a brief Punisher Armory briefing on each.
- You can check out the "Tree" of crime your climbing on the criminal chart and see the rather slanted and misleading newsprint on your escapades in your War Journal section.
- Adjust playing options in the Options section, or select the level you want to play in the War Zone section. In the War Zone section you can chose to play new levels, or replay old levels for better scores or to defeat "challenge" or "punishment" requirements for each level ("challenge" requires the level is beaten, "punishment" requires a silver medal is earned in said level).

As for the extras offered in this game? The extras are GREAT! We have a huge amount of concept art and comic covers

to unlock1 Then there's the movies (unlocked as you play) and Flashbacks. And even a few more extras, of which only one (the theatrical trailer for the Punisher movie) is available at the start.
The easiest to unlock, strangely enough, is the "Flashbacks" section which is unlocked during interrogations. As you interrogate certain criminals you might suddenly experience a flashback (brief) which is stored here. Yes, all the artwork is from the many people who have drawn The Punisher over the years! The extras are a treasure trove of Punisher related goodies, and yet another good reason to own this!
And, yes, you'll need to climb the tree of game levels and play the harder levels in order to unlock every single extra INCLUDING "cheats" which is yet another treasure to gain as you play this game!

Overall this is a solid game that will be a treasure for Punisher fans, a delight for MARVEL fans, and just a plain good gaming experience to be had for any fan of good solid shooters. Without a doubt The Punisher is one of the best games of this year and deserves your attention!

So drop down to your nearest store once it's available and plan to spend some quality time in the presence of Mr. Frank Castle, you're sure to grow from it and learn much from Mr. Castle... sadly none of the things you learn is legal or advisable, but at least you'll have fun with the game.
Okay. Breakdown time.

The Punisher Breakdown
What's Hot? - What's NOT hot? The game is great! Now this game could have been screwed in so many ways I can't tell you how bad it could have been. And, even if it was a solid enough game, it could have suffered from "one hit wonder"-ism like Evil Dead : Fistful of Boomstick. Thankfully this game does neither. It doesn't suck, and it's not a "one hit" wonder.
Solid gameplay, lots to do and lots of extras to keep you pounding away at the bad guys over and over again makes this a game you should definitely put into your permanent collection!
A MARVEL comic game worthy of both your time, and effort, in owning.

What's Not? - I can't think of much. Yes, no mapping option and no lock-on is abit daunting, and makes you work harder to play... but considering how great the gameplay is a little extra effort isn't such a bad thing in my book, especially since the game is well worth that effort!

Moments to Remember? - Not based on the latest movie, but on the comics, the game becomes that much better since it draws on the MARVEL Universe for characters and baddies. Not restrained to the limited movie constraints we have great appearances by quite a few of MARVEL characters! Cool!

What to Ignore? - Hmmm... thinking.... Can't think of much. It's just too good.

Overal1? - If you have not been entirely enthralled with the MARVEL Comics video games of late (with the exception of the Spider-Man games) then you'll become a true believer when you play The Punisher.
Solid gameplay, solid action, solid music, solid everything makes this a game worth owning.
Be you a shooter fan, a MARVEL fan, a Punisher fan, or just looking for a good action game worth sinking your knives into this is the game for you.

Lots of people are raving about it, and after playing it I can see why.