The Punisher (2004) (VG)

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Writers:

Mike Breault (writer)
Garth Ennis (characters)

Release Date:

30 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Plot:

Enter the mind of The Punisher, a vigilante driven by more than just revenge. Terrorize criminals using their own ruthless methods...

Plot Keywords:

The Punisher | Punishment | Ruthless | Helicopter | Restroom

Cast

Thomas Jane	...	Frank Castle / The Punisher (voice)
Bob Joles	...	(voice)
Darryl Kurylo	...	Jigsaw (voice)
David Sobolov	...	Kingpin (voice)
Dwight Schultz	...	(voice)
Fred Tatasciore	...	(voice)
James Arnold Taylor	...	(voice)
John Cygan	...	(voice)
S. Scott Bullock	...	(voice)
Steve Blum	...	Bullseye / Matt Murdock (voice) (as Steven Jay Blum)
Charlie Schlatter	...	(voice)
Chris Edgerly	...	Yakuza / Russian Thug (voice)
Daniel Hagen	...	(voice) (as Dan Hagen)
J. Grant Albrecht	...	(voice) (as Grant Albrecht)
James Horan	...	(voice)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

USA:AO (original rating) | USA:M (edited for re-rating) | France:-18 | Argentina:M | Norway:18 | Sweden:18 | Germany:(Banned) | Finland:K-18 | Australia:Refused Classification (original rating) | Australia:MA (re-rating) | UK:18

Company:

Volition Inc.

Trivia:

A useful game exploit can be found on the 'Funeral Home' level. If the player stands near to the door in the attic section, it is possible to shoot enemies in the back as the enter. They will spawn endlessly allowing the player to accumulate vast scores thanks to the multiplier system which exponentially increases your points during a particularly long kill streak. It is not uncommon for someone to amass hundreds of thousands of points in a single sitting by exploiting this feature.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A desert eagle hold either 7 (50. cal AE) or 8 rounds (44. mag). Not 6.

Quotes:

Frank Castle: [During the opening movie before the Crackhouse] New York City. Forget the things you've heard about the place. About the "New" New York. Hell's Kitchen is called Clinton. Park... Full of tourists. But it's not real. The old New York is waiting just below the surface. There's nothing to help you when the darkness falls...

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

One Way Street

The Punishment begins.

OK we have all seen the movie, we have all read the comic books...now we all can step into the army of one that is Frank Castle AKA The Punisher. And what a punisher he is. The Game gives you a third person view of the carnival of carnage. Between tossing a crack-head out a window and feeding a Merc to a giant anaconda the delightful ways to dispatch an enemy is limitless. And with a vast arsenal of boner stiffing weapons at your disposal you'll spend hours dishing out the pain with dual weapons of your choice. The interrogation modes are priceless, between hovering a baddie above a shark to pulling your own Vinnie Jones by slamming a thug's head in a jeeps car door...my personal fav. The storyline is wonderful pitting you against enemies old and new. The Russian, Ma Gnucci, Bull's-eye...and a handful of superheroes alike...Iron man and Daredevil being a wonderful topping on the bloody sundae. Not to mention the special kills you encounter on various levels, one being sacrificing a poor old mobster on a Indian pillar, to throwing an enemy on a couple of power lines. And the interrogations modes give you something no other game offers...torturing of ones enemies. The white skulls indicate which enemy has something to spill, drag his happy ass over to a meat grinder and he'll give you his grandmother. Need to find extra ammo, why just dangle a baddies head over a piranha tank...after which you can give him a break...or well option b feed him to the piranhas...you know you wanna... so go ahead dunk his head in alllllllllll the way. Another layer of the cake is the environment, you can stab a criminal in the face with a crow bar, you can shoot a speaker loose and have it come tumbling on top of an unsuspecting baddies head, smash a TV over a bastards skull, drop a car on em...and of course toss the bastard off a high rise building. The challenge modes are impossible, from making your way through a level full of trigger happy Yakuzas with out taking damage...which took me eight painful hours and two controllers to do, To dispatching enemies in a section with out them firing one shot...oh that'll keep you in brute rages. But no good game is without its flaws. The enemy AI is that of a blind idiot. The levels are much like old side scrollers.... point A to Point B and try not to get killed. You'll find yourself touting a baddie around as a shield more than running around and enjoying the sights. All the really good killings are painted in a grainy black and white that takes away from the joy of killing. Not only that but your points are taken away if you decide to kill a scumbag after you have interrogated him...thats just wrong. And the one thing I really hate is the lack of hand to hand...sure killing a bunch of losers with shotguns and knifes is fun, but I want to kick a bastard when he's down, I wanna beat his brains into the floor with my fist, and please answer me why are the crowbars and bats and large wrenches a one time use thing, they should let you run around and have all the enemies enjoy a baseball bat to the temple, or a wrench to a spinal column. But nonetheless flaws aside...The Punisher is the big gulp for you blood-lust hounds out there. So gear up, ship out and let your road to punishment begin.