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Punisher, The

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.4 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 7 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Volition

Genre(s): Third-Person Action, Shooter

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: January 17, 2005

Summary

Driven by a hatred of crime bordering on insanity, Frank Castle became The Punisher, a one-man army whose mission goes far beyond revenge. Taking on the city's high-powered crime lords, he wreaks havoc on the corrupt with methods reserved for those on the wrong side of the law. "The Punisher" video game represents the best of over 30 years of "Punisher" comic books and depicts some of the grittiest storylines in the Marvel Universe. [THQ]

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What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Maxim Online

It's not all brutality. The Punisher is also one of the most immersive strategy games ever created. Aim for the head and enjoy.

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ActionTrip

Mediocre in many ways, with very little in the way of originality or true substance and with far too linear game play.

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Game Chronicles

While the game was awesome, the PC port was less then stellar. The censorship is another area while I was less then pleased.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

If you’re a fan of The Punisher, Max Payne or good old violence in general (and let’s face it – that list covers pretty much the majority of games players), there’s a good chance you’ll get a kick out of what’s on offer here.

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Game Over Online

Technical merits aside, there are a couple of hiccups that complicate the game. The first, and perhaps greatest issue, is why the hell are the deaths censored as much as they are in this game?

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IGN

A blast to play. Yes, there are many moments where it starts to get monotonous, but then you suddenly hit a new interrogation zone and suddenly it's a bloody fiesta.

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IC-Games

The special interrogation is one of the nicest touches in the game.

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My Gamer

Overall, while The Punisher is not a nice game—it’s bloody, violent and certainly not for the kids—and it’s not exceptionally designed, as licenses go, it’s one of the best.

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Inside Gamer Online

If you are squeamish at all steer clear of this game completely, otherwise you may find yourself smiling with glee as you lower a drill bit into some unlucky sap’s temple.

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PC Gamer

The biggest problem with The Punisher, however, is its uninspired gameplay... You'll spend most of your time running and gunning, and after a while it all becomes rather tedious. [Apr 2005, p.72]

GameZone

Feels empty at its core, with no puzzle solving, crime detection, or strategy of any kind. The Punisher is one of those games you want to play when you just want to go buck wild.

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GameSpot

While it attempts to put its own spin on the third-person shooter genre by adding sometimes-gruesome interrogation sequences, this game is, more or less, "Max Payne" without the bullet time.

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2404.org

It isn’t a complete waste of money, although it may be a complete waste of time. The Punisher feels very old in gameplay and in graphics, and it definitely won’t find a permanent place on anyone’s hard drive.

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Sydney Morning Herald

Dark, violent and derivative, but nowhere near as flawed as the movie.

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BonusStage

I did like playing the game for the extra modes outside of the normal story mode, since they actually offered up some killer objectives and nice gameplay.

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AceGamez

Unless you love poorly done, "edgy" scenes of death, or you really, really like shooting things, The Punisher is a let down in almost every aspect and is easily buried by the quality of similar titles like "Red Dead Revolver."

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Edge Magazine

Once you’ve wiped away the layer of gore, you’re left with an experience that, expectedly, offers limited entertainment. [March 2005, p.85]

PC Format

Quickly repetitive actin, with ultra-violence that soon becomes mundane. [March 2005, p.100]

Play Magazine

The game, like the movie it was also inspired by, has failed to properly tap into the vivid, dark energy of the comic book. [Feb 2005, p.62]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Grez gave it a7:
Overall, this is an entertaining game. The graphics are somewhat lacking, and the animations are a bit rigid, but much of this can be attributed to the fact the the game utilizes DirectX 8.1 instead of 9. This is the sort of thing that happens with console ports, as games come from a console system with inferior graphics, so there's not the effort involved in creating jaw-dropping visuals like those seen in Half-Life 2. Still, the gameplay is fun, if a bit repetitive, and I have to admit that I smiled with evil glee when I got the chance to do a "special" interrogation (slamming a bad guy's head in a piano, anyone?) or a unique kill. The Punisher is extremely violent, and definitely not for kids under 17, but for those who grew up with the comic book and can get past the gore factor, it is a solid game, even if it's not perfect.

Luke gave it an8:
I really enjoyed this game. I played the demo, and enjoyed it enough to get the full game, and was pleasantly suprised just how much fun i had with it. The graphics are not WOW worthy, especially in light of games like DOOM3 and Halflife2, but they are more than serviceable and occasionally include some nice touches. Character models are fairly decent aswell, with a special mention being the Punisher himself, he looks absolutely perfect. The action is really what it is all about and the game is very good in the multitude of ways it gives you to dispatch of enemies - U will not be left wanting for variety thats for sure. The story isnt too bad aswell and kept me intrigued enough. Sound is decent, with Thomas Jane providing the punishers voice adding that extra feeling of authenticity. The game has boss fights in it which generally werent highlights, but one in particular [recreating the battle between castle and the russian from the movie] is very well done. Gameplay wise the game is like max payne without bullet time, as the reviewers say. But, i enjoyed this game far more than the max payne franchise, i liked the punisher character more and thought the game offered more variety in it then payne. overall, i was decently impressed with what i thought would be a shoddy licenced game. well done Volition.

Mat P. gave it an8:
I loved Max Payne, and this game is pretty damn similar (with elements of Manhunt and The Getaway), even down to using the Havok engine. Any sequal would need to focus on hand to hand combat, and utlising the scenery more, to distance itself from Max payne. Solid game.

Lex Luthor gave it a9:
It may not be the best shooter but it really makes you feel like the punisher.

Dan S. gave it a9:
If you love the comic you will LOVE this game.

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Punisher, The

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

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