Given just how many awful, insulting and over priced comic book based games have come out (and continue to), it’s hard to be anything but harsh when it comes to critiquing a video game based on a famous comic book character. Especially if said comic book character is one of your all time favorites (after the Silver Surfer and Deadpool…and Teddy Ruckspin).

Punisher: No Mercy is a PSN exclusive online multiplayer shooter developed by Zen Studios. The $10 pricetag should clue you in that this is not a major AAA release, but rather a cheap way to have some fun running around The Punisher’s little corner of the Marvel Universe…by killing anything that moves.

This online shooter sports 8 unique levels, a boat load of unlockable gear and weapons, plus a large number of the characters from the comics to play as. There is a Story campaign, but you’ll be able to play through the whole thing in less than an hour. The enemy AI are totally brainless and can be gunned down with ease. The four single player levels start and end with some gritty looking hand drawn comics that aren’t really fleshed out enough to contribute much in terms of story, but they do look very Punisher, and I dug them.

The only reason to really even bother playing the single player campaign is to unlock all of the playable characters, gear and weapons. You can also unlock a skirmish mode to get some more single player action going, but why bother? In no way shape or form is the single player experience a stepping stone towards moving online. There is online co-op, but considering how stupid the AI is, co-op is just boring plain and simple.

The competitive side of the game is all based around your typical deathmatch archetype. The levels themselves are actually pretty well done, with lots of side/hidden passages and sniping positions. There just is not any real variety as far as objectives go, so some of the better parts of the levels don’t get the use they should. The maps support up to 8 (which is small even for a $10 shooter) players, but the matches end way too quickly.

I have heard lots of grumbles about lag, but have not experienced it much personally except for one occasion. What I have noticed is lots of dropped players. When the host gets booted, everyone is thrown back out to the title screen, and this happens more than it really should, hurting the experience pretty noticeably considering this is meant to be an online shooter.

The upgrade system is a nice touch. Slaughter your foes and grab power-ups found around the map to level up your weapons and make them more deadly and accurate. Keep in mind that upgrades disappear whenever you die. You can unlock some permanent ones by investing a bit of time. Rack up enough kills online and you can get your hands on stronger weapons and mods that give you special abilities. You can only use two mods at a time (one passive, one active). What sucks is that the requirements to unlock the good stuff is so insanely high few players are even bothering.

As a diehard fan, I am enjoying the game, if only because I have nowhere else to turn for a Punisher fix right now. It’s not that great, but it is brutally violent and it does feel like a Punisher game.

Now a word from MightyMutt:

I am not sure if my frozen friend and I are the best, or the worst, people to be reviewing this game – as we are both by our own admission, complete and utter Punisher fanboys. As such I took the very rare decision to buy this game without even playing a demo and had pretty much made my mind up to like it before I had even played the game. That said I found it to be good value for money and a good, if not great, game.

However, that is not the case and I will have to get my Frank Castle fix from this small but very affordable bit sized chunk. You are not really going to get your full money’s worth without playing online – where, for the next few weeks at least, you might find me running around as Jigsaw – well, someone has to Punish the Punisher.

Source: The Punisher – No Mercy

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