Could those crappy Canadian crooners the Barenaked Ladies be right? Has it truly all been done? Playing The Punisher, it would seem that way. How else would a third-person gore-fest filled with gritty death scenes, dry/witty dialogue, and more shells than a beach fail to really excite me? This game hits all the hot spots, but still ends up relatively lukewarm. That doesn't mean you shouldn't play it, but you definitely shouldn't be dying to check it out.

In the comic world, Frank Castle was a breath of fresh air. He didn't have a stupid costume or an outrageous power; he was just a pissed-off dude who was good at killing people. Unfortunately, in 2005, those types of guys are a dime a dozen in the video-game world. Because of that, The Punisher comes off as a ripoff of Max Payne or Dead to Rights, where dual-wielding, diving, and human-shield taking are all the norm. Of course, we all know who really came first.

Pun: Kills Thugs Dead

I'm not going to say the action is unsatisfying, no matter how many times you smash my head against the sidewalk. Firefights are cool, with plenty of weapons, cover, and targets. I enjoy tallying headshots with the zoom-aim function, or tossing a grenade into a crowded room and watching them scatter in a futile attempt to escape the blast radius. With the corner-filled gameplay, you may want to cold-cock the camera, but it's not overly offensive.


Grabbing enemies is the key to experiencing Punisher's more refined elements. I mentioned human shields above, but you can also quick-kill a guy or toss him through a door. If you want to milk him for some information, try an interrogation. Here, you pick one of several torturous acts and try to get the guy to crack -- as opposed to cracking him open and spilling goo all over the place. Save that for after you get your info. This is done through a neat analog control move where you try to keep a meter in the target area for a few seconds. Then they'll tell you anything you want to know -- especially those who have a white skull icon above their heads.

Hot spots exist in the levels that take things a step further. It's much more fun to dangle a guy from the top of a three-story building than just choke him. The woodchipper is another intimidation favorite. After you get the dish from the dude, kill him anyway so you can see these sadistic scenes. There are also hot-spot kill zones that do the same thing instantly. It's worth grabbing a foe and dragging him to the locations to see all 100 or so that are scattered throughout the game. Their wow-factor is sure to make them the most popular part of the game. You can also use the environment against your enemies, a la GoldenEye: Rogue Agent; for example, you drop a car on top of some thugs in the chop shop level.