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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, April 8, 2005

MY VIEW
Games: 'The Punisher'

By Jeremy Castillo
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict:

THE RATINGS

5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have.

4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely play it.

3 — Good: Worth playing despite some flaws.

2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the license or series, don't bother.

1 — Poor: You'd have more fun playing Pong.

Game: "The Punisher"

Console: PlayStation 2 (also available for Xbox, PC)

Developer/publisher: Volition/THQ

Genre: Action

Number of players: 1

ESRB: Mature, for blood and gore, drug reference and intense violence

Premise: After his family is brutally murdered in a mob hit, Frank Castle sets out for revenge. Under the nickname "The Punisher," you go on a three-week crime-fighting spree, which is relived by flashbacks in a police interrogation room.

Game play: THQ took basic elements of many shooting games and focused on brutal violence. There's a bevy of firearms at your disposal, and efficient murdering by fast gunshots to the head, explosives shoved into enemies' mouths and stabbings to the throat or forehead. If that isn't enough for you, there is also "Slaughter Mode," where you kill off adversaries by throwing knives with amazing accuracy and which plays a lot like the "Bullet Time" feature in the lame Max Payne series.

You also have the option of interrogating foes or using them as human shields. Interrogations are key to finding out important information about completing the level, and there are multiple tactics to elicit that information: punching, choking, face smashing, holding a gun to your opponent's head and, if you're in the correct position, the use of interesting hardware such as piranha tanks, drill presses, wood chippers, even an angry rhinoceros. Fun!

Killing enemies with style and speed will rack up points, and the longer your streak of kills without being shot, the better. After completing each level, you are given medals according to your score. The medals unlock special challenges for you to go back and complete, but there's no reason to other than for fun's sake. You also get to unlock a trove of concept art and comic book covers from the Marvel archive.

The good/bad: Sometimes the camera moves behind a giant crate or the window sill you're standing near, blocking your view of the action onscreen. Also, the dialogue is so ham-handed, you can't help but laugh — not something you want to do in the middle of wasting lowlifes.

Parents will want to keep their kids far away from this game. Although there's an option to turn off the blood, there's still more violence and profanity than most parents would consider appropriate.

Tips: Killing opponents after getting information will lower your combo score. Also, save interrogations for the criminals with important information. Interrogating everyone wastes time and leaves you wide open to enemy fire.

My take: "The Punisher" is one of the more fun games to come out in a while, especially with the brutality adding in a guilty-pleasure element. Scarce replay value may be a deterrent to a purchase, however.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College who also reviews music CDs. See his review of Lindsay Lohan's release, "Speak," on Page 21.

• • •

UPCOMING VIDEO GAME RELEASES
Dates are tentative.

Playstation 2

  • April 11: "Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition"
  • April 12: "Virtual Pool Tournament"; "Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay"
  • April 15: "Digimon World 4"
  • April 19: "Ford Mustang Racing"; "Stolen"; "Psychonauts"
  • April 25: "Area 51"
  • April 26: "Motocross Mania 3"; "Predator: Concrete Jungle"; "Stella Deus"; "Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2"

Xbox

  • April 11: "Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition with Bonus!"
  • April 12: "Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition"; "Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay," "Jade Empire Limited Edition"
  • April 14: "Still Life"
  • April 18: "Star Wars Sith vs Jedi 2PK"; "Close Combat: First to Fight"; "Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict"; "WWE WrestleMania 21 with Bonus!"
  • April 19: "Ford Mustang Racing"; "Stolen"; "Psychonauts"
  • April 25: "Area 51"
  • April 26: "Motorcross Mania III"; "Predator: Concrete Jungle"

Gamecube

  • April 15: "Digimon 4"

Gameboy Advance

  • April 12: "Killer 3D Pool"; "Scrabble Blast"; "Pac-Man Pinball Advance"
  • April 15: "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Advance"
  • April 30: "Pokémon Emerald"

Nintendo DS

  • April 14: "World Championship Poker"
  • April 18: "Polarium"
  • April 26: "Pac-Pix"; "Puyo Pop Fever"

Sony PSP

  • April 12: "Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition"; "MLB"
  • April 19: "Smartbomb"; "ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails"
  • April 25: "NBA Street Showdown"; "FIFA Soccer"; "MVP Baseball"

List provided by Toys n' Joys, with shops in Kaimuki (735-4546) and Westridge Shopping Center (487-8697) in Pearlridge. See www.toysnjoys.com.