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Little Men With Big Guns. That’s All You Are

Frank Castle isn’t the easiest character to get right. As the Punisher, he’s one of the more famous anti-heroes in comic book history, but it’s often hard to find that balance between his stoic demeanor and violent tendencies, while still being the good guy we root for. He doesn’t have the best or worst history in video games, with most people pointing to the 1993 beat ‘em up as a highlight until this 2005 game arrived. For many, it’s an underrated gem, one of the best comic adaptations we’ve received, or just a better version of that movie from the previous year, but it’s hard not to see this as a love letter to a certain version of the character and his brutality.  

Thomas Jane portrayed Castle in a 2004 film and would return to voice the character in the game, a title that was originally set to be released closer to the movie. Mucky Foot Productions was originally handling it, but THQ canceled that deal and decided to develop the game themselves, giving it to Volition (Saint’s Row, Red Faction). Seeing the movie isn’t necessary to enjoy the game, though a trailer for the film is in the bonus features and there are some characters and plot points that do crossover. The story for this adventure seems simple enough at first, Frank doing what he does best until he realizes someone is messing with him, but there is also a framework narrative that shows all of these incidents are connected as Punisher is interrogated by two detectives, leading up to the explosive final battle. This strange Elseworlds-like tale mixes in several elements from the comics of the time as well, mostly in stories written by Garth Ennis, like Welcome Back Frank, so it’s no surprise that he and Jimmy Palmiotti helped work on crafting the game’s script. Many fans consider this iteration of Castle one of the best, a solid screenshot of how the character was represented at the time.

The game also acknowledged the larger Marvel universe in a pre-MCU environment. Mainstay Punisher villains like Bushwacker, Bullseye, and Kingpin, while era-specific centerpieces such as The Russian and Ma Gnucci play roles in the story as well. There are also allies, like Black Widow, Iron Man, and Nick Fury (reuniting from their time with the beat ‘em up), a couple of which we get to fight alongside, and we have to appreciate the brief Matt Murdock cameo. Follow those guest appearances up with numerous references to other characters, storylines, and even a few things that break the fourth wall. My favorite has to be the car that tries to run Castle over near the beginning with a license plate that reads ASM 129, for Amazing Spider-Man #129, the first appearance of the Punisher character. There are also comic book covers, newspaper clippings, and certain events that trigger artwork from the comics to pop up as Frank’s flashbacks, so there is a lot here for longtime fans.

Death is a Mercy

The Punisher is a third-person shooter, chock-full of guns, explosives, flamethrowers, and numerous environmental items that can be used to end a life. There are countless unnamed henchmen, mafia members, and other terrorist types to fill with holes, all by just pointing, aiming, and holding down the trigger. Castle may Quick Kill enemies, turn them into excellent human shields, or throw them for hilarious effect in most cases. He can also interrogate his victims for health and useful information, but when tactics fail, simply pick up two weapons and dual-wield the carnage or break out Slaughter Mode for the stickiest of situations. My only real complaints are that ducking and dodging attacks can be frustrating, so a more dedicated cover system might have helped, and a couple of these boss fights can be a drag.

It’s simple gameplay with the interrogation and environments to keep things interesting. The game is incredibly linear, with a handful of stages that offer slightly alternate paths and a few objectives, but the 16 missions are quite varied, sending Frank to numerous intriguing locations with few repeats. The levels are well-designed with a lot of clutter and other details, as well as destructible elements. Frank’s outfits also change with most missions and his character model looks remarkable, even though we can’t say that for all of the animations.

Most stages have some big set-piece kills and climatic moments, like that first fight with The Russian, or the event most people remember the funeral massacre. It’s so damn sweet. Sometimes, simple and linear can be amazingly entertaining and make for a perfectly enjoyable game, even if it is repetitive and has a frustrating level or two. The replay value is through the roof and there are a few fun codes and unlockable upgrades to help with this. It’s hard not to compare this game to the Max Payne series, but that’s also a compliment.

All This Blood

There’s an excellence in the brutality.

This game thrives on its dark tones and violence, it’s okay to call it a little edgy. Punisher is dealing out astounding rates of deaths per second, but he is a hero and there are still dire consequences for shooting innocents or being too forceful with those interrogations. Most players won’t care about the negative to their scores, but the game attempts to show that there are consequences to reveling in the massacre. Some of these scenes are referred to as torture, and it’s an experience where the player can feed an enemy to a wood chipper, sacrifice someone on an altar, drop a stooge into a trash compactor, or use wild animals to help in executions. One of my favorite more subtle kills is dipping the guy’s head in chrome so he looks like Destro from G.I. Joe. 

We’re committing this slaughter to some excellent almost operatic music (some great licensed tracks in the credits as well), and killing Gnucci goons has always felt therapeutic for me, but with all of this extreme violence, it’s no surprise that the first version of the game was threatened with an Adults Only rating. This resulted in a ton of censorship: diminished blood, cut frames, altered camera angles, and the worst murders being put in black and white. Many other countries also required additional changes for the game to be sold and some places wouldn’t allow it at all.

Punisher’s violence isn’t just a part of his character, in this game, it is almost its own entity. The escalation of this and how almost campy it becomes is close to breaking the fourth wall, letting us know that this type of sadism isn’t meant to be taken seriously. The scale and absurdity of these situations are constantly being escalated, because as many reviewers pointed out, the murder and torture don’t act as dark fantasy, but more a pleasant release. In that, the censorship actually hurts the game more, making us think that there’s a reason we shouldn’t see the ridiculousness, and it interrupts the tone and flow.

The game almost has a conversation about the need for violent reactions versus its use in media, but the alterations to bring its rating back down just showed that not everyone was ready for that. The talk that does keep coming up is about whether or not violent video games affect players negatively, which is often refuted by studies and other evidence, but The Punisher may be an excellent example of handling extreme violence and gore well, having an almost arcade-like and comic book appropriate feel, so there’s never any question that this is a game meant for entertainment.  

Lead, It Does a Body Good

There was going to be a sequel, which is spelled out in many ways by the end scene with Kingpin. Rough concept art for some of the early ideas was also shown off. It seems like this follow-up didn’t make it far into development for multiple reasons, even though the first game sold well and was profitable for all companies involved.

Many fans have been begging for a remaster of the game, but the combination of license issues with multiple layers and the controversy surrounding the violence means that it most likely won’t happen. No matter how cartoony some may think the gore is by today’s standards, there’s just a good chance that companies wouldn’t want to touch it. There are some people who have taken up the task on their own, however, creating some wonderful mods for the PC version. That’s just one of the many signs pointing to how much of a cult following this game still has, even though it is becoming increasingly harder to play. Castle doesn’t seem like the type to stick around any one place too long, so perhaps this is just appropriate, but it’s a shame that twenty years later the Punisher hasn’t had another game like this. A lot of people like me are just waiting to welcome Frank back with this kind of adventure, just one more time.

Did you play The Punisher game? If so, which versions and which one was your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

8Bit/Digi is an independent news outlet that provides insight into the video game and fandom community of the San Francisco Bay Area.