May 04, 2004 - Wrath. It makes for good storytelling and great gameplay. When a man's family is slaughtered by the criminal element, wrath may be all he has left, unless he's The Punisher, who also happens to own a kitchen full of heavy weaponry. So what can we expect from THQ's Punisher? Easy! We can expect wrath, heavy weapons, and the application of wrath through the use of heavy weapons. This combination is scientifically classified as "hell yes." The game -- nondescriptly billed as standard third-person action -- feels like a polished Max Payne / Dead to Rights hybrid with tight controls, slick graphics, a lot of technical luster, and more scripted violence than even we thought possible from a licensed title.

In honesty, and despite Volition's impressive track record (Freespace, Red Faction, Summoner, and Descent as a part of Parallax), our spirits were low when we caught the initially foul wind of Punisher. Why? We bore witness to the factually foul Punisher film that sucked more than leeches on the crotch. In the movie, Frank Castle has his entire life ruined by a typically over-the-top John "The Drama Queen" Travolta, whose character we'd rather not recall, let alone credit by mentioning further. After the death of each and every single one of his relatives (both immediate and removed), Frank goes on a reprimanding spree, even becoming so enraged that he offers a cherry popsicle to the first villain he encounters -- the same one technically responsible for the whole ordeal. Yes, it was all kinds of crap. We then expected little more than Enter the Matrix from THQ. Praise be, Volition's actioner is all about the comic, with the potential for a few obscure movie tie-ins. Rest comforted, there will be no real basis off the film. As we've established, the comic and the game are all about wrath and guns. The only popsicle reprimanding in this one comes three seconds before a villain flies feet first into a wood chipper.

Though based on heavily modified Red Faction 2 code, Punisher will not incorporate the ballyhooed Geo-Mod technology, which allowed Volition's RF series to boast half working destructible environments. What Punisher will do in place of a swiss cheese wall is offer up a more solidly performing title with the inclusion of Havok powered physics and cleaner graphics.

Havok realistically recreates tumbling barrels and vicious, ragdoll death animations. Moreover, dismemberment, blood spurts, blood stains, and bullet dances will also play major parts in the visual component of the game, lending an air of uncontrollable ruthlessness to the title. Though our initial play was relatively short (some two sub-levels worth of murdering goodness), Punisher empowered us. It offers up a nearly unquantifiable feel -- the one you figure the Terminator must have when he thunders into a bar shotguns blazing. However hard it may be to properly sum up this "feel" in such a purposefully concise article, we'll do our best to offer up some impressions and reasons why this particular game seems on track to do so right what so many others do so terribly wrong.

Obviously level design plays an important role in playing the part and doing the deed. A linear trip through a bar, some cordoned off city streets, and a zoo may sound like typical shooter fare, sans the obligatory warehouse we were not exposed to, but Punisher manages to enliven these overused locales by subtly and not so subtly incorporating interactive deathtraps for the enemy, not the player. Since simply running and gunning eventually tires, and since story development has always been a driving factor behind Volition titles, Frank Castle can opt to interrogate any enemy at any time. Most interrogations are superfluous, but may provide Frank with access to secret areas, extra ammo and armor. When not superfluous, a little skull appears above the head of an intended captive. These mission critical blokes can be "coerced" with a vicious form of precise persuasion. When Castle grabs an enemy and initiates an interrogation, several options are presented to the player: quick kills end the dialogue with a pinch and a bullet, but more tactful maneuvers like punches to the face are also available. We found the level of interactivity associated with these violent acts oh so refreshing and sadistically satisfying. By carefully manipulating the right analog stick, it's possible to feign punches to the face or bullets to the head. Pulling it all the way back and slamming it all the way forward ends a conversation...rather abruptly.

For context sensitive situations, parts of the environment will illuminate with a skull identifier similar to what's applied to the heads of baddies. Moving hostages to the these areas and initiating an interrogation forgoes the choice of fists, guns and knives and instead plays off that specific environmental object, be it a wood chipper, sacrificial alter, or pool of piranhas. Context sensitive interrogations end very badly.

Miraculously, the control system and hostage taking component of Punisher is not brutal. Dead to Rights arrived plagued by a horrendous camera and an inability to quickly ascertain the position of enemies and acquire human shields, among other things. Punisher seems immune to such problems. Any enemy can be grabbed at any time, from any angle, and is immediately thrust into the shield position. Likewise, with a more Max Payne flavored camera swing, it's possible to freely look about the surroundings and determine just who's killing your ass dead and from where. Detrimentally, in certain indoor situations the camera pulls too close to Frank and makes it a bit difficult to see. Don't fret, seeing isn't as important as it sounds, especially since it's possible to wield two of most weapons at anytime. Walking through a zoo pumping shotguns in each hand is a thrill. And if bullets don't cut it, crouch-walking, shoot-dodging, diving, and literally throwing enemies across the screen are possible solutions to any problem Mr. Castle may encounter.

Right now Punisher looks solid. If Havok can be properly and consistently implemented into much of the base game, it should help Volition develop a more invigorating experience than the typical shooter can offer. Physics, violence, interrogations and precise controls make Punisher one to look out for. Throw it on your watched list if you'd like updated to arrive as they happen.