With the continued popularity of
downloadable-only games for Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network we’re bound to
see more games like The Punisher: No Mercy. Designed exclusively for PSN and
utilizing the mega popular Unreal Engine it seemed like a no-brainer that this
Punisher game would be great. Well, aspirations of greatness just don’t cut it
since we the gamers still have to play the game. Even if we’re only paying
10-to-15 dollars we should still expect good gameplay, regardless of the
delivery method.
The premise of the game is all about
offering a multiplayer experience. Single player has all of the same maps/stages
as the multiplayer game, with you facing off against AI-controlled bots instead.
There is an actual storyline for the single-player mode, told with comic-book
themed panels, but only hardcore Punisher fans will probably understand the
story. Honestly I didn’t understand the story as it involved something to do
with The Punisher taking out some bad guys for some reason, only to then run
into other “Punishers” later in the story. Each single-player level is based
around specific goals you need to complete such as taking out “X” number of
enemies within a specific time. Since everything in the single-player gamer is
the same as multiplayer you can easily just skip single player.
Unfortunately the multiplayer
experience still doesn’t offer anything really new or exciting that we haven’t
played in other first-person shooters. You get the standard modes you expect
such Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and four additional modes. What you don’t get
is gameplay that feels very tight and accurate. The game seems to have a hard
time struggling to register damage properly. Sometimes you can walk right up to
a guy and unload on him for several seconds before he goes down. Then the next
time you might only hit him once, and it wasn’t a headshot, and the guy goes
down immediately. Maybe the aiming mechanics were off, which would make it seem
if the damage was being manipulated.
The graphics were another misstep
since visually the game would appear to be a solid-looking title. Yet seeing the
game in action you start to notice how repetitive and canned the animation was
in the game. The game showed the PhysX logo by NVIDIA at the title screen but I
never noticed anything that I could say as passing for real-time physics. The
textures of the characters in the game would go from hyper-detailed to low-level
PS2 style quickly, even during the character selection screens. The framerate
felt solid during most of the game with only a few hiccups that I noticed.
The one interesting part of No Mercy
was the upgrade system implemented. Some of the items you unlock are upgrades
that you can make to your character before the match or during the match, when
you’re respawning. There are two types of MODS, active and passive, with active
requiring you to activate with a button press, while the passive mods are always
turned on. The mods range from weapon upgrades, invisibility to motion sensing.
The majority of the extra weapons and items you can use in the game are unlocked
as you keep playing. This includes additional characters from the Punisher
comics to an assortment of 15 weapons along with additional levels and trophies.
If you’re an item-collecting or achievement junkie there might be just enough to
keep you coming back to this game.
In the end The Punisher: No Mercy
feels and plays like just an average game that might have been released a few
years ago. The FPS genre is crowded with so many special and spectacular titles
that even a small downloadable game like this one has a hard time competing. The
game just seems to lack that overall final wax job that makes other games shine.
But if you’re looking for a game to provide some quick and easy FPS action in
small amounts then you probably won’t be disappointed.
Gameplay: 5.5
Nothing terribly exciting that hasn’t already been done before in other games.
While the controls are Ok at times something just doesn’t seem right with the
balancing of the game.
Graphics: 5.5
Total mixed bag of almost high-end visuals we’re used to seeing with the Unreal
Engine and low resolution pop-in with some textures.
Sound: 6.0
You get the typical deep-voiced announcer calling the action of the matches that
has been a standard of FPS games forever now. Voice acting during the comic-book
scenes was good but still nothing to get excited about.
Concept: 5.0
Nothing new or groundbreaking, just a shooter that feels like it should have
been released years ago.
Multiplayer: 6.0
In my opinion multiplayer is the only way to go with this game. Everything is
tailored around online from single player to even the co-op section in single
player. But good luck finding players, I ran into issues finding games with more
than one or two additional players. Thankfully the game limits the multiplayer
to eight players so you shouldn’t be waiting forever for a match to start.
Difficulty: Medium
It’s a shooter so you’re going to run into those games were someone has played
the same map a thousand times and can fire off a million headshots in a row.
Overall: 5.7
At the end of day gaming is all about having fun. If you’re looking for a
simple, mindless shooter to spend a few minutes of your time, then No Mercy can
fit the bill. But if you’re looking for a game that will keep you coming back
for more and more then you should look elsewhere.
