Product Reviews

After two appalling films, it was Frank Castle who was getting all the punishment. With this new game, however, Castle finally gets his revenge. You take control of The Punisher that comic book fans know and love.

The game has the same lush graphics as the Xbox version. The aim is to hunt down increasingly tougher opponents. This is different to the usual shoot-'em-up affair, though, because you have a range of actions available beyond simply firing guns. In the Punishment mode, where you're pretty much invulnerable, you have to get in close to kill with knives and throws.

In the standard mode, there's the

Certain bad guys have skulls floating above their heads and these are the ones to go for, as they can give you important information. A successful interrogation involves precision mouse movements to break their will; go too far, and you'll kill them. It's easy enough to get the hang of, but it's hard to tell where the break point is and it's all too simple to kill your opponents.

The control system is fairly good for a console conversion, too. The third-person camera stays behind Castle as you move him around, using the keyboard for motion and the mouse to aim. There's also a fine aim key so you can zoom in for those all-important head shots.

Weapons and reloading times are fairly realistic, which means you can't storm into a room full of bad guys with a shotgun and hope to get out alive. It's fun to play and, although the levels get a bit samey after a while, it should keep the most hardened of gamers busy for hours.