Finally, after abysmal attempts on the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo Entertainment System, THQ stepped up to the plate and cracked a home run with their 2005 incarnation of our favorite anti-hero, Frank Castle...a.k.a. The Punisher.

Thankfully, this game is not an origin story - The Punisher is already an established icon, taking out New York City trash in body bags. When the War Journal begins, we realize that this will be more than just your standard shoot 'em up.

The Punisher's business is killing: and tonight, there's going to be a fire sale.

The controls for the game are surprisingly simple. The shooting controls are (no big surprise here) the L1 and R1 'trigger' buttons. The weapons will automatically reload until they're empty, but there's rarely a shortage of weaponry here. Climbing and crouching buttons are used for the stealth moments of the game, but the true enjoyment comes from the interrogation tactics.

For example: Let's say you wander into a room and you see a character with a white skull over his head. This means that character has information that you can use. By grabbing that character, you have a choice - either quick kill him, or interrogate him. Now, The Punisher's interrogation techniques may not be approved by the Geneva Convention...but they're effective. The four standard interrogations include:

(1) Threatening the character with a gun to their forehead.
(2) Slamming their face into the floor.
(3) Choking the character.
(4) Punching them in the head/stomach.

After a successful interrogation, the toughest foe will give up anything you want to know. But be careful! If you get overzealous, The Punisher may end up killing his prey before they spill their guts. This not only makes certain parts of the game harder, but it causes you to lose points.

There are also hot spots throughout the game for special interrogations or special kills. It's been reported that there are 100 ways to dispatch enemies in this game, and with its replay value, you can try to find them all. For the true sadists, there is a 'Slaughter Mode' that temporarily allows The Punisher to become invulnerable and slice through his enemies like a hot knife through butter.

This game succeeds in several ways:

First and foremost, it's not a Teen rated game...this is rated M, and for good reason. The foul language, body count, and interrogation/torture scenes are most definitely NOT for younger players - THQ makes it very clear that if you step into the world of The Punisher, it's not going to be sugar coated, and the fans of the game (and comic) appreciate that.

Second, the story is extremely well written. It's a combination of the Welcome Back, Frank series as well as The Punisher (Extended Cut) movie starring Thomas Jane, who lent his signature gravelly voice for Frank Castle in the game as well. THQ's development team PERFECTLY intermingled the Punisher's sadistic violence with his dark-humored wit: comic book fans and video game fans, rejoice!

Third, this game has a HUGE replay value. The Punisher can be upgraded with longer Slaughter Mode times, greater ammunition capacities, better body armor, and much more. There are unlockable comic covers. There are special 'Punishment Mode' challenges for the true aficionado. There are cheat codes to allow the more casual player a chance to dabble in punishing without ending up like a piece of Swiss cheese. Plus, there are more comic book cameos than you can shake an AK-47 at.

As far as the drawbacks, there are a few:

First, the Punishment Mode challenges are at polar opposites. Some of them are entirely too easy, while others can frustrate the most dedicated gamer into madness.

Second, the targeting system is a little on the sluggish side, and that makes certain moments (like rescuing hostages or sniping) very difficult and frustrating.

Finally, the score multiplier takes a long time to accumulate and if The Punisher is hit just once, the chain is broken and you have to start over from scratch. This can cause no end of aggravation for players looking to beat their own scores and unlock more extra goodies.

In conclusion, because of the fine scripting, the replay value, and the opportunities for successful sequels, I would highly recommend this game for the Mature audience of video gamers.

"They laugh at the law...but they don't laugh at ME."

This game is awesome. I had it for X-box before I lost it in a fire, and I had to get it back. As a huge Punisher fan, it's a must for anyone out there like me who's always loved the big white skull.

Awesome fact - the "flashbacks" are all from the comic "Punisher:Born" Or at least all I've seen thus far are. Waht a great tie in. If you're interested, the Born collection is availiable on Amazon (where I got it) and it's an awesome read. It's truly where the Punisher is born, in Vietnam as a hardcore, ruthless, but fair Marine Captain. IT really puts what Frank Castle became into perspective.

Gameplay is amazing, but switching from X-box to PS2 format has been tough, as it always is.

The environments are awesome. For those who are thinking about buying it, the interrogations are awesome, but you have to be careful not to push to hard. Look for the white and gold skulls that marks the board. You cna use a wide variety of the environment to interrogate people you grab. Downside - don't kill them in interrogation mode, even the special ones, as cool as the bad guys' endings are, or you lose bonus points that go to much needed upgrades. This is the one thing I don't like about the game - you should kepp or gain points for using special interrogations to kill the bad guys.

When you go around, you cna max points by interrogating, or quick killing everyone. Be sure to get used to using cover and human shields (an awesome part of the game).

I love going through the levels and just flat out playing "Castle" on the bad guys - being merciless and ruthless. After I release a guy that helps me, and he does what he says, I wait until it's over, and then I go back and kill that guy who weazled out of death. Heck, that is what the punisher is, isn't it?

Just be experimental. The more people you interrogate, the more flashbacks you find. Some levels have two or three. And make sure you get those points up for upgrades such as silencer attachments, grenade launcher attachments, body armor, and even kill recovery. Good stuff.

This is a must for any Punisher fan. You actually get to BE the man himself!

ohhh yeah!!!! i love this game. make me feel more play as long way and great weapons more than 5... its worth play game. im sure u will love it. trust me!!!!

I am Cindys son, and as extremely happy as I am with this game, I cannot help but wonder why there are kids playing this. This game is very offensive on many levels. The use of profanity is completely over to top.And by that I mean almost every sentence has the 'F' bomb in it. The violence is excessive(and graphic but FRIGGIN SWEET!!!!), and the first level is a crack house. *Sigh* It's after the fact that all of this builds up the fact that...this game just simply RULES! I loved the movie with Tom Jane, but the one with Dolph Lundgren was better. This game is a massive improvement on the seires, it blows the movies to pieces and shatters the foundation of the comic book based game opinions completely. I highly recommend for anyone over the age of 15.

This game is outstanding. Great story, excellent gameplay, everything the 2004 film wasn't-GRITTY, HARD, FOUL, VIOLENT, WITTY...this game is just great and you cannot beat the price. Do yourself a favor and buy this today.