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The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback!

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The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback!
Cover art
Developer(s)Krome Studios Melbourne
Publisher(s)A«laim[1]
Designer(s)Gregg Barnett
Paul Kidd
Artist(s)Tony G. Pentland
Composer(s)Gavan Anderson
Tania Smith
Platform(s)Game Boy
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback! released in 1991 by Acclaim Entertainment[2] is the Game Boy version of the 1990 NES console game The Punisher[3][4] about the Marvel comics vigilante Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher. It contains several changes from the original. It features cameo appearances of Spider-Man[5] in the first level rescuing hostages and the final boss was switched from Kingpin to Jigsaw.[6]

Plot

Just like the NES version The Punisher's origin has been slightly altered from that of the comic books, in the games he is a former police detective instead of a US Marine.[7] The game follows Frank Castle after the death if his wife and children at the hands of the mafia after which he decided to become a vigilante who hunts down and kills every criminal he believes deserves it.[8]

The game begins with Spider-man telling Punisher that a drug lord is hiding in a mall and that he has to get him. With Frank Castle shooting villains while protecting the innocent. Spider-Man appears between the action to offer advice on how to beat upcoming levels and swings in to rescue hostages once their captors have been shot.

At the end of the game when Jigsaw realises that The Punisher is going to kill him. Castle says, "Penance is good for the soul, but punishment is good for the guilty".[9]

Gameplay

The player controls Frank Castle (the Punisher character) from an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective through various New York City locations, shooting thugs and battling enemies such as Hitman, Colonel Kliegg, Sijo Kanaka, and Assassin as bosses. The final boss is Jigsaw. Power-ups can be obtained by shooting them onscreen and include extra ammunition, a med kit, kevlar, a machine gun, a bazooka and grenades.

Reception

Blair Farrell of Comic Gamers Assemble criticized the game for removing the players ability to move the Punisher across the screen but stated that he understood why it was done considering the size of the screen. He also stated that the game is relatively short as well as difficult and that Spider-mans appearances did not make sense for the character considering that Spider-man would never aid the Punisher in killing his enemies. He finished by stating that the game is overall much inferior to the NES version but that The Ultimate Payback has the advantage of having separate soundtracks for each level.[10]

Other reviewers have criticized the game for having very light players assistance and few health drops but that it is still relatively entertaining.[11] Others have commented on the lack of adherence to the source material, citing few connections to the character in the game to the Frank Castle from the comics.[12]

Russ Waddle of GameFAQs stated that he believed that it is incorrect to characterize a portable game like The Ultimate Payback based on their console counterpart and that the game is an on rails shooters with crosshairs. He also stated that the publishers did a great job translating the game from console to portable. He also commented on the lack of maneuverability but stated that it was understandable due to the limitations of the platform. Waddle also noted that the game is pretty short but that he liked the graphics, saying that they were fairly impressive for the game boy and that the villain Jigsaw was very well rendered. He agreed with the decision to change the villain from the previous game as well.[13]

“People move their mouths and the Punisher even pumps the slide on his shotgun (why he has a shotgun in the cutscenes and never in the game I will never know), which is impressive by Game Boy standards. Spider-Man's mouth area moves really well, although it does give his head a distorted look. That is bad. But otherwise looks like Spidey.”[14]

On the subject of the sound, Waddle stated that he believed that it was excellent for the game boy and impressive as well and that the music track definitely was above that of the NES version, comparing it to Final Fantasy Legend and Link's Awakening. Overall he believed the game would be great for anyone who is a fan of the character and gave it an eight out of ten score.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Punisher [1991]". IGN. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  3. ^ "The Punisher [1991]". IGN. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  4. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback! (Game Boy)". MobyGames. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback! (Game Boy) review". MobyGames. June 7, 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. ^ Rojas, Fred (April 14, 2013). "Review: The Punisher (NES)". Gaming History 101. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  7. ^ "The Punisher". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  8. ^ "The Punisher [1991]". IGN. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Game Endings Guide". GameFAQs. December 18, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  10. ^ Farrell, Blair (July 11, 2014). "REVIEW: THE PUNISHER: THE ULTIMATE PAYBACK! (GAME BOY)". comicgamersassemble.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  11. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback! (Game Boy) review". MobyGames. June 7, 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback review: "Question: How do you define illegal? Answer: A sick bird. The PUNisher strikes again!"". GameFAQs. May 12, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  13. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback review: "The Punisher. Now he can go with you anywhere!"". GameFAQs. August 5, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  14. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback review: "The Punisher. Now he can go with you anywhere!"". GameFAQs. August 5, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  15. ^ "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback review: "The Punisher. Now he can go with you anywhere!"". GameFAQs. August 5, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
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