There are plenty of video game studios out there, but there are very few that “get it.” High Moon Studios on the other hand has more than proven their Geek cred, especially after the Transformers game franchise. After rumblings of High Moon Studios working on a Deadpool video game, it seemed like a match made in heaven. But how do they go about translating a Marvel character that’s so self aware into a video game?
Is this the Deadpool we all know (and some even love) from the comics?
Score: 8.0
A very short answer the latter question would be a resounding “Yes”, this is most certainly Deadpool, the hyper-aware Merc with a Mouth given his own franchise.
What catches you pants-down in Deadpool is the humor. While it may be a tad crude for my tastes, I couldn’t help but smile and often laugh out loud.
Gameplay
At it’s core, Deadpool is a Hack n’ Slash adventure title. For those not familiar with this genre, it breaks down like this: Third person view point, insert endless amount of baddies, then Hack n’ Slash ’em. For each baddie you kill, you gain points that you can later exchange for upgrades. With a little humor interjected, the upgrades flavor text takes on a life of its own. While the combat was entertaining, it does feel a bit repetitive. While this is nothing new to the genre, what Deadpool does bring is the humor. Mix that with the constant mayhem that surrounds you and you have a very nice contrast. While there are certainly a grip ton of one liners, there are also various over the top scenarios that really make you giggle.
The only other critic in terms of gameplay was the levers… oh those flipping levers. I’ve just recently came off of playing Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and it seems to be a bit of a High Moon staple to have levers. While I understand that they are a game mechanic, at times it felt a little removed or simply added in to give you a goal. They certainly didn’t ruin the title, just didn’t offer anything exciting. The gameplay also features both sword and gun play, which was a nice mechanic that helped keep the game flowing. My personal favorite scene still goes to the Sentinel boot scene. Not to spoil the fun, but there is some crazy action that left me giggling the whole time. The only other thing that felt odd at times was the platformer mechanics, it reminded me of Kingdom Hearts in which you are given a double jump but seldom are required to use it to reach most areas.
Graphics
While the graphics certainly looked nice enough, often the camera was pulled so far back that you didn’t get to see much detail. Do be prepared for a large amount of Sewer industrial look, as most of the backgrounds seem to fit this very motif. Later on in the title you are shown some other areas, Genosha to be one example, that give you some plant life and other trinkets to look at. The characters themselves looked great. All sporting curious incarnations of the characters from your the comics. My personal favorite would be Cable . One of the highlights was seeing all the different characters from the comics. A couple of them even receive a comical theme song.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WCcRRs3s6c[/youtube]
Sound
This is where the game really brings it, featuring wonderfull Voice Acting that really makes the game feel alive. There are plenty of funny quips exchanged throughout the game, it was clear how much HighMoon understood the Marvel Universe. Not only are we graced the appearance of Cable, but we also get some Wolverine, Psylocke, and Rouge. All of which are given a very nice introduction that usually includes some music. The SFX were also pretty solid adding to the over the top action that’s present.
Overall: 8.0
While it’s certainly not the greatest Hack N’ Slash that I’ve played, what this game brings a very entertaining story mixed with a large amount of humor. I see a very large amount of replay value just to unlock all the little extras. If you are a 90’s Marvel nerd, this game is totally for you. Just brace yourself for the vulgar.