Today was a very special day. I was finally able to get down to business with the new Deadpool game on PlayStation 3. I’ve heard quite a bit about this game and the trailers were really smart and fun, but the only thing they left out was the actual game. I took this as a warning because this game is coming out relatively soon. The only hope I had was that High Moon Studios was developing the game and luckily for us they did a great job. For the most part.
The level I selected was one of the earlier stages that caused Deadpool to start in the bowels of a sewer. Before escaping from the lower levels, you are tasked with attacking various bad guys with short, sweet katana attacks. The attacks were swift and brutal, to my liking, there was a lot of blood and equally generous amounts of dismemberment. Wade Wilson’s jokes were spot on and they acknowledge that he is well aware that he is in a video game.
Actually, that’s one of the brightest spots in Deadpool’s game, the humor. Deadpool has quite a bit to say during combat and you want to make sure the volume is turned up so you don’t miss a thing. Many times during the E3 demo I was hacking and cutting my way through various enemies and Deadpool kept throwing insults or outlandish comments. This title was very true to character, and is sure to please many fans.
Another trait faithful to the comic book character was his healing factor. While taking a beating, Deadpool’s costume rips and rips along with his skin, revealing a grotesque Wade Wilson. It is very similar to the very underrated title X-Men Origins: Wolverine from 2009. There are ways to regain health during combat; For example, once you defeat an enemy, it could drop a Health Orb.
One thing I noticed during the E3 demo was the sudden increase in difficulty. As you make your way through the sewers, it is incredibly easy to deal with your adversaries, but once you are in a skyscraper they become almost overwhelming. That’s when most of the E3 testers died, gave up, and left. I took the kidneys and tested it for myself; all you had to do was use Deadpool’s firearms. You just have to change your tactics, you can’t always just cut and cut. It would have been nice to have a subtle change in difficulty, not a sudden hit from the bad guys around you.
The gun game was your typical third-person over-the-shoulder shooter; you can’t use the cover, but it really isn’t necessary. Deadpool has access to his two reliable Uzis, Shotgun, and pistols. They all seemed very capable. You also need to be mindful of your ammo, but when you kill something there’s a chance baddies will drop more. As you kill the AI, you will be awarded points that you can spend on upgrading your Deadpool. The upgrade system was very similar to Beenox’s Amazing Spider-Man game that came out last summer. All the leveling skills seemed useful and powerful. If I had the full set, I would definitely try to increase my swordsmanship.
I’d say the main concerns I’d have with the game would be the difficulty or the sometimes unruly camera. Often during gunplay I had trouble responding to enemies and shooting them. However, these are not major issues and the game was incredibly fun. That is what we need in a Deadpool game. It is not Batman. He’s a crazy mercenary with a mouth!
In terms of audio and video, both were what you would expect. The graphics never impressed me, but they were never ugly. The environments sometimes felt uninspired as he toured them, but most of the time he was more focused on the task at hand. As with the audio, the dialogue was fun but the sound effects were nothing special. There is no Hans Zimmer soundtrack for this one.
All in all, Deadpool seems like a fantastic start to a comic book video game franchise. I will definitely choose this one. I had a great time blasting my way through opponents and I’m a huge fan of the character. This game is pretty much done, it will be released here on June 25th, so I doubt the meticulous camera setting is fine, but it was just a little annoyance. Now I am officially excited for this game!
