Deadpool is an action,
beat em' up game developed by High Moon Studios and published by
Activision, based on the Marvel comic character of the same name. It
was released in June for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC,
and today we'll be looking at the PlayStation 3 version. If you like
sanity in your games, well, you've come to the wrong place.
Deadpool doesn't waste
any time in showing you what kind of game this is going to be. Right
from the title screen we have bitching music and Deadpool sitting
down on his couch relaxing with the title of the game all made up
with his eyes making up for the O's. If you wait long enough
Deadpool will disappear from his couch and mess around on the screen.
Tiptoeing across the room, change his outfit, and one time he
knocked on the screen and asked if I had any girls in my room. It's
rare for a game to have a main menu you actually want to stay on just
to see what all the title character will do. So, if they've gone
through that much trouble with the title screen, let's see what the
actual game itself has to offer.
Clicking on campaign we
have our stages with a funny description added to each. Home Sweet
Home offers us: “Our hero is chilling out, maxin an' relaxin' when
suddenly... A script appears!” Did I just get Fresh Prince'd? Job
One description says: “Contract target: Chance White. He's got a
private army in his media HQ. Go Deadpool go!” You get the idea.
After selecting a stage we have our choice of difficulty. There's
Genetically Superior, Veteran, and Ultra-Violence. Once again we
have descriptions done in that classic Deadpool formula.
Genetically Superior:
Do you just want to kill stuff
and win? Select this mode if you're new to melee/shooter games.
Veteran:
You're looking for a challenge
eh? Invite your friends over and let them bask in your glory.
Ultra-Violence!:
Play this alone, or risk
punching the person next to you. You've been warned.
That
should have been a warning label on Dark Souls. Just saying.
The
game starts off in Deadpool's hotel room. Here you can look around
the place and familiarize yourself with the controls, so think of it
as a tutorial. If you're unfamiliar with Deadpool, which would make
me question while you got the game to begin with, you can get a
quick summary on the TV by sitting down on the couch. Deadpool is
infamous for breaking the fourth wall, and I don't mean a subtle
wink at the audience, I mean the developers of the game call you on
the phone about your 'Big Game Idea' and tells you no. He knows he's
a comic book character in a video game and will refer to you as 'The
Player'. He can see his own health bar and DP points. He has voices
in his head. You can just stay seated and listen to them talk and be
content. You won't beat the game, but you'll be content.
In
his hotel room you can watch TV, take a shit (I'm not kidding), drink
beer, eat pizza, call people, surf the internet, cook in the
kitchen, take a nap, blow up a sex doll... All while someone is
ringing the doorbell and pounding on the door. Once you're ready to
play the game you'll receive the game's script in the mail and
Deadpool will be the least excited about it. From there you're taken
to the sewers to learn how to fight.
Deadpool:
Uh, does anyone remember how to
play?
Voice
#1: I never read the manual.
Voice
#2: You can't read.
Voice
#1: Yes I can!
Voice
#2: I only play PC games.
Oh,
great, one of the voices in my head is part of the PC master race–!
I mean, Deadpool's head. Yeah, Deadpool's head...
Now
we learn that buttons make us do stuff. X makes us jump, square is
for light attacks, triangle is for heavy attacks, circle has us
teleport and we can mix these attack buttons together to perform
different combos against enemies. The more enemies you kill, the more
DP points you earn, then you can use these points to buy upgrades.
You can also sneak up on bad guys and press triangle or R1 to... to
jump right in front of him at the last minute and kill him.
SURPRISE!
Did
I mention you can shoot? Press R1 to shoot with your guns and L1 to
auto aim. L2 reloads your ammunition and you can pick up more ammo
on the field. R2 lets you throw grenades. To Build up your momentum
meter just keep nailing a bunch of combos so you can perform
stronger attacks that can take out multiple enemies at once and score
you even more DP points. Need to replenish your health? Just wait.
You have a healing factor. It's awesome. Deadpool will also start to
look torn up if he takes a lot of damage and then even his costume
will regenerate while healing.
In Deadpool we have big
enemies, we have small enemies, we have enemies that can fly, and we
have enemies that can spontaneously explode! Regular soldiers you can
either just cut down to size with your swords or shoot them to hell.
Bigger enemies, like the guy, in the picture are a little tougher to
take down (duh) and are some times equipped with a large gun you can
hold on to for a short period of time to use on enemies. Flying
enemies shoot electricity at you and are fast, so auto-target is
your best bet with them.
Bosses don't
particularly stick out all that well, I'm sad to say. They feel like
a drawn out regular enemy battle and I can't decide if that's good
or bad. They're just not very memorable. In addition to his swords
and twin pistols, Deadpool can access sais, giant hammers, plasma
guns, and various other weapons of note through buying more
upgrades. You can never go wrong with plasma guns, or the sais. I
love the sais.
Always
remember to bring a banana to a party.
Deadpool
also has a lot of fun X-Men cameos as you advance through the game.
We have Wolverine, Rogue, Psylocke, Domino, and even his old
pal Cable comes along for the ride. When anyone from the comics come
along you have the chance to press X to get a quick summary of them
in case you don't know anything about them, or just to see the fun
narration. Gambit has a bit of a cameo to a lesser extent and you
can even play as Rogue for a short time in the game.
The game is hilarious
both in Deadpool's interactions with the other characters, himself,
and in breaking the fourth wall. I can't remember the last time I
laughed so much during one playthrough. You can be playing the game
minding your own business and then all of a sudden it's an old
overhead view game because Deadpool blew the budget on so many
explosions, or you're suddenly surrounded by hot babes in bikinis
turning down your advances. It's just an all around crazy ride and
the game does a great job of embracing Deadpool's insanity.
Cons: The
only real drawback to the game is that the gameplay can get boring
and repetitive after a while. Which is a pretty big downer if you
can't get into the story or the comedy. Otherwise, there isn't much
to say in this area.
Conclusion:
Deadpool is a fun,
action-packed game that fans of the Merc with a Mouth are sure to
love. Even if you don't know Deadpool very well (like me) it's still
easy enough to get into and enjoy. So if you like action, beating up
bad guys, the X-Men, and comedy, Deadpool is right up your alley.
ToriJ
Says: Get it.
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