The Punisher

Moby ID: 23883
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Description

The NES version of The Punisher is an on-rails shooter. It puts the player in control of Frank Castle from behind, as he trades fire with the gangs of some of his classic enemies. Aside from being one of the few NES rail shooters, the game features an uncommon amount of destructible items in its levels. You also have the ability to move Frank to the left or right of the screen to dodge incoming fire, or to hold down the fire button to lock him in place and move the aiming cursor.

The game features six "missions" with a number of varying environments and levels within them. Standard pickups of armour and increased firepower are present, as well as grenades which can be launched with the B button. Earning a 100% kill rating (as The Punisher would surely try to do) gives an unlimited "Super Gun" upgrade for the next stage.

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Credits (NES version)

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 62% (based on 5 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 9 ratings with 1 reviews)

LJN...Nuff' Said

The Good
As comic book characters go, the Punisher is certainly one of the more violently, dark anti-heroes. This NES cartridge was one of his early forays into the gaming world and comic book fans everywhere were eager to control the Marvel Comics character as he set his sights on super villains....at least until we learned that game came from LJN.

The Bad
Back in the day, LJN (owned by Acclaim) had the rights to publish most of the Marvel Comics-based video games for every Nintendo home console systems, and most of them were, at best, substandard cartridges that excelled only at disappointment. The Punisher for the NES offers average graphics, music and sound effects. The first person perspective, rail gun format always had a limited appeal to me and the storyline is almost non-existent. As a final slap on the face, The Punisher is almost impossible to beat unless you own a rapid fire game controller.

The Bottom Line
The Punisher features strictly average graphics, music and sound effects in a first-person perspective, rail gun format that basically requires you to shell out extra money for a rapid fire controller if you want to defeat the Kingpin of Crime. It is not as bad as LJN's, "The Uncanny X-Men" but it it a far cry from the side-scrolling, arcade action, coin-op game featuring The Punisher and Nick Furry.

NES · by ETJB (428) · 2010

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  • MobyGames ID: 23883
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Game added by BurningStickMan.

Game added September 6, 2006. Last modified July 24, 2024.