The Punisher
System: NES
Release Date: November 1990
Developer: Beam Software
Publisher: LJN
Genre: Shooter
Get to the streets and murder everyone you see in The Punisher! Seriously, as Frank Castle, you will kill over 1300 street thugs, five higher level bosses, and the Kingpin over 19 stages. Hey, they took your family away for eternity. They deserve it. Can you live with the blood on your hands?
Begin by choosing which boss you want to go after. You’re thrust into an auto side scrolling shooting gallery. Move your reticle around the screen and shoot your automatic machine pistol with the A Button. Your ammo is limited and if you run out, you lose your rapid fire ability. You also have a small stash of grenades if you want some higher fire power that you launch with the B Button. A small selection of enemies will pop up at set points and you need to shoot them before they can shoot you. While you’re firing, you have to stand still, but otherwise will move left and right a little lagged behind your aim.
Many things in the environment are destructible, as items are hidden. You’re going to need all the bullets, health, and grenades you can find. Just shoot everything that looks like it could be destructible. You can occasionally find an assault rifle to increase your bullet spraying capabilities. Grenades can be upgraded to the rocket launcher for better explosions. If you can find Kevlar vests, you can increase your maximum health. Occasional bonus rooms can be found if you meet the requirements for opening them.
After a hundred or so enemies, you reach the end of the stage. As long as you’re thorough in shooting your enemies, you can earn bonuses at the end of each stage. Killing 100% of enemies on a stage gets you the Supergun, which is as good as its name. Just don’t collect another gun powerup until you’re out of bullets or you’ll lose it. Though all the bad guys that come on screen deserve to be 86’ed, the sax man is not someone who needs to be punished. When you hear his song, be wary. How does he get everywhere I’m going?
Bosses have patterns that you’ll learn as you fight them. If you can find ways to hit and run, you’ll do well. Whatever you do, don’t try to go punch for punch with the bosses. If they get in your face, dodge and wait until you can shoot them with your guns. Kingpin was a cinch with the Supergun, but I can see him being a problem otherwise. Hopefully you’ll have as many lives as I did when you reach him. Well, my job’s finished. Until next time…
Graphics: 1.5
Graphics aren’t sharp and are in fact, quite janky.
Sound: 1.5
Very little music, bullet sounds are alright.
Gameplay: 1.5
Use the d-pad to aim your targeting reticle around the screen and avoid as many oncoming bullets as you can.
Difficulty: 3.0
You’re eased into the missions and they increase in difficulty appropriately.
Fun Factor: 2.0
I had an alright time killing all of the Punisher’s enemies.
Overall Rating: 1.9
The Punisher earns a C. It wasn’t the best game in the world, but it’s okay. You can certainly pick a worse game developed by Beam Software.