Deadpool (Xbox 360) Reviews

Deadpool, as a character, is an acquired taste. The katana wielding, fourth wall breaking Merc with a Mouth has a penchant for the bizarre, alienating himself from the traditional Marvel pantheon with his unique blend of witty repartee and infantile humour. Despite limited exposure to the public in videogame or film format, Deadpool has slowly amassed a cult following, and is now one of Marvel’s leading men. Developer High Moon Studios have taken the reality bending maniac and placed him in his own game for the first time, to a modest degree of success. Though some of the humour can fall flat and the gameplay can be a tad on the generic side, Deadpool’s first solo outing on consoles will appease fans and welcome newcomers into his insanity-drenched world with open arms.

On the surface, the Deadpool game may have one of the more confusing, fourth-wall breaking stories since The Muppet Movie in ’79. Deadpool, the character, has coerced developer High Moon Studios, though some minor threats and a teensy amount of explosives to create a game based on his likeness. After being left unsatisfied with the production values of his house and the incredible amount of reading that would be necessary to check the script, Deadpool elects to instead go take mercenary jobs once more, which sets of a chain of loosely related, seemingly incongruous events that create the central plot. It is an exhausting setup to explain, but a perverse joy to witness as it unfolds. The plot can be muddy and poorly presented at times, but the consistent humour is ultimately the core narrative device - the plot just serves to take Deadpool to new locations. Eloquently summarised by the exhausting, abusive phone call between Deadpool (Voiced by Nolan North) and Nolan North himself; the Deadpool game is insane.

Deadpool’s particular brand of manic humour is turned up considerably in this incarnation. The MA15+ rating in Australia allows for a stronger, yet somehow more juvenile brand of humour. For every funny quip or one-liner, there is a joke about bowel movements or an expletive-streaked diatribe against any target - the enemies, the player; even High Moon Studios themselves receive a strong spray. How much enjoyment there is to derive from the game depends entirely on the players own tolerance level for Deadpool’s madness. The humour that harkens back to traditional, more austere Deadpool constitutes around 60% of all jokes presented, with the remaining 40% taken up by more shocking outbursts. As a game that is centrally pivoted around the humour, the enjoyment for each player will vary.

Just like the best of Marvel games, there are a number of small nods and cameos from characters Deadpool frequently interacts with in the comics, including Cable, Death and Wolverine. The rest of the cast is primarily filled with second or third-rate superheroes and supervillians, giving the entire experience the authentic Deadpool vibe. As the characters aren’t as massively exposed as an Iron Man or a Doctor Doom, the game gets a little more wiggle room to establish the characters how it wants and tell a unique story. Each major Marvel character that is featured is accompanied by a unique, tongue-in-cheek summary video highlighting their key motivations and moments from the Marvel Universe. By localizing the conflict of the game, giving a short back-story to the major players and by not escalating the fight to be on universe-ending proportions, players are left with a feeling of locality and place. The game feels as though it is a part of the Marvel Universe, not some offshoot that is completely detached from the rest. It’s an awesome homage not just to the Deadpool comic franchise, but to the key strengths of the Marvel line of comics overall.

Underneath the thick layers of humour and meta-references that continue to build all game long lies a fairly simplistic, yet competent third-person character action game. Deadpool’s combat descends into button-mashy, combo-based madness, akin to Batman: Arkham City.
With light and heavy attacks, guns for long-distance shots, a short range teleporter and the ability to counter enemy strikes, the gameplay is simplistic, yet engaging. By building longer combos, the player earns hundreds of thousands of Deadpool Points, which are used to unlock new weapons and abilities, as well as upgrade existing ones. The combat would have benefitted greatly from a tad more complexity and available combos, but it is perfectly competent as it is. The gameplay outside of combat is a fairly rudimentary third-person platformer, exploring the world and finding new groups of enemies to attack. Whilst the gameplay isn’t supremely strong, it ultimately stands as a delivery mechanism for more Deadpool humour, the real draw.

Deadpool could hardly be considered a long game, with a thorough run-through of the campaign being little over six hours. The upgrade tree is rich enough to require at least a second run-through to complete, however, the gameplay isn’t the draw, the humour is. Whilst those six hours have more than enough strong gags that are enjoyable to experience again, it will be difficult for players to leave not wanting more. On top of the campaign there is a simple challenge system, asking players to defeat waves of enemies on the eight campaign levels under a certain amount of time. These have a few new gags to be enjoyed, but the majority of the experience is combat, which is not super rewarding on its own. It’s difficult not to be left wanting more from the overall package, and when put up against its competitors in the genre, it feels a little barren.

It is interesting to note that all the superhero games of note over the last few years; namely X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Captain America and Batman: Arkham Asylum have followed a relatively similar gameplay trajectory. All third-person brawlers centred on combos, counters and upgrading abilities, they’ve formed a niche of their own that few superhero games of note have managed to escape. Whilst Deadpool is certainly not as well polished as the Arkham series of games, it is easily the most well-rounded experience of any Marvel game of note for a long while. With light tweaking and polish to the combat and an extended runtime, it could easily stand amongst the strongest of its peers.

Even though the gameplay can border on generic at times and the humour can miss as often as it hits for some, there is a genuine glee to be experienced with Deadpool. For fans of the Merc with a Mouth, it’s a marvellous experience, capitalizing on his bad-ass fighting style, self-referential humour and a not too familiar cast of Marvel characters. Even though the more adult change in tone for Deadpool’s humour may put off some fans and newcomers, those that can stomach the ride will have an enjoyable experience. Many have tried to accurately represent Deadpool over the years, though few have done as superb as a job as High Moon Studios have with their first entry. It could benefit greatly from an increased depth of content, but it is a strong first entry in a franchise that will hopefully grow from strength to strength.

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, I’m gonna blow all you dirtbags away. Plenty of bullets, I’m going to spray, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!

Deadpool has been one of my favourite Marvel characters for some time, but he’s always been one that crops up in other games or movies but has yet to star in his own movie or game. Until now. Any Deadpool game was always going to be a must-buy for me, regardless of what people say about it. But there was always going to be a lingering thought in the back of my mind about how High Moon would fare and whether they could capture the spirit of Deadpool.

Well, how did they do?

The answer is, pretty well, actually! Deadpool has always been very much a love-him-or-hate-him sort of character simply due to how completely insane and random his character and adventures are, and this very much how the Deadpool game is. You’re either going to love this game, or hate this game.



If you’re not familiar with Deadpool, while his general backstory has been vague and subject to change, it’s generally accepted that his real name is Wade Wilson, a mercenary by trade with a questionable background. Upon discovering that he had cancer he left his then-girlfriend, a prostitute named Vanessa Carlysle, to join up with Department K, and was enrolled in their joint US/Canadian superhuman project, the Weapon X program - the same program responsible for Wolverine. After being implemented with the very same healing factor as Wolverine, his cancer was arrested and he was put into a covert unit where, cutting a long story short, he killed one of his team-mates, was taken off the Weapon X program and put into a hospice where ‘failed superhumans’ were treated, but actually turned out to be a front for experiments by a sadistic Doctor named Killebrew, where Wade was experimented on, subsequently killed, but he regenerated albeit scarred and disfigured, where he then escaped and took the name Deadpool and became a mercenary for hire again.

DEEP BREATH.

So, that’s Deadpool’s backstory. What about the games story? Well, in all honesty the plot of the game itself doesn’t need much of an explanation since it’s little more than a vehicle for the game’s action and, more to the point, the game’s jokes. The plot, and the game itself, is very self-referential and true to the Deadpool character breaks the fourth wall. A lot. The plot is pretty much thrown out the window right from the start and can easily be summarise as Mr Sinister blah blah blah Genosha something something clones yaddayaddayadda.

What I can tell you is that the core enemies of the game are, as mentioned, Mr Sinister and three of his marauders, Arclight, Blockbuster, and Vertigo. While they’re not the greatest enemies in the Marvel universe that High Moon could have chosen - which Deadpool makes a comment on during the game - it is made up for by the awesome allies that you’ll encounter during the game, which include some of the key characters from some of the stand-out Deadpool storylines including Cable, Wolverine, Psylocke, Rogue, Domino and Deadpool’s lady love herself, Death.



‘But what about the GAMEPLAY?’ I hear you cry, dear reader! Well, if you’re looking for gameplay that’s ground-breaking, sophisticated, and tactical, then you’re in the wrong place and you might as well turn away now. Deadpool is a hack & slash, run & gun, jump & climb romp in it’s purest form. It’s not Dark Souls, it’s not Ninja Gaiden, and it’s most definitely not Arkham Asylum. But it doesn’t pretend to be. What it is, if you take it at face value, is fun. A lot of fun. You have the full range of Deadpool’s signature weaponry at your disposal. The melee weapons include his katanas, sais, and sledgehammers, and his guns include pistols, shotguns, automatic rifles, and plasma rifles. Plus there’s always two of everything, which makes for double the carnage and double fun. All of these weapons can be used to perform stealth kills if the enemy hasn’t spotted you yet, but apart from one particular segment stealth isn’t a requirement, but it certainly is interesting seeing the execution animations that come with them for each different weapon. Also, the weaponry is made even more AWESOME by using Deadpool Points (yes, DP, stop laughing there in the back), which are collected from the environment, by killing enemies and by performing bigger and better combos. You can use DP to upgrade not only these weapons, but buy additional perks and thrown weaponry like grenades, flashbangs, mines and bear traps.

Yep, bear traps. Because why the f**k not?



In fact, that’s pretty much Deadpool and High Moon’s approach throughout the whole game for everything in the game. Why the f**k not? Bouncy Castle? Why the f**k not? Rocket-propelled trolley? Why the f**k not? Blow-up dolls? Why the f**k not? However, for all it’s eccentricities and, admittedly, fairly generic gameplay, it does have some nice, clever moments. Due to Deadpool’s breaking of the fourth wall, it can do things like turn it into an 8-bit top down dungeon crawler style, or into a side-scrolling platformer with little to no explanation. The sections keep you on your toes and provide a nice break from the norm, although it may have been nice to see one or more two moments like this. On the flip side, any generic, cliche or even downright lazy game design moments that do pop up in the game, they will quickly and relentlessly be made fun of and torn to pieces by Deadpool, and somehow that makes these sections all bearable and even acceptable.

Really though, it’s Deadpool and the jokes that are the star of the show, which is as it should be. Translating Deadpool to a video game always seemed to be a natural move, and it’s amazing to think it’s taken this long, but it could’ve all gone horribly wrong. But I haven’t laughed out loud at a game so much and so often in a long time. High Moon had a tough job in getting the character and humour right with Deadpool, but they’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head, and Nolan North has done a sterling job as the voice of our resident Merc with a Mouth. They do go full-on with the breaking the fourth wall thing, and some (most) of the humour could be regarded as puerile, but this is Deadpool we’re talking about. They manage to throw so many jokes in some many unique little ways, that it’s a pleasure to keep going throughout the game. While the gameplay itself may not always compel you to keep going; seeing what High Moon has in store for you next certainly does. Plus, Deadpool doesn’t skimp on the violence or the innuendo, and it made me laugh to think that this is now a property owned by Disney.



There are some things that the humour can’t quite make up for. The camera can be a little unwieldy at times, but that’s nothing a pair of decent opposable thumbs can’t handle most of the time. There are numerous combos within the game, but you’ll probably just find yourself using a handful of them. Also, without giving anything away, the final boss battle is easier than most other boss fights.

Really and truly, this is a game for Deadpool fans, as it always was going to be. If you’re not a Deadpool fan, or the sort of humour that Deadpool embodies, then there’s nothing for you here. The game is driven by the humour, and that’s actually refreshing in a game. But it really is a game that’s going to receive a different score depending on who plays it, and you’re either going to love, or you’re going to absolutely hate.

For me, I loved it and if you’re a Deadpool fan, you’ll probably love it too. Much like Deadpool himself, it may not be the cleverest, complex or sophisticated kid on the block, but it is certainly one of the funniest. But above everything else, it’s fun, and that’s something a lot of games seem to forget how to do these days while they’re all off trying to win BAFTAs, when sometimes all your brain needs to do is switch off and indulge in a Golden Raspberry.



Positives

+ Nice array of weaponry
+ Plenty of unlockables
+ Jokes never ever stop
+ The combat is fun, if unsophisticated
+ Some clever touches in gameplay
+ It’s so, so funny
+ It’s Deadpool!

Negatives

- Very little to appeal to non-Deadpool fans
- The gameplay won’t win any awards by itself
- Camera can be a bit clunky
- Last boss fight is a disappointment

Verdict: As much fun as saying ‘chimichanga’ over and over again…

Deadpool. He’s a character the Marvel universe is growing to love more each day, which is probably why Marvel hired High Moon Studios to create a game about him. Now I went into this game with high hopes, but low expectations as a Deadpool fan. I’m pleased to say though that it does go above said, low expectations. The Deadpool game is a 3rd person Action game, with lots of hacky slashy and shooty bits, and some platforming thrown in as well. But what makes a Deadpool game, really try to stand out from the other hack and slash action games. It’s humour, duh. This is a game that has clearly been written for fans of Deadpool. If you love the humour in the comics then you’ll like the humour here. Plain and simple. For those that have never read a Deadpool comic, it may seem a bit over the top, but that’s just who Deadpool is. He is a witty, wise cracking, merc with multiple personalities in his head (which by the way add some unique dialogue at times).

Now the script, voice work and story are all well and good, but how does the rest of the game hold up? Well slightly above average. Seeing as how the last 3 games High Moon studios have worked on have been transformers games, which themselves were hacky slashy, shooty, action games, you’d think the combat would be slightly improved from what they already know. Unfortunately it appears to be a case of two steps forward, one step back as the combat in Deadpool, whilst visually appealing, is lacking in a bit of the functionality and balanced sides. Some enemies will take two hits from a fully upgraded weapon to beat, others you’ll sit there pummelling for a few minutes to beat. That’s just the melee enemies too. When you get to the gun combat it’s a little underwhelming. Until you start upgrading your guns, you will run out of ammo very quickly as you do minimal damage AND the accuracy, even when locked onto a target, leaves much to be desired. Overall the combat doesn’t live up to expectations, and whilst does work to an extent, could have been so much more than what it is.

Now all the other controls of the game are fairly simple obviously. Right stick to look around, left to move, yadda yadda yadda. But they do need a little bit of work. Especially camera controls. The camera has a habit in combat of shifting to have it facing at whichever enemy you are currently bludgeoning/ slicing/ stabbing to death, meaning those enemies you were keeping an eye on behind Deadpool now have no one making sure they don’t take chunks out of his back. And some of the movement controls, well…. Let’s just say Deadpool isn’t exactly quick on his feet in this game.

Overall, the story is what, you’d expect of a Deadpool comic, the voice acting for all the characters is exceptional the comedy is definitely Deadpools, and the visuals suit the hero. However the gameplay itself does have some flaws. The Deadpool game is an alright way to get introduced to the franchise, but unless you are a fan of Deadpool already it’s probably not for you.

Pros
-Good Story,
-Good Humour,
-Good Cast of Characters and Voice Actors,
-Visuals style suits Deadpool.

Cons
-Movement and camera controls need work,
-Combat is controller snappingly unfair later in game.

Original: Deadpool review on Gamin' Girl

Superman, Batman, Spider-man; there’s been a copious amount of superhero titles gracing our consoles in recent years. A lot of them are getting a bit samey, we’ve been there and done that so it’s time to stop rehashing the same heroes over and over and introduce some of the more obscure fan favourites – enter Deadpool, star of the new Highmoon Studios action adventure title by the same name.

Wade Wilson was once just your average mercenary, until a brutal experiment gave him regenerative powers and Deadpool was born. Unfortunately it also left him insane… and aware of being a comic book character, or in this case a video games character (an angle that allows constant 4th wall humour in both the comics and the game). Deadpool is never lonely as he has the two other personalities in his head for company.

So what can I expect?

True to the comics, Deadpool comes armed with swords (yes, two) and guns as he mixes the two in a whirlwind of combat that fuses shooters and action titles. Later on your weapon choices expand, as you level up by collecting DP points. These are given by successfully completing combos and killing enemies and the style in which you do so affects the amount of points given. Paired with small stealth sections and platforming action there’s a lot going on gameplay wise, as you battle to stop enemy Sinister and rescue X-Men’s Rogue. Aside from the regen powers, Deadpool’s main gimmick is the ability to teleport short distances, a feature that can be used constantly in battle and whilst platforming.



The story begins in Deadpool’s apartment as he threatens Highmoon into making his video game. Having decided he doesn’t require the script there’s a lot of story not explained and you rarely know why you’re doing something, but this is utterly apt for the character so buckle up. As you begin you can interact with various items in the apartment and I must strongly recommend doing so. It is a quick bit of insight into the mind of Deadpool and will allow you to become instantly immersed in the gross out humour and boob fixation that makes this character who he is.

The game is riddled with pop culture references, from The Simpsons, to Toy Story, to Final Fantasy. And whilst Deadpool fails to be laugh out loud funny, I found myself constantly chuckling inside. As you progress numerous unexpected events occur that show moments of brilliance. A wonderful example comes when Deadpool blows his game’s budget on giant explosions. The result sees the level switch to 8 bit mode until a “friendly” phone call is made to get it back on track. This sort of 4th wall jape is often displayed in the form of a parody of other games, and is definitely a highlight of the game.

But is it good?

Fundamentally, Deadpool does not embrace the tools at it’s disposal. For someone that is supposed to be impossible to kill, unforgiving combat and sparse checkpoints in the end stages mean that you’ll spend a fair amount of time staring at the retry menu. This is only compounded by the insta-deaths that arise from gunshots off camera. Additionally the teleport ability feels too limiting. Whilst Deadpool explains that in order to increase the “fun” the distance of his teleport has been limited, the fact that he can’t teleport through anything, even a box on the floor, feels like lazy programming and under use of one of the things that set Deadpool out from other action titles.



Deadpool may have blown the budget in game, but limited enemy types and reuse of the same bosses makes me wonder if Highmoon really did blow the budget. Collectibles and unlockable costumes have become a loved part of superhero games and the absence of them definitely leaves a void that could easily have been filled. In another stroke of unpolished gameplay, cutscenes often reset your weaponry choices. Whilst it is easy to change them back it is a nuisance having to check if it’s happened. It is also worth mentioning that whilst reviewing the title I did become stuck in scenery twice and have to reload.

Although the more interesting combat is up close and personal, as you progress through the game the guns become a larger part of your offense. Why engage in close combat when a few shots can down any threats as soon as they appear? Auto aim is far from perfect, with the game often targeting an area to one side of the enemy, leading you to retarget if you wish to hit them. Obviously this is hardly ideal and can spell death on later levels or higher difficulties.

The Bottom Line

A more adult and humorous game than many superhero outings, Deadpool certainly should have been a dream title but numerous grievances mean it fails to hit the mark. Moments of genius are plain to be seen but tying it together in a lacklustre way mean that it will mainly be hardcore Deadpool fans who get real enjoyment out of this title.

Hit; The portrayal of Deadpool is spot on with expectations and can be very funny at times, especially when breaking the 4th wall or having a parodying other media series’.

Miss; Unforgiving combat and lacklustre level sections dent this title heavily.

Need; More variety in villains, collectibles and costumes would have been great addition.

Deadpool

Gameplay

The gameplay of Deadpool is that of any other action hack and slash game. One button does light attacks, one button does heavy attacks, the trigger shoots your gun, and you need to mix these together to get higher combos. Deadpool itself feels long and tiresome but remains being a short campaign, broken down into a handful of levels that just feel stretched out. The counterweight to this, is of course the comedy. If that's what you want to call it, that is. Did I laugh during this game? Of course, many times. But I felt like it could have been more... Mature. I found myself only laughing at the more, adult jokes, while the rest of the games humor that makes up 80% of the game was dry, abstract randomness. This was a real disappointment to me.

My opinion

Deadpool was fun while it lasted. I'm a fan of anything to do with super heroes and the like, so a game about Deadpool was appealing to me. I wasn't disappointed, I just feel like High Moon could have done a little better. When I was told that Deadpool had a level of comedy in it, I expected the random, yet memorable lines from a game like Borderlands. But that's not the case here. Deadpool is not a bad game. If you're looking for a cheap laugh or a game where you can smack Wolverine around, then rent this game. It's worth 10+ hours of your time, but not a space among your other great games.

Review

Deadpool as a whole is a decent ride. At times the levels and combat encounters seem endless. Button mashing becomes a chore and there isn't a large enough selection of weapons to keep a player entertained for too long. The game is worth your time. It's a fun experience. But only once. I wouldn't recommend buying this game. Deadpool offers little replay ability. Rent it for the night and move on to better things.