Deadpool Review

Earlier this year I had the chance to preview the new Deadpool game and was lucky enough to get a hands-on playthrough of the first level. I remember thinking then that the game was pretty awesome and thoroughly enjoying the experience. Of course, I knew that what I was playing was only the cusp of the rest of the game, but honestly, I had no idea of the absolute immensity of the rest of it.

Now let's make it clear, if you're not a Deadpool fan then the majority of this game will be lost on you, unless you have a particularly childish sense of humour. That's not to say dismiss it altogether, the game is extremely fun and made me laugh out loud on many occasions. It's just if you like Wade Wilson, then you will love this.

Everything about the game resounds Deadpool, and it feels almost like he created it rather than a team of hardworking, non-insane designers. Constant fourth-wall breaking, floods of swearing, cheesy catchphrases ("you want mustard with that?") and so many boobs make it feel like you're immersed in one of his comic books in a really cool, interactive way. I guess that's where having Marvel-writer Daniel Way create the story really paid off.

What really impressed me though, was the insane level of creativity that the game throws at you. It is definitely one of the most original games I have come across. At one point I was chasing a dog to retrieve my arm with my head twisted backwards, at another I was teabagging Dr. Strange. So many ingenious ideas were put into the mix here and the true beauty was that I never knew what was going to happen next.

All this unpredictable content is packaged in some really nice graphics. There are multiple styles on display in Deadpool, from the standard 3D gameplay graphics, with huge explosions and LOTS of blood, to the montages of comic book artwork, and even at one point a 2D, 8-bit style retro section. It's not hyper-realistic, or incredibly detailed, but for a comic-type presentation it was spot-on.

As Deadpool makes his way through his game, becoming further entwined in a plot involving Dr. Strange and his goons, we are introduced to other characters from the Marvel Universe, each one getting their own intro. It's a nice way of giving background on the characters without it being boring, as images taken straight from the comics flash up on your screen with one of Deadpool's many voices talking over them and often singing some kind of theme tune. My particular favourite was Cable's as the words "Who the f*** is Cable" are sang to a 80s Kiss-like song.

Combat is pretty simple, different buttons for light and heavy melee attacks, jumping, teleporting, and triggers for the firearms. Mixing these together, results in a variety of different possible combos and is very reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum or Devil May Cry. As you earn Deadpool points through fighting, you can use them to unlock new weapons, moves, and personal buffs, all of which help to make Deadpool even more badass (like that's possible).

There is a nice special move called a Momentum move. As you gain combos from chained hits without taking damage you build up momentum and once the bar is full you can take advantage of a very powerful move that does much more damage than your standard hits and affects all enemies within its range. Additional momentum moves can be unlocked and these stack; so if you unlock three unique moves and build up momentum you can then use all three, one after the other, to inflict some serious pain on your foes.

This type of combat in other games, (using button combinations for different moves) has the potential to become quite monotonous, but High Moon Studios have counteracted this by including other combat-tactics like the aforementioned momentum moves to keep it fresh. Teleporting is a very important part of survival as you cannot be hit whilst teleporting, so you have to think tactically and integrate it into your standard hits in order to stay alive.

Sometimes the sheer amount of enemies around you can become quite intimidating and even seem like beating them is almost impossible, but by using the environment around you can turn the odds in your favour. At one point I was being shot at by around 16-20 enemies, rapidly losing health, with no way I could make it to them in time and my lack of ammo proving to be a huge inconvenience. Spying some barrels, I used my limited ammo to hit them instead, causing some big bangs and taking out the majority of the shooters.

There were a few moments when the camera placement was a bit annoying, and trying to shoot at people in front of you whilst the view insisted on being of what was behind me was more than a bit challenging. It didn't happen often enough to ruin the game, but it did cause me to die more than once.

Voice acting-wise, veterans like Nolan North and John DiMaggio (Deadpool and Wolverine respectively) bring tons of realism and enthusiasm, bringing the characters to life, and the same can be said of the rest of the cast. There's not much more that can be said other than everything sounds as it should!

In summary this game is really fun to play. If you're looking for a thought-provoking, morally challenging adventure then try Telltale's The Walking Dead or Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain. If you want something light-hearted, with immature handling of very mature content (trust me, this game is not for kids) and easy to pick-up, play, pause and come back to, then this is it. If you are a fan of Marvel, and particularly Deadpool, then you need to give this a go, you won't regret it.