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Deadpool Review


Deadpool - Marvel’s beloved/behated self titled 'Merc With The Mouth' finally get his own mov...wait a game? It's not something that was hugely called for among the internets (everyone was too busy shouting in CAPITAL letters at Ryan Reynolds about the Deadpool movie) and it came as a bit of a left field pitch when Deadpool strutted in to announce his own game at San Diego Comic Con 2012. Fast forward 12 months and here we are, the game has finally arrived, and you really need to look at the whole package to appreciate the full scale of the 4th wall breaking going on here. Deadpool announced his own game, then proceeded to put himself in charge of the development and regularly post about how the game was coming along (in true Deadpool style of course) regularly on various social mediums and upon booting up the game you are immediately booted straight into Deadpool’s world. In fact right into his living room and if your good (very very good) he might even make you pancakes. The only real worry throughout development was the lack of gameplay footage being shown off. Even days before release nothing of note was readily available online and there were no reviews as of yet. These are generally a bad thing and had myself and others understandably skeptical about the quality of the game (especially as what had been shown so far looked rather basic). I took the plunge anyway and I now see why they waited. Not because the game is bad, far from it, this is a quality title but so much of it is derived from the 4th wall breaking stuff that showing anything off could potentially spoil the enjoyment of segments of the game. The fact that the game manages to entirely destroy the 4th wall within minutes of start up is astonishing and that it manages to do so while being genuinely funny is a feat in itself. And that is at its core what this game is all about: being as Deadpool as possible. The graphics are not the best I've ever seen but are passable. Aside from Deadpool himself who is well designed and superbly animated. The camera is pretty decent and controls are as you would expect. Sadly the level design isn't exactly groundbreaking but when you take the whole thing as a package it kinda makes sense for it to be this way. After all read any Deadpool comic and you will see him thrown into a situation with similar "level design". The levels are broken up by several unique minigames segments which range from a bouncy castle to a slide to a shooting gallery all of which add to the charm of the game and give you a much needed rest from the frantic combat. So the combat system. I have heard so much said about it already (comments range from its ok to it's awful dull boring and repetitive). I utterly disagree with those people this is one of the best combat systems I have come across in years (yes better than MGR, better than DMC). It ranks alongside Batman Arkham City's combat system for me, as they have managed to do what that game did so well: make you feel as if you are playing as that character. It sounds so simple and easy but it's very very easy to get very very wrong, just look at the awful Thor and Iron Man games! Deadpools guntakka is exactly the way I would have imagined it from the comics. It's very easy to learn with simple combos but tough to master combining dodges and counters in with combos and guns to build up momentum and unleash special attacks some of which are rosy loudly awesome. The combat system is perfectly complemented by the teleport (dodge) mechanic and again in keeping with Deadpool in the comics and all comes together in a frantic crazy fusion of ninja-shooting. The 3rd person shooter parts which are generally separated from the combat are decent enough as well though its in the crazy melee where Deadpool really succeeds, especially as you earn points and purchase more weapons and upgrades for them allowing for upgrades like extra damage & instakills on stunned enemies etc. The story of this game is atypical of any Deadpool story. Deadpool is hired to kill or kidnap someone and everything seems to spiral out of control and become more and more outlandish at every turn. The mere fact that he sets up a bouncy castle before even going on his mission should let you know that you are in for one hell of a ride. Of course the job goes south and we find ourselves going after the people who stole our contract and so on up the food chain as the game progresses. I won't spoil any of that here but you will not be disappointed by it one bit. The supporting cast is pretty decent (Wolverine & Cable plus some X-Babes as Deadpool calls them) and all voiced very well. Deadpool himself is expertly brought to life by Nolan North who once again performs a stellar voice for another entirely different character (well actually 3 characters in the form of Deadpool’s various personalities). Like I said earlier breaking the 4th wall is really what makes this game stand out. The way High moon has handled it in this game is simply inspired. If I could pick any gripes with the game it's that there are no unlockable costumes (like in Batman and Spider-Man) to change into, whilst It’s nice that they are featured in the background of the title screen it would've been ace to play as DP in his X-Force or his ridiculous homemade X-Men getup. Also whilst I applaud that there is no tacked on multiplayer I feel that the hoard mode would be infinitely more enjoyable if it had a co-op mode where a second player could play as Cable something to think about for next time high moon! Aside from those minor gripes this is a solid title which manages to encapsulate the spirit of the character down to a tee, which is after all what we want out of these superhero games right? Epicy epicness!  By Andy Urquhart

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