The Punisher (2004 video game)



A Third-Person Shooter released in 2004 by THQ based on Marvel's The Punisher. The game starts with Frank Castle in a interrogation room in Ryker's Prison and the whole game is a series of flashbacks to the present. It had Thomas Jane reprise his role from the 2004 film.

"Black Widow: (After Frank kills a bunch of bad guys interrogating her) "What the hell are you doing here, Castle?" The Punisher: "You're welcome.""
 * Arm Cannon: Bushwacker
 * Badass Longcoat: The Punisher in most of the levels
 * Bad Guy Bar: Frank nonchalantly walks into a bar full of mob thugs, none of whom recognize him until he pulls his guns and kills them all. In a bizarre coincidence, a cop was hanging out at the bar but not killed because he was in the bathroom.
 * Black Humor: The story is written by Garth Ennis.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: The Russian
 * Bond One-Liner: Frank delivers these frequently.
 * Broad Strokes: The game is kind of a sequel to the 2004 Thomas Jane Punisher film, due to . However it now takes place firmly in the Marvel Universe, and even features a rematch between Frank and the Russian.
 * Bulletproof Human Shield: The Punisher can grab mooks and use them as this. Several mooks also do this with the most notable example of Bushwacker who uses his own minions as shields.
 * Cluster F-Bomb: There's quite a bit of swearing in this game. Frank himself doesn't curse though.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Frank does quite a bit of snarking in this game.

"Frank: (Commenitng on disguise) "Nice disguise. Subtle. Inconspicuous""

"The Punisher: (Talking about Bullseye) "Tossed him out the window." the Kingpin: "Are you planning the same fate for me?" The Punisher: "No, you I'd have to roll.""

"The Russian: "Bullets are like mosquitoes to the Russian!""
 * Deliberately Monochrome: During Slaughter Mode everything except Frank and still living enemies turn black and white. The censored versions of the game do a black-and-white Gory Discretion Shot whenever Frank goes too far with a Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique.
 * The Dragon: Bushwacker for the Gnucci's, Bullseye for The Kingpin and The Russian for... the Russians
 * Dual-Wielding: In Slaughter Mode Frank uses several pairs of knives.
 * Emergency Weapon: The Punisher can use "Quick Kills" on nearby enemies which involve killing them in several over the top ways.
 * Enemy Chatter: Mooks talk a lot in this game.
 * Fisticuffs Boss: The first fight with the Russian
 * Gorn: This game is one of the few games that got the Ao rating purely for gratuitous violence.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: A Deliberately Monochrome close up of the Punisher's face occurs whenever you kill someone with the Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique.
 * Guns Akimbo: The game takes this to ridiculous extremes, allowing the player to fire 2 M60s, among other things. However, the game is pretty realistic when it comes to reloading for when the Punisher is wielding a pair of big weapons (assault rifles, shotguns, machine guns, etc.), rather than try to reload both weapons at once he just tosses aside the second weapon.
 * Hand Cannon: One of the handguns is literally named this.
 * Hey, Catch!: One of the "Quick Kills" the Punisher can perform, is to toss his longarm at an enemy who will reflexively catch it, distracting him. The Punisher then shoots/stabs the guy in the face while he is distracted.
 * Immune to Bullets: The Russian


 * Infernal Retaliation: Using the flamethrower will occasionally cause flaming mooks to run into and damage you. Also  during the final phase of his boss fight.
 * Interrogation as Framing Device: Used..
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: One of the main selling points of the game is the ability to inflict this on every mook you come across.
 * The Joys of Torturing Mooks
 * Katanas Are Just Better:  will ask that you kill him with his ceremonial katana.
 * Knife Nut: Bullseye and Frank himself during Slaughter Mode.
 * The Mafia: The Gnucci family.
 * The Mafiya: Kreigkopf's Russian mercenaries
 * The Mole:
 * Oh Crap: Most of the dialogue of the mooks consists of this.
 * Puzzle Boss: The Russian
 * Ragdoll Physics
 * Revolvers Are Just Better: The revolver and the Hand Cannon are both very accurate.
 * Retirony: Many mooks claim they were about to retire/are married/have kids/whatever. It's possible to leave them alive (but not as much fun).
 * Shout-Out: Many mooks mention Daredevil.
 * During an assault on a group of Yakuza: "Oh no. They killed Kenchi."
 * Super Mode: In "Slaughter Mode", the Punisher regains health and uses a limitless supply of dual throwing knives.
 * Video Game Cruelty Potential: And how!
 * Vigilante Man
 * The Yakuza: The Eternal Sun
 * Your Head Asplode: It's entirely possible to blast off the heads and limbs of enemies.