Deadpool Review

Deadpool
Developer: High Moon Studios
Price: $50
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
A PSN code for Deadpool was supplied to us

Deadpool is the type of game that’s really hoping you like Deadpool, as in if you can’t stand the character you’re not going to enjoy playing this game at all. Unlike High Moon Studios’ previous Transformers games, you didn’t necessarily have to be a Transformers fan to enjoy those, but it’s kind of hard to recommend this game to anyone but Deadpool fans.

As if that wasn’t enough, they’re also targeting a specific type of Deadpool, the “Waypool” incarnation who is notorious among longtime Deadpool fans due to being written by Daniel Way. I won’t get into specifics about it, but I felt it was something worth noting to any big Deadpool fans who were interested in the game. If you just recently got into the character it’s likely that you were first exposed to Daniel Way’s version of the character and if that’s the case then you’re going to have a complete blast with the game.

In typical Deadpool fashion, the game is constantly breaking the fourth wall by reminding you that Deadpool knows he’s starring in his own game and the game is basically him following the script that High Moon Studio sent him. I wouldn’t really call anything in this game a plot, but more like a series of forced events as an excuse to have Deadpool go to various locales. The humor is juvenile as hell but I found the comedy to really get a bit clever later into the game; it’s just a shame that the beginning is full of horrid dick jokes.

Something weird happened when I was playing this game. When I first started playing I absolutely hated it; the combat was stupidly slow, you fought the same two enemies through some really dull levels, most of the jokes were juvenile sex jokes, and everything just felt like an overall chore. A little more than halfway through the game though I actually started having some fun. The game started throwing in a lot more enemy types, the levels got a bit more interesting, and the humor actually got better. There’s some really creative stuff that happens in the second half that I wish was around in the first half. That said, the game does poke fun at other games by having a few 2D levels and a really fun roll through the catacombs with Death herself. Unfortunately these moments that I expected the game to be full of are few and far between with most of the game being filled with generic hallways.

Now something that really surprised me was how slow Deadpool is when attacking. Until you buy the two combo upgrades for your katana his two available combos are so goddamn slow it’s ridiculous. Even after you upgrade your swords it still feels really slow; I think God of War even plays faster than this game. You can unlock two more weapons (a sai that’s weaker but faster and two hammers that are stronger but slow) to play around with but the katana is going to be your go to weapon for most of the game; the sais are alright too but only when they’re upgraded. There are only a half dozen combos you can do with all the weapons and not being able to switch between them in a combo like most other action games is pretty disappointing. Most fights just revolve around you waiting to counter an enemy and juggle them in the air until you can counter another enemy.

Deadpool does have a few guns that can be mixed into his melee combos or played like a poor man’s TPS. You’ve got a pistol, shotgun, SMG, and pulse rifle that are all dual wielded like his melee weapons because that’s just how Deadpool rules. There are various explosives as well so there’s definitely a bit of stuff to help spice up the combat but I didn’t feel it was enough. Everything was just too simple and even though I was enjoying myself at times it was on par with how I enjoy myself when I play a Dynasty Warriors game, slashing through hordes of goons effortlessly. Having a teleport move that lets you phase through enemies to easily dodge moves just adds to the simplicity. There’s also an Arkham City style counter move you can do when an enemy is about to attack you and it can sometimes lead to one-hit kill attacks. Funnily enough, there’s a trophy/achievement called Unbalanced for purchasing all the player upgrades and it’s exactly how it feels once you unlock everything.

As you slice your way through enemies you’ll earn DP (Deadpool Points) that can be used to upgrade your weapons or Deadpool himself. All the weapons share the exact same types of upgrades which makes upgrading feel a bit annoying since there’s no difference between upgrading your shotgun, katanas, or SMG. To earn the big points though you’ll need to rack up a big combo and then “bank it” by letting the combo end. The problem with this is that there are many enemies who will shoot you from a distance while their buddies get in your face and their stray bullets can end your combo annoyingly quickly. When you’re done with the campaign (it’ll last you maybe 6 or so hours) you can jump into the challenge maps which are just the same campaign levels with waves of enemies you have to fight through. Visually the game is pretty average and I’m not going to stop mentioning the annoying texture pop-in issues of the Unreal Engine until it stops doing it. The frame rate can also get fairly inconsistent in performance; it never drops to anything unplayable but you’ll definitely see it drop at some random moments.

The Final Word
Deadpool is a solid enough action game, but if Deadpool himself isn’t your cup of tea you might not want to bother picking this game up.

– MonsterVine Rating: 3 out of 5 – Average