Knights of the Cardboard Castle

Deadpool is one of the recent titles that was taken off the virtual shelves when its license with Marvel expired. I’d bought it some time before that, thinking that I’d like to play a Marvel superhero action game without really expecting too much out of it. As it happens, Deadpool turned out to be pretty much exactly what I wanted: a lightweight action game with just enough nods to the Marvel Universe to make it feel right but without being too heavy.

• Gameplay is thoroughly mediocre. It’s like they took a look at the awesome Batman games and did a watered-down, half-assed version of it. Controls, especially gunplay, are sloppy and there’s a strong emphasis on wild button-mashing rather than precision movements. There’s a little bit of everything in here: melee and ranged combat moves, combos, special attacks called momentum attacks  which you need to build up to, some stealth options etc. But it’s a random mishmash of poorly implemented stuff. Oddly enough, given Deadpool’s personality and the style of the game, this actually turns out to work out okay.

• Some annoying choices: ammunition for guns is limited which doesn’t feel like Deadpool at all. I guess this is supposed to force you away from using guns all of the time. There are also no invulnerability frames when you execute momentum attacks, which somewhat detracts from their usefulness. Deadpool’s teleportation range varies by level, a fact that the game even lampshades, so it feels like an artificial constraint. Strangely the teleportation moves and the melee counter uses the same button so you’ll very often accidentally wade into melee and perform a counter move when you really intend to teleport out of a tight spot.
• Deadpool’s primary power is his healing factor, represented here by his ability to quickly regenerate to full health once he has stopped taking any damage for a while. Since this is present in some form in practically every action game, this isn’t terribly exciting. It also encourages a gameplay style that doesn’t feel like Deadpool at all: fight enemies, take cover to heal, re-engaged when you’re back to full health. It would be more interesting if the healing ability were somehow tied to Deadpool performing cool attacks or something.

• The story is well, very Deadpool and is all about breaking the fourth wall. Deadpool knows that this is a video game so he wants it to be the most awesome video game ever. Sometimes he does things for no discernible reason because it’s part of the script. His regular partner Cable shows up, as does his pals from the X-Men. Deadpool of course is more concerned about having fun, meeting hot chicks and being cool than saving the world so his friends have to resort to unconventional means to motivate him.
• There’s a lot of jokes in this game. Unsurprisingly most of them fall flat. Then again, they come so unrelentingly that it’s hard to keep a grin off your face. And there are some good moments like when you’re using pulse rifles to shoot up enemies and you hear pew-pew sounds and realize that Deadpool is making those noises with his mouth. Sometimes Deadpool does stupid shit which leaves the player confused but then comes back to it later as a surprise for the player. They’re cheap, low-brow jokes, but for those who are easily amused, like myself, they work well enough.
• Some reviewers have complained about the blatant misogyny in this game. I have to agree that there’s certainly a lot of it in here. But I don’t find myself bothered by it because well, this is part of who Deadpool is. It’s like buying an issue of Playboy and complaining about all the naked women in it. I also find it amusing that the game aims it in a different direction. The sexy women don’t feel like they’re there to titillate the player, as most games try to. I find it too silly to be sexy. Instead, they’re used to demonstrate how juvenile Deadpool and to make us laugh at him. I’m okay with that.

• Incidentally, if you’re hoping to see some onscreen action alongside the X-Men, you’ll be disappointed. It’s a Deadpool game so Deadpool gets to be the star and show the X-Men how it’s done, in his own words. They’re taken out of action with preposterous ease whenever it looks like they may actually get to do something. Cable sometimes tags along, but all he ever does is shoot at things with his gun. In general, I’m disappointed with how miserably the game portrays the wide variety of superpowers available to the characters. Enemies either shoot stuff or hit you in melee. That’s it.

Overall I found this to be an okay game. The big surprise is that it’s not completely terrible. Combat is nothing exciting and the final fight downright tedious and maybe punishingly difficult until you figure out just what it is you need to do. There’s also a fair amount of platforming that will annoy some people. But I like the character enough to be entertained by his antics and I’d say this implementation exactly nails what a Deadpool game should be like.