Deadpool: The Game

If you like Deadpool comics or like me you are also a weirdly obsessive fan girl who thinks he's attractive then you will love the game, Deadpool.

Many reviews argued that if you didn't know the character or you weren't a seasoned fan then you should probably give the game a miss. 

I disagree. I think the game is a lot of fun and yes, I am biased but I also play a lot of video games and it's not nearly as bad as some reviewers suggested it was. 

Occasionally, the game goes from 3D to 2D top down with mini-games interspersed, the joke in-game is that Deadpool wanted to write a video game about himself but the company didn't have the money to finish it properly - hence the changes in gameplay style throughout. I think a lot of enjoyment in this game comes from the humour and if you don't like the jokes (or maybe you just don't possess a sense of humour) then sure, you'll hate this game. 

For me to write objectively without reverting to the squeally fangirl I am, I'll start by highlighting the things about it that I disliked. 

Firstly, the repeated catchphrases were amusing at first but they got old...really quickly. Not so bad if you liked Deadpool's voice but for me personally, it grated. I'm sure that's no fault of the voice actor, but having read a lot of Deadpool comics, the voice in my head sounds completely different and isn't nearly as nasally and annoying as the in-game version. No offence to Nolan North because I like his voice acting, I'm just annoyed that he didn't consult me and ask my personal interpretation of the 'Pool.

Secondly, the gameplay was a tad repetitive, especially the fighting which became tedious at times.

And lastly...that ending.

Ergh, it was so underwhelming

*SPOILERS AHEAD*


After fighting what seemed like a million Sinisters, the game just ends. Naturally, there's some silly music and a place card featuring DP with rainbows and a flying tiger etc. but ultimately, it felt like a cop out. Perhaps that was meant as another joke? The final joke of the game being that, they never finished it because Deadpool blew up the company and they ran out of money...? I'm clutching at straws here...

In its defence, the game was FUN. I can always forgive a game for shoddy graphics, slow gameplay, a less that satisfactory ending or voice acting when it's fun to play. The game's primary function was to entertain me and it did just that - what are games if not mediums of entertainment*? 

*I often argue that games are more than entertainment and that 'fun' is not an adequate description of why a game is good but this isn't what I'm writing about now so I'll just make a mental note to tackle that in another post!    

The cameos from other Marvel characters were inevitable of course and they were handled really well. The ones that stood out were Cable and Wolverine but especially Cable because his video bio was hilarious.

Though I was sad that Blind Al, Weasel or Hydra Bob didn't seem to make it into the game. Digression aside, Cable always works well alongside Deadpool and as I mentioned, the highlight of his appearance in this game was his bio. The song is so catchy, I find myself singing it all the time and I finished playing this game some time last year.

It's too good not to include:

Another ridiculous moment was Wolverine being knocked out after a crash landing, the option to slap him to wake him up is funny enough but if you keep on going...continually pressing A (or whichever button it was)...which I did, for a solid minute...you are rewarded with hilarious dialogue and an achievement to boot.

Speaking of which, the achievements in this game are also brilliant. They encapsulate the pointlessness of them in a rather tongue in check way alongside Deadpool breaking the fourth wall to point this out. One of the first achievements you actually get is aimed at the player, openly explaining that this is one of "those" games where you get multiple achievements for doing nothing. There's even one for shooting up a photocopier because...well, this game never takes itself seriously, just like its protagonist which is probably why I enjoy it so much. It captures the spirit of the comics and that was enough to it provide me ample fan service.

While I whinged about the fighting mechanics, I must admit that the fighting combos work much in the same way as they do in the Arkham Asylum games and if you just want to fight clones, the challenges are actually quite...challenging. You can level up whichever weapons you prefer and upgrade all of your combos. The levelling up felt in line with the difficulty of the levels and if you can ignore the repetitive speech of AI and Deadpool himself, the fighting mechanics are solid.

And when you start feeling deja vu, the game will change. Throughout, there are lots of varied experiences, some indicative of most video games in general like the semi-tedious tutorial first level stuff (which is made comical by DP), numerous cutscenes (which are extremely entertaining), puzzle solving in the mines with Death, quick time events, platformer style levels and mini games where the game itself switches to an old skool 80s style arcade game with top down view and 8-bit graphics. Which so much going on, the game itself is a pastiche of all other games. 

It's because the game is so all over the place that it manages to avoid becoming boring or repetitive. With the exception of the voice acting and fighting the same enemies over and over of course (that's probably due to my gaming skill...). But, as I stated before I can let all the negative things go because well...

...THIS GAME IS SUPER FUN AND DEADPOOL IS AWESOME, OKAY...I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD AND VIOLENCE, LEAVE ME ALONE!