The Punisher

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**The Punisher** is an open world, third-person shooter video game designed by David Burnes, developed by 5-7 Development and published by NINE100 Studios. It was released on May 31 2018 for the Anima, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.

The game is based on the popular Marvel character, The Punisher

## Synopsis

**The Punisher** revolves around the titular character's quest to topple the Costa family gang, who were responsible for the death of Frank’s family. The game is presented as Frank telling his story

### A Lifetime Ago

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**A Lifetime Ago**is the opening episode of **The Punisher**. The mission follows the game's main character Frank Castle the day his family were slain by a mob in Central Park.
The mission begins after a short opening credits sequence panning through Central Park. Frank and his family get out of their car, going for a walk through Central Park, unaware as to the mob shooting that is about to take place. They stop to get ice cream at a cart and then head to a nearby pond to sit down and relax. When they arrive there, the family happen upon the scene of a lone man being surrounded by a group of armed men drawing pistols on him. The group shoot the man dead, and as Frank and his family turn to flee one of the mobsters notice them. Fearing witnesses, he opens fire on them, killing all but Frank, who is severely wounded. The mission ends as Frank cradles the limp corpses of his children.

### In The Beginning

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**In The Beginning** is the 2nd episode of **The Punisher**. The mission follows Frank Castle and Burt Kenyon as they come under attack from Viet-Cong militants in the jungles of  Tây Ninh during the Vietnam war.
The mission begins with Frank and his squad (including Burt Kenyon) patrolling a section of a Vietnamese jungle. The squad come across a small group of Viet-Cong militants and a gunfight ensues. They leave unscathed and continue on their patrol. Later on the private discovers an ammo box left on the jungle floor and goes to retrieve it. As he sets foot on the ground which the box lays on it gives way and he falls into a pit lined with bamboo spikes, impaling him through the stomach and face. Before the squad can gather themselves they are ambushed by another group of Viet-Cong and another confrontation takes place. All of the squad are killed except for Burt and Frank, who are eventually overwhelmed. Burt is shot in the leg and falls to the ground. Frank is tackled into the ground and stabbed in the arm. He sees Burt being restrained and dragged away as his view fades to black.

## Gameplay

**The Punisher** is set in the dense open world of New York City. The open world is split into three districts, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Each district can be traveled to by fast-travelling between Frank’s safehouses, which he has one of in each district. The game features dynamic events such as robberies and and mob shootings, as well as dynamic weather. Random events can also kickstart side missions. Missions can be started from the safehouses or travelled to on foot. From the safehouses the player uses the mission prep screen to select weapons and equipment, as well as selecting one of four mission start points. Alternatively, the player can go to one of the start points on foot, which gives them a better idea of the objective but sacrifices the ability to select specific equipment and replenish ammunition. Most missions in the game are open-ended in design, although some, such as the missions set in Vietnam, are linear.

The game's combat comprises of melee and ranged combat. Frank can use knives or other melee weapons in a realistic CQC system that comprises of a heavy attack, light attack, dodge and stealth attack. The player can also lock on to an opponent for better manoeuvrability during combat. Ranged weaponry consists of a wide and varied range of firearms, from short range pistols to 50.cal sniper rifles. Guns have high recoil and hit hard, requiring few shots to down an enemy. However, this also applies to those facing Frank, resulting in one mistake often leading to death. As such, the player can take cover behind objects such as cars. Explosives can also be used, whether it be a simple frag grenade or an evasive smoke bomb. During stealth, the player can grab an enemy and interrogate them for information. During these instances, the enemy can be tortured with melee weapons for more information.

The structure of the story is similar to a TV show. Players complete various missions (titled “episodes”) to progress the story. Episodes are commonly unlocked in groups of 2 or 3, and may play out differently based on the order the player progresses through them. Most episodes can be tackled freely in between other activites, while some are directly followed by another. Side missions are also a big part of the game, with the majority of them having their own self contained story, or adding to the main storyline. Some side missions also feature cameos from other Marvel characters.
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## Weapons

**The Punisher** features a wide variety of weapons. Firearms are graded out of 10 on 3 main stats, damage, accuracy and rate of fire.