Deadpool Review: Sword, Guns, and Blood, Oh My

The unstable and scarified Deadpool has become an icon in comics and pop culture. He has his own self-titled comic line, has appeared in numerous animated movies, and has his own impending feature film. He also happens to have his own video game, released in 2013. It’s chock-full of blood, guns, profanity…and mediocrity. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t quite live up to the high bar set by the countless rabid legions of Deadpool fans.

Starting with the positives, this game is absolutely on the mark with the pure mayhem of what a Deadpool game should be. The developers obviously gave a damn about making sure the character of Deadpool shone through with the dialogue and shenanigans throughout. Using David North to voice Deadpool was also an excellent choice, as he voiced him for the “Hulk vs Wolverine” animated featurette to high aplomb. With numerous in-jokes, breaking of the fourth wall, and witty banter galore, the game will definitely leave you cackling as you commit murder and mayhem throughout the Marvel universe.

However, it is definitely not without its shortcomings.

To put it simply, the game is just too darn short. It’s easily played through within roughly 4 or 5 hours or so. It’s not lacking in fun factor, but really replay value. Once you’ve gone through and maxed out Deadpool, there’s not really much else to amuse yourself with other than seeking out Easter eggs (mainly dialogue) and just mowing down the swarms of now nigh-harmless baddies. A second issue is that Deadpool’s arsenal while fun, is a bit small and without variation. Four firearms, three melee weapons, and 4 explosives really don’t add up to much, and especially when you’ll find yourself really only using one or two from each category. The creators really could have spiced it up a bit with some more wacky weaponry. Rocket launchers could have been fun, or maybe nunchucks. Practicality goes out the window when Deadpool is involved, so the writers really needlessly limited themselves a bit with their imaginations.

Yes, the Deadpool game is limited. But it is a rollicking good time for the time you have with it. Play through it, give yourself a month’s break, get back on it, and you’ll find it fresh out of the box fun. Purchasing the game might not work swell, but it is definitely at least a solid rental to kill a weekend with.