The thing about Deadpool is that he knows he’s a comic book character. He regularly breaks the fourth wall, and it’s the same case here as Deadpool and the voices in his head will constantly talk to the player during the adventure. He’ll narrate tutorial prompts, make fun of boss introductions, and even turn around to the screen to make fun of players for doing badly. There was one amazing point where Deadpool sang along to a song while riding up an elevator.
Developer High Moon Studios looks like they’re going to stay true to Deadpool’s character. It’s the actual gameplay where I’m worried. Basically it’s a third-person action adventure game where you can seamlessly switch between a variety of guns and melee weapons like swords, sais, dual sledgehammers, and more. All the weapons are upgradable, and you earn upgrade points based on kills and combos. The better you do in battle, the more special attacks you can perform too, such as a breakdance move where Deadpool is swinging his swords around wildly.
The combat for the most part didn’t have that sense of power you feel when kicking ass in games like Devil May Cry, or Bayonetta. Deadpool is killing everyone in style, but it just didn’t give off that certain sense of strength that I think it’s lacking. Granted, what we got to see was really early so lots can change. High Moon Studios have done an amazing job with the Transformers license so I’m not too worried about them pulling it off.
Story wise, Deadpool is hired to kill rich news reporter Chance White. It’s a basic hit, but this event will see Deadpool sucked into a conflict that will see other Marvel characters make appearances, such as Psylocke and Lady Deathstrike.
The mission begins with Deadpool entering the sewers and inflating a giant bounce house. It’s not explained at all why, and Deadpool quickly moves on after jumping on the bounce house a few times for pleasure. Um, okay? Deadpool double jumps, wall jumps, and climbs his way to the top of the sewers further into the area, and plants a C4 charge to enter Chance White’s residence. The entire place is swarming with Chance’s body guards, and you have to do the typical slow crawl towards Chance while taking out a bunch of minions.
Eventually, Deadpool finds Chance and slams him against a window. Here the player has to repeatedly press the A button on the Xbox 360 controller to punch Chance in the face, which causes the window to break and both characters fall out of the skyscraper building. Deadpool rides Chance, giving him a few more punches before the pair fall onto the bounce house that Deadpool set up earlier. It always comes together for Deadpool in the end.
High Moon Studios is on the right track, and I’m looking forward to seeing more for sure. The Deadpool charm is there, they just need to get the gameplay up to strength.
