''The Punisher'' is a 1990

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Paragon Software Paragon Software Corporation was an American video game developer based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Founded on December 12, 1985, by Mark E. Seremet and Antony Davies, the company was best known for games developed around licenses from Marvel ...

and released by

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizat ...

, which stars the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

, the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

. An unrelated game for

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

and

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

was released by The Edge also in 1990. In the same year, there was also a third unrelated ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

'' game for

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

, released by

LJN LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a m ...

Gameplay

The DOS version features three different modes of gameplay: driving the Punisher's "Battle Van", walking through NYC's streets and select buildings, and scuba diving. The player takes the role of the Punisher and will try to take revenge upon the organised crime, who has killed Punisher's family. The equipment consists of a knife, several semi-automatic guns, grenades, the Battle Van, and a scuba gear.

Reception

In the issue number 77 of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' (December 1990),

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai is an American businessman, and writer of crime fiction and mysteries. He is co-founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He was also an early employee of D. E. Shaw & Co. and a managing di ...

stated that the DOS version of ''The Punisher'' "is wish-fulfillment of the highest order, a ''Death Wish'' revenge fantasy mixed with an honest cry from the gut for justice .. For real New Yorkers dealing with an all-too-real" crime waves, and predicted strong sales in urban areas. He gave the game a qualified recommendation, however, because of flaws including graphics of inconsistent quality, poor controls, bugs, and ineffective, manual-based

copy protection Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, is any measure to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found on vid ...

. In the issue number 148 of the same magazine, Punisher as in the Paragon Software developed version is mentioned as the fifteenth most memorable hero of all time. In October 1991, ''The Punisher'' was indexed by the

Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons The Federal Agency for Child and Youth Protection in the Media ( or ''BzKJ''), until 2021 "Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young Persons" ( or ''BPjM''), is an upper-level German federal agency and youth protection panel subordinate ...

of Germany in a list for games deemed to be a bad influence for younger gamers.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Punisher, The (1990 video game) 1990 video games Amiga games Atari ST games DOS games MicroProse games Video games based on Punisher Video games developed in the United States Video games set in New York City Single-player video games Paragon Software games

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links