In theatre, they call it "breaking the fourth wall" - that's when an actor turns to the audience and addresses them directly. Well, in video game terms, Marvel's blabber-mouthed anti-hero Deadpool doesn't so much break the fourth wall as utterly destroy it and dance a jig on the rubble. You've never played a game that has this much fun with its own toybox.
If your exposure to Deadpool is limited to his small and rather... disappointing turn in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie than you're in for a shock. On the comic page, the "merc with a mouth" is constantly aware that he's the star of a superhero comic, much to the annoyance of his co-stars - usually the X-Men - who see his reader-baiting asides as evidence of his insanity. Of course, Deadpool does have two different voices squabbling in his head anyway, so maybe they're not that far off the mark.
Let's Get Stoopid
How does this translate into a game? Manically, is the obvious answer. The game begins with Deadpool chilling out in his grotty apartment, waiting to hear back from High Moon Studios about his proposed video game adventure. Even before the action has even kicked off, you're free to muck about. Want to make some pancakes? Go for it. There's even an Achievement in it for you. Once the script arrives, Deadpool wastes no time in ignoring everything it says and instead launches into his latest assignment - the assassination of a corrupt media mogul - with typically careless mayhem.
At its core, the game is ironically not that different to the Wolverine game that coincided with the 2009 movie in which Deadpool appeared. It's a hack and slash brawler, with a third-person shooter element. Deadpool wields swords, sai and hammers, pulling off combos with fast and heavy attacks, while he can also whip out an array of firearms to take down foes from a distance. There are stealth kills, should you find yourself in a quiet enough place to pull them off, and you also get to play around with grenades, man traps and mines. There's little here that you won't have seen in other action games, but it's rarely been this gleefully executed.
Masked Mayhem
It's a solid and enjoyable formula, and one that is spiced up with some bits of platform jumping and exploration as you poke around, hunting for every last scrap of DP (Deadpool's equivalent of XP). This allows you to augment his already impressive mutant abilities. His healing ability refills health after a short pause, while Deadpool can also teleport around to dodge attacks and get the drop on foes. Combine that with weapons that are quick to level up, and you've got a game where causing mayhem is always deliciously rewarding.
It's a bloody and silly game with politically incorrect quips, toilet humour and sleazeball punchlines galore, but as entertaining as the carnage is, it's Deadpool's full-tilt wackiness that makes it stand out. No opportunity to poke fun at video game clichés goes unmissed, whether Deadpool is mocking the standard "press A to jump" tutorial, or abusing quick-time events to slap an unconscious Wolverine hundreds of times. When other Marvel characters do appear, their bewilderment at being drawn into the elastic cartoon reality of Deadpool's world is priceless.
Dumb And Proud Of It
This isn't a game that's going to keep you busy for months, however. There are no collectibles to hunt down on a second playthrough, and the only other content outside of the story mode is a series of survival challenge stages where you test your combat skills against relentless waves of enemies.
That's not to say the game isn't worth your time, though. If 2013 offers a funnier game than this, we'll eat our pants, and the main story offers enough bizarre twists and "did you see that?" moments of inspired lunacy that you'll wish your joypad had a rewind button.
Deadpool the game is a lot like Deadpool the character: defiantly violent, unapologetically brash and shamelessly shallow, but also impossible to dislike. If you like your gaming fast, loud and silly, then this is the game for you.
GAME's Verdict
The Good:
- Incredibly funny and always surprising
- Solid combat that evolves nicely over time
- Perfectly captures a very unique character at his best
The Bad:
- Some boss fights are frustrating
- Camera isn't always helpful
- If you don't get the joke, the humour will definitely grate.