Out of nowhere comes a Deadpool game that is as relentlessly self-referential as the comic-book character.
The Merc With A Mouth is a conceptually divisive antihero, yet his transfer to videogames is tonally consistent with his fourth wall-breaking graphic jollies, with a likeable parody of game staples married to a throwaway combat system.
It’s an admirably specific choice for a big (or at least, medium) budget Marvel adaptation that doesn’t obey the typical licence game mindset of gunning for the biggest audience possible – like Deadpool himself, there’s a cultish appeal here that’ll either be wonderful or nauseating depending on your perception of the character.
Oddly, Deadpool peaks right at the start, as you’re given the opportunity to wander around his flat, interacting with things like a pretend bookshelf, pancake mixture and even a toilet just for the hell of it, while he entertainingly comments on his atrociously simple life.
For the uninitiated, there’s also a brief video explaining his Liefeldian Marvel origins; it swerves off from here, rarely being terrible, but never leaving the same territory of middling, relentless hack-and-slash play with a few extra quips thrown in.
The shooting is barely functional when it comes to aiming, too, and while Deadpool’s fighting skills can be upgraded, little effort is really needed to match the oncoming challenges and familiar set pieces.
There’s absolutely nothing extraordinary about the design of Deadpool other than the way his world has been transferred to a videogame – in terms of using the licence, the X-Men cameos (Cable, Wolverine and a few others) and a script that’s always slightly funnier than you expect, there’s a disposable level of fun to be had here if you can find this title at a reasonable price.
