The Punisher: No Mercy is a bargain-priced shooter and it could hide behind the "you get what you pay for" defense if it wasn't released so closely to the launch of Battlefield 1943, which pretty much blows that defense out of the water. No Mercy comes with a story mode that essentially and quite unnecessarily attempts to explain why so many players are running around using the same character models drawn from The Punisher's friends and enemies list. You'll clear this mode in under an hour with your only reward for slaughtering a few score of idiot-minded bots being the unlocking of all of the skins and basic weapons for use in multiplayer matches. In the single layer mode you'll watch a minute or so of comic-panel cutscenes and then be dropped onto one of the maps used in the multiplayer game with a goal like killing X number of bots before the timer runs out. These goals aren't too difficult to meet considering that the enemies tend to come charging onto the map from only a couple of spawn points and then try to run right at you.

Multiplayer has co-op and competitive modes, but co-op involves the same brain-dead bots from single player mode and you'll quickly lose interest in it. The competitive modes are basically deathmatch variations and aren't that much more enjoyable themselves. Matches are over quickly because they're filled with cheap deaths and victory often feels like more a matter of luck than of skill. There's some variety added in the form of plentiful power-ups on the map, but the matches never last long enough to put them to good use. There's also a bit of a balance issue in that those willing to put a lot of time into the game will eventually have access to better weapons which puts them at a distinct advantage over new players. The rich get richer, the poor quickly quit, and pretty soon there won't be enough people playing to fill a game.

Use your $10 on a bargain game that you'll want to play after the first day you buy it, or put it in your piggy bank and save up for a real shooter.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 40%. This game punishes those who buy it without mercy.