The Punisher Has No Mercy for the PlayStation Network

I love the idea of Frank Castle, and he seems like the sort of guy that would be a perfect fit for a gritty, violent action game. But the Punisher just sort of strikes out time and time again. A few years have passed since his last outing, so it's time for another try. This time, we're getting The Punisher: No Mercy, a PlayStation Network exclusive developed by Zen Studios. Not to start out overly pessimistic, but this is the same Zen Studios that did Pinball FX and Rocky & Bullwinkle for Xbox Live Arcade, neither of which were so hot.

So it's probably a good thing that No Mercy isn't going to be a pinball simulator or a WarioWare clone. It's an arena-style first-person shooter, focused on multiplayer action and built on Unreal Engine 3. As its set in the Punisher world, you'll see Mr. Castle himself, as well as characters like Jigsaw, Bushwacker, Barracude, and Silver Sable.

Sony has posted a Q&A with Zen's Zsolt Kigyossy, which gives a few basic details but stays pretty promotional in nature. The game will have full trophy support and customizable characters. Those customizations will have gameplay ramifications.

So there's not much to see just yet, and the license has a rough track record--yet I remain hopeful. Since this is multiplayer-focused, it probably won't have a very deep (or any) story, but setting some shooter action in this universe and putting it together as a smaller-scale download title instead of full-priced retail release sounds like a good start to me.