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Deadpool (video game)

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Deadpool
Developer(s)High Moon Studios[a]
Publisher(s)Activision
Director(s)Sean Miller
Producer(s)Brian Johnson
Designer(s)Joseph Shackelford
Programmer(s)Michael Riccio
Artist(s)Damon Wilson-Hart
Writer(s)Daniel Way
Composer(s)Julian Soule
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, PS3, Xbox 360
  • NA: June 25, 2013
  • AU: June 26, 2013
  • EU: June 28, 2013[1]
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • NA: November 17, 2015
  • AU: November 17, 2015
  • EU: November 20, 2015
Genre(s)Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s)Single-player

Deadpool is an action-adventure video game based on the Marvel Comics antihero of the same name. It was developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in June 2013. Written by Daniel Way, the game's story follows Deadpool as he joins forces with Cable and the X-Men in order to thwart Mister Sinister's latest scheme, getting into numerous comedic adventures along the way. Similarly to other media featuring the character, the game includes self-referential humor and numerous fourth wall breaks.

Upon release, the game received mixed reviews, being praised for its humor and plot elements while being critiqued for deficiencies in its gameplay. Deadpool, along with most other games published by Activision that had used the Marvel license, was de-listed and removed from all digital storefronts in 2014. The game was re-released on November 18, 2015 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam to coincide with the release of the 2016 film based on the character and included all original DLC. On November 16, 2017, the game was once again removed from digital storefronts due to licensing issues.[2]

Gameplay

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Deadpool is an action hack and slash, third-person shooter video game. Gameplay mostly consists of fighting enemies using both melee weapons and guns, with new combos becoming available to Deadpool as he progresses through the story and obtains upgrade points. The game frequently breaks the fourth wall by having Deadpool verbally interact with the player based on their skill and progress.[3]

By default, Deadpool is armed with both guns and swords, but he also has access to giant hammers, plasma guns, and a range of other weapons. A short range of teleportation moves are possible as well. As he slowly falls apart while sustaining damage, players must avoid further damage in order to recover.[3] The game also features several stealth segments, where Deadpool is able to eliminate enemies silently with either his melee weapons or guns, though gun "stealth" kills will immediately alert all nearby enemies.

Plot

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When Deadpool's pitch for "the most awesome game ever" starring himself is rejected by High Moon Studios, he sets off explosives at the studio, forcing them to cooperate. He even hires Nolan North as his voice actor. When the game's script is delivered to him, Deadpool, finding it boring, draws all over it with a red crayon.

Following the first few lines of the script, Deadpool sets out to assassinate corrupt media mogul Chance White. He slaughters White's mercenaries before tackling White out of his penthouse window and into the sewers (blowing the game's budget in the process by repeating the events for kicks). However, White escapes with the Marauders, forcing Deadpool to give chase. Along the way, he experiences the first of many glitches (the result of Deadpool blowing the game's budget) and is forced to call High Moon multiple times to coerce/bribe them into finishing the game. After killing Marauders member Arclight, Deadpool finds White meeting with Mister Sinister, who has Blockbuster kill him once informed that the mogul's satellites are under his control. Angered at losing his bounty, Deadpool kills Vertigo, knocks out Blockbuster, and confronts Mr. Sinister, who effortlessly reduces him to a disembodied head before leaving with Blockbuster.

After regenerating, Deadpool awakens to see X-Men members Wolverine, Rogue, Psylocke, and Domino, who are trying to foil Sinister's plot to conquer the world with his army of clones. Joining them, Deadpool flies the Blackbird to Genosha, Sinister's hideout, but crashes the plane, leaving the X-Men unconscious. While wandering through Genosha, Deadpool runs into Cable, who has come from the future to ensure that Sinister's plan does not succeed, as it will inadvertently destroy the world. However, a bored Deadpool ends the conversation by shooting himself in the head. He awakens later to find a note from Cable urging him to hurry or he'll miss an "incredibly large-breasted" fangirl. This motivates Deadpool to regroup with Cable, only to learn there is no fangirl. After Cable explains that a security tower is broadcasting a signal to keep the X-Men unconscious, Deadpool infiltrates it and discovers Sinister wired into it. Messing with the controls, Deadpool destroys the tower and kills Sinister, only to learn from Cable that it was just a clone.

Cable convinces Deadpool to help by telling him that his favorite taco restaurant will be destroyed along with the rest of the world if Sinister is not stopped. Deadpool reconfigures a Sentinel boot into a flying machine to take him to Magneto's citadel, only to crash into Rogue in mid-air. The pair land in an abandoned mutant prison where Blockbuster kidnaps Rogue, prompting Deadpool to try and save her while planning to seduce her. He briefly abandons his quest upon spotting Sinister, whom he kills, only to learn it was another clone. Eventually, Deadpool kills Blockbuster and rescues Rogue, who absorbs his regenerating powers via kissing to heal herself, leaving Deadpool temporarily weakened.

As Rogue battles Sinister's incoming soldiers, Deadpool is briefly killed when his dog, Mr. Shuggums, brings a grenade he threw back to him, and is reunited with his lover Death. She reveals that Sinister has been exhuming mutant bodies to obtain their unique DNA, and asks for Deadpool's help in retrieving the mutant's suffering souls so that they could pass on peacefully. Coming back to life, Deadpool finds himself in Genosha's catacombs, where he must help Cable kill Sinister's soldiers before going on a spirit quest to retrieve the souls for death. Once he succeeds, the catacombs cave-in, foiling Sinister's plan.

After reuniting with Wolverine on the surface, Deadpool goes to Magneto's citadel, killing Sinister's remaining soldiers, as well as clones of the Marauders and Sinister. The X-Men arrive to help, but Sinister easily overpowers them, only to be crushed by Deadpool's Sentinel boot. Cable confirms that this was the real Sinister, and Deadpool calls for the end credits. As the credits roll, Deadpool is thrilled with how great his game is and talks to High Moon's representative Peter Della Penna, who admits that he did not really blow their budget. Deadpool proceeds to do so by causing multiple explosions during the credits.

Development

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Deadpool was first announced at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con.[4] Only a teaser trailer was shown, without platforms to be shown.[4] Shortly after the announcement, an article was unveiled on Marvel's official website confirming the development of the game; the article was written from Deadpool's point of view, saying he hired High Moon Studios to make him a game.[5] Prior to the game's release, the lead designer of the game revealed the basics of the plot in an interview with IGN, saying Deadpool has taken over the studio and is in charge of the game's development. The game was created using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 technology, which also powers High Moon's Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.[6]

During High Moon's panel at Comic-Con, a censored version of the trailer was shown twice after an actor dressing up as Deadpool appeared on stage with the developers. Another marketing campaign started with billboards taking the appearance of graffiti covering advertisements for The Amazing Spider-Man, presumably made by Deadpool to crudely advertise his video game. GameSpot later released an advertisement of the game, with Deadpool giving a holiday greeting while telling people to pre-order the game, stating that it would be released in 2013.[7]

High Moon studio head Peter Della Penna revealed later in a press release that Daniel Way had written the story for the game, bringing his signature Deadpool humor to the title. Jokingly according to Penna, "we weren't actually planning on making a Deadpool game. But, Deadpool came by the studio one day, said he was taking over, and that if I didn't hire Marvel writer Daniel Way pronto and make the most amazing Deadpool video game, he'd break both of our arms and beat us to death with them. I have kids, so we're making the game".[8]

Marketing

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High Moon Studios announced a "watch and win" sweepstakes that ran during the Spike Video Game Awards, which aired on December 8, 2012. The winner of the contest would be flown to High Moon Studios and will appear as an in-game character in the Deadpool video game.[9] The winner appears in the game as a unique big-headed enemy that Deadpool mentions was supposed to be the pizza delivery man at the start of the game.[citation needed] The winner of this contest was Bill Salina, a Database Administrator from Atlanta, GA. He appears as the character Storm Thrower, who, as he is attacked, will name off pizzas.

Release and availability

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The game was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360.[10] A full list of achievements had leaked via the digital distributor Steam.[11] The ESRB rating page was also updated to list a PC version of the game.[12]

Pre-orders were announced by several retail outlets. GameStop and EBGames released the Merc with a Map Pack DLC. Two new maps are also added, the GRT Plaza and Inside the Tower to Deadpool Challenge mode, and also two bonus costumes, the D-Pooly and Uncanny X-Force suits only for use in the unlockable Infinite mode where stats are tracked on a global leaderboard.[13]

Removal and eighth-generation ports

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On January 1, 2014, Activision's license to create games with Marvel comics characters expired, resulting in Deadpool and numerous other Marvel Games titles published by Activision to be removed from online storefronts such as Steam and PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live.[14][15][16] Activision no longer had a right to make downloadable content, trading cards, and patches to the game. Despite this, on July 15, 2015, Deadpool was made available for purchase on Steam for PC again.[17] The title was made no longer available to purchase from the Steam store again on November 16, 2017, but players who purchased it while it was available are still able to download and play the game through the Steam client.

On August 31, 2015, Activision announced that they would remaster the game for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game was re-released in November 17 in North America and Australia,[18] and November 20 in the United Kingdom.[19] It is unknown how Activision reacquired the rights to re-publish Deadpool, but it is believed that the re-release was timed to help promote the then-upcoming Deadpool film from 20th Century Fox, released a few months after the next-gen version of the game.[20] The game has since been delisted again.

Reception

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High Moon Studios showed an early demo of the video game to journalists at Gamescom 2012, where the game earned a nomination for Best of Show. Several sites wrote positive impressions of the demo that was shown at Gamescom and the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), including Joystiq and GameSpot.[41]

Deadpool received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[36][37][38][39][40] Critics praised the humor, the original story, and faithfulness to the comics, but criticized the controls, combat, and repetitive gameplay.

411Mania said, "Deadpool isn't going to win any end of the year awards, but not every game has to." They appreciated its unique fourth-wall breaking gameplay sequences and humor, but criticized its repetitiveness.[42] GameZone called it "a fun little romp. If you can tolerate Deadpool's demented humor, you'll find a nice few hours of entertainment within the game".[43] The Escapist praised the combat system and humor, although claimed "it has its share of controller-throwing difficulty problems and hit-or-miss jokes".[35] Digital Spy said it was "far from a bad game, yet the developers' over-reliance on the appeal of the source material means it rarely shoots for the stars".[34] However, The Digital Fix said it was "Nowhere near as awesome as Deadpool would have you believe".[44] Edge called it "an indisputably poor game, one whose knowing winks and quips come off not as metacommentary but as tacit apologia for its litany of specific failings".[45]

Notes

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  1. ^ Mercenary Technology developed the Windows port.

References

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  1. ^ Dove, Stephen (April 17, 2013). "Deadpool Bonuses & Release Date Revealed". Games Latest News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  2. ^ Gelmini, David (November 14, 2017). "Deadpool Game Immediately Being Removed From Storefronts". Dread Central. Dead Central Media, LLC. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Krupa, Daniel (August 17, 2012). "Deadpool: An Article About a Video Game". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Red, Carmine (July 15, 2012). "Deadpool Game Announced, No Platforms Given". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "Deadpool Announces the Deadpool Game". Marvel Comics. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Gaudiosi, John (November 27, 2012). "Marvel Super Hero Deadpool Comes To Life In Activision Video Game". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  7. ^ GameSpot (December 21, 2012). "Deadpool - Holiday Greeting". YouTube. Alphabet Inc. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  8. ^ "Deadpool Put In Charge of Marketing Deadpool Game". The Escapist. Defy Media. July 20, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  9. ^ "Sweepstakes to Be in Deadpool Video Game". Deadpool Bugle. November 28, 2012. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  10. ^ "Deadpool Video Game Release Date: June 25, 2013". Deadpool Bugle. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  11. ^ Papadopoulos, John (March 19, 2013). "Deadpool, Mortal Kombat, Strider, KOF XIII, Prey 2 Steam Achievements Leaked – PES 2013 On Steam". DSOGaming. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
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  20. ^ McGloin, Matt (February 12, 2016). "Deadpool Video Game Getting Re-Released For PS4 & XBox One". Cosmic Book News. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  21. ^ Sterling, Jim (June 28, 2013). "Review: Deadpool (X360)". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
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  30. ^ OPMUK staff (June 25, 2013). "Deadpool PS3 review – Marvel's meta-man runs headfirst into the fourth wall". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
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  34. ^ a b Langshaw, Mark (July 2, 2013). "'Deadpool' review (PS3): Comic culture spawns hit-and-miss brawler". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
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  37. ^ a b "Deadpool for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
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  39. ^ a b "Deadpool for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  40. ^ a b "Deadpool for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  41. ^ "Gamescom 2012: Impressions of the Deadpool Video Game". Deadpool Bugle. August 20, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  42. ^ Vote, Todd (August 8, 2013). "Deadpool (Xbox 360) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  43. ^ Liebl, Matt (June 30, 2013). "Review: Deadpool has a big mouth, but can he back it up?". GameZone. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
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  45. ^ Edge staff (July 30, 2013). "Deadpool review (X360)". Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
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