Day 184, Game 184 - Deadpool

As the ring entrance music for Chris Jericho says... Break the walls down!!!

And when I say walls, I'm more specifically referring the fourth wall, the imaginary barrier between the entertainment product and the viewer of said entertainment. the term "fourth wall" was originally coined in the 19th century for the theater to define the imaginary boundary between the fictional work on stage and the audience. 

In present day, when someone "breaks the fourth wall," it is describing the act of a fictional character openly and directly acknowledging the fact that they are a fictional character in front of an audience. It can happen in TV shows or movies, usually when an actor or character directly looks at the camera and makes a comment, referencing the fact they are being watched as an entertainment product. 

It's not a frequent thing that happens, but when it does, it's always a nice touch, no matter how subtle it is. There is one character in pop culture that not only exploits the impact of breaking the fourth wall, but actually has made a name for himself by doing so. Of course, I am talking about the Marvel character Deadpool, who notoriously breaks the fourth in every media form he is presented in, whether it be in comic books, movies and yes, even video games.

Deadpool the video game the first stand-along game featuring The Merc with a Mouth as the main character, and despite its short-comings as a legit "triple A" game, it makes up for it in charm, wit and character. The best thing it does to legitimize it and the Deadpool character himself is being fully conscious of itself as a video gaming, breaking the fourth wall immediately.

The premise is as simple as it is complicated. You are Deadpool, and you have a "big game idea" for a video game that you think should be made staring you. You pitch the idea, it gets picked up after some persuasion, and then you get the script of the game they studio thinks should be made. The actual game that you, the player, plays is the game that you, Deadpool, is living through the script of the game you pitched originally. Confused? Yeah, that's the point. 

Nolan North, the voice actor most famously known for his work as Nathan Drake, does voice acting for Deadpool. In the beginning of the game, Deadpool gets a call from Nolan North, telling him that he would be honored to play the Deadpool character in the game being developed, explaining how he thinks the character should be played. Breaking the fourth wall? More like dropping a nuclear bomb on it. 

The actual game is a hack-and-slash third-person action game, based around crazy combos, upgrading abilities and weapons and exploring the crazy world that Deadpool and his insanity lives in. The graphics aren't amazing,  the game play is a little frustrating at times especially when trying to do a counter move but you do the teleportation move instead because they are mapped to the same button - but other than that, the game is just down right fun. It doesn't have a deep, emotional storyline, it is graphically superior to everything else ever made, but at its roots, it's an fun ride meant to do nothing more than entertain. 

And entertain it does. 

If this game was just your run of the mill third-person action hack-and-slash game, it would be just another game. But because it is Deadpool and he brings with him everything that has made him one of the most fan-friendly and popular Marvel characters, the game is brilliant. It doesn't take itself too seriously, ever, and if you're looking for an escape from the mind-melting seriousness of games like The Last of Us or other critically acclaimed games like it, Deadpool is the way to go. 

Just be prepared to have every wall in existence broken down. 

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