Madworld. One wonders how a game this violent and over the top makes it’s way onto the Wii. It’s not exactly the type of game that appeals to the audience that the Wii calls home. This may be the reason the game has seen less then stellar sales. But don’t let all that fool you Madworld is a incredibly creative and stylish game and should not be missed by anyone. Granted you are mature enough to play it.
Mature really describes Madworld to a T. The game has over the top violence the likes of which have never been seen before. One minute you will be wrapping a tire around a thug before driving a sign post through his head and capping it all off with a disemboweling via chainsaw. The game is brutal but in a tongue and cheek sort of way. Even the games commentary is littered with cursing and foul language left and right as well as extremely over the top jokes. Over the top is a great way to describe Madworld really. A incredibly over the top violent beat em up.
The games uniqueness doesn’t stop there. The game utilizes a graphical style unlike anything else seen to date. The game uses only black and white as well as red for the blood and a bit of yellow here and there for various text like booms and thuds. The game looks like a living Manga and is very stylish. Although I can’t help but say I wish the game had made it’s way to the PS3 or Xbox 360 as the jump to HD would have made the game look a lot sharper and smoother and gotten rid of a lot of the jaggies the game is plagued with. That aside the game still looks incredible. Especially when you compare it to the other kiddy fare on the Wii.
I wasn’t expecting the story of Madworld to be worth much but it does indeed have a few great twists and turns and is worth watching in between all the madness. You play Jack, the biggest bad ass to ever grace the Wii. Jack enters a twisted game called Death Watch which is basically a incredibly violent TV show where people watch tough guys fight to the death( This is where the commentary I was talking about earlier comes in). Despite the simplistic setup the game does go deeper and you uncover more and more about Death Watch and Jack.
Now as far as game play goes the game really is just your average brawler, granted with Wii controls and incredibly over the top violence. Now for the most part this works well but every so often the controls will do everything in their power to work against you. It’s almost as if the developers where aware of this as well as a shockingly large portion of the motion controls simply boils down to flailing the Wiimote around as opposed to making precise motions. The lack of control is sometimes heightened by the fact that the camera is also not the best in the world and will often times not look where you wanted it to resulting in cheap deaths or getting killed by something you can’t see. While these issues don’t plague the entire game as much as one may think they do happen every now and then and can certainly be frustrating when it does.
Normally players would be able to work their way around the issues I mentioned but this is where there is a bigger fault with Madworld. The game at it’s very core works on a point system. You are awarded points based on how creative your kills are and you must reach a certain amount of points before the boss battle opens or a mini game of sorts is unlocked. Now naturally needing to be creative in your killing leads to needing to be precise as well. While the controls will sometimes work without fault they will often times cause you to miss your target or attack the wrong enemy. Further in the game when the enemies are harder and harder this becomes quite annoying and you will find yourself forgoing the creative kills just to simply chainsaw every enemy so you can reach the needed score. The problem with this is that it quickly causes the game to become a repetitive chore.
If played in sort bursts then these issues are less apparent. This may also be a good idea as the game itself is very short and if you don’t care about getting that higher score or whatnot then you will surely be disappointed when the game ends so soon. A dedicated player could easily complete the game in a single sitting giving enough skill. I will mentioned that the game can be incredibly lengthened by playing the game on hard mode. Hard mode makes the game nigh impossible and if you are up for a challenge then by all means try hard mode. It will certainly make the experience last longer but may also cause immense frustration.
When it comes to sound we have a bit a mixed bag. The games sound effects work well and only add to what’s there, however there are points in the game that seem to lack sound. A example of this is a scene in which Jack is in some water but there is no splashing sound effect which makes little sense. Often times you will find Jack walking down a hall way but there is no foot steps. I am not sure if these things were over looked or if it’s another stylistic choice but either way it’s odd. I also found the music to be a bit of a low point as the game is filled to the brim with nothing but Rap. While some players may like that choice I found it to be repetitive(As the track simply loops while you play the level) and often times downright bad.
On the flip side the game has great voice acting with legendary voice actor Steven Blum taking up the role of Jack. The voice suits Jack perfectly and is extremely well performed as to be expected of someone of Blum’s caliber. John DiMaggio also makes a appearance as one of the two commentators heard throughout the game. DiMaggio does a great job at providing comic relief and helps to offset the over the top violence that might otherwise be too grim had the humor not been present. The rest of the cast does a great job as well adding to the game be it via cut scenes or thugs screaming profanity at you as you rip them up.
Overall Madworld is not a game for everyone. This is certainly NOT a game for children. Which may confuse consumers as the Wii has gotten a overly kiddy image over the years. Even outside of that the game is a very niche title and will only appeal to a small number of gamers. Indeed the number of players interested in a game like Madworld may be very slim as the Wii seems to be largely a home for casual gamers and Madworld may not suit their palette. If you are looking for something out of the ordinary and have a Wii I would certainly suggest checking out Madworld although you should be prepared for the violence as it may turn away some.
A stylish Black and White Manga inspired look is plaughed by jaggies and SD really fails to get the games great look across.
Great voice acting is brought down slightly by a horrible rap soundtrack that gets tedious and repetitive very quickly.
Basically your standard beat em up with over the top violence and Wii motion controls. Incredibly creative kills add alot to the game and keep it from being to repetitive. Brought down a bit my somewhat lacking controls and camera
When the camera and controls work with the player the game is quite enjoyable however when they work against the player the game becomes very frustrating
(out of 10 / not an average)
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