Madworld (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

The Wii is not a console known for offering a plethora of mature titles for its mature audience. Outside of the likes of No More Heroes and House of the Dead, there really isn't much to help appease these fans. So this is where MadWorld steps in. Developed by Platinum Games and picked up for publication by SEGA as part of their Big 3 movement of titles for the Wii, the game sets out to provide an over-the-top mature experience with plenty of blood and gore, maintaining a very tongue-in-cheek and comedic view on the violence, to fill the gaping hole present within the Wii's current line-up.

Gameplay

The word 'controversial' has never been so thrown around as it has been in the lead up to the release of this title. Various newspapers and groups have criticised Platinum Games and Nintendo for releasing such a violent title onto what many perceive as a family friendly console. And from your first few minutes of play, you'll understand the controversy straight away. You play as Jack, just Jack, an ex-marine you has turned up in Varrigan City, a city which has been cut off from the outside world enslaving its inhabitants in the game show Death Watch where they fight against one another for survival. Upon arrival in the city, Jack encounters a contestant in the game and defeats him, getting himself sponsored by the mysterious XIII. And so starts Jack's rampage through the various areas of Varrigan City as Jack tries to make his way to the top and win the game, while hiding his true intentions from the thousands of cameras constantly watching, which is to rescue the mayor's daughter who is still within the confines of the city.

The game requires you to traverse the levels as Jack raking up a certain amount of points from your kills before going on to tackle a boss. Levels are littered with items to maim your opponents with and this is the key to succeeding in the game and its levels. Jack is fitted with a chainsaw on his right arm and this can be used at any moment. However, points gained from killing with the chainsaw are low and so the game encourages you to be creative with your kills, combining item maiming and environmental maiming to get a combo going to access higher scores. This'll require the player to use the various items lying around the level, such as lamp posts, dust bins and fireworks, before going on to either use a finisher on your opponent, which will require you to motion along to the on screen prompts to end your opponents life, or to use the environment to finish them, with there being many lethal pieces of scenery to use such as the cutely named Rose Bush, a wall of spikes, electric signs which are shorting out or propellers to slice your opponents up.

The game gives the player a large amount of freedom in terms of what you can do to your opponents and how to finish them off, while still providing linear progress from the beginning to the inevitable boss battle. Many of the stages contain their own sub-boss battles which act as plot points where you'll get more points to unlock a new item to use or to unlock the next area of the level to progress to. The boss battles themselves spike in terms of their difficulty. The game itself isn't overly difficult but the AI is apt and very well done so you'll always have a challenge but in boss fights, it swings either way. In some boss fights, you'll find it very easy to take down your opponent, and this can be quickly done by getting close to your opponent and waiting for them to attack and motioning at the on screen prompt and these attacks, if successful, deplete a significant amount of the boss' health. However, at other times, you'll find it incredibly hard as the difficulty switches from being easy to very difficult and as a result, you'll find yourself dying and running out of continues and having to start the whole level again. It's not a huge problem but it does detract from the feeling of progression in the game as you'll feel like you've hit a brick wall occasionally and it's something that really should have been smoothed out during development.

The game holds little mini-game showcases, introduced by the Black Baron, who'll become one of your opponents later in the game, and his bondage wearing assistant who always ends up killing him. Like many of the ways in which you kill the opponents, these little cutscenes are very humorous and move the game away from the controversy surrounding it because it never feels realistic which is good. These mini-games vary in what you have to carry out from the infamous Man Darts, where you smash opponents into a huge dartboard with a baseball bat, to the Hanabi, where you'll rush against the clock to throw your opponents in the firework stands to be fired off into the night sky to create a bloody firework show. These little interludes act as a nice way to rack up some points but nothing more. They are available to play in 2 player multiplayer, which seems like a cop-out with there being no co-op player. Overall, the game is relatively short, clocking in at the 3 to 4 hour mark to complete the game on normal difficulty with higher difficulties extending the completion time somewhat and after a single play through, you may feel that there isn't much reason to plough through again other than to beat your level score, although there aren't leaderboards so you'll only have the one score for it. That being said, the game does a good job of being fun and humorous, while providing a much needed mature experience.

Controls

Using both the Wii-mote and the nunchuk, players move Jack around with the analogue stick and can perform attacks with either the A or B button or you can motion as well, and this works in conjunction with the B button to allow you to slice up your opponents with the chainsaw. The controls work well for the attacks and although there is no IR detection used it's never missed because it isn't necessary. The only problems that stem from the attacks come from the shoddy camera and it's controls, which centre around the use of the C button (something becoming the norm in 3rd person titles on the Wii) to centre the camera or to lock on to an opponent if you hold it. The camera is so bad you'll find yourself on many occasions simply punching or swinging at open air in the game because the camera hasn't moved round to show you your target. It can be a big problem but you can persevere and the issues with the camera will soon move to the back of your mind as you adapt to be able to pull of combo kills and attacks. The game does rely a lot on the use of motions during quick time events during boss fights and for using items and finishers during a stage and these all work very well. Platinum Games have put the Wii-mote to good use and not asked too much of it and as a result the use of the accelerometers in the Wii-mote and nunchuk are used in simply ways but done exceptionally well.

Graphics

The graphics for MadWorld have been one of its biggest talking points. Platinum Games have thrown out the idea of going for a realistic look and used the Wii's horsepower to create something that takes full advantage of what is available. Gone are the realistic visages seen in other mature titles hitting other consoles and in their place comes a look reminiscent of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels, sticking primarily with black and whites to convey the city and its occupants with red being used plentifully when it comes to blood spraying all over the environments. The new and highly stylised look allows for a greater berth in terms of what the developers and the gamers can get away with in their killing and as a result it aids the game in setting up the over-the-top environment and providing the base for the over-the-top killing. The visuals look fantastic in this style, allowing for large environments and plenty of jargon to litter the streets for you to use to your advantage. Character models are equally good, although they do appear to be occasionally jaggy and some of their texturing isn't as up to scratch as some of the environmental work.

Sound

As this is a game show, MadWorld has its own commentators who will follow Jack and his progress through Varrigan City. Provided by Greg Proops (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and John DiMaggio (Futurama), the commentary is comic and fits well with the on screen violence. The only problem that comes from the commentary is that some of it is repeated on a regular basis and you'll quickly get bored of this repetition. The music in the game follows a solely hip hop theme, which would initially seem out of place in relation to the game but once you start playing and hear the music, you realise that it works perfectly with what you are playing. Sound effects are also well done, and you'll be hearing plenty of groans of pain and slicing noises and while some would think this would become tedious, it'll still bring a smile to your face to hear them.

Final comments

Controversy aside, Platinum Games has created a highly stylised and mature title for the Wii providing a high intensity of violence for its players to sink their teeth into. Visuals are stunning, if occasionally on the mediocre side, sound is done well, with the commentary being fantastic, and the gameplay allows for the player to be creative with his or her kills. The game does suffer due to being very short and slightly repetitive, especially if you're playing over an extended period of time. But putting aside these flaws, MadWorld is easily the most violent title on the Wii and is an incredibly fun title to play for the time it goes on. It's a definite must have for those looking for a slice of the mature pie which seems to be getting eaten solely by the other consoles, and provides a fantastic base from which Platinum Games can build upon should they continue the game and turn it into a series.

Pro: Over the top violence that'll leave a smile on your face, great controls, graphics and sound
Con: Terrible camera work, very short, no co-op
Final score: 8.5

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