Applejack
03-13-2009, 10:26 AM
http://www.thetechherald.com/media/images/200833/madworld_1.jpg
I don't help people. I kill them.
The Nintendo Wii gets a bad rap for a variety of reasons, many of which come from people complaining about tacked on motion controls or the fact that third party games are more often than not just mini game collections; but a good portion of those complaints come from people saying the Wii is childish. We had the RE4 port to quell those sentiments, but many just laughed at the fact that the most 'adult' game was a port of a Gamecube title. Then last year we had No More Heroes, which was a good, if repetitive and crazy, hack n slash bloody violent game. If someone were to say the Wii only had kiddy, family friendly games, I'd point them to MadWorld and watch as they discover how un-family friendly a game can be.
http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/874/874210/madworld-20080515085925321_640w.jpg
The most striking thing about MadWorld is its use, or lack thereof, of color. The game only has four colors: black, white, yellow, and a whole lotta red. You may think the use of color would distract from the overall experience, but it actually looks good it motion and the buckets of red offer a sharp contrast. The color goes well with the presentation. Imagine a Frank Miller graphic novel, or better yet, Sin City. MadWorld looks and feels like a graphic novel come to life, and nowhere is this more evident than the onomatopoeia of every movement. When your character jumps you see a bright yellow 'ZOOM' on the screen. When he throws a guy into a speeding train, you see all manner of crunch and splatter in word form. It's like taking all the ultra violence and sounds from a comic and forgetting to bring the story.
In regards to story, MadWorld's is a mixed bag. At first it starts off sort of like The Running Man, in that it's about a game show called Death Watch, in which people compete to kill each other. But it quickly becomes a mixed bag of carnage until eventually it looks like an episode of 24, Battle Royale, Resident Evil, and a Suda51 game all rolled into one. The sudden shift from campy to serious happens rather suddenly, but at the end of the day it's doubtful that many will care about the story, despite a somewhat cool protagonist.
http://www.primotechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/madworld01.jpg
You play as Jack Cayman, a renegade, a loose cannon, and whatever other 'gruff, manly, badass' adjectives you want to apply to a gruff, manly, badass man. Jack is a contestant on Death Watch and he's no stranger to violence. He's got a cigarette in his mouth and a chainsaw grafted onto his left arm, and he's voiced by Steven Blum so you know to watch out. The cast of characters are rather uninteresting, seeing as there are so few and for the most part the only characters in the game are the ones you are killing. The best characters in the game are just two voices: the commentators. Since this is supposed to be a game show and all, in every level you will hear two voices (John DiMaggio (Bender, Marcus Fenix) and Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyway?)) constantly talking about things that are happening in the level. If you wern't sold on the game, keep in mind that this is likely to be the only game where you'll get to hear Greg Proops and John DiMaggio swear at each other for extended periods of time.
But though the commentary is hilarious and adds a bit of charm to the game, the bad thing about it is that it seems that the voice samples cycle constantly. There are times when you'll hear the same quip two or three times during a level and eventually it gets boring hearing the same joke about fucking or happy pills. Though it adds nothing to the game play, it's still a nice touch.
"Looks like Jack got an extra life."
"You know I had an extra life once. I came back as a cock roach. Did you know that cock roaches could live a week without their heads?"
"I've been married 8 years without any head."
Now the most important part, gameplay.
http://www.411mania.com/game_article_pictures/6496.jpg
MadWorld is violent. Oh lord is it violent. MadWorld is also vulgar. Oh lord is it vulgar. On the tutorial level, already there was more blood and more droppings of 'motherfucker' than just about any other game out there. It's not uncommon for a level to be painted red after you're done. MadWorld is a 3D beat 'em up where the object is to kill people in unique ways. The object of each level is to get enough points to be able to challenge the boss of the level. To get points you need to kill people. But cutting people in half or snapping their bodies in two all the time gets boring. Which is why MadWorld makes use of its environment. Strewn about levels are hazards, many of which you can pick up. Tossing a guy into a bed of spikes gets you points. Stabbing him through the neck with a street sign, jamming a bottle into his eye, shoving him into a barrel on fire, and THEN tossing him onto a bed of spikes will get you INSANE amounts of points. To maximize your point gain, you need to get creative and varied with your kills. Combos get you boosts. Multiple kills get you boosts. Multiple combo kills get you crazy boosts. And you only have thirty minutes to get the points. So you need to be quick about it.
As you reach a certain number of points, the game will give you more options to kill people. Often times it's a weapon such as a spiked bat or daggers, and sometimes it's a new enviornmental hazard such as a guillotine or a speeding bus made of spikes. But each level also has a Bloodbath Challenge you can unlock to get an insane amount of points. Bloodbath Challenges are little minigames where the object is to kill a wave of enemies using the method shown to you. For example, one Bloodbath Challenge has you tossing people into a jet turbine while another has you playing golf with their heads. The violence is constant and the blood is everywhere.
However, a big fault in the gameplay is how samey it feels after three or four levels. The background and enemies change, but the only thing different about the weapons are their appearance. In the downtown area there are street signs you can jam through someone's neck. In the asian area there are paper lamp poles. You really start to get a feeling of deja vu as time goes on, and perhaps that is why the game only lasts about 6 or 7 hours. It's a short game, but if it was too long it would really overstay its welcome. The boss fights, however, are great and savage and end in hilariously bloody climaxes.
http://larcho.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/madworld-20080715114428268_640w.jpg
The controls are fitting and the motion controls don't feel tacked on. You'll only be using motion controls when you are performing finishing moves. A finishing move might have you pull the Wiimote and Nunchuck in opposite directions as you rip a man in half with your chainsaw. Another might have you flick the Wiimote upwards to yank a guys spine out of his head. You have the A button for your four hit combo and to grab things, and you swing the Wiimote vertically or horizontally to do a vertical or horizontal attack. Pressing B uses your chainsaw in conjunction with the Wiimote swinging. On the whole, the controls are great and responsive. If only there was camera control mapped to the d-pad or thereabouts, because often the camera can be a bit counterproductive.
Overall, MadWorld is a brutal beat-'em-up that rewards players for killing people in unique and various ways (where's Jack Thompson when you need him, eh?). However, the repetitiveness of its combat and dialogue for the commentators, mixed with a bad camera really bog it down. It's a fun game, but it lacks the charm of No More Heroes. But what it lacks in charm it makes up for in blood, guts, and sexuality. And the soundtrack is pretty fucking awesome, too. If you enjoy hip hop beats filled with lyrics about 'killing motherfuckers' (the soundtrack features original songs by some underground hip hop stars) and the like, anyway. If you have a Wii and need a good game to take out your aggression, give MadWorld a try. It may be best suited for a rental, though.
MadWorld, despite its brevity and repetitiveness, earns a 4/5.
http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/915/915747/madworld-20081002021300413_640w.jpg
I don't help people. I kill them.
The Nintendo Wii gets a bad rap for a variety of reasons, many of which come from people complaining about tacked on motion controls or the fact that third party games are more often than not just mini game collections; but a good portion of those complaints come from people saying the Wii is childish. We had the RE4 port to quell those sentiments, but many just laughed at the fact that the most 'adult' game was a port of a Gamecube title. Then last year we had No More Heroes, which was a good, if repetitive and crazy, hack n slash bloody violent game. If someone were to say the Wii only had kiddy, family friendly games, I'd point them to MadWorld and watch as they discover how un-family friendly a game can be.
http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/874/874210/madworld-20080515085925321_640w.jpg
The most striking thing about MadWorld is its use, or lack thereof, of color. The game only has four colors: black, white, yellow, and a whole lotta red. You may think the use of color would distract from the overall experience, but it actually looks good it motion and the buckets of red offer a sharp contrast. The color goes well with the presentation. Imagine a Frank Miller graphic novel, or better yet, Sin City. MadWorld looks and feels like a graphic novel come to life, and nowhere is this more evident than the onomatopoeia of every movement. When your character jumps you see a bright yellow 'ZOOM' on the screen. When he throws a guy into a speeding train, you see all manner of crunch and splatter in word form. It's like taking all the ultra violence and sounds from a comic and forgetting to bring the story.
In regards to story, MadWorld's is a mixed bag. At first it starts off sort of like The Running Man, in that it's about a game show called Death Watch, in which people compete to kill each other. But it quickly becomes a mixed bag of carnage until eventually it looks like an episode of 24, Battle Royale, Resident Evil, and a Suda51 game all rolled into one. The sudden shift from campy to serious happens rather suddenly, but at the end of the day it's doubtful that many will care about the story, despite a somewhat cool protagonist.
http://www.primotechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/madworld01.jpg
You play as Jack Cayman, a renegade, a loose cannon, and whatever other 'gruff, manly, badass' adjectives you want to apply to a gruff, manly, badass man. Jack is a contestant on Death Watch and he's no stranger to violence. He's got a cigarette in his mouth and a chainsaw grafted onto his left arm, and he's voiced by Steven Blum so you know to watch out. The cast of characters are rather uninteresting, seeing as there are so few and for the most part the only characters in the game are the ones you are killing. The best characters in the game are just two voices: the commentators. Since this is supposed to be a game show and all, in every level you will hear two voices (John DiMaggio (Bender, Marcus Fenix) and Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyway?)) constantly talking about things that are happening in the level. If you wern't sold on the game, keep in mind that this is likely to be the only game where you'll get to hear Greg Proops and John DiMaggio swear at each other for extended periods of time.
But though the commentary is hilarious and adds a bit of charm to the game, the bad thing about it is that it seems that the voice samples cycle constantly. There are times when you'll hear the same quip two or three times during a level and eventually it gets boring hearing the same joke about fucking or happy pills. Though it adds nothing to the game play, it's still a nice touch.
"Looks like Jack got an extra life."
"You know I had an extra life once. I came back as a cock roach. Did you know that cock roaches could live a week without their heads?"
"I've been married 8 years without any head."
Now the most important part, gameplay.
http://www.411mania.com/game_article_pictures/6496.jpg
MadWorld is violent. Oh lord is it violent. MadWorld is also vulgar. Oh lord is it vulgar. On the tutorial level, already there was more blood and more droppings of 'motherfucker' than just about any other game out there. It's not uncommon for a level to be painted red after you're done. MadWorld is a 3D beat 'em up where the object is to kill people in unique ways. The object of each level is to get enough points to be able to challenge the boss of the level. To get points you need to kill people. But cutting people in half or snapping their bodies in two all the time gets boring. Which is why MadWorld makes use of its environment. Strewn about levels are hazards, many of which you can pick up. Tossing a guy into a bed of spikes gets you points. Stabbing him through the neck with a street sign, jamming a bottle into his eye, shoving him into a barrel on fire, and THEN tossing him onto a bed of spikes will get you INSANE amounts of points. To maximize your point gain, you need to get creative and varied with your kills. Combos get you boosts. Multiple kills get you boosts. Multiple combo kills get you crazy boosts. And you only have thirty minutes to get the points. So you need to be quick about it.
As you reach a certain number of points, the game will give you more options to kill people. Often times it's a weapon such as a spiked bat or daggers, and sometimes it's a new enviornmental hazard such as a guillotine or a speeding bus made of spikes. But each level also has a Bloodbath Challenge you can unlock to get an insane amount of points. Bloodbath Challenges are little minigames where the object is to kill a wave of enemies using the method shown to you. For example, one Bloodbath Challenge has you tossing people into a jet turbine while another has you playing golf with their heads. The violence is constant and the blood is everywhere.
However, a big fault in the gameplay is how samey it feels after three or four levels. The background and enemies change, but the only thing different about the weapons are their appearance. In the downtown area there are street signs you can jam through someone's neck. In the asian area there are paper lamp poles. You really start to get a feeling of deja vu as time goes on, and perhaps that is why the game only lasts about 6 or 7 hours. It's a short game, but if it was too long it would really overstay its welcome. The boss fights, however, are great and savage and end in hilariously bloody climaxes.
http://larcho.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/madworld-20080715114428268_640w.jpg
The controls are fitting and the motion controls don't feel tacked on. You'll only be using motion controls when you are performing finishing moves. A finishing move might have you pull the Wiimote and Nunchuck in opposite directions as you rip a man in half with your chainsaw. Another might have you flick the Wiimote upwards to yank a guys spine out of his head. You have the A button for your four hit combo and to grab things, and you swing the Wiimote vertically or horizontally to do a vertical or horizontal attack. Pressing B uses your chainsaw in conjunction with the Wiimote swinging. On the whole, the controls are great and responsive. If only there was camera control mapped to the d-pad or thereabouts, because often the camera can be a bit counterproductive.
Overall, MadWorld is a brutal beat-'em-up that rewards players for killing people in unique and various ways (where's Jack Thompson when you need him, eh?). However, the repetitiveness of its combat and dialogue for the commentators, mixed with a bad camera really bog it down. It's a fun game, but it lacks the charm of No More Heroes. But what it lacks in charm it makes up for in blood, guts, and sexuality. And the soundtrack is pretty fucking awesome, too. If you enjoy hip hop beats filled with lyrics about 'killing motherfuckers' (the soundtrack features original songs by some underground hip hop stars) and the like, anyway. If you have a Wii and need a good game to take out your aggression, give MadWorld a try. It may be best suited for a rental, though.
MadWorld, despite its brevity and repetitiveness, earns a 4/5.
http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/915/915747/madworld-20081002021300413_640w.jpg