MadWorld is really, really fun. Seriously, anyone with a Wii is missing out if they’re not at least giving this game a rental.
If you’re unfamiliar with what exactly MadWorld is, here’s the basic rundown. Jefferson Island has been overrun by terrorists and has been isolated from the rest of the world. The terrorists have turned the island into one giant stage for a sick gameshow called Death Watch, that has its contestants brutally killing each other for the sake of ratings and viewership. Of course there’s something in it for the contestants as well, but to go into that would be spoiler territory.
You play as Jack — just Jack — a mysterious man with a prosthetic chainsaw arm (see other MadWorld weapons) who suddenly enters the game despite not being a resident of the city. As Jack, you climb through the rankings of Death Watch while killing hundreds of enemies in horribly gruesome ways.
MadWorld is all about the violence and that’s where it shines the most. As a beat-em-up, it’s actually pretty straight forward (see all MadWorld combos). You only have one button for punches, no real combos, two very similar throws, and your chainsaw which can instantly kill enemies, but must recharged if used too much. What makes MadWorld so special is that it’s not about killing your enemies, it’s about how you kill your enemies. Instead of having a traditional structure where you go from start to finish and kill all of the enemies in between, MadWorld instead relies on a point based system of progression.
Every level has a ridiculously high point target that you must reach in order to fight the boss of that level. Gaining points is as easy as just mashing the A Button on some poor helpless enemy, but by just doing that you’ll take an awfully long time to reach your goal. So instead you must think of inventive ways to kill enemies. Instead of just beating an enemy to death, take a barrel, slam it over their head, then grab a couple of sign posts to shishkabob him, beat him until he’s stunned, set him on fire, then take him over to a spike protruding from the ground and shove him on it a@# first so that the spike comes out through his head.
It’s so ridiculously over the top that it’s hilarious and it’s made incredibly satisfying thanks to intelligent use of gestures from the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Adding to the hilarity are celebrity commentators Greg Proops and John Dimaggio who make some of the most vulgar and obscene jokes and insults that I have ever heard in a video game.
Time will tell how well the gameplay will hold up once I’ve actually completed the main story, but so far I’m loving every bloody second of it. Expect the Asiantown and Mad Castle levels to be added to the walkthrough tomorrow.
