A glorified bloodbath of violence, MadWorld for the Nintendo Wii leaves much to be desired.

That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its high points.  The art direction gives the look and feel of a comic book, more so than any other game out there.  The highly stylized black-and-white look will call to mind Sin City (both the movie and the graphic novel), especially with splashes of red blood to liven things up a bit.  There are two things that MadWorld excels at: a unique look, and dispelling the myth that the Wii is for kids.  Everything else… well, not so much.

MadWorld is game of violence for violence’s sake.  It serves no other function than to give the player a forum to kill people with gratuitous violence in creative ways.  Unlike other games where a simple gunshot or club to the head will do, MadWorld takes it leaps further, awarding points for style as you maim.  The scoring system is based on how many gruesome attacks you chain together before you finally put the poor saps out of their misery.  For example, stuff a foe in a trash can, rip up a road sign and jam through his throat, then help him have a seat on a two foot tall spike.  Plus you have a chainsaw attached to your arm! I know all of that sounds awesome, but it wears thin very quickly without any plot or reason behind the killing.

The story is essentially non-existent.  You’re playing as Jack, just Jack, and you’re killing for sport on live TV. Sound familiar?  Yes, it was much better when it was Rockstar’s Manhunt.  Although the story does become more interesting halfway through the game, you shouldn’t have to play that far for any game to get good.  The play-by-play announcers add to the arcade feel of the game, but their asinine commentary wears thin in just a few minutes.  Don’t get me wrong… they are funny:  Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyway) and John Dimaggiao (Bender from Futurama) are a riot.  Once you’ve heard them say the same dialogue 15 times in three minutes, funny they’re not.  Between the announcers and the mindless goons that you fight, the profanity is too much even for someone like me, and I’ve been known to cuss at a level that can make a sailor blush with shame.  I’m dead serious—just yesterday someone asked me if I have Tourette’s.  The AI is laughable—the enemies you face do little to nothing to resist as you murder them helplessly.  They are dressed as thugs, but I’m convinced small children would put up a better fight.  Although the AI is a bigger joke than any Greg Proops will drop on you, the boss battles will provide a challenge, and are another shining spot in an overall weak game.  

This game is a juvenile attempt at what could have been an otherwise good game.  MadWorld would be best enjoyed by 13-year-olds, but it is not fit for them to play.  The one thing this game succeeds at is punching a major hole in the argument that video games are much more than mindless violence.  After years of progress it only takes one game of this caliber to flush it all down the drain. You can expect many critics of the videogame industry and fear mongering legislators to use this game as an example to push a stricter censorship agenda, even though a suitable ratings system (the ESRB) already exists. 

I know I sound like Old Man McCrankypants today, but Madworld is not the worst game ever made. Madworld is however, definitely a rent-it-don’t-buy-it-game.  At only 6-8 hours, it’s not worth paying full price for. If you’re into Quentin Tarantino movies, you’ll be right at home with this game.  If you like good video games, steer clear of this one like the plague.  If you’re after a gory good time, skip this one for a Manhunt game instead. 

MadWorld is rated ‘M for Mature’ for blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, drug references, mature humor, and sexual themes. 

Kevin “Mello Joe” Mercer is a former radio personality and a lifelong gamer. You can find him on Xbox Live and Playstation Network, Gamertag: Mellojoe. View the world as he sees it at www.youtube.com/user/mellojoe. www.myspace.com/charlesk