Customer Reviews

MadWorld

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Let's get this out of the way first: MadWorld is an adult game. It's the most violent game to date, and there are more content discriptors on the back of the box than for Grand Theft Auto. That being said, if you are an adult Wii gamer and have longed for something bloody, visceral, and mature for your little white box, then buy this game. MadWorld is a far cry from the standard casual family affairs that are currently clogging store shelves.

Madworld puts you in the shoes of Jack, a 40-something who has been thrown into the most horrific game show in America: DeathWatch. Jack must fight and kill to survive, for he's been poisoned, and every kill gives him longer to live. However, DeathWatch is all about entertainment. You see, you may have a chainsaw and fists, but the audience wants more than you to beat up some dudes. Your challenge is to create combos by performing multiple maneuvers on an enemy.

For instance, stab a couple of road signs into a goon, put a trash can over his head, then use a spiked baseball bat to launch him into a dumpster where he'll be sliced in half. The violence is so over the top, that as bad as it sounds, it's actually really hilarious. Don't take me for a psychopath, because when you begin to dig in, you'll laugh too. Of course, there may be instances where you'll wince, but it's all in good fun.

Without going into too much detail, here's what you can expect. Scattered throughout each level are minigames called "Bloodbath Challenges." You'll be given a new way to kill people in a certain number of time and rounds. Most are fun enough to warrant multiple plays to get higher scores. Also, you'll encounter some fantastically spectacular bosses, each escalating in difficulty, and each with some truly cinematic action.

The gameplay is well done with tight analog control over Jack, and button presses for actions such as jumping and punching. Certain things are mapped to motion swings such as chainsaw attacks, special moves, and boss fights. The motion controls are simple swipes rather than tired waggle, and you'll appreciate having it done that way.

You'll notice the stark black and white graphics as a departure from most games. This game is stylistic and gorgeous. Screenshots may make everything look confusing, but trust me, the game is very clean and easy to see in action. The only color you'll see in this game is red(and lots of it). This approach really stands out. It's like nothing else you've seen. FYI, this game comes from the folks who brought us Okami, Viewtiful Joe, and Resident Evil 4. This game was placed in good hands.

The audio is fantastic as well. The soundtrack is made up of 20 full hip-hop tracks from up and coming artists. I don't care for hip-hop at all, so I turned the music way down in the options, but that's my preference. What really creates the most audio pleasure is the commentary from two announcers that follows Jack play by play. The voice actors are Greg Proops(of "Whose Line is it Anyways?" fame)and Joe DiMaggio(the voice of Bender from "Futurama" and Marcus Fenix from the Xbox 360 smash franchise, "Gears of War"). The banter goes back and forth and contains some gut-busting humor. It's incredibly raunchy and laced with f-bombs(as well as mf-bombs), but it's sounds so natural and it always gives you something to laugh at-in game.

MadWorld is what hardcore gamers and adults want for the Wii. It's unforgiving in it's nature, but for those who are old enough, the time has come. If you want more hardcore games on the Wii(and less kiddie crap), then buy this title. I'm serious. Don't even hesitate. This belongs in every adult's Wii library.

This game gets boring and loses its appeal rather quickly. There are 3 components on every stage:

1. Kill guys until your score gets high-enough...
2. A station will then pop-up, this triggers the mini-game, where you usually throw or smash guys
3. Kill more till your score activates the next trigger, which will be the boss-battle

Note: Every stage has a time limit of 30 Minutes.

All games have a repetitive nature, so I tend to overlook that criticism. However, this game deserves it. Because when you're killing people you're not really doing anything but trying to get it over with to activate the next trigger. This is not a platformer game, where you jump, walk, and progress through the stage. The stages are setup as small areas and guys keep respawning once you kill them. No way to level or improve your character. It just seems pointless and boring.

It has a very comic book feel to it as the designers intended. If you hit someone it says "Blam" or whatever. Also set in black and white, with only the blood and some lettering and on-screen prompts set with yellow highlights.

Everything I read from critic & user reviews was true:
1. Redundant & game gets less fun as you play for a couple hours
2. If you die too much at the big boss and lose all your lives, you have to start all over again (annoying)
3. Black & White screen can be tiresome on eyes if played for an extended period of time

As soon as Platnuim studios was created I new good games would come from them. They have the creators of biohazard (res evil,) devil may cry, viewtiful joe, god hand and okami among others creating their games.

Madworld is there first game out the door as a new studio and I am not dissapointed.

I see many of there past games influence in this one (god hand, devil may cry) with the combo and juggle system but with a new sense of "we can do whatever we want now."

Graphics: 10 There are few games on the Wii system that when my freinds drop by I have to show them off. Among these are Mario Galaxy, Call of duty WaW and Okami (I know it is a port but it is still amazing looking.) I have been showing this game off to everyone. Sure the characters poly models could have been done last gen but the particle effects (blood) and art style makes this game stand out. With the brutal blood sprays, the sparks and smoke from your chainsaw and sound effect bubbles popping up all over the place you can not help but be drawn in.

Gameplay: This is a brawler plan and simple with a dash of kill, kill, kill and kill some more. You are not having to worry about button mashign combos or directional imputs, you are playing a game like the days of old, final fight/fatal fury/double dragon vs battletoads (my favorite.) You find a few combos that work for you and go to town. the best part about this is the town. Your tired and true combos constantly feel fresh due to the world around you. In every nook and cranny is a new way to add flash and gore to your combo and with so many finishers you never really get tired of all the brawling mayhem.

The game is a bit to easy on normal mode. In the time it took me to beat it I only died once per level. When I did die it was not because of difficulty, it was because I positioned myself poorly in one of the death watch challenges and was either smashed or bashed by a train or press. It is also a bit to easy to rack up points and get to the boss.
Bosses, this leads into another problem, for boss fights I expect to die... And never did. For bosses I feel they are a bit to weak but your second time through that is also corrected.

The camera system is not the best but it is not the worst I have come across. I find the lock on is pointless because it simply takes too long for it to lock on. Using the c button to center the camera is much easier to deal with and works 90 percent of the time. The camera system is nowhere as bad as something like the wonky camera in Ninja Gadien 2 (but you will have to baby this one the same way) or the stuck camera in the devil may cry system.

This game is much better on your second time through but I will let you discover it on your own. Only hardcore gamers are likley to get that far and only that group will probably even bit the game.

Controls: The controls are pretty solid. They took me some getting use to, in the beggining I would upercut when I wanted to side swipe and vica versa, in the end I was always spot on. Buttons are used for your simple punches and grabs, a slam forward with the nunchuck head butts, a nunchuck jiggle and you are flipping backwards (the hardest for me to get use to) and swipes up and down for powerful fist and chainsaw attacks. You also have many movements that are initiated during finashers, throws, boss figths ect. They all work well. I do fault the camera controls. I wish the d pad that is for weapon switching could have been used for camera fine tunning while fighting. I do not switch weapons very often and neither has anyone else I have watched play. I feel it could have been moved to alow camera fine tunning.

All in tall the controls work how they are suppose to and are most satisfing during finishers and other epic kills where the motions match the action on screen. (my personal favorite is the chainsaw through the gut and up through the head with the enemys heart in my hand beating as I crush it.)

Sound: The sound is great when you can hear it, but most times so much is going on that things get a bit muddled. I wish there was a way to turn up the commetary a little as what they say is pretty funny most of the time. The music really fits. When I first heard it was going to be hip hop I was worried that I would not like it. The music really fits however. The movements and action on screen really benifit from the beats of the music and it all just falls together wonderfully.

The voice work is very well done! Something most games just can not get right.

Story: I don't want to ruin anything for you because the story actaully is pretty decent. This is not the type of game I expect a good story from but it really is pretty good for a game, great for a brawler! I would say it is actually better than something like the Gears of War/no more heros/ninja gadien story but not anywhere near final fantasy/metal gear solid/bioshock level.

If you love hard core brawlers and point combo systems then this is the game for you. If you are not a fan of this type of game then leave it on the store shelf. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT buy this game for a child! Sure the humor is childish but in a way that an adult can appreciate how childish it is, with all the blood guts and cuss words being thrown out their you do not want our child touching this until they are a bit more grown up.

This game is really impressive, the action is exciting, it looks lovely, the rawness of his scenes is very well achieved, is a real gem. Honestly, I would like to see more games like this in the Wii, unfortunately did not sell well as it should because people do not really know what this game.

Buy it, it's incredible ...

"Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules." This is a famous quote from the masterpiece "Catcher in the Rye". Little did J.D. Salinger know that one day I would use this quote to describe yet another masterpiece, a different one, a video game.

But it's unlike any video game you have ever played. This game will leave your jaw open, your eyes popped, your breath will be taken away from you. You will be transformed. Transformed into a fan of the best video game experience ever imaginable.

***Story***: You are Jack Cayman. Imagine Bruce Wills in Die Hard combined with the Punisher combined with Wolverine. The guy that does the voice of Jack is the voice actor from Wolverine animated series. The plot thickens with twists and treats as it goes on. Suffice it to say there is a criminal organization shutting down an Island and running a certain virus and a certain game where people brutally kill each other. There is a purpose and you Jack have your own agenda. You have to play this game by the rules and you have to win it.

***Graphics***: These are the most visually stunning graphics that have ever graced a console. It's like you're in a black and white comic, but with so much detail and so much depth that it will hypnotize you. There is lots of yellow too, and RED for blood, and surprise - there's also BLUE - but you'll have to find yourself where, because when you do, it's one of the nicest surprises.

***Music***: Only the BEST EVER. It's "Linkin' Park" with "Jay Z" with orchestrated music - the soundtrack could have graced an Academy Award winning film. It's that good. You hear the lyrics while playing.

***Sound/Voice Acting***: Apart from Jack, you have two commentators who are not only hilarious, but are just plain cool! One of them is the voice actor of Bender from Futurama. Does it get any better than that? The sound of the chainsaw coming from the wii speaker is also....cool!

***Controls***: OK, so this game is for the Wii, so obviously you would expect top notch controls from a new generation controller with your hand free on the nunchuk, and the other doing some nice slashing with the wii remote... does it work? Hell yes!!! You move around with the analog stick on the nuncuk and you press B and then can use your chainsaw with the Wii motion. Vertical or Horizontal - works very well. You can use A for punching and other weapons (also B works with weapons that you pick up). You can change weapons with the D pad. It also works very well. The best is to grab someone holding A then you can head butt it with the motion control of your nunchuk, and you can also throw him around with the motion of the Wii remote. Perfect 11/10.

***Gameplay***: You move around killing hundreds of bullies, creatures, zombies and some other surprises. The boss fights are really good too. There are a couple of scenes when you ride a bike running down the villains or chopping them off. You clear an area and move to the next one with a map. There is a Multiplayer mode where you battle to score more points in certain stages called bloodbaths.

***Cons***: I would have liked the game to have been longer (just because it's awesome - Please make lots of Wii exclusive sequels - please), On Line dueling would have added appeal, and the small fonts in the intro screens are too small for some reason.

Now for ******SPOILERS***** These are some of the ways you get to gradually/rapidly kill people:



Stick various sign posts into people's eyes and brains
Throw them inside barrels/fire barrels
Squeeze them through tires
Squeeze them through Casino coins
Use spiked balls and stick them on their heads
Throw barrels and break them on the poor creatures
Throw them onto rose bushes. again and again. Or onto hooks. Repeatedly.
Throw them on electric chairs
Throw them on electric grids
Throw them into space
Throw them into tractor beams
Throw them into food processors
Thrown them on spikes
Make sure they're eaten alive by giant hands/creatures
Have them compressed/pressed to death by various devices
Various swords or blades that will rip them apart
Freeze them to death and then brake them to pieces
Various devices that grind them to death
Throw them into engines, fusion
Use catapults, seesaws, and have them flying onto statues or swords or the moon
Throw them into bottomless pits
Throw them on moving trains. With sharp edges and spikes.
Place them through guillotines.
Pick them up and bang their hands on huge gongs.
Stick them inside toilet seats with acid (I think)

Or use your torch, golf bat to rip their heads off, spike, spear, knives, katana, double chain saw (that's right), gravity gun... oh did I mention that once you (almost) kill someone you can make different finishing moves which presents a whole array of violent moves as well??

It's criminal that I only had to pay [...] for the best game ever.

I am not a serious gamer, but I love Madworld. After a long day and well after the wee ones are safely tucked away its nice to cut loose with a little bit of the chainsaw ultraviolence and relax a bit. The commentary is absolutely and deliciously vulgar, yet witty enough to elicit a chuckle. The black and white noir-pulp feel to the game contrasted with the splatter effects makes for some good laughs and the graphics are pleasing. Definitely appealing to the Frank Miller crowd. The game is a little too linear in my opinion but then again my measuring stick for gaming excellence is RE4. At this point in time Madworld can be purchased for fairly cheap new or used and is worth the minor investment for a little gratuitous testosterone filled stress relief. "Serious" gamers will probably find enough to nit pick at to detract from its shallow entertainment value, but hey, its a video game not a Golden Globe nominee. Jack Cayman is definitely sawing a niche for himself in the hall of bad asses. Worth the >$30.

In the drought of traditional games for the Wii, Mad World is like a blood drenched, gore splattered oasis in the middle of a family friendly desert of party games.

Concept: 9/10
This game looks like it was inspired by Marv from Sin City. Somebody said, "Hey, let's take Marv, call him Jack, put him in an Escape from New York setting, and have him participate in an ultra-violent game show." The game is broken up into 14 Arena Style Levels where you must score points by violently murdering other contestants. There are Arena Levels, Driving Levels, and Boss Fights. Jack gets 30 minutes and 2 Continues at the beginning of each level. The gameplay takes full advantage of the Wii Controller as you creatively find ways to eliminate your competition. When you score enough points, you gain access to a Boss Battle. After you defeat the Boss, you can progress to the next level.

Story: 8/10
In an area like Manhattan, a Government Agency sprayed the population with some sort of Steroidal Rage Drug and encouraged mass murder. Over time, the city became full of death traps and weapons. Our hero, Jack an ex-Champion of the games, is sent into the city to find out who's behind it all. There's actually more story than there needs to be, but it's all well done.

Graphics: 6/10
What's Black and White and Red All Over? This game. The basic art style is black and white like the Sin City graphic novels. There's also plenty of blood to highlight the violence. The character and level designs are outstanding, but the Black and White art makes it a bit hard to focus and tends to strain your eyes after an hour. In the end, if doesn't matter how stylized your graphics are if they cause eye strain.

Gameplay: 8/10
Killing goons has never been so violent. In a normal game, you might kill a guy by stabbing him or throwing him into a fire, but that's just so pedestrian for Mad World. In Mad World, you score points by inflicting as much lethal damage on an enemy as you can. For example: First, you might beat a guy up, then slam a tire over his head, pinning his arms to his body. Then grab a street sign, rip it out of the ground and jam it through his face. Then, pick him up, head butt him a few times for good measure and walk over to a meat hook. Slam the guy onto the meat hook, over and over and over again by thrashing your Wiimote. That will get you the score of HARDCORE VIOLENCE. You've never been able to inflict more damage on a human body before this game... EVER! The more points you score, the more death traps and weapons appear in the level. After a while, the levels play out almost like Tony Hawk where you strategically maximize the death traps and enemies to score as many points as you can. Optional Mini-Games are also available such as Man Darts, or Decapitation Golf to allow you to score even more points. The gameplay is really fun, but starts to feel repetitive after about an hour.

Sound: 5/10
The music tracks are a mix of rap and action music. They're ok. The cutscenes are very well written and acted. However, there are two announcers that punctuate the violence as you are playing the game. Their perverse jokes get really repetitive after a while and they start to get annoying. You can turn the Volume down independently for the Announcers, Sound Effects, or Music.

Replay Value: 7/10
At any time, you can replay levels to try and improve your High Score. There is also a Multi-Player mode where Two Players can compete head to head in the Mini Games.

Overall: 8/10
This game is fun in small doses. Brutally killing guys with the Wiimote as you're trying to discover new and creative ways to kill them is very fun. You can probably finish the game in about 6 to 8 hours.

Mad World is Rated M for Language, Crude Humor, Porn Jokes, Violence, Gore, Murder, Dismembering, Impaling, Immolating, Vaporizing, Smashing, Bashing, Chopping, Slicing, Dicing, Chain-sawing, Pulverizing, Burning, Stabbing, Thrashing, Mutilating, Catapulting, Disemboweling and the list goes on... and on...

Buy it if:
You want to own the most Adult Game of all time.
You want more traditional games for your Wii Collection.
You want to play the mini-games in Multiplayer.

Rent it if:
You want a violently fun arcade style beat 'em up.
You want a short, but fun action game for the Wii.

Avoid it if:
You don't like violence, crude humor, or black and white art.

If you like this game, you'll love No More Heroes for the Wii.

The word 'rental' surprisingly does not appear often in reviews you will read for this game, so I'd like to rectify that.

Unless you are easily entertained by 'shock-value' (which is a generous description for the swearing and 'blood' in this game), the tedium of this will set in quickly.

For those who don't know, the premise of this game is that you are locked into a relatively small area, within which you must simply kill an endless parade of respawning enemies until you have killed enough to earn a fight with the final boss. Occasionally there are 'mini-games' in which you stop the fisticuffs briefly in favor of throwing the enemies in front of a train, or something. There is no plot here whatsoever; it is solely about pleasing yourself by choosing the way in which you would prefer to kill each individual villain (or victim, as the case may be). You will take damage extraordinarily rarely and, in my opinion, will be entertained even less frequently.

Trust me, pay five bucks to rent this before you drop fifty dollars on it. Otherwise you'll wind up like me, trying to cut your losses by selling it just over 24 hours after you bought it.

Whenever someone finds out I have a Wii, they begin their mocking by saying "So you play those loser games like Wii Sports? How's the bowling going?" or "How's that lame exercise going?" I respond with "I'm too busy ripping guys in half in MadWorld."
I have never seen a game this violent before, and this is definitely one of the best Wii games I've seen in a long time. It has great graphics, awesome action, and hilariously graphic violence. A better title for this game would've been "Overkill." The only complaint is that after a while of playing, the announcers start to reuse quotes. Good thing they're still funny.

Action was awesome! I normally hate rap and hip hop, but with this game, I'm making an exception. Funny way to kill people if you're in the mood. Challenge is right where it is. There's times where I've messed up and got killed. Was mad, but still went at it. This is almost like Killer Instinct. Why I say that? Simply because the story can get confusing and not make sense, but because it's a very good game, you don't let the confusing story bother you.

Advice to parents................THIS GAME IS NOT FOR KIDS!!!!!!!!! Don't blame the media if you let your kid play this game.