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MadWorld is a game of excess, a celebration of blood, boobs and vulgarity that sends up the primal thirst driving our culture — videogames and otherwise. But that doesn't make it a great game.
Instead, MadWorld is decent. The black-and-white comic book renderings attract the eyes, which stay for the bright red puddles of blood and dynamic yellow onomatopoeias that accentuate every crushing blow. Behind it all is a game that simply wouldn't subsist without its oozing style.
Jack is the star. He's a gruff, lonesome figure with a rumbling voice that's become a prerequisite for videogame machismo. He enjoys killing, but he's a force for good in this alternate reality story. A terrorist group — or so it seems — takes over the fictional Jefferson Island, an obvious replica of New York City. With bridges blown and deadly force exacted upon anyone who tries to cross into the doomed metropolis, Jack smuggles himself in, alone.
Quickly, he learns that the island has become the arena for a bloodsport called Death Watch. With the help of a mysterious corporate backer, Jack enters the contest, starting at the bottom and working through the ranks by felling assassins that often tower over him. The format, and the message, takes a cue from the visionary No More Heroes, in a good way.
The entire game takes place within the confines of the Death Watch tournament. Most levels are open-ended playgrounds, setting Jack loose to kill for style points (which, keeping with the theme of excess, range in the millions). When he reaches a target score, a passage opens to that level's champion. Getting there requires a bit of hand-to-hand combat, but mostly relies on a keen use of the environment.
On his own, Jack can punch — or deliver a combination of punches — with the Wii remote's A button. This is his weakest attack, and it's used mostly to stun enemies in preparation for more elaborate kills. A chainsaw is attached to Jack's other hand, and pressing the B button revs the motor. With a horizontal or vertical swipe of the Wii remote, Jack can slice in either direction, making for convenient but low-scoring instant kills.
The real fun starts with Jack's ability to pick things up. Signposts, barrels, tires, and mechanical gears are scattered throughout each level, and Jack can use them all to inflict pain on his foes. Long, thin objects such as lamp posts can skewer the heads of enemies, and large, round objects can be slammed down to trap people inside. To perform the most stylized and high-scoring executions, Jack must then pick up the enemy and find some other part of the environment to incorporate into the death routine.
Of these environmental kills, spiked walls known as “rosebushes” are the most basic. Jack can repeatedly impale his enemies on these spikes until their bodies go limp, hanging there for the remainder of the level. There are also slingshots, dumpsters, circular saws, jet engines, space vacuums and more to play with.
At first, the exploding carnage is a blast. A pair of foul-mouthed, fast-talking announcers narrate the action, creating a fast pace as Jack races against the clock to rack up a high score. In fact, never mind the graphics; audio is MadWorld's unsung hero, with rap tracks accentuating the game's street violence, and lush splatters of blood punctuating Jack's every move.
Though the context in each level is subject to change, the syntax varies very little from one stage to the next. Find a signpost, run it through an enemy, pick him up, slam him into a spiked wall, repeat — this plays out again and again. On occasion, Jack will confront an enemy that forces him to think a little differently, such as bigger mini-bosses that must be felled with chainsaw attacks, but overall, the flow remains the same.
The developers, however, seem aware of MadWorld's repetition. To break the monotony, special challenges can be unlocked in each level. These are strange machinations that see Jack clobbering enemies into a giant dartboard, teeing off their heads with a golf club, and stuffing their faces with soda before sending them flying at giant targets, pasted over the naughty bits of oversized female billboards. If any part of MadWorld drives home its over-the-top nature, it's these mini-games. On a larger scale, the player never has to engage more than two typical stages in a row. Every third level is a major boss battle, and there are a couple of motorcycle stages for added freshness.
Furthermore, MadWorld is an extremely short game. A skilled player could finish the story mode in six hours. Thing is, the game doesn't really need any more playing time than that. By its conclusion, there's really not much more that MadWorld can offer. Multiplayer and Hard modes become available, but there's little reason to stick around for them, at least initially. MadWorld is best in short bursts. It's a beat-em-up game for a new generation, and like the 16-bit brawlers that came before it, there's just not enough variety to sustain it for more playing time than it provides.
Admirably, the game doesn't end in a cliffhanger. The hype and expectation surrounding this most mature of Wii titles is sure to see a sequel or two, but it doesn't cop out like so many other potential franchises.
In all, MadWorld does many things right. It's aware of its repetition for over-the-top violence and its graphical limitations, and it executes all of it with quality and style. Unfortunately, the idea itself isn't spectacular. Mindlessly throwing bad guys into walls until they explode has its moments, but its no way to spend even a dozen hours of leisure time.
Fun Factor: The idea makes for great spurts of amusement, but it's just not built to last.
Game Length: A measly 6 hours that somehow feels appropriate.
Difficulty: Skilled gamers will breeze through, while the average player may have to retry a few sections.
On the Negative Side: The excellent presentation can't hide MadWorld's faults. It is repetitive and very short.
Bang for Your Buck: There's plenty to do after the main game is over, but what's the point?
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