MadWorld Review - Is this really what the Wii needs?

Mike Bantick
Sunday, 22 March 2009 08:59

Entertainment

The game becomes a parody of itself, as the over-the-top cartoon style violence escalates, the TV sports commentators get further frenzied and the killing gets more ridiculous.

To progress through the game, Caymen must increasingly despatch his mohawked foes in entertaining (for the TV audience) and inventive ways.  So impaling a tire-bound foe with a road sign and then tossing them onto a spike will result in a larger overall score than simply ending their virtual life with a quick slice of a chainsaw.

MadWorld utilises the Wii-mote controls intuitively, so utilising the chainsaw is a press of the ‘B’ button and a mad slashing with the Wii-mote.  Whilst head-butting involves the Nunchuck and the ‘A’ button is required to grab objects littering the landscape.  Having to press up on the control pad to snaffle the power-up’s does feel a little superfluous. 

There is plenty of opportunity to be inventive within the game, tossing enemies in front of trains, slapping them with baseball bats, running down hapless foes on during the on-rails style vehicle moments with plenty more murderous artistry to be explored in the game.

The areas of the isolated Jefferson Island become a bloodthirsty serious of scoring opportunities.  With the game throwing extra scoring challenges and boss characters at Caymen.  Whilst the day to day grunts are easily dispatched, the handful of boss challenges take a little more tactical nous to survive.

Though this is video game parody at its best, on the surface there is not much separating MadWorld from the vicious Munhunt.  Violence for the glory of violence is shovelled in the players face from beginning to end.  This is a Wii game to be played long after the kids are snug in bed.

Value is a little light on, with the main single player game being traversable within a single digit count of hours.  There is a two player ‘party-game’ multiplayer mode to flesh out the time spent in MadWorld and replayability is there in single player, but value wise MadWorld only just makes the grade.

MadWorld will upset censors with no sense of humour, and shock any Wii parent who accidently treats the Wii merely as  a kids toy, buying MadWorld without any forewarning (despite the rating) could result in night mares for the young’uns.

So is MadWorld and games of its ilk needed on the Wii platform?  Heck yes!  This is a little piece of adult escapism that Wii owners have been crying out for.  There will be those bemoaning the staining of the Wii reputation as a kid orientated console.  But as I said earlier, this is a title to be wheeled out when only the adults are around, for a little burst of guilty fun.

7.5 finishing blows out of 10