Carnage should never be this entertaining

by Pramath Parijat

Fun factor: Fun

Worth to: Buy/Rent

Another great title from the creators of masterpieces like Okami, and what is hands down the most fun console game of this generation.

Okay, so it’s a fact that the Wii’s been lacking in good hardcore titles a bit lately. It’s missed out on some of this generation’s better titles, like Bioshock and Batman: Arkham Asylum, and the only games you can find at the Wii section at any store are the casual shovelware. How did it come to this? Nintendo did its job with the console, and released the best instalments in all their age old revered franchises long ago, but the third parties really don’t seem to be taking the little white box seriously. All except for one, that is.



Sega has been providing a steady stream of titles for the Wii since last year. And while so far the quality of its games ranged from average to appalling (we’ve had games like Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games and Sonic Unleashed, about which the less said the better), this year it seems to be on a roll. It first gave the Wii owners The House of the Dead: Overkill, a great over the top spastic tribute to the campy B grade horror movies of yore, and that was insanely violent and crude. And now it’s given us MadWorld.

Pseudo-snuff stuff

Where do I begin about this game? Well, the graphics would be the most obvious place to start, I guess. And for good reason. In today’s age of stunning Hi-Def realism, the black and white cel-shaded comic book inspired graphics of MadWorld stand out. Coming from the developers of such works of art as Okami and Viewtiful Joe, is it really any wonder that MadWorld simply looks stunning in motion? The black and white palette really stands out, and trust me, once you see this game, it will be really hard to pull your eyes away from it.

Adding to all the class of MadWorld are the frequent “POWs” and “KA-BOOMs” that appear right across the screen, with the appropriate sound effects. These comic book “blurbs” really reinforce the black and white graphics of the game, adding to the game’s overall look and feel, and lending it coherence as far as visual style and flair are concerned. Playing this game, it becomes clear that the graphics exist in this form because they were meant to be this way, and not because of the Wii’s limitations.

To be fair though, not all is rosy here: the camera in MadWorld is far from perfect. It is, in fact, sloppily handled and its clumsy reorientation in the midst of a fierce boss fight really leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully, this issue will be addressed in the inevitable sequel, because this is the only thing that mars an otherwise visually flawless experience.



Speaking of the intense boss fights, it really is worth mentioning that the bosses in this game are huge and menacing. Adding to the game’s impressive narrative, and providing players with a meaty challenge, they constitute some of the best thought out portions of the game, as far as gameplay is concerned. In particular, I found the final boss battle to be thrilling -- it was terrifying, it awoke all my primal instincts like nothing else in this game had, and it left me wanting more.

Which was to be found easily. This game has incredible replay value. Though the length itself is quite short, finishing the game immediately unlocks a Hard mode. Now, this Hard mode is really unlike anything seen in a Wii game before. Rivalling the challenge that provided by other action games such as God of War, the Hard mode might induce quite a few broken Wiimotes.

The fun comes from trying to beat your own high scores. Imaginative kills, which can be triggered using environment specific actions, are very high scoring, but they are not necessary to proceed in the game. In fact, you might as well just use the basic kills available to you from beginning to end. But the resultant score would be very low then, and you really wouldn’t have seen anything of the game. The fun is in replaying the levels, and finding newer and higher scoring ways to kill your enemies.

There’s style in all this vulgarity

There is a co-op mode available, but let’s be frank here: that was added as an afterthought, and it really isn’t meant to be any sort of a meaningful addition to the overall package. It’s limited to a couple of mini-games, which by themselves digress from the flow of the experience, and are rather poorly designed. The mode leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and the game would really have been better off without it. Indeed, its inclusion mars the otherwise excellent experience provided by the unique gameplay style, by its fresh take on arcade action titles of old, and by its surprisingly robust narrative.

Which brings me to my next point: the story of the main quest in MadWorld. While it’s not the epic stuff that you would find in, say, Zelda or Final Fantasy, the story is astonishingly deep, and really, one of the best I’ve ever come across in a beat-em up. It beats the weak plot setting of Brawl’s Subspace Emissary mode for sure, and definitely qualifies as one of the better plotlines for brawlers in recent memory.



The game has a very crude and vulgar sense of humor, as is evidenced by the F-bombs that the announcers keep dropping at the drop of a hat, as well as the misogynist comments they keep making. It adds to the sense of humor that the game has, for sure, and in a weird way. But there will be many who will be turned off by the entire thing, and you’re really going to have to make sure you don’t play this game around anybody who might take offence.

But then again, MadWorld was always bound to induce controversies. Its focus on sadistic means of dismembering people, its blatantly adult approach to everything it does -- this game is meant for those who can handle it, for those who can take it, but unfortunately, there will be many who can’t.

Before I sign off, I must mention the game’s soundtrack. I hate it. I really do. Focusing exclusively on rap music, it’s too loud for my taste. While subtlety isn’t really MadWorld’s strong suit, the songs they’ve picked really grind my nerves. Unfortunately, there’s no way you can turn them off, unless you want to miss out on the excellent commentary too.

Summary

Ultimately, MadWorld’s the game the Wii has been waiting for. It’s loud, it’s crude, it’s hilarious, it’s fun and engrossing, and it’s refined. There are a couple of minor issues, like the camera, and some people might not like the idea of spending $50 for a game that’s essentially 5 hours. But if they do get this anyway, then they will get not only a hardcore Wii title, but another great game from the creators of masterpieces like Okami, and what is hands down the most fun console game of this generation.