MadWorld Review

So, Independence Day... why not do a review?

How do you unwind after a long day? Drink beer? Swear like a fiend? Punch someone in the face? Watch violent/explicit movies? Read inappropriate comics? Those are all good ways to blow off some steam. For me, though, it's always been the same. Play videogames, the more violent, the better. There's never been a shortage of gratuitous, bloody and rock 'em sock 'em games to assuage the average Joe's need for mindless violence, including Doom, Goldeney, Devil May Cry and Grand Theft Auto, and while I do prefer GTA as a stress relief (and believe me, I'll get to reviewing Grand Theft Auto someday) , there really isn't anything quite like MadWorld.

MadWorld is a beat 'em up game that is over the top, gory and incredibly satisfying with an art style clearly based off the Frank Miller comic series 'Sin City' (it even has scenes shown in comic strip form) with absurdly violent gameplay that seems fairly reminiscent to Tom and Jerry and would make Jack Thompson have a hemorrhage. The story goes that in the near future a powerful pathogen is released in Verigan City and dressed up as a Celebrity Deathmatch style free-for-all and televised the world over. Enter Jack Cayman, a mountain of flesh dressed head to toe in biker gear with a chainsaw for a hand (fun fact, he's voiced by Steve Blum of Cowboy Beebop and Samurai Champloo fame). He takes to the streets to make everything alive his bitch as he fights his way to the top of the Deathwatch competition roster. From then on, it's straight up brutal fighting, swearing and bloody finisher after bloody finisher against a sea of unsuspecting psychos ripe for ass kickery, with sadistic and hilarious commentary provided by John DiMaggio (Bender of Futurama) and Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyway).

As far as gameplay goes, it's fairly simple. You go around and kick ass wherever you find anyone. Excluding one particular stage, it's easy to fight anything you find yourself up against, including the over the top bosses and minibosses. It even has quicktime events that don't suck! That's quite an accomplishment! The violence is ridiculous to the point of hysterics. If you can't suspend your disbelief enough to play as a killer biker who tosses men onto hanging spike strpis, whacking zombies heads through flying hoops with a golf driver, launching aliens into a zero gravity trash compactor and slicing a gigantic tanker in half with a little chainsaw, then quite frankly, you have no suspension of disbelief, and that's ignoring the immortal Black Baron, a stereotypical pimp used as a live test dummy for the gory Blood Bath Challenges.

Graphics, what can I say. I love them. They're completely in black and white excluding the glut of red blood you get from killing enemies. I find it difficult to believe ONE MAN animated the blood in this game. Nevertheless, the visuals are a mixed bag as far as casual gamers go. I know a lot of people who can't get into black and white visuals and even more whose eyes are hurt by black and white visuals, so you'll either love or hate them. As for me, I think they are perfect as they are and compliment the game beautifully.

Lastly, the music... my word, this game has a rap soundtrack the (LE GASP) doesn't suck! In fact, the soundtrack is incredible. If mainstream rap were half as good as the music in MadWorld, the world would be a very different place. A number of indie artists contributed tracks that not only sounded good but also were relevant to the game and story, so that's just the icing on the cake. If you don't like rap (I myself am very picky with the rap I listen to), you may find yourself enjoying this soundtrack. And those of you who do enjoy rap may find yourselves unable to comprehend rap that is actually good (yes, that's a stab at my co-workers, trollolol).

On the whole, MadWorld is easily one of my favorite games. If you have a Wii and are looking for a simple game with plenty of replay value and lots of potential to kill some frustration. Anyone who thinks different, I say you're a bunch of butthurt pansies... nah, just kidding, you can have your own opinion.

Final score

Concept: 5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Playability: 4.5/5
Entertainment: 4.5/5
Replay Value: 5/5

Final score: 4.5/5