Let’s be honest. Sega isn’t doing well in the gaming world. Some could say that they are screwing over their Sonic franchise. That is basically my reason for thinking they aren’t doing well. For a couple years, I wondered, why doesn’t Sega make another franchise? Then, a couple months ago, one game caught my eye on Gamefly, Madworld. I looked up everything I could about this game that was coming out. After I looked at it, I got excited and added it to my list and waited for it to come out. I just beat it a few days or so ago, and now I am on my computer, typing up a review for it.
So, basically, the story is that a terrorist group has taken over Varrigan City and has blown up the bridges, and blocked out communications to the island city. To be even bigger jerks, they have released a virus into the city, and told everyone in the city that they have to fight for the cure of the virus. This has then turned into the violent game show known as Death Watch. Now enters our main hero Jack, who is signing up to join Death Watch to find out what is happening, and beat some guys down into the ground while he is saving the city.
This time, I’ll start out by talking about Jack, our main hero. Let’s just say he isn’t someone you would want to meet in a very dark alley. This guy is a seriously awesome character. He has a robotic arm with a chainsaw hidden inside it, and he will screw you over 100 different ways. The voice actor for this marvelously violent character is Steve Blum who is famous for roles such as Roger Smith from the robot anime Big-O, Agito a.k.a Guyver III from Guyver, Hakaider from the anime version of Kikaider, and his most famous role, Spike from Cowboy Bebop. I just love this guy’s voice acting. It just fits the character. I also think Ron Perlman could have done a good job, but that is just me.
Okay, onto the game. The game play style is in a 3D beat em’ up where you travel across 14 intense levels, beating down on goons 1,000 different ways and eventually fighting a boss at the end of each level. Now, the unique part of this game is the intense violence. A lot of people have complained about this intense violence for a game for the Wii, but I remember a quote from Eurogamer saying that it’s hard to get offended, since the violence is so ridiculous and over-the-top, like a Tom and Jerry cartoon, and I have to agree with that statement. Besides just punching people, you can also use your chainsaw to cut people and things in half. You can also wield signs posts, barrels, trashcans, and other weapons to rack up points on your opponent, since you can multiply your points by being violent. It’s a unique point system, which really fits in the game. There are also destructible environments where you could throw opponents into spikes, steamrollers, slot machines, and other stuff to rack up points. During halfway through every level, you compete in a mini-game-like challenge, where you either throw or hit guys into dartboards, under the death press, throwing them in front of trains, and multiple other games that you will have to find out for yourself. You don’t lose a life or anything if you don’t make enough points, which is a good thing in my opinion. The boss fights are outrageous. Every boss fight is different each time. There is always a different challenge for every boss fight, and to be honest, they aren’t that hard. I mean, some can be easier than others, but you will die if you don’t know what to do. There are also mini-bosses that sometime come out during the level, and the mini-boss is always different, depending on where you are in the game.
The graphics are just awesome. Since the Wii isn’t the strongest game console out there, the people who made this game used a Sin City-style artwork, which cleverly hides the Wii’s graphic limitations. The voice acting is just amazing. You forget that this game was made in Japan since it’s just so American. It’s hard to explain. I’ll just say that the voice acting is spot on. Most of the charm of the game comes from the two game announcers who are voiced by Greg Proops, who is famous for doing stuff like the Pod Racing announcer from Star Wars Episode 1, various voices from The Nightmare Before Christmas and also appearing on shows like Who’s Line is it Anyways. He is partnered up with John Dimaggio, who is famous for doing the voice of Bender from Futurama, Brother #2 from Afro Samurai, the Scotsman from Samurai Jack, and Aquaman and Gorilla Grodd from Batman the Brave and the Bold. These two are just hilarious, in a sick manner, as they swap banter while Jack is playing through the game. Even Jack has clever lines throughout the whole game, and that is the reason I said Ron Perlman would have done a good job as Jack also.
It’s time to shove a sign pole into the bad parts of the game. The camera control is very awkward since it stays in one place and doesn’t turn around when you’re facing another, unlike in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. The enemy AI can be pretty stupid, since they just stand there as you bring on the pain. I admit though, they get smarter later in the game and when you play it on the hard difficulty. Lengthwise, the game is short, and you can beat it in a dedicated day or two. This is just a small gripe but I think it would have been cool to have a fighting game multiplayer where you could play as Jack and the different bosses, but like I said, it’s just a small gripe.
All and all, I highly enjoyed this game. I just wish there were more games like this on the Wii. The only game I can recall being this violent and awesome is No More Heroes. Even though there is little to unlock, this game is fun to play through over and over again. I would highly recommend buying this game since it is one of the better third party games.
This game gets a solid 8 out of 10
Rated M for mature.
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