Madworld

The Wii isn't well known for having an extensive library of titles meant for mature audiences, but luckily there are games like "Madworld" that are so offensively violent and grotesque that they make up for it in spades.

In "Madworld," you play as the gruff, chainsaw-wielding antihero Jack, who, without giving away any plot details, is stuck participating in a twisted reality show known as Deathwatch in which he must slaughter hordes of enemies and take on bosses to increase his rank to number one. This concept of Deathwatch seems somewhat borrowed from the disturbing premise of the "Manhunt" games "where you are forced to kill people and it's recorded for entertainment" but the overall story of "Madworld" is actually quite original and compelling, albeit a little convoluted.

The overall presentation of the game is incredibly slick, sporting unique black-and-white graphics, the comic book nature of which is only enhanced by yellow onomatopoeias that flash up on the screen when you rev your chainsaw or smash an object. The only other color you'll ever see on the screen is red: and there's a lot of it. But while I can't stress enough that this game is for mature audiences only, it should also be noted that it doesn't take itself seriously. It's meant to be darkly humorous and clearly aims for shock value. "Madworld" revels in its over-the-top nature, and it's saturated with violence and foul language.

Beyond the beautiful presentation of the game, there is also some superb voice acting in "Madworld." Cut scenes, which are presented in both live action and comic book panel form, are voiced wonderfully, drawing the player into the story. Deathwatch also features two foul-mouthed commentators, Kreese Kreely and Howard Holmes, who enhance the game's dark humor with their bizarre and wildly inappropriate remarks. (You may recognize one of the voices as John Di Maggio, who voiced Bender on "Futurama.")

As you hack, slash, and maim your enemies, you must earn a certain number of points to advance through the level, unlocking new challenges that come in the form of mini-games (like whacking enemies heads off with a golf club through hoops for points) before eventually reaching the boss of the particular zone. The gameplay is incredibly entertaining at first, but it doesn't change a whole lot and consequently feels a little tired by the end. The game sports a scoring system that awards extra points for combos or multi-kills, which can be achieved through the use of environmental objects. For example, you can jam a tire over an enemy's body, pinning his arms at his sides, and then impale his face with a street sign before finally picking him up and slamming him multiple times onto a spike covered wall. Heinous and repulsively violent, yes, but if you just chop the enemy in half with a chainsaw, you'll only score a fraction of the points that you would have had you done a combo.

Unfortunately, that's about as complex as the game gets. Special finisher moves and weapons, including knives or a golf club, are thrown into the mix, but what it really boils down to is: trap an enemy with a tire, impale him, throw him into (insert deadly trap here, including spikes, an airlock, a trash compactor, a train, etc.), repeat. It's fun, it's mindless, and the animations are very detailed, but it feels a little one-dimensional because ultimately, that's really the only "combo" you can do. Perhaps if you could do different combos or you learned new special moves over the course of the game, the gameplay wouldn't feel trite by the end.

The black and white graphics, as great as they look, are not without their flaws. When combined with the mediocre mini-map--which is also in black and white and fails to differentiate between multiple floors--the graphical style makes it confusing to navigate parts of the levels. Black and white on black and white can make it difficult to notice certain objects, passageways, stairs, or boxes that you need to traverse to get to the next checkpoint. Oftentimes, when you need to move on to the next objective by finding the starting location of the next challenge, you'll find yourself wandering around for a few minutes as you struggle to get to the marker on the mini-map, which can really detract from the momentum of the gameplay. In the end, you realize that all you needed to do was climb up some boxes that were blending into the wall next to you.

Any of these graphical issues seem miniscule compared to the greatest flaw of the game: its length. I was shocked when I beat the game on normal difficulty in less than 4 hours. Upon its completion, a hard mode is unlocked that is substantially more challenging, but with the exception of two new weapons--a double chainsaw and a katana--no new content is brought to the table.

Slightly extending the playability of the game is a multiplayer mode, where you can compete with another player in any of the aforementioned mini-game challenges. Again, the mode lacks any stamina and is only entertaining for a few rounds, especially for those who have already completed the single player campaign and have therefore played all of the simplistic games. Ultimately, it feels a bit tacked on.

Considering that Nintendo has shamelessly created a litany of mom-, kid-, grandma-, and family-friendly games in its attempts to appeal to as many demographics as possible (and subsequently make as much money as possible), "Madworld" is just the type of game that the Wii needed. It's unique, it pulls no punches, and it caters to the mature, hardcore gamers who were beginning to feel abandoned by Nintendo. It may be painfully short and the gameplay could do with a bit of evolution over the course of the campaign, but it's certainly good enough to make a case for more of these kinds of Wii titles in the future. Score: 7.9/10