For too long the Wii has been a sterile wasteland, consisting mainly of shovel-ware focused on making a quick buck off of Nintendo’s wholesome family image. The team over at Platinum Games looks to move beyond the world of digital puppies and fitness-conscious housewives with their latest hyper-violent action game, MadWorld. This ridiculous romp through the world of organized blood sport looks to finally lure in the hardcore audience that the Wii has been neglecting for so long.
Survival of the Fittest
Set in an alternate future where men compete in televised, gladiator-style, battles to the death, the game quickly establishes the single rule which all participants must abide by: Kill or be Killed. Once that simple concept is out of the way, the story sets about justifying the grossly disturbing scenario of a city left in chaos. Some nefariously mysterious organization has descended upon Varrigan City, infecting all of the residents with a fast acting neurotoxin.
To receive the antidote for said infection, all of the city’s occupants are forced to kill someone else. With the population cut off from the outside world, mass chaos breaks lose. Needless and heinous murders take place around every corner, all in the name of self preservation. After the initial wave of infected have died out, the remaining citizens are left to fight to the death, all in the name of a generous cash reward. Sadly, the rest of the free world watches in on this bloodbath, even going as far as to gamble on the outcome. And so, The DeathWatch Games were born.
Players are released into this manic environment filling the shoes of Jack Cayman, a skilled killer for hire that has been dropped into the city with a specific set of objectives in mind. Though the goals and motivations of Jack are rather unclear, things begin to clarify as the story trudges on. Regardless of what many may think, he is much more than what meets the eye…
Waggle = Malice
As oddly complex as the setup for the game may seem, the core concepts and mechanics of the game are straightforward: Kill everyone you see, in as spectacular a manner as possible. When it comes to malice and devastation, Jack is a veritable weapon of mass destruction. Equipped with a cybernetic arm that has a retractable chainsaw built in, players must use any means necessary to dismember, disembowel and dispatch wave after wave of mindless drone.
In order to gain favor with the fans and climb the ranks of The DeathWatch Games, death combos are a must. This means that objects within the environment should be brought into play, trying to produce the most extreme and gory death sequences possible. An example of efficient use of the surroundings would be using a tire to wrap around an enemy, incapacitating them. The next “logical” step would be finding a street sign, tearing it from the ground, and driving it into the side of the adversary’s skull much like a pike. Lastly, the now mangled opponent would be led over to a wall lined with spikes, where they would be repeatedly ran through, with blood spurting at a level that would make Quentin Tarantino cringe.
While progressing through each stage, several different bonus mini-games called BloodBath Challenges will be unlocked. These welcome diversions add variety to the otherwise RPG-ish grind of relieving people of their lives, one-by-one. Some of the highlights include human (or corpse in some cases) darts, trips to the driving range that replace golf balls with zombie heads, and the home run derby game from hell. Regardless of whether the player cares for the change of pace that these modes introduce, it is the best method to rack up points quickly.
After Jack has acquired the points necessary to complete a stage, the boss battle will be activated. Encounters with each boss acts as a way to emphasize one specific skill in your arsenal. Normally, the matches require little effort short of spamming the single attack that exploits each character’s unique weak spot. If the Achilles heel cannot be located, repeated attacking with the chainsaw will eventually wear them down. Once victory is secured, your ranking and support amongst the fans rise, clearing the way for the next stage.
High Definition is Overrated
Where most games are setting themselves apart by emphasizing their high definition presentation, MadWorld takes an interesting step in the opposite direction. Instead of following in the footsteps of others, the developers decided to use a limited palette of only three colors: black, white and red. The monochrome appearance brings a grittiness that hearkens back to the age when comic books were in their infancy.
As was alluded to earlier, the game is tremendously violent. Further emphasizing the bloodshed are the exaggerated splashes of red that punctuate the otherwise colorless veneer. Not only is this new territory for the Wii, but for games in general, and it pays off in a big way. Probably the only reason that that ESA allowed the extreme content by was because of the fact that it was done in an artistic way, that if absent, would have defeated the purpose of the entire game.
Another area where the game excelled was the entertaining commentary of John DiMaggio and Greg Proops. Alone, they would have been vulgar and offensive, but together, they had a chemistry that excused the subject matter. Commenting on everything from brutal murders to bitter ex-wives, nothing was sacred. Best of all, the banter also helped to reinforce the over-the-top presentation that the game hangs its hat on.
Despite the fact that MadWorld has brought many new game design concepts to the Wii arena, there was one area that failed miserably: variety. Time after time, the player would repeat the same series of actions, hoping that it would result in a higher multiplier score. Eventually the fresh concepts of the gestural combat system begin to repeat themselves. The commentary also falls into the repetition rut, but fortunately there is a mute button for the television if necessary. Jokes about testicles are only funny the first twenty times.
Are You Ready for the Game?
The DeathWatch Games have much to offer the quality starved Wii consumer. MadWorld is a great way to reacquaint yourself with the wonderful world of waggle, while still experiencing the grit and intensity of current generation games. Make sure you fire up your chainsaw, because they are coming for YOU next!
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