Genre: Action
Developer: PlatinumGames
Publisher: Sega
Players: 1
Retail Price: $50
Availability: Nintendo Wii
It’s been a while since Sega had a game of any real note under their umbrella, but publishing one put together by Platinum Games will do wonders for your portfolio. Even though this is Platinum’s first release as a company, their brain trust is intimidating. Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil 4, God Hand), Atushi Inaba (Viewtiful Joe, Okami) and Hikeki Kamiya (Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry) are a formidable creative team, so it should come as no surprise to find they’ve disemboweled the competition when it comes to third-party Wii software with Madworld.
Equal parts No More Heroes, Sin City and Running Man, Madworld comes of as a living, breathing, interactive graphic novel. It’s also quite violent. The world and its characters are black-and-white, but you’ll see plenty of red when you or your enemies are busted open. There are plenty of ways to add crimson to the color palette, and creative players are likely to have a hell of a time messing around with the combat engine.
You’re scored for each kill, but creative kills get you more points. You could simply pummel your enemies to death or slice them apart with your chainsaw, but where’s the fun in that? Why not express your inner-bully by slamming a thug headfirst into a barrel? That sets him up to be throw into a dumpster and sliced in half at the waist by the falling lid. There are all kinds of nifty ways to dispatch of your foes, and this is one of the least creative. The ultraviolence allows for many possibilities while using the environment, be it electrocution or impalement.
One of the best parts of killing is the motion controls. Like No More Heroes, simple maneuvers are represented on screen. Thrust the Wii Remote upward to lift an opponent. Slash sideways and receive a like representation on the screen. Sure, it’s not one-to-one motion sensing (leave that to the Motion Plus) but this is still new enough to suffice. Finishing maneuvers and boss battles allow for even greater motion control. Swing the remote around to do the same to your opponent. Shake the remote and nunchuck to overpower an enemy. It’s a simple, yet engrossing way to work the controls in.
It’s a comfort that the game isn’t simply style over substance, but rest assured, the presentation is one of the best of this generation, HD or not. You’d never know the game isn’t running in progressive scan, because it looks better than a lot of titles that do, and on the more powerful systems to boot. It just goes to show you what well-realized art direction can do for a game. The voice work is mostly phenomenal, with Greg Proops providing play-by-play commentary and Steve Blum (Wolverine and the X-men) voicing Jack.
Anyone who complains about the state of “hardcore gaming” on the Wii loses any right to complain if they don’t at least play Madworld. Realistically though, it’s a game any real gamer with a Wii should own, not just try. Sega made a great move picking this one up, and other publishers are probably kicking themselves if they passed it by. Skipping this game revokes your right to bitch — you’ve been warned.
