I’m going to start this review with something bad, but important. This game is short. Damn short. Got it? Good. Now onto everything else.

I’m going to cut to the chase: MadWorld (yes, it’s one word) is stylish. So stylish, if you could drain the style out of it you’d have 100 litres of pure style. The monotone graphics work fine, you’d expect there to be some visibility issues, but there aren’t any at all, making the game look awesome. From the static screens accompanying this review you might not be able to see just how good it actually looks, because in motion it’s incredibly beautiful. The violence is also wonderfully over the top, with blood spraying constantly. And for most of the game, you’ll be chuckling to yourself over just how stupidly violent it is. Oh, and for one other reason: the announcers.

The announcers, voiced by John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama, countless other cartoon, video game and anime characters) as Kreese Kreeley and Greg Proops (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Bob the Builder) as Howard Holmes. The two are constantly spitting hilarious dialogue relating to what’s happening in game. For example:

KK: That kill was ironic!
HH: How was it ironic?
KK: Did I say ironic? I’m sorry, I meant ****ING AWESOME!

The latest Husqvarna ad has gone too far.

The sound effects are great too, nothing beats hearing the buzzing of a chainsaw and the noise of flesh being carved by it. The soundtrack, which is totally original, is great too. It uses hip-hop styled music with lyrics written about the game, this adding to the ‘total MadWorld experience’ substantially. Jack, he’s a psycho killer…

What really counts though is the gameplay. And it’s awesome too. The controls work well, and it’s just a lot of fun going through areas and killing countless enemies in new and gruesome ways. Each level has different enemies and different environments to kill them in, e.g. in Varrigan City there are trains which you can throw enemies in front of, while in Asia Town there are gongs which you can smash an enemy’s head into. You have to get a set number of points to progress to the next minigame/boss, and the more gruesome the murder, the more points. You could simply disembowel an enemy with your chainsaw, or you could stick them in a garbage can, shove two trumpets in each ear and impale them on a spike. Which of the two methods do you think would earn more points?

A stairway to Heaven perhaps?

Apart from the abovementioned positives of the gameplay, I have one main gripe with the gameplay overall, and that is the camera and lock on system. You use the C button to centre the camera behind you, but that’s all you can do to manipulate it. And the lock on feature is nice, but ultimately it fails because it’s just too fiddly. You need to press the C button to centre the camera, then hold it for a few seconds until the game notifies you that it’s locked on. The only time it’s really needed is in boss battles, otherwise there’s no point in even trying to use it.

Shifting focus to the game’s multiplayer options, where the game could possibly shine even further, it’s unfortunately where the game gets glitchy. The only option in multiplayer is to battle it out with a mate in a Blood Bath challenge (various bonus point scoring mini games from the story mode) that have been unlocked in Story mode first to see who can get the most points/kills. There’s often a lot of slowdown and the split screen just doesn’t work for a game like this. It’s alright for an extra, but don’t expect much from it. I personally would have preferred that the developers put more time into lengthening the single player mode through new areas or the like, rather than tacking on a multiplayer mode.

You'll never guess the secret ingredient in our patented MadWorld burgers!

Apart from the short length and little gripes mentioned above, MadWorld is still a standout game that should be played by every Wii owner. The great style, music and gameplay make it a truly unique title, better than most first party games Nintendo have released of late *cough* Wii Music *cough*. So, if you have a Wii and are over 15, go out and grab this NOW.

By Ben Hauser

The Verdict

Graphics: A+

Looks great, has a great style.

Sound: A

Hilarious announcers and suitably awesome music.

Gameplay: A

Fun, overly violent, but it doesn’t last long enough.

Overall: A

The best Wii game so far this year, enjoyable until the end.