Madworld-Gamepro-review

MadWorld
MadWorld

PROS: An amazing take on the beat 'em up genre; hundreds of ways to butcher enemies; awesome boss battles
CONS: Two-player mode feels cheap and tacked on; play-by-play commentary gets old; motorcycle levels are clunky

When Pat first booted up MadWorld, the ensuing screams of chainsaw mayhem brought editors and staff members a-running from every corner of the building. Every single person in the office crammed into the test cube to watch the bloody spectacle and holy hell were we impressed. Dark, brutal and hilarious in just the right way, MadWorld is a title that has rocketed to the top of every staff member's must buy list.

4.5 out of 5

1up-Madworld-review

A-

MadWorld is not a perfect game, and for some it might be a tad on the short side (five-to-six hours). But I had a blast on this roller coaster through a unique world. The immersive combat (aided by shockingly-fun Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls) would not have been as enjoyable if played on a traditional gamepad. Despite my early skepticism on the decision to bring this game exclusively to the Wii, I don't think the experience would be nearly as interesting on either HD console. The design constraints of Nintendo's system forced the developers at Platinum Games to be creative, and they followed through on their creativity by putting together a thoroughly enjoyable brawler with just the right amount of the ultra-violence.

IGN US Madworld review:

Closing Comments
I realize that not everybody will find MadWorld's unique visual and aural presentation appealing, but to me, the game is an instant collector's item and a Wii showpiece, not just for its amazing style, but for its label-busting content. Anybody who says Nintendo's console is just for kids will see things very differently after a few chainsaw- induced mutilations. More importantly, though, MadWorld does not place emphasis on style over gameplay, so there's plenty of fun, smart mechanics to back up the overwhelmingly slick look and sound of the title. You'll be floored by some of the scenarios that await you in the fast-moving beat-'em-up, surprised by the unexpectedly well-made storyline, and simultaneously grossed out and cracked up by all of the completely over-the-top gore. Even with some camera issues, some repetition, and a decidedly short single-player mode (if you play it on normal difficulty), SEGA and Platinum Games have still created Wii's first truly excellent game of the year.

I'm begging you, buy this game so that we'll see more like it.

9/10

IGN UK Madworld review:

Two things strike you very quickly about MadWorld. Firstly, it makes SEGA's recent The House of the Dead: Overkill look like a tea party in a nunnery. Secondly, it's one of the most visually arresting games ever devised.

What? That's un-possible! Happy

Think Hostel meets the Running Man, only cleverer and infinitely funnier. Much like Overkill, it's a game that shirks subtly for gratuity and ends up mailing most of its laughs back from somewhere far, far over the line of acceptability.

Surprisingly, it's not the violence that's likely to cause most offense in MadWorld though. That honour goes to Greg Proops and John DiMaggio's delirious turn as Death Watch's foul-mouthed commentators. It's an astonishing stream of no-holds-barred crudity that hurtles from bigotry to misogyny and back, by way of several thousand expletives – including one choice word that literally made us drop our controller in surprise. It's the kind of aural assault that's so relentlessly, knowingly offensive, you'd have to be fairly puritanical not to get totally swept up in its giddy revelry.

You see, it's all about points. You need a certain number to progress through a stage, unlocking mini-game-style Bloodbath Challenges, more outlandish weapons and boss encounters at various pre-designated milestones. MadWorld's rules are simple: pain, effectively, means points and – with a classic arcade multiplier system at its core - the more creative your masochism, the greater your reward. That would probably be justifiable grounds for grumbling politicians and horrified newspaper headlines if your arsenal wasn't quite so dizzily deranged. Success depends on informed experimentation and, as you progress, MadWorld's ultraviolent surface thrills melt to reveal its nuanced fighting system. Ultimately, it's about taking pride in your work - and the dizzying satisfaction as your most outlandish Rube Goldberg-style death machinations reach fruition. It's honestly and absolutely an obsessive compulsive's wet dream.

It's the classic Wii complaint – that there's too much reliance on the Remote's notoriously imprecise motion-sensors. There's an incredible amount of gesture input in MadWorld – from chainsaw swipes to nunchuck dodging – and, too often for our liking, arm movements either fail to register or produce unexpected results.

Seems to be at odds with the US Sites description? Happy

Closing Comments
Control issues hamper fluidity but there’s no denying that, with some investment, MadWorld rewards in huge doses, delivering an incredibly visceral experience that's as stunningly unique and obscenely entertaining as it is just plain obscene.

8.9

IGN-Video-review-for-lazy-people

Eurogamer-review

7/10

CVG-review

8/10

Posted by gamingeek Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:37:33 (comments: 145)
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Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:44:34

Who is going to buy this?

 
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:49:37

Iga_Bobovic said:

Who is going to buy this?

Me.

March 20th in europe I believe. Out in the US this friday is it?

If you own a Wii and dont buy this game I hate you.

 
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:04:21

Iga_Bobovic said:

Who is going to buy this?

I AM SPARTACUS.  i pre-ordered it and will be playing it around the end of the month when it ships.  can't wait

 
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:06:39

Iga_Bobovic said:

Who is going to buy this?

I will have it in my hands tomorrow, and will post some impressions of the game likely the next morning.  I'm not going to be around much this weekend so I have to get in as much of this game as I can as soon as I get it.

 
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:12:27

Man all the games I hyped are turning out well.

MadWorld check

Fragile check

The last one is Little King's Story!

 
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:12:35
I'll be picking it up, but not on launch.
 
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:04:42

I pre-ordered it when Amazon knocked off $10 for about 5 minutes last month.

Fragile is gong to be another good one.

Reviews are looking solid.  ETA to non-wii exclusivity?  Anyone think it will jump over to the other consoles?

 
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:55:12

aspro73 said:

I pre-ordered it when Amazon knocked off $10 for about 5 minutes last month.

Fragile is gong to be another good one.

Reviews are looking solid.  ETA to non-wii exclusivity?  Anyone think it will jump over to the other consoles?

I'm surprised De Blob hasn't jumped yet. Both games have an appealing art style that will work on either console, HD or not and both don't seem to have motion controls or IR as an intergral part of the game. And both are made by staunch multiplatform publishers.

 
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:01:15

Gamesradar-review

MadWorld is the definition of Grindhouse gaming, inspired as much by movie directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez as games gone by. With striking monochrome visuals spattered with gobbets of gore and enough violence to keep the tabloids in column inches for the next sixth months, it’s by far the most stylish Wii game to date. But beneath the gory facade is a staggeringly simple concept.

On the one hand, MadWorld refuses to take itself seriously. The constant rantings of the commentators highlight the general silliness that’s unavoidable when you start throwing buckets of claret around. But on the other hand it’s an impressively deep game if you have the imagination to help it do its work. It would be great fun on any console, but that it’s on the Wii is cause for celebration. Sega, it seems, are determined to carve out a new niche market for the console with this and House of the Dead: Overkill. Mad? Maybe, but seriously good fun, too.

8/10

X-Play-review

Far from a perfect game, MadWorld is perhaps the answer to gamers’ pleas for a hardcore title to arrive on the Wii. You’ll be able to clean up the city in a little under seven hours without breaking a sweat – but it’s seven hours of pure bloody mayhem that you won’t find in most twenty-hour games. If you don’t need a parent’s permission to buy this game, strap on your chainsaw arm and prepare to have a bloody good time.

4/5

CVG review

MadWorld is, while it lasts, a consistently entertaining (and motherf***ing awesome) scrap with an 18 tag on the box - as good a reason as any for those neglected Wii owners to dust off the box.

8/10

Eurogamer

As a piece of violent spectacle MadWorld is unrivalled. The creativity of PlatinumGames in providing ever more unlikely and delicious ways to kill and maim Jack's antagonists boggles and delights the mind at some deep, base level. And so, no matter how much the schoolboy-humour commentary grates, no matter how repetitive the bits in between the set-pieces start to feel and no matter how frustrating the later levels become, MadWorld provides a rush of blood to the head almost as often as it provides a rush of blood to the pavement.

7/10

 
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:36:26

gamingeek said:


Iga_Bobovic said:


Who is going to buy this?



Me.



March 20th in europe I believe. Out in the US this friday is it?



If you own a Wii and dont buy this game I hate you.

 

I guess I'll be on your hate list then. Nyaa I'll just rent this game myself.
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