It's a......Madworld.

The Wii has been called and accused of many things. Some gamers don't mind what Nintendo has done with their newest console, while others cry foul and preach about how it is destroying video games with its kiddy mantra and casual friendly message. Whatever your stance on Nintendo's little money maker is, the Wii still has to adhere to the golden rule every console should be judged by: Are its games good? While Nintendo's lineup is top shelf stuff, third parties have a hard time making a buck on the system unless your game is Carnival Games or EA Sports Active.

Sega and Platinum Games(formerly Clover Studios) have taken the task of trying to dispel the common view of the Wii with the super violent beat-em-up Madworld. Is the game what the"hardcore" elite are looking for? Or is does it fall flat, putting on a trivial traveling circus show featuring violence for cheap thrills?

In Madworld, you play as the mysterious Jack, a man with a always lit cigarette in his mouth and a chainsaw attached to his arm. He has entered into a deranged reality show called "DeathWatch", a Running Man-style competition where it's kill or be killed in order to rise the ladder rank and claim the grand prize. DeathWatch has recently taken up residence in Varrigan City, against the inhibitants will,  and has transformed parts of the city into crazy sets strewn with death traps.  As you climb the ranks and get deeper into the city, you learn that there's more to Jack and DeathWatch, and that there is going to be a lot of bloodshed to get your answers.

MadWorld is a straight beat-em-up style game. Your goal in each level is to reach a certain point total in order to rise the boss gong and challenge him for the opportunity to rank up. You do this by maiming your opponents in the most over the top and gory way possible. Sure you can punch him a few times and then plunge your chainsaw into his chest, but why do that when you can punch him, grab a signpost and plunge it into his neck, place a barrell over his head, and then throw him into a grinder? The game awards you multipliers for each method of torture you inflict on your enemies before their death and these multipliers are the key to gaining big bonuses and points.

As your point total in each level rises, you will be given extra goodies and new ways of utterly destroying your opponents. These manifest themselves in spiked bats, gold clubs, torches, extra lives, or special items that distract the enemies allowing you more time to find very brutal ways of killing them. While these are all nice bonuses, the real treat in the levels comes in the form of the BloodBath Challenges. These events are special, timed challenges that allow you to rack up monster points involving the sickest and funniest of activites which include stuffing bad guys in fireworks tubes, playing golf with their heads to hit targets, or hitting them with bats into a giant dart board for points. These challenges are among the highlight of the levels. They are fun, deranged and each one is unique and different from the other.

While the challenges allow for high point totals and sick ways of killing guys, the traps in the levels are no slouch either. Spiked walls, grinders, pirhana tanks, and even a giant tempura pot are among some of the tools of destruction featured here.  I would sometimes feel like a kid in a candy store(what is wrong with me) when I saw all the different ways to kill and was always eager to try new combinations to try to yield the most amount of points. The game keeps things fun and tongue firmly in cheek with each contraption and it definitely makes you feel like your in a very adult theme park.

Also helping keep things lighthearted are your very enthusiastic announcers, voiced by comedian Greg Proops and voice actor John DiMaggio. They provide play by play of your deeds and actions, while also giving their two cents and insulting each other along the way. The writing is very funny and adult, some stuff I can't say here, and always keeps you laughing and smiling. There wasn't one time where I felt that things were getting boring thanks to these two. The great voice acting doesn't stop with them, as every character is excellent, with Jack being a standout. His voice work and attitude make for one likeable and bad ass character.

The graphics and control help Madworld stand out from being just another generic Wii game with waggle. The black and white cel shaded graphics evokes a very Sin City-like noir vibe, and help accuentuate the literal buckets of blood you will be spilling. It's highly stylized, over the top and amazing looking on the Wii.

Control also doesn't fall into the pitfall of needless waggle control. Standard attacks are handled by the buttons, while dodging and swinging your chainsaw is handled by swinging the nunchuck and wiimote respectively. Certain kills will have you moving the wiimote, such as thrusting it forward to slam enemies into a spiked wall, thrusting down to dive your chainsaw into their body, or thrusting up to bring said chainsaw up through their body. It doesn't over use them though and feels right. The only exhausting movement is in boss battles. Some require you to rapidly shake both the nunchuck and wiimote when your attacks clash or to execute a killing blow. This is reserved for bosses only, but sometimes you have to do it multiple times and it can get tiring.

It  wouldn't be a Wii game without multiplayer and Madworld offers the BloodBath Challenges as multiplayer modes. You can compete in any of the challenges with your friends to see who can get the highest point totals. The BloodBath Challenges are some of the best gameplay segments featured and are even more of a blast to play with friends.

I did have some problems with the game though. For one, the music is absolutely horrendous and repetitive. Each level plays a very annoying rap song in the background that has inane lyrics and repeats itself at least fifty times during the level. If the music had any bearing on the game, it would be fine, but it feels so out of place and distracting. The only saving grace is the boss battle music, which actually seems to feel related to the game in some way. I don't know why Platinum Games decided to go this route, but it feels shoehorned in.

My second gripe is with the enemy A.I. Enemies will just stand around not attacking you, as if they are waiting for you to kill them. I can understand why this is done, since the game relies so much on attacking one enemy for more points, and being interuppted can cause aggrevation. But some sort of action or any willingness to fight back would have been greatly appreciated. As it stands now, the levels do just feel like giant amusement park rides with the attractions doing nothing to challenge or assault you. The game can also get repetitive since shooting for more points usually entails using the same techniques. The enemies not fighting back just drives this point home. Giving them some attack pattern would have shaken things up.

Madworld is a great Wii game. In a sea of third party games trying to emulate Wii Sports and WiiFit, its nice to see Platinum Games actually trying something new and trying to take full advantage of what the Wii offers.  If you own a Wii, you owe it to yourself it give Madworld a go.

Score:B+

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