4/5 ★ – Nazo_KG's review of MadWorld.

"It's a Mad World, better watch yo step!" MadWorld, a monochromatic spectacle drizzled over in crimson and bounced off in hip hop beats. It makes me horribly disappointed that this game was buried under so many other games, because it has a lot of great aspects about it coupled with a few problems that hold it back, but not enough to overshadow its positives. Its ill-fated exclusivity to the Wii probably played a hand in clipping its wings before it ever could really fly. Being the first title developed by Platinum, MadWorld encompasses almost everything that this studio's titles have been come to known for over the years - over the top EVERYTHING, dynamic cinematography, fantastic score, solid combat system and memorable, if a bit off-hand, characters. You see these elements in copious amounts in their later entries, such as Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising. The story follows grisly, permanent-frowned protagonist Jack Cayman's ascent to destroy the DeathWatch games from within - a modern-day take on gladiator fights of the Colloseum, where the strongest pit against each other to survive and win the games. (By the way, to me, Jack seems heavily inspired by Hellboy both in design and personality lol) The whole story takes place on an isolated island, with you progressing through different areas of the island, from cityscapes to medieval mansions, to area 51 spoof - there's enough variety to not get boring. Although the story is done well enough imo, it sometimes feels as though it serves as a mere backdrop for everything else happening in the game. This is not necessarily to its detriment, however. The story has a neat plot twist near the end that didn't amount to much, but was still appreciated. One addition to the game that I thought was clever were the commentators. Essentially, since this whole thing is a game show, there are two commentators constantly rambling away in the background, reacting to your actions and how you kill enemies or even when you get hurt. The writing/humour is juvenile and at times cringe, which would normally be a negative. However, I feel the commentators add a layer of ironic authenticity to the feel of the game and this satirical, jabbering style of commentary is something that is yet to be replicated in this manner in another game. It has times where it rounds back around to being genuinely funny, too. The combat system, in a nutshell, is trying to get you to be creative with your kills by stacking enemy damage using objects from the environment. This can be done by impaling enemies with roadsigns, slamming a barrel onto them, slinging them on a launchpad...there's many different ways to eviscerate the hooligans running around trying to kill you, and doing different patterns with higher stacks will net you more points. The game attempts to keep this system fresh by implementing new enviromental elements with each new area, but I did find sometimes I fell into repetition with the kills despite that. One of the main complaints people have about this game are the gimmicky motion controls that admittedly are a weak aspect and can sometimes feel like a pitfall or oversight in some parts of the game. For me, the camera was my main problem I had with this game, as sometimes it felt unruly and even though lock-on exists, sometimes it feels as though the game ignores it somehow and pans the camera in a janky way that doesn't align with the lock on at all. Each level can take anywhere from 15 mins to 30 mins depending on how well you do, as the level progression opens up quicker if you rack up points faster. As a palette cleanser, each level is accentuated with a Bloodbath Challenge - essentially minigames that can help you gather a large sum of points in a short amount of time. I found that these were quite enjoyable, and I appreciate that there is a variety of challenges, which helps from feeling stale. Each area has its own enemy types, and besides a main boss for each level, there are also a small selection of mini bosses that roam the level as you progress and can show up at random times to catch you off guard. Most of the bosses are distinct enough to be memorable, some are more creative than others in execution and theme. MadWorld's most distinct feature lies in its bold and unique monochromatic art style, flavoured throughout with comic book influences. The story is told through either animated cutscenes or in comic book-like panel format that never feels out of place and flows perfectly from one point to the other. Sometimes the art style gets in the way of readability when playing the game, however, it was never bad enough to the point where it took away from my immersion. I was also willing to forgive some of it due to the fact that this game attempted something new with its style instead of using a safe, tried-and-true method. Another highlight of MadWorld for me was the soundtrack. The game loves its hip hop beats and there is no shortage of it here. It is a unique take to have a fully hip-hop/rap centred soundtrack for the entire game, in my opinion. The tracks itself are incredibly done and fit the tone of the game in many ways. A lot of love and effort was put into the presentation and feel of this game especially, and it really shows. There is a lot of variety, most of the bosses have their own theme songs and overall it is just a fantastic decision that improved the overall experience and made it stand out a lot compared to a lot of other games I've played. Overall, MadWorld is a kickass, SEVERELY underrated game with a lot of charm, personality and violent fun. Love this game so much, I hope one day they port this to modern consoles, because it being stuck to the Wii is one of its biggest caveats.