| Platform | Presentation | Controls | Variety | Audio | Depth | Value & Fun | OVERALL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii | 9.00 | 4.50 | 6.00 | 9.90 | 5.00 | 4.00 | 5.68 |
| General Information |
| Television set-up: 19" Sylvania CRT, SDTV 480i, composite cables. |
| Gameplay Description |
| MadWorld is a beat-em-up in which you enter an open area and kill enemies until you reach the points requirement to fight the boss of the level. You have a chainsaw that can be used limitedly, as well as finishers and weapons to amass points. Objects in the level can be used on enemies, as well as there being various hazards to use to your advantage. |
| Dedication Meter | 5.00 |
| There isn't much to remember, and there's no overworld or complicated story to worry about. | |
| Presentation | 9.00 |
|
MadWorld immediately stands out for its strictly black-and-white presentation. Do note that it's black-and-white and not greyscale--there are no shades of grey. The only other colour is red for all the blood in the game, which is appropriate for the completely over-the-top nature of the combat. For the most part, the visuals work really well. The only downside is that it can be occasionally a bit difficult to follow, but that is a very minimal problem. On the story-side, there is pretty much no introduction when you start the game and no story to the character at all, and you slowly learn more as you progress. There are some interesting plotpoints, but ultimately the story doesn't know where it's going and ultimately leads nowhere. A weird issue is that, at least on an SDTV, and this is the NTSC version of the game, the text is very hard to read. Each level has introductory text that is pretty much unreadable. |
|
| Controls | 4.50 |
|
The controls are simply terrible. From the start, the button-layout is a bit awkward, with starting chainsaw mapped to the B-Trigger, and A/Waggle to punch/chainsaw; the A-button also grabs if you hold it down. Meanwhile on the nunchuck, Z is to jump the C-button locks onto enemies and waggle to dodge. Lock-on is simply broken; it's difficult to target the enemy first, then further problematic to get the lock-on to stick, and worse yet it often delocks arbitrarily yet manages to make it difficult to do so manually. The camera is very twitchy and is often a struggle, and the only control you have is with the useless lock-on. Dodging is responsive, but not exactly intuitive, and you can stay pretty much invincible so long as your constantly dodging. In terms of the combat itself, it's not particularly responsive to attack, and if you try to quickly use the chainsaw you'll end up punching because you didn't let the chainsaw warm-up (at least, that's what it seems is the reason). Additionally, there is a meter for your chainsaw that runs down that you'll have to recharge if you use it too much, which serves to only annoy and does nothing to balance the combat. Punching throws one punch followed by a strong attack that leaves you useless for a second, so don't expect much in the way of combinations. Primarily you're tossing your normal enemies and chainsawing bosses. Because the A-button is both punch and grab, means there is a delay in grabbing that makes things seem more sluggish than they should. |
|
| Variety | 6.00 |
|
The developers tried what they could to mix things up in the simplistic levels. There are many different objects to use to kill enemies, such as spikes, saws and signposts, and some variance in who you fight as well. Additionally, there are multiple weapons that can be picked up in the level to help you along the way, including spiked bats and golf clubs. Some mini-games are thrown in the mix, called "Death Watch Challenges" and have you kill enemies in a specific fashion. The attempts are mostly in vain, though, as while there are a lot of different things in the level, you are basically picking up an item, sticking the enemy with it, then throwing the enemy into a hazard. Which object and which hazard is irrelevant. Because the reason is to amass points and not to defeat enemies, the variance in enemies doesn't really change the tactics. Unlocking a Death Watch Challenge is nice, but don't play as well as they're presented, leaving the killing even more straight-forward, if that's possible. |
|
| Audio | 9.90 |
| The voice work is spectacular. While the cutscenes themselves are well-done by the actors, and frankly I hate the music though that's just personal preference, the game is carried by Greg Proops and John DiMaggio. MadWorld overlays the levels with sports-like audio commentary -- very, very crude sports-like audio commentary. Simply put, the concept hasn't really been done, nor announcers done nearly so well. On a practical level, it's descriptive without treating you like a moron, and consistently humourous. Naturally there is some repetition, but it avoids that, unlike the rest of the game, fairly well. | |
| Depth | 5.00 |
| There's not much to MadWorld. As previously stated, stick a signpost in an enemy, throw him into a saw, repeat for 10 minutes until the boss fight. Those boss fights vary well enough and are definitely far better than the main level sections, but get bogged down by the controls and limited combat. Each boss fight, for as interesting as they get, are essentially dodge-chainsaw-repeat. | |
| Value & Fun | 4.00 |
| There's just not much in terms of gameplay here to like. Stellar presentation does its best to keep things interesting, but that's just too much to ask. It's difficult to even write about the game without being repetitive. Bad controls, bad combat, repetitive gameplay totally five hours of gameplay, which is more than enough. | |
| Overall | 5.68 |
| MadWorld is the very definition of style over substance. The presentation is the only thing that makes the game stand out in any way and is not nearly enough to make for a worthwhile experience. | |
Posted by Ellyoda Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:50:28
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