MadWorld

MadWorld in-game screenshot from Games Press

Although the Wii, and Nintendo in general for that matter, has long been considered a family-oriented platform, the mature-rated action game MadWorld is one of a growing number of titles out to change that squeaky clean image.

MadWorld is being developed exclusively for the Wii by Japanese developer Platinum Games, whose key members include former Capcom employees Atsushi Inaba (Steel Battalion, Viewtiful Joe) and Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry, Okami). The story was developed by Yasumi Matsuno, the game designer behind Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story.

On Jefferson Island, in Varrigan City, a deadly virus has overrun the city. Terrorists known as The Organizers have blown up all the bridges leading from the island and commandeered all of the city’s security cameras. The citizens find themselves reluctant participants in a deadly game show called Death Watch. To survive, they must kill their way up a ranked list to achieve the ultimate prize: escape from the island and $100 million.

Inspired in part by the graphic novel Sin City, MadWorld features eye-catching black and white stylized graphics with splashes of color for onscreen text and more sanguine decorations. The narrative portions of the game play out like a comic book in a series of still images.

Players use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to control Jack, the main character. And here’s where the violence comes in. Jack can perform brutal attacks on his opponents, using various objects found in the environment to bash their faces in. He can impale an enemy’s head on a street sign, shove them into spike-covered wall and rip out their hearts. One of the many mini-games, called “Man Darts” has Jack swatting opponents into a giant dartboard with a baseball bat to score points. In MadWorld, the more outrageous and creative the method, the higher the score.

Inevitably, controversy began building around MadWorld as soon as it was announced. The game has been banned from Germany and outspoken opponents in the UK are hoping to get it banned from that country as well. Eurogamer, on the other hand, has stated that it’s hard to be offended by the game because the violence is so blatantly ridiculous. Platinum Games maintains that the game was created with humor in mind and the entire concept of the game is very unrealistic. Game director Shigenori Nishikawa says the game was conceived with Western audiences in mind and that it’s still unknown whether the game will ship even in Japan.

Controversy or not, previews thus far have been positive and Nintendo Power magazine gave the game a 9/10 in its April 2009 issue. MadWorld was released on Tuesday, March 11, 2009. Mahalo will be writing a full text walkthrough to help everyone pulverize heads without too much trouble.

Sources:

1. Official Site
2. Platinum Games: Key Members
3. 1up.com: Platinum Games Unveils Four Sega Titles
4. GameSpot: Madworld Updated Hands-On
5. IGN: MadWorld Reader Q&A
6. Dailymail.co.uk: Parents horrified as most violent video game ever to launch on ‘family friendly’ Wii
7. Eurogamer: MadWorld Preview
8. Nintendo Everything: House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld banned from Germany