Though an illegal underground sport, DeathWatch is massively popular. Combatants fight their way through wave after wave of fellow Killseekers, trying to be the last man standing whilst viewers and sponsors watch by using the cities CCTV cameras. On the third day of the Jefferson Island event, Jack Cayman makes an appearance, an unknown in the circuit, he proves himself worthy of attention by taking out a ranked player with relative ease. Agent 13, a spokesperson for one of the sponsors agrees to back Jacks championship bid, but Jack does not appear to be on the level, even in this corrupt world.

 

 

For those of you that read certain tabloid papers you will already of heard all about the game and made your own mind up, but for those with a more balanced view, Madworld is a great arcade brawler that pushes the limits of decency and what the little Wii can do. Madworld is a crazy mixture of The Running Man, Battle Royale a smattering of Escape from New York and gladiatorial combat, players have to kill and maim each other in the most grisly way to score points, the more points you score, the higher the chance you will have of a champion challenge, defeat them and you rank up. Your character Jack Cayman appears to be a nobody on the scene until he gets the attention of one of the sponsors. With his rough attitude, prosthetic right hand and chainsaw he takes on the challenge to be the best in DeathWatch.

 

Looking at Madworld in the simplest way you would have to call it a beat-em-up, but that does it no justice, if you just go through the game punching people to death you wont get very far. The more inventive you get when dealing with rivals, the more points you earn, if you just whip out your trusty chainsaw attachment to cut a foe in half you will earn some points, throwing a tyre around them first will earn you more, add a signpost through the head and throw them onto a spiked wall, well, you get the idea. There is a large amount of tools to deal out death with in each level, as mentioned, tyres can be thrown around enemy waists and barrels can be put over heads, the environments are just as deadly with the rose bush which is a huge wall of spikes, there are spikes jutting out of the floor, throw enemies into bins to get cut them in half, you can even hold an enemy up against a moving train and just watch the blood fly. 

 

The variety of moves available really opens up the use of the Wii controls, every button has a use and at first this can be confusing, basic controls allow for jumping, a lock-on, punches and use of the chainsaw, the A button is context sensitive, so if standing in front of an enemy it will just punch, but stand next to possible weapons or dazed foes and you can pick them up, allowing you to use the motions of the Wii-mote to dish out further pain. Rather than leave you in the dark, a help icon will appear on screen to show you what movement to pull off for your required move, with barrels in hand it will tell you to move the Wii-mote down to put on someone’s head, if you are using a finishing move you are commanded to move the Wii-mote in a circle to grab and spin your foe around as fast as possible before launching them into the air or raise the Wii-mote up to move a chainsaw through someone’s chest. 

 

Each level is one giant score attack, each time you break a score limit it will trigger an event, this can be a weapon, a few harder enemies like the massive bloke dressed as a bull with two huge steel poles attached to his arm, a boss fight or a Bloodbath challenge. Each of these is hosted by Black Baron who will explain what is required, all you have to do is then get as many points as possible to help you get to the final boss fight. These mini games will pop up all over the place and are very inventive in their death dealing ways, the first you come across is a huge air-plane turbine that you throw enemies into, get too close and you will also get sucked in. You will also come across Man Darts, a huge dartboard where you throw people into it for scores and a high speed train where you need to lure and throw as many people into the tracks before it  zooms past. 

 

The unique looks are truly something special, allowing the Wii to really shine in the graphics department. It will take a bit of time to adjust your eyes to the crisp black and white graphics but once settled you are in for a visual treat. The obvious black and white with the occasional spattering of bright red blood aside, the enemies and level designs look great, the simple look somehow allows for more detail to come through. It also allows for a lot to be going on at once on the screen without any sort of slowdown, which is a real joy as this is usually a stumbling block for most games like this.

 

 

Many games fall flat on being too repetitive, but Madworld appreciates that variety is the spice of life, offering a range of enemies to dispose of, large and small, a healthy selection of weapons and environments to use, boredom does not come easy. Even with all this the game ups itself with some great boss battles that really push the limits, such as the bloke in a German shocktrooper outfit that can control cyclones, a cowboy that can use firearms and a huge chap the size of the screen that needs a train to bring him in and uses a spiked ball the size of Jack to squash you, all these things make for some memorable moments. There are also a few motorcycle events spread through the endless fighting, all you need to worry about here is the competitor approaching you from both sides, all you have to do is swing the Wii-mote to unleash the chainsaw and the nunchuck to grab and throw them in front of your bike. These levels are a bit bland in the action as it is just simple movements of the Wii-mote, but it does split up the endless fighting quite well and offers something new to the game. 

 

I am amazed at how visual this game is, not just in the graphics department but also in the violence, whilst gory it does also border on the immature at times, which defeats the idea of an 18 rating. With such a strong fighting game it is a surprise to find a solid story behind it all and whilst daft it makes sense and keeps you interested throughout the game. This is also helped along by the great voice acting from both the main characters and the hilarious commentators that add their spin on the action all throughout the game. 

 

Madworld arrives with controversy surrounding it, for some reason people feel that the Wii has been locked down to be a family console, I am grateful to SEGA for taking a chance and going to a market that has not been properly approached on this format. Whilst bloody and rude, Madworld is a fun game that will entertain you for a good while as you try even more brutal ways to dispose of your opposition.