By Chris Kee
Mad World is the 2009 Sega title exclusively for the Wii in which you play as Jack, an ex-marine with a retractable chainsaw arm. The game is set in Varrigan city which is, in essence a massive stage for a game-show called “Death Watch.†The city residents, having been exposed to a lethal virus, are forced to kill one another for a chance to obtain the vaccine. The majority of the game play takes place in the city as you participate in this game-show by maiming your opponents in the most horrific ways imaginable. It may have been an exciting premise, if it hadn’t been done before, over and over again.
In 2007, Steve Austin starred in The Condemned, a motion picture in which “Stone Cold†is on death row until a TV producer pays for him and nine other inmates to battle to the death on a desert island, with freedom being the grand prize. In 2000 a Japanese film “Battle Royale†came out in which 40 9th grade students are each given a different weapon and forced by legislation to fight to the death for a new television show. In 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in Running Man, a motion picture where is a wrongly accused convict who must run a deadly gauntlet on a television show in order to secure his freedom. Ok, well at least it’s unique in being an original premise for a video game. Except that it’s not… In 1990 Acclaim produced “Smash TV,†an arcade/Nintendo game in which players compete in, you guessed it, a deadly game-show. The game took place in the future year of 1999, and even ten years beyond that we are being given the same plot and are expected to see it as a fresh new idea.
Mad World has received critical acclaim for its art direction. The game uses cell-shaded 3D graphics and bold contrast of black and white, with little color in the game (the little that is used being mostly red for the large amount of blood.) Matt Casamassina of IGN writes “I adore the look. Not just the refreshingly different monochromatic makeover -- a veritable middle finger to the countless games out there that steal and re-steal the same boring style…†Well steal is an interesting word to use Matt, considering every frame of this game looks like it could have been plucked from the pages of Frank Miller’s “Sin City,†or Jhonen Vasquez’ “Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.â€
With the vast amount of violent content, and plenty of foul language to top it off, it’s easy to see that Mad World is geared towards an older audience (and the MA, or Mature Audience, rating ensures that those are the only ones who will be able to get their hands on the game in the first place.) You would think then, that it would offer engaging and challenging game play. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The main challenge of the game comes in killing the enemy minions in creative ways so as to earn enough points to move on. You do your best to find as many tires, trash cans, or signposts to stick in or around your enemy before finishing them off. This usually boils down to spending a large amount of time running away from the enemy in order to avoid killing them before they are worth decent points, and after twenty or so signposts, “creative†certainly loses it’s meaning. The signpost bit is repeated over a hundred times before the end of the game.
In summary, Mad World does plenty to earn its MA rating, but provides little content that is actually capable of engaging an older audience. In the end what you’re left with is a tired plot, with unoriginal art direction, and slow paced game play that discourages wading into battle with your chainsaw revved. However, if you’re looking for violence for violence’s sake, and little else, you may very well enjoy the game. I however, did not.
Damn, that is some funny shit. MR GAY is faAAabulous!