Remember God Hand? That over the top, hyper-violent brawler from Clover that no one played? What about Sin City, the avant-garde attempt to translate a black and white graphic novel to the silver screen? I think if you combined those two visionary works, along with a subtle dosage of Running Man, you mind wind up with something like Mad World. I’ll take art design over technical prowess any day of the week, especially when it the title is inexplicably landing on the visually inept Wii. There really isn’t anything like it on consoles; black and white with pompous shades of red used for the massive amount of gore. The subtle hip hop overly, though not bombastically violent in context or cheesy in lyrical content, seamlessly flows alongside the nonstop carnage. The presentation is completely unique, which is a rarity in the days of cookie cutter, safe shovel ware for the Wii.
Bringing what appears to be the most violent thing I’ve ever seen on a console generally associated with families is a questionable move, but that’s about the only complaint I’ll lodge against Mad World. Dispatching enemies by dislodging a portion of the environment and throwing it through their head or twirl-swinging them from their feet into a movie passenger train is satisfying on a gratuitously over the top level. It isn’t so much a glorification of violence as it is a mockery of it; when it’s this over the top, you’d have to believe they’re injecting this much insanity just for the hell of it.
Anyway the goal overall goal is to be as creatively brutal with your kills as possible. Doing so earns you points, which can then be spent on new weapons or to engage in minigames (the likes of which Sega wasn’t quite ready to divulge). Once enough points are accumulated you’re free to leave the area and proceed to the boss level, of which they only showed us like ten seconds before they cut the presentation. Though brief, I can best describe the sequence as “cutting away of part of a giant’s leg with a chainsaw that inexplicably comes out of your hand.” Delicious.
The premise is equally enchanting, if not totally consistent with the gameplay. You’re a contestant on the popular television show Deathwatch where, you guessed it; you have to kill everyone else on the show in the most hilariously obscene way possible. This faucet is punctuate as-it-happens commentary from two announcers whom jovially lament on the ways in which you’ve gruesomely dismembered your opponent. I’d love to repeat portions of their commentary here, but Steve is giving me a disconcerting headshake every time I ask about dropping in a line. Still, in addition to being inordinately profane, their lines are actually humorous, which is a plus in an industry so often devoid of well executed adult related humor.
I’ve already mentioned it but it really reminds me of the finer concepts of Clover’s (members of which are now at Platinum games) Godhand. That particular work of genius was designed to mock the archetypes of other beat ‘em up games. It’s violence was presented through satire, not glorification, and I think Mad World might be operating along those lines. I’m not saying the social commentary is going to be an overbearing theme, but surely the narrative is going address its hyper violence through some creative process. Regardless, I can’t wait to actually play Mad World.
