MadWorld

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MadWorld

System(s): Wii
Publisher: US/EU Sega JP Spike
Developer: Platinum Games
Genre: Action
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MadWorld (マッドワールド) is a game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Wii (though Japanese publishing rights were given to Spike). The game features large amounts of violence, and is presented entirely in a limited palette of black, white and red.

MadWorld has caused much controversy due to its high levels of violence, mostly due to the lack of violent games on the Wii platform. It is currently banned from being sold in Germany.

Plot

Three days prior to the events in the game, the fictional Varrigan City had become a target for a group of terrorists known as "The Organizers", who severed the island city's transportation and communication ties with the rest of the world, and then released a virus onto its population that would kill them in less than 24 hours. However, the Organizers informed the populace that any person that killed another would receive the vaccine. The city was quickly transformed into the stage of a recurring game show called "DeathWatch", with announcers Howard "Buckshot" Holmes and former DeathWatch fighter Kreese Kreeley.

Jack Cayman, a man with a retractable chainsaw built onto one arm, enters the games and manages to gain sponsorship from "Agent XIII". The game's organizers, led by Noa, realize that Jack's motive is more than just to win, and learn that Jack is working with someone on the outside. They come to learn that Jack was a former marine, police officer, and rogue agent, but now seems intent on a mission. Noa surmises that Jack is after the mayor's daughter, who is still inside the city. While they could kill Jack at any time, they realize Jack has become an audience favorite, with many sponsors and viewers betting on his success, and are forced to try to kill Jack while he is in combat.

Jack, meanwhile, saves Leo, a doctor from a hospital that was unwittingly trapped in the city but managed to obtain the vaccine. Jack tells Leo to try to stay low until the games are over, and continues to seek the mayor's daughter. When he finds her, he realizes she's willingly staying in the city to watch and be near to the games. Jack refuses to do anything for her. Instead he seeks to find out exactly how and why Varrigan City became DeathWatch, recognizing that there was no way that the city could have been transformed that fast without deep planning. Meanwhile, the Organizers come to realize that Jack is the reigning champ, who quit the games by signing on to the Chasers. As Jack nears the last battle against reigning - feigning champ The Black Baron, Agent XIII reveals himself to be Lord Gesser, an influential figure in politics. Lord Gesser reveals that he knows that the DeathWatch games were created to quench mankind's thirst for blood and violence in the absence of war, but admits that this particular incarnation of the games is solely driven by someone's greed, and passes on the name of Springvale to Jack and the Agency. The Agency quickly recognizes the name as a pharmaceutical company and that they were the silent hand that had built, in anticipation of DeathWatch, much of the sets for the games as soon as the Organizers had released the virus.

Jack fights and defeats the Black Baron, bludgeoning him on the Man Darts game one last time. After the battle, Noa attempts to accost him, but he is shot and killed by Leo. After dealing with the armed forces, Jack disables his communication link with the Chasers. Leo tries to thank Jack for his help, but Jack slices into his side. As Leo writhes in pain, Jack tells him he is aware that Leo's father, the president of Springvale Pharmaceuticals, had created both the virus and the vaccine, and were planning to use the televised DeathWatch event to demonstrate the effects of the virus as to blackmail other countries to pay handsomely for the vaccine under threat of the virus' release. Leo admits that their company lost a large amount of money on the last presidential election and saw this route as the easiest way to recoup their losses, and implies that the mass infection was designed to perfect the cure. Leo then admits he was only in the games to be close to the action, fascinated by the sport, and then begs for Jack to help him. Instead, Jack skewers him on his chainsaw and tosses the body off the high tower, stating "I don't help people, I kill them".

During the credits, Jack is shown presumably escaping from Varrigan City on his motorcycle while the announcers comically complain about the irrelevance of the credits.

Gameplay

MadWorld is divided into several levels representing different parts of Jefferson Island that have been converted into sets for the game show "DeathWatch". The player progresses through these levels in a linear fashion during the first playthrough, but can revisit any completed level to attempt to score more points or take on a harder challenge.

Most levels are open environments, allowing the player to explore them freely, although some sections of the level may require the player to earn a number of points before it will be accessible. A few levels feature motorcycle-based combat where the main character, Jack, is assaulted by foes as they race down a track or in a small arena. The player is challenged to beat the level's boss within a time limit, but in order to activate the boss fight, the player must accumulate enough points by defeating regular foes on the level. There will also be other challenges, bonuses, or mini-bosses that will become active after the player accumulates enough points. A common feature of each of these levels is the "Bloodbath Challenge", a time-limited minigame that rewards the player for completing a specific type of activity with additional points. For example, the player may need to attempt to swing a bat at foes to knock them into a giant dartboard to score points, or to ensure foes are trapped in front of a speeding train. Outside of these challenges, the player is awarded points for every defeat of a foe. The amount of points for beating foes increases by increasing the foe's power or using more unusual methods of winning. For example, while the player could throw an enemy on a wall, the player will earn significantly more points if they had previously forced a tire around the enemy.

The player controls Jack from a third-person perspective using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment for attacks and movement, respectively. When certain special attacks are possible, the player is prompted to press a button or move the controllers in a specific fashion to complete the action. In boss fights, the player must trigger special finishing moves that engage their foe in a series of quick time events in order to weaken, dismember attached weapons or defeat the boss, called Power Struggles. These are also possible against certain normal enemies.