by Josh Komon

Created on: April 01, 2009

"Mad World" for the Nintendo Wii hit the shelves under a large cloud of controversy, and an even larger cloud of praise. As far as controversy is concerned, Mad World has forever replaced the likes of Grand Theft Auto, and Dead Or Alive as enemy number one for parents, priests, and politicians. The praise is of course coming from the likes of IGN, Gamespot, and G4's "X-Play."

The fact of the matter is, "Mad World" is every bit as violent and vulgar as it is supposed to be. Players will go no more than ten seconds without killing someone in a horrific manner. If possible, the announcing duo manages to curse even more frequently. And, just for good measure, a little bit of risky sexuality is thrown in. This little bit of sex, as a stand-alone, would not be a blip on the radar screen of any moralist.

As someone who is not offended by these things, I will say that the violence and excessive use of language is so over the top, that it is humorous. However, the novelty of it all wears off very quickly. After a few stages, players will realize that they are doing the same things over and over and over again. The only real change, is that these tasks become more difficult to perform. In short, the gameplay is the downfall of "Mad World." It's not bad, but it's not good. The controls are easy enough, yet a little cumbersome. The number of mini games is nice, but their similarity diminishes the purpose.

While the gameplay is less than stellar, the graphics are more than stellar. The entire game, (excepting the blood) is in black and white. The whole thing has an amazing comic book feel. The Nintendo Wii will never be able to compete with the 360 or PS3 in terms of graphic quality. This is their ability to fight back, with creativity and style. Playing the game, is like playing, "Sin City" or "300."

The audio is also quite strong. As I mentioned earlier, the game utilizes two announcers, both of whom are quite hilarious, and almost always comment on what's actually happening on the screen. Cut scenes between boards also use some decent voice acting, though the sound does not always match up with the actions. The sound effects, especially the chain saw sound coming out of the wii remote, definitely add to the whole experience.

All in all, "Mad World" is a halfway decent game. It does not deserve near the praise it is receiving, as the game play is lacking, and replayability is almost nil. It is a short game, and certainly worth a rent. Buyers, beware.

Learn more about this author, Josh Komon.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.