MadWorld - hands-on

MadWorld is different. It's one of the very rare super-violent, M-rated Wii games, meaning it’s not made for children or the elderly. And it's an original property on a system known for dumbed-down ports and repackagings. We recently spent some time with a near-final version and we're feeling confident it will stand out from the pack, and not just because it will be the only one dripping with blood.

The best place to start is with the combat. Jack, the main character, has to kill goons for the story to progress - a story publisher Sega was pretty secretive about - but he seems to really enjoy the task in front of him. With his fists and the trusty chainsaw mounted on his right arm, he beats many a goon to death as horribly and entertainingly as possible. Though we had heard of the over-the-top violence in the title before, actually seeing Jack repeatedly stab a man in the eye socket with a stop sign was incredibly awesome.

Though it works like most brawlers, running around with the analog stick on the Nunchuk and punching with the A button, the real fun starts with the motion controls. The chain-saw’s great; you rev it up with the trigger on the Remote as you hear the motor in the speaker. Once you've got it going, get ready for waggle like never before as you swing the blade around, goring and maiming all in your path.

Another entertaining use of motion controls involves all the throws you can do to the henchmen hanging around. Just hold down A and you've got them, you can even head-butt them by shaking the Nunchuk. Then swing the Remote like you're throwing a fast-ball in Wii Sports and watch this soon-to-be-corpse get crushed, impaled or otherwise murderized by the dangerous junk all over the environment, like a meat grinder, hooks on the walls and spinning blades. The game’s black, white, and red color palette really helped us see where to throw guys for the best results: the places covered in red.