Game Details
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  • $49.99
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MadWorld (Wii)

common sense media says

Ultra-violent fighting game rewards grisly killing.


parents & educators say
  • 67% say violence is an issue
  • 58% say language is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that while the graphic style of this game suggests a comic book or graphic novel, this is absolutely not a game for anyone under 17. It is a M-rated, ultra-violent video game in which you assume the role of a contestent on a reality TV show who earns points for the most outrageously brutal slaying of your opponents. With the Wii remote and Nunchuk in your hands, you will simulate the motions used to split open someone with a chainsaw, punch opponents with your fists, or pick up and use assorted objects scatterd throughout the levels to dismember, bludgeon, and impale your foes. You will see many of these brutual, over-the-top finishing moves up close. The dark humor in the fountains of blood and profanity-heavy audio commentary would be lost on younger players, who may be drawn to the title simply because it's been forbidden. Multiplayer "party" games are also ultra-violent as you play against friends to kill them.

Positive messages: You are a contestant in a "kill or be killed" game show where you goal is to kill others in the most sadistic manner possible. This game rewards the grisly killing of others.
Positive role models: You are playing as a character who is trying to kill others in the most sadistic manner possible.
Violence: Playing as Jack, the contestant on a kill-for-points reality TV show, you'll dismember, electrocute, slice open, and impale enemies, to sprays of blood. You will use a variety of weapons to kill other contestants including slicing through people with chainsaws, chopping off heads with a golf club, and pushing opponents in front of moving trains. "Finishing" moves in which an opponent is killed are presented in close and especially bloody detail. The game itself is a celebration of "stylish" violence, with players rewarded more points for extra brutal killing.
Sex: Several scantily clad female characters, though no nudity. TV Commentators' banter includes jokes about having sex.
Language: Explicit: Sh-t, f--k, motherf--ker, bitch, hell, goddamn.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Main character smokes cigarettes. Commentators of the TV show refer to drugs like "roofies" (slang for a date-rape drug called Rohypnol)

More on MadWorld

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about whether violent games evoke aggressive feelings in the player, or do they provide a harmless way to blow off steam? Is it fair to make violent Wii games only for adults or should the "family-friendly" console only have entertainment that everyone can play?

What's the story?

What's the story?
The premise of MADWORLD puts the main character, Jack, into a post-apocalyptic reality TV show in which he moves through distinct neighborhoods in city, killing a series of deadly attackers for points. An off-screen pair of voices supply audaciously profane play-by-play and color commentary throughout as Jack, equipped with a chainsaw and assorted objects, brutally murders opponents. Additional style points are awarded the more sadistic the kill.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Rendered in stark black and white (except the gushing red blood), the graphic style evokes comic books and graphic novels; speech bubbles pop from characters, the screen breaks into multiple panels, and every aspect of the environment and action is over-the-top. There's no denying MadWorld's impressive visual style, but the gameplay is mediocre.

It's intuitive that the Wii nunchuck and remote serve as your weapons for slashing, punching, flinging, and executing brutal combo attacks and finishing moves. However, some difficult camera angles and imprecise controls weaken the experience. MadWorld may appeal to comic book connoisseurs, but fans of fighting games won't find much sophistication in the gameplay.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Nintendo Wii
Not available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Sega of America
Released on: March 10, 2009
Price: 49.99
ESRB Rating: M for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Sexual Themes, Strong Language

This review was written by Common Sense Media Editors
 
 

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What parents & educators say

15
Based on 12 parent & educator reviews:
  • 67% say violence is an issue
  • 58% say language is an issue
  • 33% say sexual content is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

DanielOwns
teen, 15 years old
 
MOST VIOLENT GAME ON WII It is also a Very Good game 13-14+ is ok

coolperson111
kid, 9 years old
 
bloody horrer mess
ahhhhh thi sist ment to play

 
Eurgh.
First off, I was in my local blockbusters and I saw this man buy this game for his kid. He looked either 5-7 years. He was an utter idiot because this is disturbing for most teens. The violence is extreme, Even the cover suggests how extreme this game really is. A man wielding a chainsaw isn't for kids. The gore even though on the Wii is still disturbing. Blood goes flying at the screen and the entire game is in black and white cartoon. With the blood coming up red. A lot of blood that is. Dismemberment, Impaling...Most forms of violence are found in this game. The sexual content has some innuendo and some clad women. Not nude though. The language is bad, bad bad bad. Swearing is more like an explicit Xbox game, This is probably the most mature wii game. Never buy for young ones.

ScorpiNi
kid, 12 years old
 
Worse Wii title ever.
I can't believe the Wii would make a game like this. Okay, listen, this game will ONLY be good if you are a complete mental case who has been in jail and locked up in an insane asylum who enjoys watching people die an over-the-top gory bloody brutal death. After playing this for 5 minutes, I ran back to the store and got my money back. This is just insanity. The creator of this game needs to be looked at by a psychiatrist.

Synchronicity
teen, 18 years old
 
Irreverent Wii game is no GTA, but it's no Mario either
Let's get this out of the way first. If you're under 13, and are playing this game, either your parents don't give a darn or you're stupid. MADWORLD IS NOT FOR KIDS UNDER 13. If you're a parent letting someone under 13 play MadWorld, you must have an excellent explanation for doing so. It's sick, it's twisted, and it's not something that people raised on Mario and Sonic should play... That does NOT mean, however, that MadWorld is a bad game. FAR FROM IT! MadWorld is the best Mature-rated Wii game ever made, end of story. In MadWorld, you're Jack, a mechanic/ex-Marine with a chainsaw for an arm. The world is overrun with terrorists called "Organizers" that turn the entire city into an over-the-top violent game show where citizens must either kill or be killed. Everything about MadWorld is great except for the camera. That's it. From the beautiful art style (think Sin City meets No More Heroes and you've got the idea set) to the hip hop music (it actually works well) and especially the laugh-out-loud commentary. Speaking of which, MadWorld is overrun with objectionable content. First off, the violence. It's frickin' brutal, and yet it's not. The violence is graphic and unrealistic, all at the same time. True, the Wii controls make it seem more visceral, but a new study says that Wii motion controls in games like MadWorld, Manhunt II, etc do not instruct people to be violent. Regardless, MadWorld is simply too violent for anyone under 13. If the violence doesn't offend, however, the commentary will. Voiced by Greg Proost (of Whose Line is it Anyway? fame) and John DiMaggio (otherwise known as BENDER), the commentary will make you at least chuckle, or it will start riots at your house. It's extremely offensive. F-bombs fly about once every 30 seconds, Rohypnol (roofies, a date rape drug) and marijuana are both mentioned, and sometimes the sexual references get pretty out of hand (ex. "He should have told him that unprotected **** sex is OK!") Also, in some scenes the female characters are barely covered, but the black and white art style also lessens the impact of this. Yes, this game isn't for kids. But the comic-book-like art style makes it OK for teens and older, provided they don't impale stop signs in peoples' heads in real life (as if).

Chazzster5000
teen, 15 years old
 
great game. loads of gore.
this is a great game for adults, but for kids this a strict no-no.

Warri
adult
 
Should only be for 18+
The game is very violent and very disturbing. The game has a lot of blood and gore. The game has sexual comments.The language is very strong and will offend childrens and younger teens. There is scenes of smoking and there is also inappropriate drug jokes

 
Don't show the kids O_o
Show this game to kids and they might become killers. This game teaches you how to brutally slaughter your enemies into a hundred bloody pieces.

RapeMan
teen, 17 years old
 
amazing game

Trollathon
teen, 14 years old
 
DO WANT.
O. M. F. G. I want this. Also, scorpini is the one who should be in an asylum ;)

 
SEXUALLY GRAPHIC COMMENTARY.
Everyone here has already covered the areas of how violent Mad World is. That's fairly obvious even from looking at the cover. HOWEVER, the WORST part about Mad World is the language used by the "announcers" in the game! The announcers give a sports like play-by play of what the player is doing and crack jokes: and this is most often in the form of sexually explicit analogies. I'm not just talking somewhat suggestive, I'm talking EXPLICIT. Some of them were unbelievably awful enough to make my jaw drop, and likewise, when my boyfriend was playing this game, he heard the announcers start to say a phrase he'd heard before and yelled random noises at the top of his lungs to keep everyone from hearing it because he knew it would be upsetting! The violence in this game is a problem, yes, but the announcers are FAR WORSE! Thankfully there is an option to turn the announcers off, but I have heard that the game becomes boring(as it has no music) after that.


kid, 12 years old
 
Looks interesting
I hate the Wii, but this looks like one of the few games worth buying if you have one.


teen, 14 years old
 
Looks interesting
I hate the Wii, but this looks like one of the few games worth buying if you have one.


kid, 11 years old
 
Looks interesting
I hate the Wii, but this looks like one of the few games worth buying if you have one.

shdady13
teen, 18 years old
 
this review...
its a fun game but the object is to kill people in the most brutal ways. its not that realistic so i dont think its that bad but people have different opinions. besides violence theres some langauge but not much more.

movie man 5
teen, 13 years old
 
Clever Plot, Disgusting Gameplay.
I went over to my favourite store, Blockbuster, in search of a violent video game to keep me entertained for a week until I possibly buy it. I came across MadWorld, possibly the most violent game I have ever played. This game kept me entertained indeed. The black and white theme and the comic book frames adds to the excitement (along with the fantastic music). The Wii remote simulation of everything in the game, from slicing with chainsaws to impaling with posts, adds to the game"s sheer entertainment. However, this game includes tons of close up, brutal, bloody violence. Characters are thrown into shredders, held up against vertical saws, beaten, impaled, thrown onto spikes, burned alive, hacked by various weapons, sliced by knives, impaled by posts, thrown in front of trains, thrown into a turbine engine, and much, much more. There is explicit swearing, from pu**y to motherfu**er. Great game, but definetly for anyone under 12.

Evan182
teen, 17 years old
 
Madworld
Okay parents, just because Madworld is on the Wii doesn't mean it's for kids. The game rewards players for killing enemies in the most brutal way possible. Ripping off limbs, shoving a street sign in someones head, etc. It's still a great game though. I'm actually offended by this Common Sense review. "Is it fair to make violent Wii games only for adults or should the "family-friendly" console only have entertainment that everyone can play?". The Wii isn't just for kids.

kuntry816
parent of 4 and 8 year old
 
bought this for myself and play it nightly violence is very over the top portrayed to where it is no different than picking up any newer issue of your fav. comic book should not be a prob for teens and if you have only one system in your house like i have its a nice to have game not based around the young kids also the main character is sent in to rescue the daughter of the mayor trapped on the island and spares the life of several innocent people stating he is there to take out the trash not kill someone who isn't a threat

gamereviewer6469
parent of 11 year old
 
Not for Anyone
No one should EVER play this game, this is the most violent game i have ever seen. RE-RATE it AO.

Puflwiz
parent of 8 year old
 
Such a great game, very educational.

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