MadWorld is a vicious, silly game that proves that the Wii can have some hardcore games, even if they aren't shooters.
The story is set in the island city of Varrigan City, which has been attacked by a terrorist group called The Organizers. They isolate the island and turn it into the stage for the next DeathWatch game, a more modern version of The Hunger Games (or of Battle Royale, for my cultured readers). A virus was released on the population of Varrigan City that forces the city's inhabitance to fight each other to get the cure. Enter Jack, a badass with a chainsaw arm who enters the games for the large cash prize for the survivor. Once Jack gains sponsorship from Agent XIII, he enters the game to become Number 1.
The story for the game is surprisingly good, filled with a lot of neat plot twists. That is something the game did really well, in terms of balancing a solid story with the mindless violence for gameplay. The game is also narrated by Greg Proops and John DiMaggio, who just make all sorts of hilarious comments, breaking up the fact that you are, in fact, murdering a ton of people. The game is stylized as a black and white game with only one other color in it's palette, red (teal in a later stage). This game is really one of the most bloody games I've ever played. However, there is enough to kind of desensitize you to the violence so you're not horribly scarred by the game. One of my friends was watch me play MadWorld the other day and he just sat there, eyes wide going "I'm just trying to comprehend all of this violence". It's that kind of game. The game also features a soundtrack comprised almost entirely of rap. In context, it works really well and helps with the mood.
Gameplay is, more or less, simple. A is to punch, holding B brings out the chainsaw (which you have to swing the Wiimote to attack with it), holding A and B allows you to grab, C to lock on, and Z to jump. Shaking the nunchuck will let Jack do a backflip and swinging the Wiimote without the chainsaw allows Jack to do a set up move. The big thing though is that the environment is your weapon. Nearly everything can be used as a weapon from sign posts to trash cans. There are also dumpsters that can be used to dump enemies in. Something called a Rose Bush exists, too (which is one of my favorite environmental weapon). It's basically a wall of spikes. The famous combo involves putting a tire over an enemy, stabbing a sign post through their neck, and then throwing them into the Rose Bush. Lots of points. Also, the finishers against enemies who you've just punched are pretty brutal, too. Jack probably has super strength to pull off some of these.
Now, stages are broken up into several parts. An open area where you just kill people, something called BloodBath Challenge (which are mini-games), and the boss fight. You are required to get a certain amount of points to get to each part of the level. Points are earned by killing people, obviously, but in creative ways. Interestingly, if you keep using the same method to kill, you get less points (as you are on a game show. The audience is bored by you dong the same thing over and over again). Enemies are pretty thugish, but it's the boss designs that shine. They have some really creative designs ranging from a giant baby monster, to a slutty vampire chick, to an SS Officer with plane turbines on his arms. Each boss has a specific finisher that must be used to kill them, which can get pretty fun (the finisher against the motorcycle boss was pretty awesome). Thankfully, while the boss battles shine in the game, the actual levels themselves are fun to play and aren't all that boring due to the wide array of methods to kill your foes.
Now, the game is pretty hard. The bosses can become really aggravating from the get go, no slow ramp up. Sometimes you can get ganged up on by enemies, which lock you in a cycle of getting beat up to death. Also, mission objectives sometimes aren't all that clear.
Overall, the game is really fun. So long as you can get over the insane amounts of violence.