Madworld: The Simpsons Arcade Sequel

Gameplay: Brutally Awesome
Graphics: Black, White & Red.
Sound: As fun and nauseating as the world’s greatest roller coaster.
Length and Replayability: If it were any longer, you wouldn’t be able to handle it.

There, you got your review. Now I’m going to talk about the game.

Before playing Madworld, I expected a throwback to the old arcade brawlers of Final Fight and Double Dragon. Now that I have played through the game, I realize that Madworld is more like that old Simpsons arcade game with a dash of sadistic style sprinkled on top.

In The Simpsons arcade game, you would wander through side-scrolling levels while performing beat-downs countless enemies with the plethora of weapons you would find along your journey. Killing a man with a skateboard or a lead pipe was the cool thing to do back in the day, but Madworld has updated the Simpson arsenal to reflect a more modern blood thirst with chainsaws, piranhas, jet turbines, and spiky objects. Even the after level challenges of the Simpsons arcade game ( does pumping up a Krusty The Clown hot air-balloon ring any bells for ya? ) have been reimagined into the deliciously deadly Bloodbath Challenges.

I spent many quarters fighting through the streets of Springfield, USA. Every time I enter an arcade I search for the off-blue console decorated with the Simpsons family and doughnuts, but it’s been years since I’ve seen it last. Madworld has fulfilled that desire, because it is The Simpsons arcade game placed in a world that is half Sin City and half Mad Max.

Jack (the guy you kill things with) is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Little else is more satisfying than ripping men to pieces and turning them into a bloody batter while your friends sit around you and throw out constant ooohs and aahhhs. It’s not that they are awestruck by an amazing game, it’s that they are flabbergasted at the amount of gore and punishment you are able to achieve. Their dynamic responses are targeted at what you, the gamer, can accomplish. By playing Jack, you grab center stage and become a performer– whipping out as many wicked and vicious attacks as you can before you finally take the life of another deserving victim, and you do it all for the crowd.

Not that it’s all about entertaining the viewers, there is plenty of excitement for the gamer to take part in as well. The cold-blooded killing never gets tiresome ( I actually severed my Wiimote and Nunchuk connection once while trying to perform a gesture that would have eviscerated a two-tone lackey with a gigantic pair of blades), the bosses and mini-bosses are terrifying and tough, and I know that there are so many areas and weapons I missed on my first play-through that I’m going to have to play it again just to try them out.

All the little stuff is great, by the way. The Wiimote gestures aren’t gimmicky at all; they’re reserved for only the most extreme violence and work very well. The voices are done by the guy that voiced Bender on Futurama, that one guy with the glasses from Who’s Line is it Anyway? (not Drew Carey, the other one), and the rest are all very stylistic and fit well within their world.

Other than that, I really don’t know what to tell ya. It’s a game that really needs to be played to be understood. Videos and reviews really don’t do it justice, you need to play the game in front of a bunch of friends to get the most out of it.

I’m actually going to turn on my Wii right now and play some more Man Darts, I just can’t get that challenge down yet. Wish me luck!