Zero Punctuation: MadWorld

[RTR]

If Yahtzee hates the Wii so much, why can't he stay the fuck away?!

 

[SoonerMatt]

My guess is that the Wii keeps getting big-name and highly marketed titles, so he's slightly obligated to review them, either by The Escapist or something else. Or, as was the case with Brawl, he kept getting floods of emails asking him to review a game that he felt the need to, even if it was just to stop the constant stream of emails.

 

[robinkom]

another brutal ripping of the wii, well done, it deserves all the shit it gets

Heard that. I wish they would make all games available for Gamecube controllers also, or at least something else than the Wii Remote. I'd even go with a N64 controller, despite it's unpractical, uncool, stupid shape (although I guess they needed a way to fit all the buttons there)

I half-agree and half-disagree with both of your comments. While I don't believe all of the ripping up for the Wii just for the sake of it is a good thing (because fanboys get off on it), I do feel that just enough of it should be done to get a certain Mario Factory's attention. There's room for mature titles on the system, it's just none of the ones on the slate are striking that magical note with the system controls.

House of the Dead did just right enough being a rail shooter; not having to fumble with any of the motion control is a good thing in that case. The game likes a lot of replay value, however. Madworld sounded fantastic on paper and does execute reasonably well; it just falls victim to the repetitiveness plague and it's limbs are falling off. If a sequel is in the pipeline, it would probably be best to wait until the Motion Plus adapter is out then the controls will be fixed and a thousand times more responsive.

I also agree with the need for compatibility with the GCN controller or Classic Controller, not just with this game, but many of them. From Nintendo's point of view, it would defeat the purpose of their Wii Remote gimmick, but the Wii itself is really just a slightly more powerful Gamecube anyway. In that fact, controller compatibility isn't hard to do on their part, it's just hard to decide to do.

I'd almost want to use an N64 controller too if I was still wasn't convinced that it's 3-handled design wasn't for the purpose of accommodating mankind's eventual evolution involving the growth of a third hand. I always figured it was Nintendo's way of saying "this is the last console you will ever need."

 

[robinkom]

Blah blah blah.

That's a pretty hefty first post, friend, and I did enjoy reading it. Just quoted the "blah" part because it seemed funny on it's own, plus your post was very long and mine is about to be as long too. Let me verify now that I'm not trying to insult you at all if anything I say comes off as such. I'm just trying to be objective and contribute.

While I agree with some things you say, other things need to be put in a little more perspective. ElTigreNegro already made some good points on your rant so I'll try not to repeat anything he said.

Firstly, I want to introduce the notion that terms like "casual" and "hardcore" are actually quite irrelevant. At one time, I would have considered myself a "hardcore" gamer, having been on the scene since the Atari 2600 and Colecovision, but we didn't even have that kind of terminology back then. They really didn't even mean anything until this console generation. Simply put, we as a whole, are gamers and consumers. What someone chooses to play, be it a simple little puzzle game or an epic RPG, is simply their preference. Given time, almost every gamer will sooner or later experiment with much more complex and deeper games of other genres. Because of this, there is no reason to corner them into a single niche of the audience.

Secondly, what most gamers tend to forget is that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo... are companies. They are in it to make money. They don't seek your loyalty or your ability to defend and die for their cause, just your money. Clever/asinine marketing is what ends up getting fanboys' feathers ruffled.

Yes, it's true Nintendo did lose momentum with the N64 and were very close to going under at one time during the run of the Gamecube; When they drained the coffers they had so gleefully filled to the brim with NES and SNES sales over all those years, the Gamecube was about to put the final nail in their coffin. And when you're on the ropes, you tend to make uncommon business decisions. Essentially, they asked themselves, "how can we maximize profits?" The untapped non-gamer market was the answer.

Through careful wording, they were able to separate themselves from Microsoft and Sony by saying they're marketing to their own audience with a "new-gen" console and not a "next-gen" one; the Wii being a slightly more powerful Gamecube at it's core and all. My thought was always that the still wanted to get some mileage out of the hardware coupled with the fact that they couldn't afford to make an equal-in-power console to the other Big Two. They had created such a functional and appealing gimmick in the Wii motion sensor technology that it would appeal to anyone at all with the proper marketing. And that is what we got; A slightly more powerful "new-gen" system with controls so intuitive that anyone in the family can join in. From there, the rest is history.

On the PS3, I don't own one and probably won't for a while, but based on everything that was sunk into it, you can bet it will be around a lot longer than expected. When the next Xbox and Nintendo consoles come out, look for the PS3 to still be there. It's hardware capabilities are still largely untapped and could keep it afloat well into the next generation. (NOTE: I don't want one yet because the only game I want on it is MGS4. There's not enough exclusives for it yet for me to warrant all that money up front.)

As for Yahtzee's Wii hatred, it's just his way. When he criticized Smash Bros. Brawl, I laughed hard. It was funny. I love that game but I'm not going to defend it because a "professional troll" rips it a new asshole. (I love that term!) When he goes off about the Wii, I do sense the undertone that he may wish that something may one day make the Wii sing and dance like a master. Perhaps when the Motion Plus adapter ships he may change his tune about a future game that supports it. Take it for what it's worth. If anything he may even do it just to get reactions like yours from his viewers.

Also, keep in mind that he is a Game CRITIC, not a reviewer. He doesn't have to be informative or give a numerical score (not that he ever has), his intent is to just be funny and possibly blow off some steam about how frustrating a particular part of a game is. Plus, he's getting paid to do it.

 

[robinkom]

Funny that the one Wii game you claim to have played alot (only one I can make that claim on too) is also one that any responsible player only plays using a gamecube controller.

I play it with the Wiimote and nunchuck and my friends (who played melee way more than I did) use the Gamecube controllers and I destroy them.

Not going to lie, I need to use a Gamecube controller too in Brawl too. I actually didn't even bother to learn it with the Wii Remote, as I wanted to get directly into the action with little to no hassle. When my friends and I have a Brawl night, the Wii Remote usually falls to the last player if he forgot his GC controller and no one brought extras.

 

[Sir_Muffonious]

If a sequel is in the pipeline, it would probably be best to wait until the Motion Plus adapter is out then the controls will be fixed and a thousand times more responsive.

While it's a good oppurtunity to improve on the gameplay and add more ways to kill enemies, I don't really want MadWorld to have a sequel, because the second a game has a sequel it loses all of its originality and what makes it unique. Plus, everything is wrapped up very nicely at the end of MadWorld, and if there's one thing I hate, it's needless sequels.

 

[robinkom]

If a sequel is in the pipeline, it would probably be best to wait until the Motion Plus adapter is out then the controls will be fixed and a thousand times more responsive.

While it's a good oppurtunity to improve on the gameplay and add more ways to kill enemies, I don't really want MadWorld to have a sequel, because the second a game has a sequel it loses all of its originality and what makes it unique. Plus, everything is wrapped up very nicely at the end of MadWorld, and if there's one thing I hate, it's needless sequels.

I hear you loud and clear. Needless sequels do tend to ruin the credibility of the original installment. As far as games go, I can't really think of any in this respect, just movies. And I'm thinking of Robocop 2 & 3 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III in that respect. Prime examples of bleeding a cash cow dry. They also seem to be the result of taking 2 really great dark movies and making them more family friendly for the sake of maximizing profits.

Anyways, I wouldn't entirely denounce a new Madworld installment as long as it has no ties to the first one. Kind of like Final Fantasy style where there's no direct sequels (except X and X-2). Madworld is definitely reminiscent of the old Midway game, Smash TV in concept. Doing one in that vain of a game show might be interesting.

 

[G1eet]

Why isn't this showing up for me? Tried on Firefox, tried on Chrome, doesn't work at all.

Chrome's been temperamental with me as well.

 

[itsmeyouidiot]

Quit fucking bashing the Wii and do your job. Bash the game, not the console.

Oh, and as a rule, Yahtzee, I think you should only review games that are considered genuinely horrible by everyone. That way, I won't feel like throwing rocks/eggs/coconuts at the Escapist headquarters.

I really don't see why people hate this game so much. The gameplay is actually quite good, the controls work well, and the art style and sense of humour are great.

Oh, and as for you sheep that agree with every review Yahtzee ever puts out, I have one question:

Have you ever even played the fucking game?

 

[Hollywooda]

been a fan of these reviews but 2nd week in a row not funny nor do i agree?... i think very much like the madworld ballon u described this bubble has popped. shame used 2 be good...

 

[dcomproductions]

Quit fucking bashing the Wii and do your job. Bash the game, not the console.

Oh, and as a rule, Yahtzee, I think you should only review games that are considered genuinely horrible by everyone. That way, I won't feel like throwing rocks/eggs/coconuts at the Escapist headquarters.

I really don't see why people hate this game so much. The gameplay is actually quite good, the controls work well, and the art style and sense of humour are great.

Oh, and as for you sheep that agree with every review Yahtzee ever puts out, I have one question:

Have you ever even played the fucking game?

first off he's a critic for games, if there aren't any good games for the system (or just not enough to make it's moneys worth) he's going to tell us and not just talk about how much the games suck and you end up buying it and realize that most everything is the same as it would have been if you'd just got a NES and get really pissed off because he didn't tell most games are the same fucking thing.

second, if he does reviews for games that are just thought of completely and genuinely horrible by everyone, it defeats the whole damn purpose of watching the damn thing, sure it's funny but you already knew that game sucks ass so just go talk to a friend about and it's the same thing.

thirdly, sure the game may be good but it's short and the same thing over and over again just different names and shit. you might as well play one of the torture games on the internet for free, it's a good amount alike. also i think people hate it because it's for the wii. not that many people who own a wii can really get this game cause A: they bought the wii cause they're really low on money, and B: they're kids and the reason they have a wii is because they have maybe 1 or 2 M games for it that may actually make the kid want to buy it.

 

[GenericWit]

R u talking 2 people who actually own a Wii and are over the age of 12...and have no other next gen console....

The Wii sucks....its controls are unbearable, I fucking own one, if u want my Wii code as proof so b it...I HATE the motion sensing BS, and Ben (Yahtzee)clearly agrees with me...I found games that weren't heavily motion sensing dependent to be more enjoyable and the funny part is for games like Mario kart where their is the option...the controller wins every time vs motion sensing....Nintendo is so much about gimmicks they are alienating REAL gamers like me and Yahtzee (I suppose, I won't speak for him)

So why do you own one?

And this "REAL gamers" bull is precisely what I'm talking about. You are not more entitled to your opinion because you can play Kaizo Mario World without saves or were one of the beta testers for the Atari 2600 or because your PC rig is bigger than anyone else's. We are all people playing games where we pretend to be spacemen and plumbers and the world's least subtle Black Ops officers, and the Wii's failure to target you will not result in Nintendo going bankrupt no matter how much you wish it so. The Wii is an objective success and though you can gripe that it doesn't have the best game library or variety of genres or that the motion sensing could be improved (Nintendo seems to even agree with you on that, what with "Motion Plus"), trying to claim that it's the worst thing since the Jaguar is just your sense of entitlement showing.

I'm a bit late on this, but I agree with you. I actually really liked the game, and I think the fact that Yahtzee's biggest complaint was that the game was on the wii was actually just to take a poke at the wii, not to say that the game sucked. I may be misinterpreting that, but... he's reviewed a lot of really good games, and I can only name a few off the top of my head that he gave truly positive reviews to (like Portal).

I think it's ridiculous that people are jumping on the wii-bashing bandwagon just to be on a bandwagon. I'll agree that the wii isn't the most classically "hardcore" console in the sense that there's no Halo on it or whatever reason people are classifying what they are as "hardcore."

I remember at the beginning of the console wars when everyone loved the wii. Take it for what it is. I own one, and I have fun playing Madworld and Mario and World of Goo.

Edit: Didn't read the post above me, but uhh... yeah, I think as a video game reviewer, he's allowed to say whatever he wants with or without reason. We just need to lighten up a bit, eh?

 

[stinkypitz]

nice Clockwork Orange reference.

 

[Tri Force95]

I have a wii, and after listening to this review, i am probably never going to buy this game.

 

[conundrum778]

I registered on this site just to say;

A random Jabberwocky reference in the middle of a review? Well played, Yahtzee, well played.

 

[Evan Waters]

Regional? It is just the most common complaint about the Wii world wide. If you don't feel anything wrong with it's controllers, either you acclimated very well or you're just protecting the Wii. I'm not doing a Nintendo bash, although I think it was only good until the Nintendo 64, but at least I'm not making shit up. That's because your 6.94 was just made up. I admit what I said was based on old data (about 3.4 by console, but it looks to be a year-old census). A quick search shows several different sources pointing to 4.9 - 5.5. Better than the PS3, alright, but the PS3 doesn't fare any better than the Wii on exclusivity games, both being one disappointment after the next.

And I couldn't care less about "casual" or "hardcore". I loathe Guitar Hero but I like Peggle, so bug off. I have no problem with the thousands of flash games at Kongregate and it is all well and good that more people out there are playing. All that doesn't change the fact that a game can be "casual" and serious. And some of the "casual" labeled games are actually harder and more addictive than any "hardcore" out there.

My problem is that they don't make casual games for the Wii. They make retarded games for it. For the ones who care to label they're not casual, but something further. They're relatively fun for 5 minutes (depending on your tolerance on the controls) then you feel like doing something else. Also ultimately they are depth-less and lacking, even the good ones. And the Miis just scream as hard as possible "little kid's stuff". Most normal adults can play the Wii and find it fun. But at the same time they find it very, very silly. And that will be all the idea of what a game is for most of them, so they'll look down on whoever calls themselves "Gamer".

Before the Wii, I could say I'm a gamer and the worst I could hear was something like "Oh, so you like Mario and stuff?". Now, invariably, when I say I'm a gamer or show concern for a game in any way I hear "Stop being a kid, it is just a game. Children stuff." Because invariably a game with a serious storyline like Mass Effect is completely overshadowed to the major populace by the massive fame of the Wii and their loath-inducing Miis (seriously, these little fuckers are like a bad caricature a bitter cartoonist made of gamers to ask everybody to point and laugh).

6.94 comes from Nintendo's own financial report from January 20, 2009. It's available here: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2009/090129e.pdf Taking their life to date number of software units sold for the Wii and dividing it by the number of Wiis sold gets pretty much that number (this is on page 11, third column, I did the math.)

Now, it's possible Nintendo's inflating their sales data, but since this is a report to stockholders I'm sure the government would get interested if they were. Also, Wii Sports is included even though it's a bundle. Still, pretty good. Hell, their attach rate has gone up comparing Apr.-Dec '07 to '08.

As for your hysterical bitterness about Miis and Mario, because God forbid gaming be perceived as a *fun* activity, and the hysteria that it's overshadowing Mass Effect like it's Renoir's RULES OF THE GAME or something- well, bone up on your C. S. Lewis.

"Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves."

There's a lot of shovelware on the Wii, yes, but good titles exist for it, and they exist amongst the minigame collections as well as in the "core" titles like Mario Galaxy or No More Heroes. Hell, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves pretty much justifies the console's existence all on its own- if the Cat Disco is not one of gaming's greatest achievements as an art form, I don't know what is.

The Wii's game selection could be a lot better, but it's not a failed console, it's not the McDonald's of gaming, it's not going to stop your precious Mass Effects and Killzone 2s from being made. There is nothing wrong with a console that appeals to an audience beyond the 18-34 year old males who traditionally get 95% of the attention.

 

[Wingmna]

Good show like always. Nintendo should have followed SEGA to the grave and made games for good counsels.

Ignorance is bliss.

The current gen consoles would have gotten no where if it wasn't for Nintendo expanding on different ideas. Wavebird? Both PSx-3 and xbox controllers are based off of nintendo ones, nintendo itself and alone brought back the console from the grave.

The only thing you cannot give Nintendo credit for is CDs and multi-player through internet. And even the former they had extremely good reasons, just think of how many mod-chips got installed onto PSX and PS2s back in the day... But of course you wouldn't know that you ignorant fanboy.

SEGA shot themselves, they were stupid and moronic, and of course you think sega leaving is a good thing... dreamcast (or even saturn) is probably the most underrated console in history MORON. The stuff Dreamcast could do was already YEARS ahead of PS2, yet Sony only won the race due to idiots like yourself buying into the worst yet still SOME HOW the most brought console of the sixth gen. Dreamcast, Xbox, and Gamecube were all better then the PS2 in design for gaming, the only good reason to buy PS2 was because pretty much all of the third-party support went to it (BECAUSE, idiots like yourself brought it), it came out with more games and more often... and hell, they had shovelware on the PS2 lots too.

Seriously, know your stuff before you start ignorantly bagging on Nintendo or Sega. Sega going under was a BAD thing retard (and so would have been Nintendo going under), so gratz on being a bad troll.




Anyway, on topic;
Many of the points I agree with, I recently tried playing this game and Viewitful Joe and couldn't get it. But what I disagree with;

* Spending so much time bagging the wii, ya, the wii has bad games and isn't the best system atm, fucking gratz you don't need to spend EVERY FUCKING REVIEW ON WASTING TIME ON THE TOPIC.

Yahtzee, it gets old, okay? We all know Nintendo has no good games... Is it Nintendo's fault? Not overall, they have always made the BEST (and I mean, the BEST) games ever but don't spam them out... If anything it is third party support that is stuffing them out, so many developers just following the gens based on graphics and many new developers just taking advantage of the wii... hopefully nintendo will stop it soon, because putting limits on third parties is what revived home consoles in the first place.

* The controls are fine, I was actually impressed by how MadWorld sorted the wii controls out, it works well.

Fix your wii if you are having SO much trouble, when I tried it, it worked perfectly every time.

 

[Julius M]

Bought the game yesterday. It's great fun and the controls are pretty good. Honestly the only real complaint one could have is that the moves are a bit repetetive. In fact, they're really repetetive but I don't mind because the story is interresting and getting more points or defeating a particular difficult endboss is challenging.

Honestly, for a first shot at such a game this one is really good. I will probably play multiplayer quite often since it's always nice to just sit on a couch and try to be better than your friend.

"and hell, they had shovelware on the PS2 lots too."
Very true. In fact, they have shovelware on every console. it's just that the huge market the wii has tapped that there is more shovelware. The Wii has more good games than the Gamecube, it's just that the gamecube didn't have so many owners. Anyone with a bit of a brain can find the gems and play them, and if they hadn't killed the entire gamecube-industry a lot of solid games could've been added. (Paper Mario, Wind Waker and a few others.)

 

[yosophat]

Ignorance is bliss.

The current gen consoles would have gotten no where if it wasn't for Nintendo expanding on different ideas. Wavebird? Both PSx-3 and xbox controllers are based off of nintendo ones, nintendo itself and alone brought back the console from the grave.

The only thing you cannot give Nintendo credit for is CDs and multi-player through internet. And even the former they had extremely good reasons, just think of how many mod-chips got installed onto PSX and PS2s back in the day... But of course you wouldn't know that you ignorant fanboy.

SEGA shot themselves, they were stupid and moronic, and of course you think sega leaving is a good thing... dreamcast (or even saturn) is probably the most underrated console in history MORON. The stuff Dreamcast could do was already YEARS ahead of PS2, yet Sony only won the race due to idiots like yourself buying into the worst yet still SOME HOW the most brought console of the sixth gen. Dreamcast, Xbox, and Gamecube were all better then the PS2 in design for gaming, the only good reason to buy PS2 was because pretty much all of the third-party support went to it (BECAUSE, idiots like yourself brought it), it came out with more games and more often... and hell, they had shovelware on the PS2 lots too.

Seriously, know your stuff before you start ignorantly bagging on Nintendo or Sega. Sega going under was a BAD thing retard (and so would have been Nintendo going under), so gratz on being a bad troll.




Anyway, on topic;
Many of the points I agree with, I recently tried playing this game and Viewitful Joe and couldn't get it. But what I disagree with;

* Spending so much time bagging the wii, ya, the wii has bad games and isn't the best system atm, fucking gratz you don't need to spend EVERY FUCKING REVIEW ON WASTING TIME ON THE TOPIC.

Yahtzee, it gets old, okay? We all know Nintendo has no good games... Is it Nintendo's fault? Not overall, they have always made the BEST (and I mean, the BEST) games ever but don't spam them out... If anything it is third party support that is stuffing them out, so many developers just following the gens based on graphics and many new developers just taking advantage of the wii... hopefully nintendo will stop it soon, because putting limits on third parties is what revived home consoles in the first place.

* The controls are fine, I was actually impressed by how MadWorld sorted the wii controls out, it works well.

Fix your wii if you are having SO much trouble, when I tried it, it worked perfectly every time.[/quote]

Sorry to disappoint you but I do not own a Wii. I'm a PC gamer now, but I remember the days when Nintendo was more about fun games and less about gimmicks. I had a GC and an N64 I was a Nintendo Fan boy so to say. I did not get a PS2 for that reason, but by the end of the GC cycle I was ready to say good bye to future Nintendo Systems. It didn't matter if some GC games were good; Nintendo had its glory and now its milking money from the "fan boys/girls", grandparents and toddlers just because it has a glorified pointer with a few more buttons and extra accessories.

Besides I was just stating how I felt you don't have to be so mean. They are just plastic and metal they can't hug you back. JERK

 

[Civic]

I really liked this game overall and I have all the consoles. This game was good for what it was and it didn't let me down. I found next to no replay value even though others have but I felt it was still worth the money and hope for similar games in the future for the Wii.