Telegraph UK Positive on MadWorld

We all know how mainstream journalism can be with video gaming, there are common misconceptions. One of the most controversial is the idea of violent games on the family Wii.

So when UK Newspaper: The Telegraph, previews Platinum's upcoming bloody comic violence game, MadWorld, the impression turns out... pretty good!

The Telegraph was allowed a grand total of five minutes of hands-on time with MadWorld. In that short interval, however, I can report it boasts a smooth, intuitive control system, a slick soundtrack filled with crunching sound-effects, ghoulishly enthusiastic commentators and thundering hip hop music, and more violence than you can shake a Wii-mote at. In my short playing time I dispatched numerous opponents in various grisly fashions; I stabbed several through the face with street signs, electrocuted one on an open electrical socket and sliced up several groups with a chainsaw.

"There's a lot of variety in the ways you can kill someone off," says Nishikawa. "As you go through the different stages the variety of weapons and variety of kills will expand."

MadWorld's stark graphics go a long way towards tempering the violence. The environments and characters are rendered in a crisp black and white, with the occasional splash of arterial red which gushes from opponents. MadWorld's graphics immediately bring to mind the film and comic book Sin City, but the game's director Shigenori Nishikawa says Frank Miller's work wasn't a direct inspiration.

Positive impressions from mainstream press for the highly anticipated Wii title can only be good news. Be sure to check out The full preview at Telegraph Online, and don't forget to share your thoughts on it below.