MadWorld - Wii

The Negligent parents and ambulance-chasing lawyers, your next target has arrived and it's a doozy. MadWorld, published by SEGA and developed by Platinum Games (formerly Clover Studios, best known for Okami and Viewtiful Joe) is so over-the-top violent and vulgar that by comparison the Grand Theft Auto series may as well be Mr. Rogers. In no other game, for example, can you grab hold of a leather-clad enemy and impale him anus first on a rusty spike, which penetrates his body and rips through his mouth in a bloody fountain on the other side. Uh-huh -- there's going to be some phone calls. But beneath the oceans of cinematically dismembered limbs, chainsaw-severed torsos and uncensored F-bombs, there waits a legitimately entertaining game supported by a compelling storyline, a breathtakingly bold and some fun, engaging play mechanics to boot. MadWorld may ultimately not be for everyone -- its black and white presentation and unabashedly offensive content practically ensure that -- but those who do get it will absolutely love it. And for the record, I completely get it.

Just like Okami and Viewtiful Joe before it, MadWorld looks like a beautiful piece of moving art. Director Shigenori Nishikawa has admitted to comic book influences like Sin City and parallels could certainly be drawn to unique movies like Renaissance, both of which feature similar black and white presentations. The itself is not original, but we've never seen it done like this in a videogame before and the end result is a stunning success. Platinum Games wanted to create a title so distinct that when people stumbled upon it, they wouldn't be able to turn away -- and love it or hate it, MadWorld's graphics catch and hold the eye. The side effect to this design choice is that ultra-stylized works are perfectly suited to Nintendo's underpowered console, which struggles to render realistic environments, but is amply armed where art is emphasized over technology.