Madworld

Plot-wise, in Madworld a shadowy game show called Death Watch has taken over Jefferson Island and turned it into desolate warzone almost overnight. Murderous participants known as Killseekers roam the streets, slaughtering anyone who crosses their path. Enter Jack Cayman, a massive biker with a chip on his shoulder, a penchant for violence and a chainsaw grafted onto his arm. Jack's out for blood, but also has an ulterior motive for participating in the game that becomes clear as you progress.

From the word go you are knee-deep in claret as each stage tasks you with racking up the biggest kill score in 30 minutes. It's all about how inventive your kills are. Sure you could run in, chainsaw swinging, but this won't get you the big points.

For example, you can run up to a goon, ram a tire over his head, trapping him, fire a stop sign pole through his skull, pick him up, headbutt him a few times, drop him in an oil drum, pick him up again, then impale him repeatedly on a wall of spikes. Overkill? Surely. Satisfying? Sadistically so!

So the violence is present and correct, but don't worry, the Wii's motion controls are also superbly executed, complementing the action. Jack's move set is easy to pull off and the camera only occasionally becomes an issue during combat in tight areas. Context-sensitive controls flash up from time to time, letting you pull off some truly brutal kills.

With a striking black and white comic book style, offset with the smatterings of blood that come with each enemy encounter, this is a game that really does stand out from the crowd and walks on the wilder side of videogames, an accomplished and thoroughly enjoyable debut from Platinum Games.