Computer Graphics World

banned in Germany, ignited a global fi restorm of controversy upon its release, and was hailed as one of the most graphically innovative games of recent years (see Guest Editor's Note, pg. 2). It comes from four of the brightest minds in game development today. eir combined credits include some of the most successful and groundbreaking games of our time: Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Okami, and Viewtiful Joe. So when legendary develop- ers Atsushi Inaba, Shigenori Nishikawa, Tatsuya Minami, and Hideki Kamiya joined forces under the banner of the newly formed Platinum Games, expectations ran high for the fi rst eff ort from the four creative powerhouses. What they unleashed upon the gaming world this spring left the market's collective jaw on the fl oor: a visceral, violent, visually stunning action game for the Nintendo Wii that un- folds like a Frank Miller graphic novel in blood-splattered black and white. Released to widespread critical acclaim and controversy surrounding its over-the-top comic-book sa- dism, MadWorld puts players in the boots of Jack Caymen. A mechanic and former marine with a retractable chain saw affi xed to his arm, Jack fi ghts his way through a hyper-styl- ized city where citizens are pitted against one another in a blood-sport game show called "Death Watch," a la Stephen King's e Running Man. e third-person action game is the fi rst of its genre for the Wii platform, following Jack via a traditional, behind- the-back point of view. What isn't traditional is the game- play. Inaba and his team tailored the action, the story, and Jack's fi ghting repertoire to remain true to the physicality of the Wii platform, focus- ing the gameplay around close-combat, melee- type weapons, and fi ghting styles, rather than the more common aiming and fi ring. "We didn't use the infrared pointer. We didn't want a game where the player had to care- fully point and click," says Inaba. To that end, players control Jack with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, using his hands or whatever object is at hand, including street signs, garbage cans, and telephone poles—to impale, dismem- ber, and so forth—foes in ways befi tting the most extreme Itchy & Scratchy cartoon. Aesthetic Violence e game, however, is not just about killing. Beneath the ab- surd violence lurks a story line that is deceptively laby- rinthine and full of surprises. Nishikawa says MadWorld's development was guided by two creative objectives. e fi rst was to create a stark, illus- trative, black-and-white graphic- June 2009 27 Gaming ■ ■ ■ ■

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