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Gears of War 3's Gridlock map has a special nod to Gary Jules' 'Mad World'
A few years ago there was no escaping the Gears of War ad that used Gary Jules' cover of "Mad World." Well, it's made its way into Gears of War 3, and right into the Gridlock map. It's a nice piece of fan service that you can check out in our video above.
A series of unfortunate demises: classic arcade game deaths compiled into a tender tribute video
Whatever your flavor of old school gaming, whether you were a future-loving RoboCop killer or a skeleton-slaying Golden Axe swinger, there's a little slice of nostalgia here for you. The guys from BoingBoing have lovingly compiled some of the most memorable death scenes from the games of yore into a video tribute, and they've been nice enough to leave out the names of all the games featured. There's no Pokémon action in there, but still, can you guess 'em all?
We Dare trailer mocked with Flash demake, soundtrack recuts
It didn't take long for the video game community to speak out about the plainly ridiculous We Dare trailer released today, and the venom it's inspired has gotten creative. Developers Stew Hogarth and @hypnic__jerk have assembled this Flash demake of the title, and while it doesn't actually require a Wii to play, it offers pretty much the same quantity and quality of amusement we expect from the game. And then there's the trailers after the break, both recut versions of Ubisoft's video with some more ... inspired video game trailer soundtrack choices. These are a must if you like laughing, go check them out. We dar ... aww, forget it.
WoW Moviewatch: Mad World of Warcraft Cataclysm
Mad World has always been one of my favorite songs. It has a haunting, melancholy sound that appeals to me; the lyrics are poetic and beautifully written. It's understandable, then, that I was excited to see Brunhila's WoW-themed version, Mad World of Warcraft Cataclysm. The video is okay. It's Brunhila's first video, and it does a fine job serving the song. The music is really where Mad World of Cataclysm shines. She did a great job of keeping with the rhyme, meter, and feel of the original song. Her performance, however, is amazing. Brunhila really nailed the vocals in a way I wasn't expecting; I feel like she knocked it out of the park. I kind of wish she'd cover the original song, considering how much emotion she squeezes into the song. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at machinima@wow.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Mad World
I've always had a weak spot for Mad World, even going back to the original Tears for Fears version. So I was pretty excited to see this video featuring a cover of that old favorite. The vocals are by Sacrelige, the video is by Miselain, and the music was performed by Kurari. Jay Mayo did the instrumentals. The video itself is fairly straightforward. It uses clips from various World of Warcraft cinematics to create a mad world montage. The vocals were actually kind of interesting; I kept expecting it to turn into that screaming, growling performance that's so popular nowadays. Instead, Sacrelige kept the vocals straight. Overall, I enjoyed the cover and thought the end effect was impressive. I'd like to see more from this team, so here's hoping this collaboration goes somewhere. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at machinima@wow.com.
SEGA offers advice, creates MadWorld must-do list
Platinum Games' well received MadWorld has been abusing and roughing up the Wii for few days and SEGA decided its the opportune time to give game advice. Only because the publisher wants to make sure everyone is getting the most brutal experience possible. The top ten MadWorld must-do list is what SEGA came up with and is (interestingly enough) penned by the company's own senior localization producer, Patrick Riley. The list includes a few gameplay tips, some Challenge tricks and various insightful nuggets of information, like the fact that Jack can impale foes with a total of five, yes five caution signs. Yes sir ... the more you know.
The black-and-white evolution of MadWorld's graphics
MadWorld Lead Character Designer & Art Director, Masaki Yamanaka, just posted an informative blog that talks about Platinum Games' decision to go with a black-and-white art style and its subsequent evolution -- one that progresses from a high contrast black-and-white look to the addition of desaturated yellow tones and plenty of comic book violence. Something similar to Sin City, but with no Jessica Alba and fewer metaphors. It's interesting to note that early concepts of Jack had him free of bladed weaponry. Thankfully, through the miracle of development, a chainsaw was attached to his arm, which definitely aids in the spilling of Organizer blood.
MadWorld producer talks mature Wii titles, sequels, minigames
Despite having few ultra-violent titles in its library (most notably Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes), the Wii can't seem to shake its "kiddie" moniker. MadWorld producer Atsushi Inaba hopes to change that, telling play.tm, "It would be great if MadWorld can really kick off [a trend of mature titles]." He also opined that the console's hardware capacity is not a problem so long as you can "correctly communicate the concept or features of the game." Seeing as we're able to envision waggling the remote and producing lots of virtual blood, we think he might be onto something. Inaba also said that they're (gasp!) considering a sequel should the game be successful. If that's not enough of a non-surprise for you, he reminds us that there will be minigames -- known here as "Blood Bath Challenges." This is a Wii title, after all. Gallery: MadWorld
Sega bringing MadWorld, The Conduit to New York Comic Con
Those looking to attend next year's New York Comic Con have more to look forward to than hygiene experiments and booth babes: Sega has confirmed that it will bring demos of MadWorld, The Conduit and The House of the Dead: Overkill to the event, which takes place February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Special "zombie surprises" are also promised, so come prepared.Sega hasn't revealed if any or all of these titles will be playable or merely shown off to those who happen to stroll by its booth. Not that it matters, as you'll likely go blind well before the show after meticulously gluing down individual scales in the name of Aquaman cosplay.
Mad World violence anemic compared to Manhunt 2
Mad World, with its inky wellspring of monochrome gore, will likely give those opposed to virtual violence another round of ammunition, replacing Manhunt 2 as the industry whipping boy of choice. An unfair comparison, at least according to seasoned game journo Beth Dillon, who cites the controversy magnet's realistic take on violence as much more disturbing than Mad World's "contrasting and beautiful" approach. There's no question that Mad World will stand out like a bludgeoned thumb among the Wii's more family-friendly library, but Dillon writes that where Platinum Games' upcoming action opus separates itself from Manhunt 2 is in its sense of style. The bigger issue, as she she sees it, is the effect motion-sensitive controls have on players playing violent games -- regardless if they're realistic or more over-the-top -- something we fully expect to have society's ills pinned on the game industry's already swollen posterior for years to come.
Predictably, new Mad World footage looks amazing
We don't really see the point in new footage of Mad World. Oh, don't get us wrong, we're grateful for it. It's just that we're so clearly going to buy the game the moment it's within the reach of our grubby mitts, we don't know why Sega is trying to convince us to buy it harder. But for those of you that weren't convinced pre-trailer, we're just going to assume you've firmly aligned yourself with the believers. Did you see that dude throwing other dudes into a fan? Did you see those cyclones picking up cars? Did you see that dude rubbing that other dude on a moving train? Are they serious with this? Can we buy two, one to play and one to crush up and mainline?
Sega talks Platinum Games deal, franchises
In a Q&A session with Gamespot, the folks at Sega detailed some of their plans and expectations for the recently announced four-game publishing deal with Platinum Games. The agreement, which grants Sega exclusive rights to Mad World (Wii), Bayonetta (PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360), Infinite Line (DS) and a mystery title from Resident Evil designer, Shinji Mikami, was officially announced during a special event last week."The guys at Platinum are just at the top of their game right now, and what they've delivered is so clearly AAA in every way, when they started to show us product, we had to have it," said Sega of America president, Simon Jeffery. When asked about the marketing challenges inherent in starting up three (possibly four) new IPs, Jeffery notes that Sega is in it for the long run. "What we've seen today is the starting point, but all of those games--Bayonetta, Madworld, Infinite Line--won't be one-offs," he explained. "They're all uniquely different enough from everything in their space to build complete franchises out of. The whole foundation of PlatinumGames is built around that long-term strategy."Though talk of franchises this early in a game's life would normally elicit concern, the ex-Clover talent at Platinum Games could certainly do with the commercial success to match their critical acclaim. Y'know, aside from the Devil May Cry and Resident Evil guys.
Wii Warm Up: Mad About Platinum Games
We're thrilled about MadWorld. The truth is, we were so happy to see evidence that Mikami, Inaba, and Kamiya's crew was back to work after leaving Capcom that we'd probably even be excited about a card RPG. But MadWorld is no card RPG. Its smirking attitude towards violence and high-contrast black-and-white color scheme hint that something very special is on the way. How did you react to the news of MadWorld's development? Were you more excited about this game on its own merits, or was the news of Platinum's emergence (to Sega's possible benefit!) the more awesome component of the MadWorld reveal?%Gallery-22964%
Mad World to make violence cheerful again
Are you sick to the back teeth of violence being so goddamn depressing? If so, Platinum Games, the developers formerly known as Clover, are right with you! In the latest edition of Famitsu, Platinum director Shigenori Nishikawa has declared that "cheerful violence" and "curb brawler" will be the themes of the company's first Wii title, Mad World. Echoes of God Hand, perhaps? Mad World was unveiled yesterday through a shaky, grainy and spectacularly bloody video. Sporting heavily stylized black-and-white visuals, the only color to be found in the game was in the fountains of blood that regularly filled the screen. According to Famitsu, ultra-violence is very much the name of the game, which stars a troubled protagonist dedicated to committing his ultimate slaughter. If you missed the footage (it was constantly being removed from video sharing sites), go past the break to catch up, and see how having a road sign lodged through one's face doesn't have to be a miserable affair.
It's a Mad World of leaked video from Platinum Games
Yesterday, DS Fanboy reported on the rumor that Platinum Games, the company started by ex-Clover Studio members (and Capcom luminaries) Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya, and Shinji Mikami), was partnering with Sega for new games to be released on the Wii and the DS. This video of Mad World is not technically confirmation since it could be a total fake, but it sure looks real -- and it sure is getting taken down from Youtube and Gametrailers with alarming speed. Mad World is a bloody, futuristic action game that looks (from the blurry video) more like a brawler than the kind of operatic sword maneuvering we know from Devil May Cry. We hate to mention it again (because we always do when talking about Clover), but it evokes a futuristic, really bloody God Hand. It looks like we were wrong about one of the rumors, by the way: Bayonetta is a PS3 game (if any of this is real), and not a Wii game.
Trailer remixers, stop the Mad(World)ness
Look, we're happy that Gary Jules' version of Mad World has been propelled to popularity through last month's Gears of War teaser ad. It's a kick-ass song. But just because it's a good song does not mean you can throw it over any video game trailer and suddenly turn that trailer into a work of art.A quick YouTube search shows the song being pasted over footage for everything from Counter Strike and Killzone 2 to Final Fantasy X-2 and Assassin's Creed, and that's a few of the videos posted so far this week. The latest effort, a splice over the recent Halo 3 advertisement [thanks BrotherEstrapol], actually matches up pretty well to the music, and changes the austere original into an emo love-fest quite effectively.But enough is enough. This meme has been run into the ground so effectively that we think every gamer with an Internet connection is now fully aware of the emotive potential of matching "Mad World" to video game footage. From now on, instead of wasting space on YouTube with endless remixes, lets just agree that anyone who wants to can mute any YouTube trailer and play the clip of their choice in iTunes. OK?
Halo 3 ad: It's a mad (ring) world
Sure, most of us were satisfied with a badass Halo 3 commercial, but for some, it just lacked the emo panache of the famous Gears of War "Mad World" ad. Well, fear not, true believers, for 360 Fanboy reader, BrotherEstapol, has ripped the Mad World music and slapped it onto the Halo 3 commercial, creating a Frankensteinian delight the likes of which you've never seen. Honestly, the song is so hauntingly memorable that Microsoft could probably use it for every sixty second ad they produce and get away with it. And now for the challenge: it's time for some Halo 3 ad remixes. We already have tons of them for the Gears of War ad, and we wouldn't want the Chief to feel left out. In fact, while you're at it, try sticking Mad World into other 360 ads and see what happens. Maybe it's like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz. If you come up with anything good, send us a link and we'll post it.
Mad World: Gears ad propels song to #1 on iTunes
It appears the Gears of War "Mad World" advertisement has done more than just augment sales of the game. The somber 2001 Gary Jules and Michael Andrews cover of Mad World, originally released by Tears for Fears in 1982, hit number one on the iTunes top sales charts yesterday, according to fan site Gearheads of War. As of this writing, the song is number 12 (direct link) on the iTunes charts. The only other prominent placement of the song currently is an episode of CSI that premiered in late September. Did a gaming commercial really have that much influence on download sales? The use of licensed songs in video games has a long background, with many unknown bands seeing spikes in record sales due to their placement in games such as Madden NFL. How might this coerce music industry big wigs to court game developers into using their songs? Recorded for the mind-screwing film Donnie Darko, the cover of Mad World was the 2003 UK Christmas number one single. In a sad twist of irony, the Tears for Fears song never hit number one. But no worries, they did pretty well for themselves.[Via Gaming Bits]
Sing, sing a song for GoW
If you walk around singing that Mad World song because you can't get it out of your head, this "Gears of War Idol" contest, sponsored by Unscripted 360, is for you.[Thanks DeaconBlade 360]
Tears for Gears: It's a Mad World
Mike from the Xbox Domain dug up the original Tears for Fears version of "Mad World," recently made famous in the gaming community as Marcus Fenix's favorite song to kill to. Do you think these guys ever imagined back in the 80s that their tune (albeit in haunting minimalist form) would be gearing us all up for multiplayer war?
