It does get repetitive, but this Madworld sequel shows that Platinum Games hasn't lost their wacky, bloody touch.
The gameplay can get repetitive, I admit, and without any way to really level yourself up to learn new moves, it isn't long before you master everything that your character is about. Still, if anything keeps Anarchy Reigns going, it's the absurdness of each given situation. One minute you're called upon to put a muscle-bound pimp with flaming arm fragments in his place; the next, you're teaming up with someone to take on a runt of a pig dude, and his pig-laden army. (It's a riot listening to the talks you have with these guys before and after each fight too, though an option to skip them would've been good.)
The single player portion of the game will take you a few hours to get through, from both sides, but aside from that, Anarchy Reigns also has a solid multiplayer mode, where you can take on people in all sorts of team variations, across Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. While it's mostly a matter of hitting the right people at the right time and avoiding dangerous circumstances (like huge trucks that run everything down or a sandstorm), it can be ridiculously entertaining once you get a good session going. And the playing field opens up to trying out new characters and seeing what they can do.
Anarchy Reigns isn't the best looking game that Sega has produced, and I'm sad to see the black-and-white Madworld appearance gone in favor of full color. However, there are moments of glee scattered throughout this world, whether you're slamming a huge lizard guy into his grave with a finishing move or flying across a chasm with the help of turbo-powered thrusters. The camera can be a hassle, but overall this is an interesting world to run through, and each new set of levels have their own challenges to them, especially the higher platforms.
Platinum Games' soundtrack is sensational for this game. A great mix of techno pop and rap numbers really keep things moving along, though there are occasional duds in the mix. Hardly any to get concerned with, tho. The voicework has its moments as well. Though the lip synching doesn't match 100 percent (especially in the "talk window" moments), it's still humorous to hear the bull dude make his lame jokes, or the pimp talk smack before he delivers it. The characterization is what makes this game click longer than it deserves to…well, that and the affordable $30 price point.
