We get some hands-on time with the game of life and death at E3 2008.

How many games are super violent by promoting the excessive use of blood, gore, destruction and removal of body parts and do all of this on the Wii? So far, only two have some of these traits, and those are Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes. Welcome the next and most brutal brother of the bunch, Madworld.

The premise of Madworld is simple: Jack, a hulking brute of a guy, is stuck in a TV gameshow called “Deathwatch”. Like many a movie and TV show, contestants must kill, or stay alive, whichever you prefer, to win. Points are given out by how gruesome the kills are and how many you have and how you do it.

Using cell shading that’s only black and white and red (for blood), Madworld looks great. On the Wii. It may well be the best way to vividly make games look artistic, stylish and good on the console, and it certainly compliments attaching victims to spiked walls or inserting street signs forcibly into eye sockets. Or cutting people in half, removing limbs or heads…it’s pretty gory.

Sadly, there is little information on Madworld thus far. We know that minigames will play a huge role, adding on lots of points and giving players more time to make the streets run red. Also, because it is a gameshow (and violent to the extent where it’s meant to be funny, not sadistic), commentators will spew humorous jibes at contestants for players to hear and enjoy.

From everything the developers said, Madworld is essentially the standard 3rd person action adventure; it just happens to take place in a bloody TV show. That means there are boss fights, weak and strong enemies, weapons to pick up and use as well as the default chainsaw attached to Jack’s arm, and a fairly playful environment that allows for some very cool kills. Like throwing an enemy at a moving train and watching limbs fly off, or putting them onto a spike-filled wall several times, just to get the point across.

Madworld is set for release in March 2009 exclusively to the Wii.