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Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the sickest, oddest, most gratuitous game show of all time: Whacked! In Whacked, 7 contestants compete through multiple scenarios in four stages trying to win the ultimate ‘Prize’. The premise of Whacked is that of a cheesy, cliché ridden game show where contestants beat each other senseless in various mini games, collecting stars, or simply just trying to kill each other while they try to survive to the next stage. Your host, Van Tastic, is a loud mouth, bad joke spewing, bobble-head-doll-like thing. You can play Single player, multiplayer split screen (4 players total), system link or Xbox Live – Whacked definitely shines more when other human opponents are at the receiving end of your mallet or cleaver.

To give you an idea of just how crazy Whacked is, let me introduce you to the characters. First we have Lucky, a near paraplegic rabbit who’s rather bitter about his lack of limbs. Next is Eugene, everyone’s favorite, misunderstood Penguin. Toof, a babbling, acrid monster type thing. Lucy, (everyone’s favorite pick) a smutty temptress who bursts out of her skimpy clothing as strategically placed censors cover her goodies. Then we have Lance, the self proclaimed, egotistical stud. Darling little Charity, in all her rotten teeth, candy loving, innocent wickedness. Last but not least, Otto, a stoned smot poker who could care less about any game show and probably wonders how he even got there in the first place.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the contestants, let me introduce you to the gameplay. There are only two real modes to Whacked: Gameshow (single player) and Battle (multiplayer) modes. We also have ‘Rehearsal’, which warms you up to the game mechanics and controls. We also have the Theater, which lets you view all the cinematics that you’ve unlocked throughout the single player portion of the game. In Gameshow mode, you first need to pick a contestant. For most guys, you’re first instinct will be to pick Lucy, the nekked chick (and there’s nothing wrong with that). Unfortunately, black censor bars cover her naughty parts as she bounces around the mini-games. With a Teen rating there is doubtfully any sort of cheat to remove them… awww…

There are four stages, each with nine scenarios. Unfortunately there are only six different game types, which can make the gameplay rather redundant. Although somewhat innovative and clever in design, six was simply not enough. The goal for two of these game types is to collect stars. In the first, you must beat the tar out of your opponents to collect stars. Every time you whack someone, they produce stars that can be picked up by the other contestants in the game. Each person has an associated color. When stars are first beaten out of a contestant, they match their color and cannot be picked up by the person who lost them until several seconds pass and the stars turn silver. At that time, the stars are free game to everyone, including the contestant in which they came from. The second star collecting game involves slaughtering chickens that in turn, are trying to peck you to death. We also have some basic Deathmatch mini games, dodgeball and smear the queer (‘Grab n’ run’) style games. Throughout the games, you can pickup different weapons like homing missiles, throwing axes, ducky bombs and more. There are also several types of power ups that can totally change the momentum of the game like body swaps, star minefields or the Finger of Death. Not all of the power-ups are helpful. Some of them, like the Plague, can assist and harm you at the same time. Along with all the weapons and power-ups, you have basic attacks, spikes, running, jumping and sidestepping. After completing a round of scenarios, you are rewarded with cinematics based on which character you are playing. There are also odd ‘commercial breaks’ that are mildly amusing, but mostly stupid.

The level maps are just as sick and twisted as the game. Everything is in 3D. There are often deadly obstacles to avoid, like swinging blades or nasty spills where the fall doesn’t kill you, what’s waiting at the bottom does. The graphics fit the theme of the game. Overall they are acceptable, but not extraordinary. The sound is the same way. Each character has different yelps, screams and witty banter, although not a large catalog of them. The voice acting in general is well done, especially in regards to Van Tastic. They did him perfect (perfectly annoying, that is).

The shortcoming of Whacked is the repetitive nature of the gameplay. Most of the games feel the same and they all basically play the same, only with different objectives. This is where Combat mode via Xbox Live provides a resurgence of fun. Playing with other people in these types of games is always much more fun than single player modes. The same holds true for this game. The best part of playing online isn’t even necessarily thanks to the game mechanics; it’s more of hearing the reactions from your opponents as you shove that plunger missile up their tailpipe. This game is all about online play. Unfortunately some of the more interesting power-ups that are available in Gameshow mode don’t appear in Combat mode (at least yet for me). For example, in Gameshow mode, there’s a “Tag, you’re it” power-up. Whoever is “it” is the only person who drops stars. Thus a massive onslaught of everyone vs. that one poor sap ensues.

Single player gets old fast, but combat mode on Xbox Live adds some longevity to this game. If you are planning on taking it online and you’re a fan of party games, then give Whacked! a try. Otherwise, your money is probably better spent elsewhere.