Original vs Extra Crispy
All good things must come to an end.
I've watched this series grow from an obscure violence-happy-dance-flash into a flash novel series. And for a while, I thought this series was unstoppable, like the way Mario games keep their awesome status. Ask anyone, who hates Super Mario 3? Literally no one. But ask people Who hates Super Mario 64? or Who hates Mario Sunshine? And you're bound to get a noticible percentage.
The same analogy fits here. You've added some visual elements, some 3-D, updated the character model to fit his new bandages (And Lara Croft-esque red sunglasses, or Vash-esque). But it just doesn't play like the original. This Madness 5 is no Super Mario Sunshine. There's definately something lacking (despite obviously the length of the flash). The "bosses" entered way too soon in this one.
I especially disliked how there was absolutely no tribute after protagonist dies. I mean, rip head off: boom end. No dramatic music, no slow motion death sequence, no nothing. One of the best aspects of your earlier ones was how he would frantically be fighting, falling behind, kinda make a comeback, get injured, try to fight back, then suffer his seemingly fatal wound. That was completely missing in this one.
Maybe it's time for this series to close the door on a moderatly high note. Don't struggle like Sega did with Dreamcast and Saturn. If Madness 6 comes out and there's no real innovation, then the series is officially over, no matter how many fan boys will dogmatically disagree.