Mad Max [Game Review]

Game: Mad Max Genre: Third-person Open World Developer: Avalanche Studios Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Copy supplied by Steam

Mad Max is the new movie-licensed open-world action game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

STORY If you are a fan of the movies, the story will be right up your alley. Mad Max is driving around the wasteland, and one day he his hunted down by the evil Scrotum and his minions and his car his taken. After that he finds Chumbucket, an hunchback that sees him as the saviour who is destined to drive the Magnum Opus against the evil Scrotum. From that point, Max's begins a journey in which he helps different settlements to fight back and get revenge against Scrotum. The story isn't all that complex, and the characters are mostly one dimensional, however they are all peculiar and wacky, with Chumbucket being one of the best video game sidekicks out there, always giving you advice on what to do. Similarly to the movies, most of the Wasteland's backstory is told visually: you will see collapsed bridges, dry docks, buried cities. If you are looking for something more complex, you won't find it here.

GRAPHICS For almost every PC users, this game performs extremly well: Avalanche optimised the engine to make it work at rock solid 60fps, also thanks to the presence of the wasteland. If you are playing the game at the highest or lowest settings, the environment is beautiful. Every enemy camp you explore feels unique, every faction has different vehicles and enemies and there are enough landmarks to make you understand where you are going without always checking the mini-map. The particle effects are also amazing: the explosions are pure poetry, and the sandstorms manage to make your jaw drop the first time you encounter them. Hardly have I ever played a game about a post-apocalyptic future that looks so good.

GAMEPLAY There are two types of combat: hand-to-hand and vehicular. Hand-to-hand combat is pretty similar to the Arkham games, however it feels different: while Batman is more agile and can parry almost every attack, Max is heavier and stronger. While doing an heavy attack, you can't parry whose attacking you. You can also pick up enemy weapons, or use your shotgun for one-hit kills. Vehicular combat is where the gameplay shines the most: since the game is set in a wasteland, you will hardly ever crush into a rock or a wall. You can use a grappling hook to pull parts of the car, from the wheels to the driver himself, as well as revealing the gas tank to blow it up with a well-aimed shot. Whenever you aim, the game enters slow-motion, making things easier and less frustrating. The more you play, the more you can customize Max and the Mangum Ops: from new jackets, hairstyles, ammo belts and moves for the former, to new weapons, engines and armor for the latter. If you enjoy customization, there is a lot of it here. You can also use enemy cars to infiltrate camps without alerting anyone, adding a bit of strategy to the game. However, the open world missions can become repetitive pretty fast: you can destroy scarecrows, capture camps, explore locations for scrap, use air baloons to scout the areas and destory enemy convoys. Sometimes you will have the task to go somewhere and free some prisoners, but other than that there isn't much variety. However, the combat always keeps things interesting, especially when fighting bosses or destorying convoys.

CHALLENGE The game isn't particularly challenging: the camps feature many checkpoints and water stashes to recover health, and the car fights can be won by just pulling the driver out of the vehicle. Still, some missions are harder than others, and the bosses that you fight require more thinking than button mashing, so it all balances out.

SOUND Yes, Mad Max is voiced by an Australian. And he acts very well. All the other characters are very cartoony, just like in the movies, and Chumbucket's voice actor does a great job at being funny and never annoying. However, the soundtrack is pretty mediocre, especially compared to the one in this year's Fury Road. But the sound effects make up for it: every punch you throw, every explosion you witness pack enough punch to satisfy the violent spirit inside every one of us.

REPLAYABILITY As with most open world games, you get quite a lot of content here: between completing all the missions and destorying the enemy outposts, there are many objectives that will keep you entertained for most of the game. You can also try your luck by exploring the Great Nothing, a infinitely big desert with ton of scrap to take.

Overall, fans of the movie franchise and open world games will spend a lot of time playing this game thanks to its solid combat, beautiful wasteland and great performance. If you are on the fence, I recommend waiting for a sale.

Story: 7.5 Graphics: 9 Gameplay: 8.5 Challenge: 7.5 Sound: 7.5 Replayability: 8.5