Gameplay
Graphics
Sound/music
Controls

Earlier in the year, we had the Mad Max movie, which, for the most part, was pretty damn good but now the video game has finally arrived, and usually, movie licensed games have a bad rep. They seem like a mere cash in on a Blockbuster success. However, Mad Max is more than that, in fact, it’s one of the best games I played this year! (speaking of which, don´t miss out on our Mad Max giveaway! One Steam and Xbox One key are at stake).

Surprisingly, the game isn’t based on the film that released earlier this year, it’s based on the franchise as a whole, and the story is a simple one. The game opens up with Max having everything taken from him, his Car, his weapons, clothes, and he’s left for dead. You eventually awake and meet a bazaar fellow called ‘Chumbucket’, who pledges his services to you in building a bad-ass car and helps you on your quest for revenge on the scum that scrapped your beloved car and left you for the maggots. You then go on your own adventure assisting other wastelanders, taking over strongholds, blowing stuff up and eventually getting enough capital behind you to build a glorious Magnum Opus and head to Gas Town to get your payback!

It’s nothing personal mate. You’re just in my individual space, and shotguns are made for keeping personal space free from trespassers like yourself.

Gameplay is an absolute blast, and it’s possibly one of the best driving games since Burnout. Blazing through the wasteland in your Magnum Opus assaulting a convoy is great fun! As you get in close to several vehicles and whip out your trusty shotgun blasting the fuel tank of an enemy vehicle, then watching it burst into flames as you grind metal with another car feels awesome. The vehicle combat is brilliant, and driving in cockpit view makes things even more exciting. Your Magnum Opus which pretty much starts out as a rust bucket, but it can be vastly customised with a variety of devious contraptions such as spikes, flamethrowers, massive meaty engines and so much more; making car chases even more epic! There’s a great sense of progression as you unlock more equipment and your car goes from a rusty banged out motor to a holy steed of vengeance!

Outside the car things, are a bit more primitive, firearms and ammo are limited, and you’ll spend most of your time talking with your fists! Combat is very similar to the Batman games when it comes to attacking and countering. Max’s fighting style is very brutal. He hit’s heavy and hit’s hard, and of course he can be upgraded with new moves and equipment to become more lethal in the field. You’ll spend most of your time on foot collecting scrap and invading strongholds and there’s actually a nice balance to being on foot or being in your vehicle. While driving long distances you will have to keep an eye on your fuel and health while you’re in the wild. You’ll need to make sure you stock up on water and find tasty snacks like dog meat and maggots to keep you alive, Yummy!

When things go boom in “Mad Max” they look lovely!

The game is pretty big with hours of content reaching double figures. It can take a while to get from one end of the map to the other, there’s a vast expanse of land to explore and there’s also plenty to find and do on your travels, such as collectables, interacting with NPCs and side objectives to keep you busy as you progress through the game. In addition to that, there is a photo mode which has plenty of options as well. Which allows you to create some brilliant screenshots and show off some awesome moments to your friends.

Visually Mad Max looks great; Max is nicely detailed and well animated such as limping after a bad fall or having a bloody face after a fight. The world around him consists of baron waste lands littered with remnants of the civilization that once existed; such as massive ships, plane wreckages and large structures converted into strongholds. Explosions and fire effects are some of the best that I have ever seen in a game, just watching cars explode into fireballs is extremely satisfying. From both ends of the scale, Mad Max ticks the boxes, such as minor details like your car’s exhausts dripping fiery fuel leaving a blazing trail in your wake or major moments such as epic sandstorms rolling in which include tornadoes and lighting strikes. When it comes to visuals, Mad Max does a damn good job of creating a great post-apocalyptic world and making it an interesting one to explore. Mad Max sound design are also bloody brilliant, and most characters are voiced well; soundtrack is good but nothing memorable. However, where the sound design excels the most is with the vehicles. The roar of the engine (Especially a V8) sounds like you’re driving an untamed beast. In fact, the car is as much as a character as Max is.

Max lays down the Smackdown!

There aren’t many notable issues I have come across while playing Mad Max, I’ve had a few severe frame drops during cut scenes and just driving around the wastelands. It’s not too often but can be pretty distracting. Max’s voice is also a little inconsistent at times, during monologues he’s softly spoken but when he’s talking to NPCs, he almost sounds like he’s yelling at them and sounds a bit like a caveman. I’m still considering whether this is a part of his mental status or a slight mishap in the games sound design. Story is also immensely weak; due to the fact, it’s a simple revenge story that doesn’t reach the heights it deserves.

A bold question that many people have asked is “does Mad Max need Shadow of Mordor’s nemesis system?” To put it simply yes, Mad Max would need a system like that. Because it’s a brilliant game mechanic and many games could benefit from it, it helped make enemy encounter’s more dynamic and particular enemies memorable, unfortunately its non-existent in this game, which is a shame because it would have worked brilliantly, but Mad Max still holds up without it. It’s the issue of being spoiled with something brilliant and then getting mad that it’s not in an unrelated game. Not having a Nemesis system isn’t something I’m going to hold against Mad Max, same reason goes for flying unicorns.

This is what it’s all about, explosions and angry-looking cars!

Overall Mad Max is a fun and enjoyable game, despite being released along with Metal Gear Solid. Mad Max is strong enough to hold its own. It’s fun, explosive madness and it’s without a doubt a decent movie licensed game! The wastelands are a joy to fight through, and car chases feel cinematic as you battle your way to your target, it’s a thrilling experience and there’s plenty to be had from this game. Mad Max offers post-apocalyptic fun with explosions galore, and that´s more than enough reasons why the game should be on your radar!

Pros:
+ Explosions!
+ Epic Car Battles
+ Lots of customization

Cons:
– Weak Story
– Frame Rate drops
– No flaming Unicorns

tgg grade 4 out of 5

Verdict: 4/5
Mad Max is fast, frantic explosive fun that will let you live the legend of Mad Max, drive an angry car and deliver angry justice!

Title: Mad Max
Developer: Avalanche Studios
Format: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: Action Adventure
Resolution: 1080p
Release date: 2015-01-09
Difficulty: Medium
Spent time: 30 hours
Average grade internationally: 68.87% Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: 18
Price: £37.79 Price Check on Amazon.co.uk