MAD MAX
- jackcooper98
- Jan 19, 2016
- 2 min read
A world gone mad…
I’m just gonna say this straight off: Mad Max is a really fun game. Driving round the Wasteland as the no-nonsense Max doesn’t really get old. The driving physics may be just as mad as he is, but they only make the game more enjoyable.
The game is set before 2015’s blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road. After Max’s beloved car is stolen, he teams up with the outcast Chumbucket to build a new ride and take revenge against the warlord Scarbrous Scrotus. (Yeah, I laughed too.) Like Fury Road, the story is simple. And yes, Max does talk a bit more in the game. The ending is one of the easiest boss battles ever, but it still does a good job of wrapping up the story.
As you progress through the game, you upgrade both Max and his new car, Magnum Opus. Both have aesthetic and gameplay-changing upgrades. One of the nice touches in the game is that as you progress, you unlock long hair and beards for Max. It’s a good addition that leads into the hairstyle/mane he has at the start of Fury Road.
The graphics are really good. They even out just below a few other recent games, but as most of the screen is the Wasteland, you can’t really fault that. The attention to detail on both Max and the Wasteland is outstanding. Speaking of the Wasteland, the map is HUGE. I don’t know if this is true, but according to the Internet, once the actual in-game map ends, it just goes on…forever. It’s full of fun things to do mission wise and has collectable hunting. Beyond that, it’s just really fun to drive around on.
Combat is fairly basic. Strike, counter, that sort of stuff. Max can pick up melee weapons along the way such as knives and clubs, or use his trusty shotgun to blast enemies into oblivion. But be warned, you do tend to run out of ammo pretty quickly in some areas.
On the less brilliant side of things, there are some problems with the game. The main one being frame rate issues. A quick pause and wait a seconds normally fixes it, but when you’re in the middle of a car chase, lag is never a good thing. The second problem is something that’s always going to be there. The car physics are…strange. One minute everything’s fine, the next…not so much. Plus, you can’t really drift. A nit-pick, but still would’ve been a nice touch. My final problem is the sound effects. Every so often, they just cut out. The only way I’ve found of fixing it is going back to the main menu and then back into the game.
It may be structurally similar to Sunset Overdrive, but that doesn’t stop Mad Max being a really fun game. As I thought it would just be another bad movie game, I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a bit more. By not tying into the plot of the movie, it allows itself to be its own thing. There are bits that are annoying and boss fights are pretty much the same every time round, but a great map and fun gameplay make for a great time.
8/10
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