My thumbs ache. The vision blurs. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of terrible licensed games… rushed development… the wasted opportunities. But most of all, I remember Mad Max the video game and how it saved us.
Mad Max is something of an enigma in this new generation of consoles. More often than not, publishers are skipping over the once lucrative avenue of licensed shovel-ware, –I’m looking at you Nintendo Wii– so when a game based on a movie comes around from a AAA studio, people get excited. And after spending countless hours in the barren wastes that is Mad Max, I can safely say that this is the best licensed game in the history of licensed games.
Look, I know that isn’t saying a whole lot, but trust me when I say Mad Max is an excellent open-world game that stands out thanks to its license, not because of it. The game takes a lot of liberties with its story, being an original tale that happens outside of anything within the film. While the movie was essentially a two-hour car chase, Mad Max the game gives Mad Max something to do within the games gorgeous world.
The game looks fantastic running on the Xbox One, and that’s saying something as I went into the game worried about how the barren landscape of the post apocalyptic setting could keep one engaged. Sure, the game does get a bit “samey” after countless hours of slogging around, but the developers at Avalanche have done a fantastic job of making the world that you inhabit a character in its own right.
Weather patterns will not only shift, but will have a direct impact on how you tackle whatever task you are in the middle of. Things could be fine and dandy, when all of a sudden a rogue tornado wreaks havoc on you, tossing you about like a rag-doll. But these shifts can also be beneficial as they will also throw any War Boys in pursuit to the four corners of the earth. While not quite as impressive as the big storm scene in the film, the storms in Mad Max the game are still epic and will require you to take shelter, or risk being torn apart.
Gameplay is also incredibly smooth here, taking heavy cues from the Batman Arkham series of games. This makes sense as the games Publisher is Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the same publishers of the Batman series. While Max is a capable fighter, he is no Dark Knight. The combo system isn’t as deep, but you can upgrade new fighting abilities and kill moves as you progress. The parry system works almost identical to Batman, but here you’ll get an onscreen button prompt –in the case of the Xbox One the Y button– every time an enemy is about to land an attack. It’s a really easy and simple system, but one that could have used a bit more under the hood. In the end Max ends up feeling for Batman than regular dude.
The story takes place in the outskirts of Gas Town and see’s Max lose his Interceptor in the game’s opening cinematic. Like in each of the films, Max just can’t seem to catch a break in this regard. With his ride gone, you find yourself your personal companion in the form of a crazed Blackfinger that guides tags along with the promise of building you a new car, the Magnum Ops. This Magnum Ops opens up the game and gives you the drive to go take on missions and side jobs for the denizens of the wastes. The world of Mad Max gets a lot of room to breathe here, as we are introduced to all sorts of wild characters that would have fir perfectly within the movie the game is based on. I won’t spoil things, but a son of Immortan Joe plays a large role throughout this little adventure.
Mad Max is a fantastic ride through the untapped world that is the Mad Max franchise. It offers up hours of enjoyment, especially if you are a fan of the series. In fact, if you loved Mad Max Fury Road, I highly suggest you snag this one as it does a great deal to expand on the universe. Still, the game isn’t perfect and does come with a number of annoyances. Max himself seems to be stuck a generation back in many regards. He can really only do one thing at a time when on foot. Want to heal up really quick during battle? Tough beans, as Max needs to stop whatever he’s doing to take a slow drink of water to do that, and if you get interrupted in any way you are out of luck. Same thing goes for running and trying to use your weapon.
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Another thing that is sort of lacking are the boss encounters. While you will be liberating a number of locations that are occupied by War Bays and other baddies, the major locations in each of the games territories have bosses waiting at the end, much like the way it happens in Borderlands. These bosses are pretty fun at first, but you’ll quickly learn that each boss is just the same guy in a different colored gimp mask and fancy new hammer. Aside from the one that looks like he just finished playing Splatoon, they are all pretty forgettable. The same goes for the Magnum Opus and her weird upgrade system. It’s really tedious at times and forces you to downgrade your ride just to match the needed blueprint for a mission, so you can in turn upgrade it. It makes no sense and kills the entire point of tricking her out. I went over an hour in my supped up ride doing piss all before I found out I had to downgrade my car so that I could get into a mission to upgrade my car.
Still, if you are looking for a very well put together sandbox game that makes great use of its license Mad Max is highly recommended. The game doesn’t ask much of you, and doesn’t bring the gaming world to its knees, but it’s great for those looking for some fun in post-apocalyptic Australia. In the end Mad Max is still a licensed game, but it’s the best damn licensed game you’ll ever play.
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