Greetings once more internet Hivemind! I recently concluded a wonderful Honeymoon in France with my wife, outside of jet-lag feeling like someone is constantly throwing hammers at my face - everything is amazing. I won't go into the details of the full trip as this is not why I (or you) am here, but Paris is an amazing place with so much to see - it was absolutely the best, just the best.
Onward to the topic of today! While I get back into my short-story mode, I'll let the bachelor party D&D story rest for a while longer - today we have other things to discuss. Gather your scrap, strap on spikes to repel boarders, and work those gun-powder stained fingers to the bone - it is time for Mad Max!
That feeling of anxiety in the pit of your stomach is a common one - franchise games more often than not find themselves on top of the bargain bin at your local Best Buy after about a week. I am pleased to relay that Mad Max is far from a bargain bin seller, in a time-period where I owned both Mad Max and the newest iteration of the Metal Gear series - I time and time again found myself drawn to the wasteland of Mad Max over the critically acclaimed pedigree of Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain. Why? Well, Mad Max is just plain fun.
In the words of the venerable Ken Levine - Anyone who doesn't think the Mad Max game is fun is a massive schlanger. I could not agree more. As you can see from the video above - the game is absolutely gorgeous. I was treated to visual spectacle after spectacle as I roamed around the wasteland in my car (an inanimate object that becomes just as much of a leading character as Max himself). Giant sandstorms can come whipping through the canyons and valleys with little warning, and when I say giant I mean giant. If you do not properly seek cover during the storm you and your car will be tossed around, struck by lightning, and ripped asunder by fierce winds.
I have completed the story, and as it goes with many sandbox games, I now have much left over to tackle. There are a series of strongholds that Max utilizes throughout the game that can be upgraded in order to give Max a bonus for stopping by - such as a full water canteen, or full ammo and gas for your car. The outlying wastelands beyond these strongholds are filled with enemies, enemy strongholds, giant scarecrows meant to terrify the locals, snipers, minefields....you name it, it's out there and it wants you dead.By clearing out camps and other obstacles, the threat in a certain stronghold's region will drop - unlocking specialized customization options for your car (well named The Magnum Opus).
Your car becomes an extension of your play style quickly, with a multitude of bodies to build from and different upgrades you could find yourself in one of many configurations. I myself opted for light armor, blazing speed, top notch handling and firepower. It works out quite well, until I get cornered by an especially tenacious group of Roadkill warriors - a few heavy shots to my car means certain death. You could build a car just the opposite, a fully decked out tank of a vehicle that can take a beating for ages - but doing so will sacrifice speed and maneuverability. From paint job, to engine choice The Magnum Opus truly is your creation and effects how you play the rest of the game.
Max himself also comes with a fair share of upgrades. Melee combat hearkens back to the Batman: Arkham series (not a bad thing) though much simpler. Fighting and countering become second nature and never seems to get dull. Pulling in an especially annoying opponent in a headlock, placing your double-barreled shotgun into his gut and blasting him ten feet into the air is cathartic indeed. Parrying at perfect moments opens up opportunities for instant kills, and fighting long enough drives Max into a Fury where his blows become thunderous and instant kills are even easier to achieve. Max himself can upgrade everything from the tools he carries to his fist weapons and armor. Even cosmetic options are unlocked to give your Max the look you want. Aside from these, as you progress through the wasteland Max will "level-up" gaining tokens that can be spent at the mysterious Griffa to boost your stats further. These can range from gathering extra water, obtaining more ammo from looting, gaining more scrap (which is used to upgrade), or even gaining more health from eating food.
The customization options are legion and help create an experience tailored to how you want the game to play. There are races, convoys to chase down (who drop hood ornaments that further augment your car's stats), and of course enemy camps to take down. These camps were my favorite portion of the game. Each camp comes with a set of defenses that you need to tear down with your car before proceeding on foot into the base proper and dealing with the denizens or objectives within. If you are like me and prefer the brute force method, you'll spend time firing harpoons into the siege towers and yanking them to the ground, destroying massive gates by either ramming them into submission or firing off some rounds from your "Thunderpoon" (basically an RPG). If you are the stealthy type (which I myself am not) there are usually hidden ways to enter a base where you can begin your devastation from inside the base. Wasteland dwellers can often be found on the outskirts of these camps and can provide helpful intel - hidden entrances, boss weaknesses, and other bits of info come in handy when making choices on how to tackle an especially tough situation.
There are only a few complaints I have. One, while the story is entertaining and there certainly are moments that make you feel like Mad Max to the fullest, it felt more like an afterthought in the end. Just another objective in the way of me charging into my next camp and wreaking havoc with flame and fist. Another, which has caused me to throw my controller a few times admittedly, is the seemingly perfect ability of enemy vehicles to strike you in just the right spot and spin you around in a clumsy loop. I can't count how many races or convoy attacks were thwarted through an enemy car tapping me on the side and sending me into a cataclysmic spin - then again, if my car weren't so light and had more armor I bet I could have shoved back even harder.
I highly recommend this title, you can drop in for an hour and play without feeling like nothing was accomplished or binge for days on end. I myself have over 24 hours invested into the title, a rare feat these days when free-time is becoming more and more of a rare commodity. I'm going to keep this one short as I need to dive back into MGS:V and see if I can force myself to finish it for a fair review. Otherwise, I will be reporting back with a review of SOMA - Frictional Games' newest title (the creators of Amnesia: the Dark Descent). Until then, pick up Mad Max and send your enemies to Valhalla - SHINY AND CHROME!!
