Mad Max review: been there, done that!
Have you played Assassins Creed, Arkham Knight or Watch Dogs? Then you already know what Mad Max has to offer, barring a few exceptions.
Just like George Miller refused to follow the cinematic rules in Mad Max: Fury Road, Avalanche Studios defied taking risks for this third-person open world RPG that you must have seen a dozen of times before. Having played games like Assassin’s Creed and Arkham Knight, it was a déjà vu to play Mad Max. Finding collectibles, taking over posts, getting upgrades and punching people on the face. We have done it over and over again. But despite the lack of risk or originality, Mad Max is a fun action romp that makes good use of the terrific movie license. Mad Max grabs its look, language, dust and gasoline atmosphere from the movie, but neither the stars and nor the plot.
Gameplay
As expected, you’d assume the role of Max Rockatansky, he is different from Mel Gibson and Tam Hardy of the cinema world, but one who is in line with the character. After a violent showdown that ends with Max getting stripped off his possessions and left for dead with his car by roadside, he meets a deformed hunchback, Chumbucket. He helps Max to rebuild a new car in order to take revenge and seek salvation. Thus starts a journey filled with vehicular carnage. Mad Max’s world is decaying, deranged and bloody, however it can’t help but look damn beautiful. Mad Max offers the player an exorbitant amount of customisation and upgrade options. By collecting scraps, game’s currency, you can purchase powerful upgrades for Max and his car. He can also gain powerful new armour and larger ammo belts and learn new combat moves. With his car, which is like the second main character in the game, you can upgrade its tyres, armour and engine, etc. These upgrades constantly changes with the way the game progresses. It gives a rewarding sense of progression, which is a must, considering how many objectives you’ll complete by the end of the game.
A mysterious figure, named Griffa, also roams the wasteland waiting to give Max some philosophical lessons on what his next steps should be in life. By completing specific challenges, like killing 10 enemies, you will get precious Griffa tokens that can be used in exchange for additional upgrades, like gaining more health or using less fuel while driving.
The sound gameplay mechanics work well, but it don't help themselves from being repetitive not too far into the game. It's the same open world game that developers have been making in the past few years. Avalanche has filled Max’s world with objectives and missions. But the studio forgot that it’s the quality that counts rather than the amount of senseless content you may throw at a player.
Verdict
Mad Max has its ragged edges but its fast and thrilling gameplay captures the spirit of George Miller’s film. The game is well crafted, but the problem is, it should’ve been released a few years ago when the designers hadn’t mastered the art of open world action gaming.
From the October 2015 issue of FHM India.
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