7/10
Dec 10, 2017·✓ Recommended
Beat·Xbox One
While clearly embedded in a fairly standard paradigm of open-world action, Mad Max manages to carve a unique niche for itself due to its focus on vehicular combat, and uses the deeply evocative world of its oil-obsessed desert post-apocalypse to draw the player in.
The plot itself is nice and simple, as any Mad Max product ought to be, as Max finds himself at the mercy of the warlord Scabrous Scrotus. His car is destroyed but luckily for him a mad blackfinger has built a new one, the Magnum Opus, and he needs Max to pilot it. The game ties itself into the Fury Road continuity through referencing that film's villain, but otherwise the player needs no extra knowledge, and that lets the plot delve deep in the weird mysticism of the setting as well as embracing the franchise's penchant for ultra-violence.
Central to the game, and a big reason why it works, is the Magnum Opus itself. The entire thing revolves around the constant cycle of upgrading it with plunder and salvage picked up as Max marauds across the wasteland. While the physical combat isn't a ton to write home about, the game roars to life when you engage in vehicular combat, allowing you outfit some brutal weapons to the Opus.
Check out my full review! The Almighty Backlog, review #3:
https://thealmightybacklog.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/off-the-backlog-mad-max/
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