Can You Thrive in a Barren Desert with Scarce Resources?
Based on the film series with the same name, Mad Max is an upcoming action game, where you guide the protagonist Max through the desert, trying to collect scarce resources, fight off villains, and upgrade (aka weaponize) your vehicle. The game is slated for release on September 2015, expected to appear simultaneously on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, as well as in Linux and Microsoft Windows for PC. Below are 10 interesting facts about the same that will make worth the wait!
1. Your Magnum Opus Can Be Upgraded in Many Different Ways
Your “Magnum Opus” is your most prized possession, and one of your most important ones.
The term Magnum Opus is used to refer to an artist’s greatest piece of work. It is no wonder Mad Max’s vehicle in the game is also called by the name Magnum Opus. Throughout the game, your character must escape bloodthirsty enemies who will do anything to steal all your possessions and destroy what they can’t use. Since Mad Max focuses on high speed car chases and vehicular combat, you must upgrade your car as fast as possible to maintain your edge.
And the ways to upgrade are far from limited. You can collect abandoned scrap from all around the game’s open-world, as well as getting higher-quality pieces of equipment that enemies leave behind. Both way, you will be able to upgrade your car and make it your own, choosing from various different wheels, engines, rims, suspensions, weapons, and aesthetic finishes.
2. Multiple Melee Combat Weapons
There are multiple ways to use hand shotguns…
Since Mad Max takes place in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic desert environment, it is no wonder basic resources like food and water are scarce. Likewise, firearm ammunition is not easy to find, which is why you will need to improvise with your weapons when it comes time to fight.
Luckily for us, Mad Max will have plenty of creative melee options, including baseball bats, crowbars, improvised axes and, obviously, his own hands. All these different combat options blend perfectly with the game, which is supposed to convey a sense of lack of resources and thus calls upon players’ creativity to survive.
3. The Desert Open World is Huge
As post-apocalyptic as it can get.
Gamers have been spoiled by amazing releases in the open-world genre, including franchise games such as Grand Theft Auto and Far Cry. Although the bar is set very high in terms of open-world settings, Mad Max will definitely not disappoint. The post-apocalyptic universe will bring a fresh and exciting new addition to video-game open worlds. It will be nothing like the intricate cities of GTA, or the mesmerizing wildlife from Far Cry. Instead, Mad Max will bring the grittier, more rugged world of the desert wasteland.
Despite being barren and devoid of much life, the universe of Mad Max will still contain hundreds of places to explore and pick up items on. Open world fans should be extremely excited to be diving into yet another vast, visually-dazzling world.
4. Nature is Just as Ruthless as Mercenaries
Sandstorms don’t get any bigger than this!
As it is natural for a desert, Mad Max will also feature the occasional (and quite dangerous) sandstorms, another cool feature of its open world. The lack of water and food that plagues all characters in this game won’t be the only thing they need to worry about, especially if these storms hit at different moments.
Mad Max will have ingenious ways of incorporating natural occurrences and exploring the ways it can work with character gameplay. It will be an exciting experience for players because it blends the usual man vs man combat sequences (which will be highly focused on vehicular fights) with the less explored man vs nature struggles.
5. Upgrading Your Cars and Collecting Resources Will Also be an Adventure
Machines like these don’t make themselves!
There is a reason why I’ve been emphasizing the collection of scarce resources so much for the past points: you can’t survive without them. Unlike other common open world games where resources are secondary to the plot and relatively easy to find, in Mad Max they become one of the most important aspects of the game.
Upgrading your car, which you will be using for over 60% of the missions of the game, requires extensive resources, which require extensive work to get them. This, however, will be nothing short of fun, given the richness of the desert locations.
Throughout the game, you will have to work hard and spend some time in upgrading your car from desert junk to something worthy to be called Magnum Opus. After all, you can’t expect to win a high-speed desert battle without a fast, weaponized car, can you?
6. Chumbucket, the Loyal Sidekick, is a genius mechanic
He may not have the beauty, but he sure has the brains.
Accompanying the main character throughout his whole post-apocalyptic saga is Chumbucket, a gifted mechanic who has a natural ability to build and modify engines. Throughout the game, he accompanies Max on raids against the enemy, and helps collect important equipment for the creation of the Magnum Opus.
In the Mad Max franchise, these two characters met when Max was left for dead after a road war. Since then, the two characters became closely tied by their determination to build the ultimate war vehicle. Which leads us to…
7. Vehicular Combat is as Thrilling as Ever
Don’t blink or else you might miss something.
If this game had to be described in words, they would be “Vehicular combat”. The whole Mad Max franchise has revolved around intense road wars, and the upcoming game will be no different.
During these battles, a myriad of different weapons will be able to be used, such as harpoons, devastating flamethrowers, and guns (obviously). If you are strong enough, you will be able to destroy and dominate entire enemy convoys. If you skilled enough, you will be able to choose to either obliterate opponents or, more wisely, take them out without damaging their vehicles, so you can use the pieces to upgrade your own vehicle!
8. The Game is Not A Direct Movie Adaptation
Good news for skeptics…?
Despite being a well-known franchise, this upcoming Mad Max game will not be based upon the movie for the plot, instead acting as a standalone creation. This is good news for many skeptics who usually don’t like movie-inspired video games.
For fans of the whole Mad Max franchise, which is comprised of four movies, the video game may bring very interesting plotlines that can do a great job in furthering the popularity of the series.
9. Customization
Chose what you drive, and what you look like.
Besides touching up your four-wheeled war machine from time to time, you will also be able to customize your own Max character, choosing things such as his wardrobe to how big his beard looks.
When you are not busy blowing up cars on the desert of scorching your enemies during brutal sandstorms, you can always treat the whole customization aspect of Mad Max as a mini game, and touch up on your looks and your ride.
10. Lots of Potential for Future Installments
He might not be done just yet.
Mad Max is a series with 4 movies and, now, one video game installment. The former have all been quite successful critically, and everything points to this also being the case for the latter. Between racing through the desert, battling enemies, escaping sandstorms, customizing your looks, exploring a whole new open world and creating the ultimate war vehicle, gamers all over will probably not be disappointed.
What are your expectations for the game so far? What aspect of Mad Max are you most looking forward to? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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