This always happens. There's a long awaited, long hyped game released that I don't really care about - so instead I check out the quiet, more interesting release. This time it's Metal Gear Solid V that I have no interest in reviewing, so instead I'm going for the lesser hyped and seemingly more interesting game: Mad Max.
I checked this out because the only experience I have with Metal Gear is a few hours playing Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 at a friends house. We fumbled around with it for a while, got bored with all the cutscenes, and went back to Crash Bash. I really wish I'd stolen his copy and sold it years later...along with his copy of Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night. For some reason I thought Mort The Chicken would be worth something in the future.
Mad Max is a sandbox game based on the recent film Max Max: Fury Road - which conveniently came to home video just as the game came out, and Steam is advertising the whole Mad Max franchise available...which confuses me because I didn't know Steam did movies as well as games. Truly Valve are taking over the world.
We live in strange times. Two of the best games made last year: Alien: Isolation and Shadow of Mordor were movie tie-ins. I remember where a game being linked to a movie was the kiss of death. Occasionally you would get a Spiderman 2, but 99 times out of 100 it would be a rushed effort developed by a budget studio over the peorid of a few months. I had the privallege of being taught at University by one of the writers for The Da Vinci Code: The Game. According to him, it was supposed to be a puzzle game but the studio was supplied with an engine from a 'beat-em-up' game. Also, Dan Brown personally got involved with the project - which sounds great until you realise that 1) Dan Brown has never worked in games and 2) Dan Brown can't even write fiction properly. Oh, and the studio was given just three months to develop the game. You can probably guess how well the whole thing turned out.
But those days are behind us. Movie studios aren't really bothering with Triple A tie-in games anymore, probably because games are so expensive to make and the public has wisened up to the fact that tie-in games carry the dark mark. So when a movie tie-in does show up, it's a geniune effort that doesn't actually follow the plot of the movie but instead serves as a completely different experience. It's not just a non-interactive story with platforming, boss-fights, and over-long, over-linear action sequences. It's merely a game set in the same universe as the movie, hence why here Max looks and sounds nothing like Tom Hardy. He doesn't even resemble Mel Gibson, and I'm not sure he's actually Australian. Actually, he looks almost exactly like a bearded Nathan Drake. Can someone mod this game so you're playing as The Sniper from Team Fortress 2? He's way more Austrailian...
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| Must you always play a little cutscene whenever I want to quickly grab something from the boot? |
So we have Mad Max in setting only. It's a post-apocalyptic future that became post-apocalyptic due to vaguely defined reasons. You play as Vexated Maximillian, a veteran of the desert who's arrived at uncharted plains only to have his prized car stolen by mutated bandits. Dumped on the roadside with an adorable injured dog and with most of his clothes missing, Maximus Decimus must rid The Plains of Silence of evildoers and, more importantly, build a new car: The Magnus Opus.
I'll get the best part out of the way first: the PC version of this game is the standard all PC games should follow. My rig can barely be considered a gaming computer. It can only run Wolfenstein: The New Order on its lowest settings, and even then the framerate only goes to about 30fps. Meanwhile, this 2015 game runs, appropriately, at Max settings with a smooth 60fps throughout. I also played this game with an XBOX One controller, and I will always applaud games which allow you to switch seamlessly between a keyboard and controller. Why can't all PC games be this smooth?
Of course, there's still the fact that it took EIGHT HOURS to download. If games are becoming this large in filesize then Steam needs to distribute them by dowloading an .exe file then unpacking it for us before automatically updating the game. Stream-downloading just isn't cutting it. The majority of modern games take around eight hours to finish their story mode. This is really going to hurt down the line when people uninstall the game to free up hardrive space only to never install and play it again because they can't be bothered to wait almost a whole day.
But this is mostly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. As long as it's not Arkham Knight or Saints Row 2 bad then a shoddy port doesn't necessarily mean the gameplay's shoddy, and vice-versa. The game is called Mad Max, but it may as well be: Sandbox Game #1396. The map screen is from Just Cause 2, the driving is from Borderlands, the combat is from Arkham City, the methodical exploring is from Far Cry 3, and the upgrades are from Assasins Creed IV.
I'll get the best part out of the way first: the PC version of this game is the standard all PC games should follow. My rig can barely be considered a gaming computer. It can only run Wolfenstein: The New Order on its lowest settings, and even then the framerate only goes to about 30fps. Meanwhile, this 2015 game runs, appropriately, at Max settings with a smooth 60fps throughout. I also played this game with an XBOX One controller, and I will always applaud games which allow you to switch seamlessly between a keyboard and controller. Why can't all PC games be this smooth?
Of course, there's still the fact that it took EIGHT HOURS to download. If games are becoming this large in filesize then Steam needs to distribute them by dowloading an .exe file then unpacking it for us before automatically updating the game. Stream-downloading just isn't cutting it. The majority of modern games take around eight hours to finish their story mode. This is really going to hurt down the line when people uninstall the game to free up hardrive space only to never install and play it again because they can't be bothered to wait almost a whole day.
But this is mostly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. As long as it's not Arkham Knight or Saints Row 2 bad then a shoddy port doesn't necessarily mean the gameplay's shoddy, and vice-versa. The game is called Mad Max, but it may as well be: Sandbox Game #1396. The map screen is from Just Cause 2, the driving is from Borderlands, the combat is from Arkham City, the methodical exploring is from Far Cry 3, and the upgrades are from Assasins Creed IV.
You have to wait a long time before you can actually take control of Max. The game opens with an exciting action sequence that would've been effective if this was a movie. Instead, I was forced to utter the tired phrase: "Wow, what a good scene. I wish I actually got to play it." I chose this over Metal Gear Solid V because I didn't want to sit around watching cutscenes play whilst my controller gathered dust in my hands. It's somewhat alarming how quick and often the game snatches control away when we've seen in Spec Ops: The Line that it's possible to fuse gameplay with storytelling in a third person perspective.
Once the game begins you quickly meet the hilariously named Chumbucket. He's a mutant too, but whilst he's still completely mad, he's a useful ally and by far the games strongest point. He accompanies you throughout most of the game, helping to fix your car, giving you quests, and offering funny side-quips. Chumbucket is sort of a cross between Gollum and Samwise. You doubt his motivation, and he talks in an odd way; but it's clear how intelligent he is, and he'll be right beside you when needed. Unfortunately this made me get my hopes up and assume the rest of the characters were this interesting and fun. As it stands, everyone else is mostly functional; designed to give you exposition, set you on your way, provide aid, or otherwise fill the background. This is especially annoying considering Mad Max: Fury Road is notable for it's female characters yet this game has hardly any.
As established, Max himself is a bit of a bore. The game tries to establish that the reason why he's performing the typical protagonist act of standing stoically occasionally speaking a solitary sentence now and then in a gravelly voice is because he's upset by the deep emotional trauma of losing his family. He's trying to find a place in a lawless, moral-less society, but this struggle is only reflected by his 'Rage Mode.' Activate it, and it makes your melee attacks more effective.
Um, I don't think this is what people with emotional trauma do. If the game wanted to focus on Max's character, then perhaps we could see his perspective of reality twist and contort as his mind struggles to comprehend such an unfeeling world (again, see Spec Ops: The Line). Alternately, he could be like BJ from Wolfenstein: The New Order where he takes so much damage over the course of the game that it's clear he's been made hollow and machine-like after a near-fatal injury. Or he could take cues from Jacket in Hotline Miami, who repeatedly throws himself into suicidal gunfights so often you realise he has nothing to live for but this. Or he could borrow from Jason Brody in Far Cry 3, an innocent tourist whose new enviroment forced him to repeatedly take drugs, brutally slaugter animals, and stab people in the neck for the sake of his own survival - all of which clearly leaves an impact on his conciousness.
The story is standard linear stuff as you hop from location to location obeying peoples orders and doing oddjobs here and there. Like many sandbox games, the actual story feels like an afterthought with the story having to force itself into the world rather than take control of the world. It has the same probelm Grand Theft Auto V, Just Cause 2, and Skrim does where nothing you do seems to change the world in any way. In many ways that's the beauty of the Grand Theft Auto and Just Cause games: being able to cause havoc, running away, and returning to find everything has reset itself and patiently awaits being wrecked by you all over again. But this world feels far too barren to make just randomly blowing stuff up cathartic enough.
The methodical exploring lacks the tactics of Far Cry 3, mostly because your only stragedy here is to bash the front door down and start hitting things. Later you get a sniper rifle, but then the whole thing becomes ridiculously easy so long as you remember to loot corpses to collect ammo. It's dissapointing considering how much I felt like a desert explorer as I slam on the brakes once I come near an enemy compound, climb up a hill, and scout the area out with my binoculars from a distance. But whilst in Far Cry 3 I used my camera to tag enemies, counter-snipe the lookouts, release a captive tiger to provide a distraction whilst I creep in to stealth takedown the survivors - here I just ended up hitting things.
A key part of the game is driving, which is a shame because the driving is lacklustre. Even with a controller and turning the sensitivity up, I just couldn't get a hang of the steering. The game tries to accomdate this by giving you some time to drive around and get used to the mechanics before it forces you to be precise and get into fights, but either the steering system needs to be reworked or this section needs to be longer.
The first enemies you encounter in cars are covered in harsh metal spikes which when rammed into you cause a lot of damage. Even when you ram these cars back, you lose health. Later you can upgrade The Magnum Opus to include options like flamethrowers and better armor, but these come about three story missions after you need them. To upgrade your car, you need to collect scrap metal from bandit hideouts or random dumps in the plains. This sounds simple enough, but often it costs almost a thousand bits of scrap to upgrade your car, and each time you find some scrap you get about five pieces. This is absolutely ridiculous, and it turns upgrading into an endless chore. Compare this to Skyrim where if you want to get the best equipment or level up your character then you loot dungeons and hit people with swords. Yes, after a while raiding dungeons becomes boring...but it's much less boring than this!
Overall, Mad Max is by no means a bad game. It's a enough competent effort that at times manages to be atmospheric and immersive. Just like Half Life 2, the parts I remember the fondest are the parts where you're not in combat. You're driving around the wilderness, Chumbucket makes a quip, you stop to look around with your binoculars, and you feel part of this large world. Then the gameplay and story comes back. It doesn't ruin the experience, but it brings the whole thing back down to just another generic open world game in an industry that's slowly becoming full of them.
May you ride eternal, shiny and chrome in a better game.
Once the game begins you quickly meet the hilariously named Chumbucket. He's a mutant too, but whilst he's still completely mad, he's a useful ally and by far the games strongest point. He accompanies you throughout most of the game, helping to fix your car, giving you quests, and offering funny side-quips. Chumbucket is sort of a cross between Gollum and Samwise. You doubt his motivation, and he talks in an odd way; but it's clear how intelligent he is, and he'll be right beside you when needed. Unfortunately this made me get my hopes up and assume the rest of the characters were this interesting and fun. As it stands, everyone else is mostly functional; designed to give you exposition, set you on your way, provide aid, or otherwise fill the background. This is especially annoying considering Mad Max: Fury Road is notable for it's female characters yet this game has hardly any.
As established, Max himself is a bit of a bore. The game tries to establish that the reason why he's performing the typical protagonist act of standing stoically occasionally speaking a solitary sentence now and then in a gravelly voice is because he's upset by the deep emotional trauma of losing his family. He's trying to find a place in a lawless, moral-less society, but this struggle is only reflected by his 'Rage Mode.' Activate it, and it makes your melee attacks more effective.
Um, I don't think this is what people with emotional trauma do. If the game wanted to focus on Max's character, then perhaps we could see his perspective of reality twist and contort as his mind struggles to comprehend such an unfeeling world (again, see Spec Ops: The Line). Alternately, he could be like BJ from Wolfenstein: The New Order where he takes so much damage over the course of the game that it's clear he's been made hollow and machine-like after a near-fatal injury. Or he could take cues from Jacket in Hotline Miami, who repeatedly throws himself into suicidal gunfights so often you realise he has nothing to live for but this. Or he could borrow from Jason Brody in Far Cry 3, an innocent tourist whose new enviroment forced him to repeatedly take drugs, brutally slaugter animals, and stab people in the neck for the sake of his own survival - all of which clearly leaves an impact on his conciousness.
The story is standard linear stuff as you hop from location to location obeying peoples orders and doing oddjobs here and there. Like many sandbox games, the actual story feels like an afterthought with the story having to force itself into the world rather than take control of the world. It has the same probelm Grand Theft Auto V, Just Cause 2, and Skrim does where nothing you do seems to change the world in any way. In many ways that's the beauty of the Grand Theft Auto and Just Cause games: being able to cause havoc, running away, and returning to find everything has reset itself and patiently awaits being wrecked by you all over again. But this world feels far too barren to make just randomly blowing stuff up cathartic enough.
The methodical exploring lacks the tactics of Far Cry 3, mostly because your only stragedy here is to bash the front door down and start hitting things. Later you get a sniper rifle, but then the whole thing becomes ridiculously easy so long as you remember to loot corpses to collect ammo. It's dissapointing considering how much I felt like a desert explorer as I slam on the brakes once I come near an enemy compound, climb up a hill, and scout the area out with my binoculars from a distance. But whilst in Far Cry 3 I used my camera to tag enemies, counter-snipe the lookouts, release a captive tiger to provide a distraction whilst I creep in to stealth takedown the survivors - here I just ended up hitting things.
A key part of the game is driving, which is a shame because the driving is lacklustre. Even with a controller and turning the sensitivity up, I just couldn't get a hang of the steering. The game tries to accomdate this by giving you some time to drive around and get used to the mechanics before it forces you to be precise and get into fights, but either the steering system needs to be reworked or this section needs to be longer.
The first enemies you encounter in cars are covered in harsh metal spikes which when rammed into you cause a lot of damage. Even when you ram these cars back, you lose health. Later you can upgrade The Magnum Opus to include options like flamethrowers and better armor, but these come about three story missions after you need them. To upgrade your car, you need to collect scrap metal from bandit hideouts or random dumps in the plains. This sounds simple enough, but often it costs almost a thousand bits of scrap to upgrade your car, and each time you find some scrap you get about five pieces. This is absolutely ridiculous, and it turns upgrading into an endless chore. Compare this to Skyrim where if you want to get the best equipment or level up your character then you loot dungeons and hit people with swords. Yes, after a while raiding dungeons becomes boring...but it's much less boring than this!
Overall, Mad Max is by no means a bad game. It's a enough competent effort that at times manages to be atmospheric and immersive. Just like Half Life 2, the parts I remember the fondest are the parts where you're not in combat. You're driving around the wilderness, Chumbucket makes a quip, you stop to look around with your binoculars, and you feel part of this large world. Then the gameplay and story comes back. It doesn't ruin the experience, but it brings the whole thing back down to just another generic open world game in an industry that's slowly becoming full of them.
May you ride eternal, shiny and chrome in a better game.
