The Mad Max game has completely shattered all of my expectations. I had fun with my brief romp at E3, but I was still nervous about giving the game my full attention because, well, you know…driving. Was this going to be a Sleeping Dogs situation, or worse, a Saints Row the Third situation where I rage quit because I can’t drive ‘dem hos back to the pimps fast enough?
So far, the answer has been no. It helps to have skills behind the wheel, but it’s only required for optional sidequests. And even then, I’ve had a blast (pun intended) finding ways of overcoming my deficiencies in the driver’s seat. I’ve even had fun practicing my driving through the Wasteland.
As such, Mad Max is my new addiction in gaming, and it’s not only because I’m reviewing it for work. It’s because of work that I’m forcing myself to do story missions when I really don’t want to. Don’t you see all those blips on the map? They’re begging for me to clear them. All that scrap for me to harvest…all of those red territory markers and camps for me to tear down…Max has so much havoc to wreak and stupid deadlines won’t let me blow up everything I want to. I haven’t had an open world game like this capture me since inFamous: Second Son and Dragon Age Inquisition. Skyrim tried to capture my attention like this, and I don’t know why it failed to do so, but it did. Shadow of Mordor also nearly scratched that itch as well, and while it’s a great game, I didn’t have as much fun in it as I am in Mad Max.
And that’s what it comes down to in the end, even though Mad Max barely has a story holding it together. I guess I’m okay with that, because the story is essentially about surviving in this Wasteland, and if that means using Max’s badass abilities to take down the warlord’s hold across the land, then the crazy mofos are going down. It doesn’t matter how sloppily I do it; they’re all dying horrific deaths one by one.
Have I mentioned how fun this game is? Because it is. If I didn’t have adult responsibilities, that’s what I would be doing all the time–Mad Maxing it up. And I’d be doing it with a massive mug of ice water nearby. This game makes me so thirsty!
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