14 DAY TRIAL // Our Incoming 2015 series focuses on the most important game launches of the next 12 months, and next up we talk about one of the most anticipated open-world games of the year – Mad Max – made by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Bros.
What we know
Mad Max promises to deliver an open-world experience focused not just on regular action-adventure combat and exploration but also on intense vehicular combat. While it's based on the famous movies, Avalanche's project won't have anything to do, at least for now, with the upcoming reboot that stars Tom Hard as the famous Road Warrior.
The game was showcased by Avalanche and Warner Bros. some time ago, but besides a few videos, not much else has been heard about the title. From what I saw back at Gamescom 2013, the game looked like it was borrowing cues from franchises like the Batman Arkham one, as Max was able to brawl with others, not to mention Far Cry 3 or 4, as he also had to infiltrate bandit hideouts in order to find parts for his Magnum Opus car.
Roaming around the game's world also had Max encounter bandit convoys that transported fuel, a very precious commodity in its post-apocalyptic world. You can stop these convoys by engaging with their patrols and then taking out the actual tankers filled with gasoline. Vehicle combat was pretty good, largely because Max was able to slow time and fire precise shots with his weapons in order to incapacitate other cars.
Why it matters
Avalanche Studios impressed many with the Just Cause 2 project and proved that it can deliver top-notch open-world experiences. While Mad Max hasn't received that much attention recently, it's still looking very good and fans of the studio, as well as of the franchise, should certainly look forward to it.
The ambitious vehicle combat seem to make up for the Batman Arkham-like brawling, so it could be that Mad Max is going to pull off a Shadow of Mordor-like splash by featuring a major innovation that makes up for copied mechanics.
Look forward to the game's release sometime in 2015 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
