"Mad Max" is a good companion piece to "Fury Road".
For me, it was a surprise to learn that "Mad Max" is set in the same universe as "Fury Road". Another surprise is that it's better than most critics would have you think. "Just Cause" developer Avalanche Studios have made a fairly entertaining open-world action game featuring plenty to do, but not much to see. True to the movies, the game is set in the desert and while it's pretty to look at, it's not exactly a riveting place to be. "Mad Max" also features the acclaimed combat system which debuted in "Batman: Arkham Asylum" and was refined in "Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor". Iit's been tweaked to feel more like a brawler's style with a more sluggish feel. Punches, kicks and weapon swings seem to have a real weight to them. The other big feature of this game is the car customization which is similar to the pirate ship customization from "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag".
The story in "Mad Max" isn't the best, but it's decent. Quality cutscenes depict Max's quarrel with another overlord of the desert; this time the son of Immortan Joe from "Fury Road". In this tale, Max has a sidekick; a hunchback mechanic named Chumbucket who accompanies him on missions. Being an open-world game, "Mad Max" features plenty of side-missions, weapon upgrades, a progression system and loot. Due to its post apocalyptic setting, it recalls "The Last of Us" especially since you spend plenty of time filling your water canteen, finding scrap and collecting lost photos of the past. Max can be upgraded in many ways including powering up his one firearm, a sawed off shotgun. As you drive through the desert, you can take out gang outposts in various ways much like a "Metal Gear Solid" game. Releasing scattered air-balloons adds activities to the map. This redundant task stays rather fresh each time since it usually includes some light-puzzle solving.
In the end, "Mad Max" isn't a revolutionary game by any means. It doesn't evolve the genre in any big way and it can get repetitive after awhile (like many open world games). But it has a lot more activities and customization options than I expected. The combat also provides some good fun. While it's not as good as "Far Cry 4" or any game I've mentioned before, it's a solid video game debut for the titular character. I'd rank it with a 7.2 out of 10.
