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Mad Max: Review Thread.

Fuck it, nabbed it for £20 on PC. Seems like the people who have played it for more than 10+ hours have positive things to say about it, trust the general populus over reviewers, worth a shot at launch for half price! Plus it seems it's not a shit port like Arkham Knight!
 

Rizzi

Member
I'm really enjoying it.
Shadow of Mordor was super fucking boring to me though, so maybe I'm out of touch with the kids these days.
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Played about 6ish hours today and I love this game. So awesome pulling people out of cars with the harpoon. Saving up 900 scrap on so I can rip tires off next.

Runs flawlessly on my PC maxed out.

I never liked the batman games and couldn't stand Mordor so I thought for sure I was going to hate the combat, glad I was wrong
 
Ok without cutting the bullshit;

- if you have played Ubi titles like Assassins Creed and Farcry, you'll be familiar with the games structure immediately (large open map, goto 'viewpoints' to scout your surroundings so that Missions / Loot / Sidequests / Points of Interest appear on map)

- loot missions are basically 'go here and fight a few enemies or look around the surroundings for Scrap'. Scrap is basically kind of like currency, you don't spend use it to shop but use it to upgrade the Magnum Opus which is your vehicle.

- main missions mostly revolve around entering bandit camps to perform certain objectives (things like destroying oil pumps, enemy fuel storage, killing an enemy leader)

- points of interest range from small enemy hideouts to take down / blow up, talking to an NPC that gives you information on how best to take down a bandit camp, entering races or pulling down towers

- completing missions and side quests brings down enemy strength in that region of the map

- this will feel pretty similar to any number of other titles as Mad Max follows a pretty tried and tested formula in terms of progression and gameplay, if you are looking for innovation, you will be disappointed

- the hook for Mad Max is in the game world and reliance on vehicles. It looks every bit as you would expect from a game set in the Mad Max world and really nails that barren wasteland inhabited by psychos and war mongers that you would expect.

- vehicle combat is excellent. Ramming opponents will always yield good results but the ability to go into a slow motion state and take out specific parts of your opponents vehicles makes for some gnarly action, whether its shooting explosive cannisters on the back of your vehicle with a shotgun or launching a harpoon through the drivers window and wrenching them out of the vehicle, the vehicular combat is always enjoyable.

- hand to hand combat is the tried and tested system originally found in Batman, you have basic strikes, heavy strikes and counters. By performing a lengthy chain of combos attacking and countering you enter fury mode where your attacks do more damage and open up the option to perform brutal finishers. The combat will be instantly familiar but at the same time it is very brutal and visceral as you would expect from the Mad Max world.

Long story short; the game isnt breaking new territory here and it has a very familiar structure and over all feel to it; but it is solid in every aspect. In the past, similar games to this have always scored very well with above average reception, so why there are so many negative reviews on this game is a little beyond me, particularly as other games of this nature have gone on to be GOTY nominees. Its a very solid and enjoyable title and if you read through this and the official Mad Max topic, you'll see plenty of people are really enjoying the game.

If you need a game that is doing something different or trying to break the mold, Mad Max probably wont do anything for you, if however you're fine with this sort of game (remember there are plenty of titles out there pretty much using this exact same formula with a different coat of paint) then yes, there is really nothing to criticise here.

I've basically been playing for nearly 10hrs straight and I'm no where near finding it a grind.

Also Cumbucket aka Chumbucket is worth a laugh, his religious devotion to all things mechanical makes for an interesting character.


Awesome thank you for detailed responce going to get it now, I'm huge fan of Mad Max movies as well, was thinking of getting MGSV but didn't really like the look of it the last MGS game I loved was MGS 3. Cheers.
 

newsguy

Member
Off topic but disappointed?

I thought MGSV was supposed to be the next best thing after sliced bread

I didn't pre order it because after seeing so many mechanics in the game plus the open world plus really disliking the other part V, I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. Just watching reviews makes it look like a chore to me. I beat and enjoyed a couple of past MGS games, but im not invested in the universe so it's not a big loss. Just my opinion.
 
I just joined GCU at Bestbuyand got both the movie and the game and saved $20 on top of that. You guys are the best. I ended up getting this game for 40 bucks and that's really what I hoped to get this for.
 

lebowski4ever

Neo Member
about 2 hours in. this game can look fantastic at times. meaty combat, and great driving..harpoon is ace. really enjoying it so far. glad i got this ahead of mgs..
 
Fuck it, nabbed it for £20 on PC. Seems like the people who have played it for more than 10+ hours have positive things to say about it, trust the general populus over reviewers, worth a shot at launch for half price! Plus it seems it's not a shit port like Arkham Knight!

This is my view as well. I don't trust reviewers. I much rather hear from regular gamers and all the steam reviews I've been reading from people that have actually played the game are really positive on top of the fact the game apparently runs like a dream. I'll support it just for that.
 

faridmon

Member
I didn't pre order it because after seeing so many mechanics in the game plus the open world plus really disliking the other part V, I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. Just watching reviews makes it look like a chore to me. I beat and enjoyed a couple of past MGS games, but im not invested in the universe so it's not a big loss. Just my opinion.

Hear, hear!

I used to like the series as well, MGS4 soured me on the whole thing and I am numb towards any excitement towards the fifth one.

This game howevere, looks amazing
 

Slixshot

Banned
User reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (1,446 reviews) (96% positive)

top-5-insane-mad-max-cosplays-by-mp-creators-444262.gif


WITNESSED!!!
 
This is my view as well. I don't trust reviewers. I much rather hear from regular gamers and all the steam reviews I've been reading from people that have actually played the game are really positive on top of the fact the game apparently runs like a dream. I'll support it just for that.

So why are you in a review thread
 
So you have marked scrap locations on the map but is there any point to exploring elsewhere to find hidden things? Are there hidden things not shown on a map?
 

TVexperto

Member
Can somebody comment on the world and design? I rented Shadow of Mordor and was so disappointed with the level design, the open world was so empty and shallow there was like nothing inbetween that was worth seeing. However Mad Max looks like it has a much better open world design. I think I am going to buy it.
 

prudislav

Member
This game > Shadow of Mordor and all that other comparable stuff all day long.
yep , but i guess the review scores depends on hen the game releases and its direct competitors. MM got overshadowed by TPP. Look at DA:I which released at the time of where no AAA western RPG was on the market and snatched insane reviews even with its nuerous issues and now when TW3 is released in some ways DA:I fades away in compariosn
 

nynt9

Member
yep , but i guess the review scores depends on hen the game releases and its direct competitors. MM got overshadowed by TPP. Look at DA:I which released at the time of where no AAA western RPG was on the market and snatched insane reviews even with its nuerous issues and now when TW3 is released in some ways DA:I fades away in compariosn

I don't agree. The nemesis system was the first unique mechanic in games for so long. It was a cool system that rewarded players in procedural and unique ways and made the world feel alive. While Mordor did come out in a time of drought, many recognized that it had flaws yet the nemesis system made all of that irrelevant as it led to so many unique and fun experiences.
 

Slixshot

Banned
I don't agree. The nemesis system was the first unique mechanic in games for so long. It was a cool system that rewarded players in procedural and unique ways and made the world feel alive. While Mordor did come out in a time of drought, many recognized that it had flaws yet the nemesis system made all of that irrelevant as it led to so many unique and fun experiences.

Mad Max with a nemesis system would be SICKKKKK
 

Fbh

Member
I don't agree. The nemesis system was the first unique mechanic in games for so long. It was a cool system that rewarded players in procedural and unique ways and made the world feel alive. While Mordor did come out in a time of drought, many recognized that it had flaws yet the nemesis system made all of that irrelevant as it led to so many unique and fun experiences.

I'd rather have an amazing game that does nothing specially new like The Witcher 3 than a game that has one cool and unique mechanic but is otherwise average at best.

Also, and this obviously just IMO, the nemesis system has held back by how easy the game was. It's kinda hard go have a "nemesis" when killing everyone in your first encounter is so damn easy. It doesn't help that the main character keeps getting stronger and stronger but the game does little to increase the challenge
 
Seems Mad Max is selling pretty well (according to steam stats etc so far)

Good for Avalanche, I was sure MGSV was going to bury this game. It won't be for me, Big Boss has my big bucks this month but I'll be looking in on this before the year is out.
 

Ledhead

Member
Decided to try this out last night instead of waiting for the weekend. Shelved Metal Gear for now. Played 4 hours maybe. The game is pretty addicting, and so far, doesn't feel grindy or boring. While the side objectives are all quite similar, they at least provide you with rewards (scrap, lowering threat level, scavenging ammo) that are enticing enough to keep me interested in completing them.

The game isn't too story heavy, but then again, the films weren't either, and I'm fine with that. The setting is quite beautiful, and they did a good job of including some varied factions and enemy types.

Vehicle combat is fun. I'm itching to upgrade my Magnum Opus with better ways to take down the tougher enemy vehicles.
 
This game just looks exhausting, what I mean is that I've played so many open world games since shadows of mordor that what I've seen from this game just looks like more of the same wb/ubisoft open world formula. It seems people here like it, maybe I'll give it a try early next year or if I can get it cheap on an Xbox live sale.
 

nynt9

Member
I'd rather have an amazing game that does nothing specially new like The Witcher 3 than a game that has one cool and unique mechanic but is otherwise average at best.

Also, and this obviously just IMO, the nemesis system has held back by how easy the game was. It's kinda hard go have a "nemesis" when killing everyone in your first encounter is so damn easy. It doesn't help that the main character keeps getting stronger and stronger but the game does little to increase the challenge

While I agree with your first point, Mad Max is no witcher 3 either so the comparison is kinda irrelevant here.

As for the second point, I also agree, but watching some footage of the game on youtube and whatnot made me realize how bad the average person is at gaming and how effective the system was for them. I would have appreciated a difficulty setting for more experienced gamers, but oh well. I still had some fun with it.
 

heringer

Member
It's so weird that punches are more lethal than being run over by a car. Being hit multiple times by aa car without dying makes no sense and takes away some of the immersion.
 

bosseye

Member
This is fantastic! My gut instinct was correct, I've played for perhaps 4 hours and loved every single second of it. Some vague thoughts:

I think its a stunning looking game. Devs have nailed the arid, massive, hospitable wasteland. Textures are often rather beautiful, lighting is stunning. Day/night cycle is great. Headlights of the cars cast realtime shadows, as does Max's torch which makes for some glorious scenes as the sun goes down, explosions are some of the best I've seen and the world building and atmosphere is superb; all rusting ships, long dead and lonely lighthouses, long dried seaweed and corral, twisting rock formations, the vast expanses of sand and stones with shimmering heat haze, wind, dust. You can feel the heat. The whole world is gloriously tactile, especially as you bump your car around, tires spinning sending great plumes of dust and sand and rock into the air. Theres a real connection to the environment.

The story has done a great job of hooking me in, Chum is a really interesting character and the car has started to grow its own personality too, which is bizarre really. Getting to choose the bodystyle was a big plus for me, I spent literally 5 minutes agonizing over Die Rolla or Death Rattle. Went with the Rolla in the end and I'm already pretty attached to it, love its massive rustiness, love the messy roar of the V6 (working on the V8 at the moment), love the sense of weight it has, crashing over bumps, smashing into other vehicles etc.

Hand combat is really good. If you've played Batman, its the same thing, but I'm finding it more brutal and a bit more weighty. Some of the moves are pretty bone crunching. Car combat is nicely weighty too and extremely satisfying. Using the harpoon in the Opus is great, ripping drivers from their cars, its all wonderfully physical - pull down a tower with it and the car dances and bucks convincingly until the tower comes crashing down.

Performance on PS4 seems pretty stable so far. A few drops from 30fps (I assume) but nothing worth shouting about. And the pop in; I watched the recent pre-release videos and the pop in was quite atrocious, but either its been fixed with the day one patch or it just looked worse in videos, but honestly, I haven't noticed it once.

Absolutely love it thus far. Can't wait to play more.
 

Fury451

Banned
I played 2.5 hours earlier and loved every second. It looks so damn good as well.

Seconded.

Though warning: it is a bit slow to get going. It's not bad, in fact it's paced in a logical way, but the real fun comes at about 3.5 hours in of story; then it launches into full blown crazy.

It hits that Just Cause 2 button for me, though I can see why some may view it as repetitive. And the world is absolutely huge.

Best compliment of all: Chum (at least so far) is actually usefule, and not annoying, which he very easily could've been.
 
The more I see this game, the more I realize it is a game to just relax and enjoy. Too bad it didn't come out when there were hardly any games to play (July) because I would be easily Day One then. Right now, the release schedule is too crowded.
 

LegendX48

Member
I'm really enjoying it.
Shadow of Mordor was super fucking boring to me though, so maybe I'm out of touch with the kids these days.
You ain't out of touch, Mordor sucks. What with its ass creed controls and combat. This game has been pretty fun so far.
 

jacobeid

Banned
You ain't out of touch, Mordor sucks. What with its ass creed controls and combat. This game has been pretty fun so far.

Honestly, hearing all of the people talking about how this game isn't like Mordor makes me more interested.

Mordor was a steaming pile of poo. I still don't get the praise about that, and no, the Nemesis system is far from a 'revolutionary next-gen' feature that people touted it as in the GOTY thread last year.

I've got Metal Gear to play and I still need to get to Bloodborne...and then Fallout....

Mad Max might end up being a lull game for me next year. All of the player reviews look to be pretty positive. If that sticks and I can beat the main story in a dozen or so hours...I'm probably in for a copy.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
I was interested, but yeah, the 1st trailer was pretty good but the gameplay videos felt uninteresting.

Also, with so many good games for this semester, and with MGSV release, it was meant to bomb. Theres no chance I will buy it now, and in the future I may not even be interested anymore since there will cumulate a bunch of nice titles.
 
Because a lot of gamers counter with their own experiences quite often in review threads. OT's for a game are sometimes littered with other posts about stuff I'd rather not read about. Review threads usually have more gamer impressions.

I honestly think it's fine if people would rather look to regular end users for impressions. I think it's fine if they prefer to trust only their own opinion (though somewhat impractical for reasons I've already stated and will elaborate on again later). I think it's fine if people say in this age of streaming, they'd rather watch people playing the game live and go from there. All of these are different tools that are available to us to arrive at a conclusion about just how good a game is.

But one thing I'd like to see less of -- and I'm honestly not trying to single anyone out here as having done it -- is a tone of defiance against critics. Metacritic isn't meant to be the end-all-be-all metric of a game's worth. So, it's fine if you don't agree with critics about a game. An individual liking a game that received bad reviews doesn't make the individual right and the reviewers wrong, nor is the opposite true. It just means that the individual didn't agree the critics.

Further, I think a lot of times people just ignore that there is diversity even in the critical reviews. Currently, Max is at 73 on Metacritic with reviews ranging from 9/10 to 5/10? When someone throws all critics under the bus, does that include even the ones that agree with them, or just the ones that gave scores we don't like? That's always my issue with that sort of sentiment in reviews threads. I don't think that anyone would ever suggest that we have to defer to our critic overlords as the objective assessors of a video game's worth. But I also don't think some of the cynicism is always merited just because we don't see eye to eye.

And why do I say that "I only trust my opinion" is somewhat impractical? This is just because -- as I noted earlier -- few of us have both the time and the money to play whatever we want whenever we want. Some of us have a lot of time but limited cash. Others plenty of disposable income but little free time. But either way, we are constantly having to make decisions about what's the current priority to play, what's being bought but going in the backlog, what's being relegated to "might purchase down the line when it's really cheap," and I would also assume that many people write some games off as a pass. Particularly when time is a concern, we look to others for insight in terms of assessing where we should put Game X in terms of priority. Ultimately, if I can get around to it I would agree that my opinion is more important to me than anyone else's. But since I can't play everything simultaneously, the opinions of others are still an important tool I think.
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
Where are you guys getting all those sweet PC deals?
On sites that used to (no idea if they still are) banned because they are not partners with publishers where in some cases the publisher doesn't see anything for any given sale. Just search around deal sites or popular youtube streamers.

Or at GMG. Which if I'm not wrong, has never been banned?

GMG has a 40% discount code for Mad MAx going on at the moment.
Oh I'm definitely not talking about GMG. I was immediately jumping to the deep discount stuff where you pay 15 EUR.
 

Impulsor

Member
On sites that used to (no idea if they still are) banned because they are not partners with publishers where in some cases the publisher doesn't see anything for any given sale. Just search around deal sites or popular youtube streamers.

Or at GMG. Which if I'm not wrong, has never been banned?

GMG has a 40% discount code for Mad MAx going on at the moment.

Oh I'm definitely not talking about GMG. I was immediately jumping to the deep discount stuff where you pay 15 EUR.

Oh yeah, the deepn discount sutff is shady, for sure.

In any case, PC games are 10 €/$ cheaper than their console counterparts to boot, and adding that sweet 40% discount on top of that makes for an INCREDIBLE deal.
 
Or at GMG. Which if I'm not wrong, has never been banned?

GMG has a 40% discount code for Mad MAx going on at the moment.

Aside single instances like Witcher 3 where there was some confusion as to where GMG purchased keys from, they are known as a legitimate site. I have no reason to suspect that their would be any funny business with the Max keys, as WB is highlighted at the bottom of the page as a publisher partner.

Other key sites are something that I really don't take a hard-line stance on. People are looking for deals, and most of those keys work, but I'm very skeptical of where they were acquired from in general. My stance is generally more neutral. They're not illegal. You're paying money. But I don't like that you don't know where the key came from and there's no guarantee that it will work in general (one of the sites that we actually have banned offers an optional, additional fee to guarantee a working key just for that reason).

So, the short of it is that they're not something I encourage, but also not something where I'm looking to ban people for using or anything. I personally got the game from GreenMan when they had a 50% off voucher for that game.
 
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