Mad Max

Mad Max placed players on Xbox One in a parched post-apocalyptic desert inspired by the film series, where the titular hero tries to reclaim his car and survive among gangs of motorized raiders who control individual areas under the rule of local tyrants. The core of the game is upgrading the combat vehicle Magnum Opus, in which the player drives through the open world, attacks enemy convoys with a harpoon and a battering ram, and destroys fortified camps, while on-foot combat builds on a melee system reminiscent of the Batman: Arkham series, with an emphasis on counters and chaining hits against multiple opponents at once.

Avalanche Studios created a sprawling desert full of sandstorms, abandoned wrecks and improvised structures made of sheet metal and scrap, which faithfully evokes the atmosphere of harsh survival in a lawless world lacking water and fuel. Upgrading the car with armor, weaponry or a more powerful engine forms the long-term motivation to explore individual areas and complete side missions, and a dense sound design together with the roar of engines and the crunch of metal rounds out the raw atmosphere of a desert road movie, while story-driven supporting characters add a human dimension to an otherwise austere world.

The game came out in the shadow of the big film Mad Max: Fury Road and was received as a solid, if not groundbreaking, open-world action game, whose biggest strength was its vehicular combat and the gradual building of the car into a true desert fortress on wheels. On Xbox One it offered a technically stable experience with a distinctive visual style and a sprawling map, and even years later it remains an interesting choice for players who enjoy a combination of survival, driving action and fistfights in a harsh environment without unnecessary frills, where, unlike the film source material, it doesn't lack open-world elements, side camps to conquer, and the gradual upgrading of both the car and the character himself.

Why play it: Anyone who enjoys a combination of desert survival, vehicular combat and fistfights without unnecessary frills will appreciate above all the building of the car into a combat fortress on wheels.