My Favourite Underrated Games – Part 2

Books, films, video games, and art – all these have a subjective slant that can’t be ignored. Abstract art, for example, may convey a multitude of emotions to one person, but absolutely nothing to someone else. The same can be said for video games and some are described as criminally underrated, a description which is a tad over the top but certainly captures the sentiment. Days Gone falls into that category as does Mad Max.

Mad Max

Mad Max was released in September 2015 and by sheer bad luck emerged sandwiched between the releases of two massively popular games, The Witcher 3 (September 2015) and Metal Gear Solid V (May 2015), so for many gamers it slipped under the radar. The film, Mad Max:Fury Road released in May 2015 and so the game did benefit somewhat from that tie-in.

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world similar to the Australian outback and inspired by the film series created by George Miller. Our hero, Max, is hell bent on building the ultimate vehicle, the Magnum Opus with a massive V8 engine, but he has to overcome seemingly impossible odds in the barren, desert-like, and vicious environment of The Wasteland where strongholds are ruled by ruthless warlords and their murderous armies. Mad Max’s nemesis is none other than Scabrous Scrotus, son of Immortan Joe, brother to Rictus Erectus, and leader of the War Boys. I’ve only watched the original Mad Max film and Fury Road, but as enthusiasts will know, many of the characters have pretty outlandish names.

The Car Is The Star!

Max’s means of travelling around The Wasteland is the Magnus Opus in the company of Chumbucket, a deformed individual who is an expert mechanic who repairs Max’s car when he’s hit a spot of bother. He also provides Max with the means to use a grappling hook and rocket launcher – both vital for defeating enemies and breaking into hostile strongholds. The car can be upgraded with more horsepower, tougher armour, spike defences, better tyres, suspension, and a host of other improvements to give Max a badly needed edge over his foes. He also collects scrap and other valuables along the way which can be exchanged for upgrades to the car, improved weapons, and Max’s own abilities and armour, including knuckledusters. One of my favourite car improvements is the nitrous boost which, when initiated, gives the car a rocket-like performance which is especially handy if being chased by half a dozen enemy vehicles.

The Wasteland

The open world of Max’s Wasteland is enormous. I’ve played 60 hours of the game so far and I’m probably only 50% through collecting items, defeating enemies, improving captured strongholds, and other quests throughout the game. And I’ve just realised that I started playing the game way back in June 2016, so I can only assume that I must have been distracted by another game in the meantime. But that often happens and when you return, it’s actually more fun than it was previously. Anyway, back to the map which contains loads of resources, enemy camps, fuel for the car, and more importantly, water. Max can top his health through his water bottle which he fills up wherever he can find a water source.

Conclusion

Mad Max is one of those games that gets under your skin for its simplicity, exciting gameplay, fast cars, fantastic explosions, fisticuffs with enemies, looting, and last but not least, superb graphics. You can still pick up the game for around $5 at GOG and other retailers and the recommended PC specifications by today’s standards are simple to achieve for such an awesome-looking game – 8GB RAM, GTX 760, AMD FX 8350/Core i7 3770, 64 bit OS (Windows 7 and up) and 32GB of disk space.

The fun factor alone sets this game apart from many others of its genre, so if you love post-apocalyptic games, Mad Max is for you.

• My Favourite Underrated Games – Part 1 
• My Favourite Underrated Games – Part 2 ⬅ You are here
• My Favourite Underrated Games – Part 3

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