Home Gaming E3 2015 – Mad Max hands-on preview: Boom Stick!

E3 2015 – Mad Max hands-on preview: Boom Stick!

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Mad Max is all about off-the-wall (and road) carnage, offering players the chance to explore their baser nature while beating enemies to a pulp and engaging with bizarre unique characters while taking over the desert wasteland. It already sounds like a dream come true, but the reality of it is even better.

MadMax1

The demo started me off with a specific objective – take over a nearby base. I could have ignored the objective completely and just driven off to explore the area, but I decided to meet with some nearby rats who could inform of me of weak points in the base. After hearing about the risks ahead, I was able to jump into my vehicle and use a high-powered sniper rifle to take out nearby snipers. Of course, while checking out the base through my sniper scope, I saw some red barrels. We all know there is only one thing to do, so I shot them, resulting in a glorious explosion.

MadMax2

Next up, it was time to take out a tower. I thought I could boost while driving into it, knocking it down. Instead, I stopped dead. Undeterred, I harpooned the structure, pulling it down with pure force. That harpoon is incredibly effective; later on in vehicular combat, I used it to pull off wheels, doors, and even drag drivers out of their cars – the fact that they continue to be dragged behind you until you release them makes it even more satisfying.

MadMax3

After reducing the base’s defences, it was time for a frontal assault. Using that harpoon again, I pulled down the gate and opened fire with my shotgun. The gun action is rather cool, allowing players to aim if desired, or shoot from the hip. With a wide range of weapons, including found melee weapons, that part of combat is crazy and fun.

Of course, you can just shoot, at a certain point you need to use your fists. This means a combination of light and heavy attacks that can be strung together to form devastating combos. It feels rather similar to Shadow of Morder in its combat, with a combination of counter and attack opening up the opportunity for awesome finishers.

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After taking out everyone in the base, it was time to strip it of all its valuables, breaking down some collectibles and gather tons of scrap. Once I had enough scrap, I could even upgrade my knuckle dusters and other equipment. With loot icons easily visible on the map, it’s easy to get into OCD plundering.

After finishing off the base, I was lucky enough to get some time to roam the countryside. That’s where the game really opened up. First, I went to go see a strange character, one who is able to upgrade the player’s abilities. But it includes a bizarre cutscene and makes it much more than just seeing a guy about getting more health.

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The desert may be a wasteland, but it’s not totally barren. There was just so much to explore. I saw light glinting in the distance and decided to check it out from my sniper scope. Looking down the scope, I saw that it was actually snipers posted on a distant tower. There’s only one thing to do, of course, so I killed them, and blew up some red tanks for good measure. The explosions and mayhem made me feel giddy.

Continuing to look out into the distance, I saw a cloud of dust getting kicked up by a bunch of vehicles. It was an enemy convoy that could be taken over, which is exactly what I decided to do. Catching up with the convoy wasn’t as easy as I thought, but it was definitely worthwhile as I used my harpoon to drag them around, beat them up and generally show them who’s boss.

MadMax6

It’s all part of a bid to decrease Scrotus’ control over the area. Engaging with these various open world events decrease his control and increase yours – beyond being fun and explosive, you’re also being productive. The areas of control are clearly shown on the map and there is a ton to do in the game – when zooming out while playing the demo, I could see just how enormous the game world is and filled with a ton of markers. With snipers to kill, convoys to overcome, bases to takeover plus loot to find, players could easily get lost in the wasteland cleaning up all the baddies instead of following the guide markers.

Mad Max was a ridiculous amount of fun to play. From ramming cars and towers to harpooning enemies or sniping from a distance, there are all kinds of enjoyment to be had. In some ways, it feels like a wilder form of Shadow of Mordor, which makes me incredibly happy. It’s an open-world sandbox with literal sand and it’s got enough craziness to keep me entertained for hours.

Last Updated: June 17, 2015

41 Comments

  1. Matthew Holliday

    June 17, 2015 at 10:37

    if the game is going to have any story at all, the dialog is going to have to be a thousand times better than the movie.
    it also needs more of your own car.

    mad max movie:
    explosions and carnage A+

    but everytime the cast opened their mouths to talk, i wanted to get up and leave.

    mad max expectations: fast cars and explosions
    mad max reality: big wheel, 18 wheels of justice, and explosions.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 10:51

      I agree.
      I would like some ownership of my vehicle actually. Not just a “spawn a vehicle” thing like in Borderlands.

      Reply

      • Matthew Holliday

        June 17, 2015 at 10:56

        in a franchise like mad max, ownership and customisation could make this game a real winner.
        dads car from the movie, that big wheel with the 2 herses combined into one, was totally awesome.
        i REALLY want to build my own car by sticking two together.

        dynamic customisation.
        i dont want to paly with presets like construction in every other game, i want proper customisation

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 10:59

          Yes!
          Complete decent customisation. It really would make this game. Especially since it has such a huge focus around the vehicles. Drop in a co-op function and you could even have some mad fun with a friend in your respective unique monster cars 🙂

          Reply

          • Matthew Holliday

            June 17, 2015 at 11:01

            build systems like kerbal space program or besieged
            rather than plug and play systems like the house building system from day z or subnautica.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:03

            I was actually just staring at subnautica on Steam and thought it looked a bit dull.
            Now I’m of course checking out besieged and it looks excellent.

          • Matthew Holliday

            June 17, 2015 at 11:06

            besieged is rad, takes a bit of work to get used to though.

            subnautica was great, but it had no lifespan, wait for an official release, not these pre-builds.
            atm, you build your base and thats it.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:42

            Hmm. Thanks. Just got The Long Dark now and can’t wait to settle into that one. I’ve already played The Forest so much that I need a new survival game.

  2. Decembermaloy

    June 17, 2015 at 10:39

    Looks amazing!!

    Reply

  3. Blood Emperor Trevor

    June 17, 2015 at 10:39

    Sounds like Just Cause: Mad Max edition, and I’m cool with that.

    Reply

  4. Captain JJ Browmehn

    June 17, 2015 at 10:49

    Awesome.

    Reply

  5. HairyEwok

    June 17, 2015 at 10:53

    I’m a bit iffy about games that come from movies. I’ll patiently wait and see how this develops.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 10:54

      No ways brah. That Iron Man game was totes awesome! ;P

      Reply

      • HairyEwok

        June 17, 2015 at 10:54

        Said no gamer ever right? XD

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 10:54

          Exactly 😀

          Reply

      • The King Shopper

        June 17, 2015 at 19:04

        IN PAINS ? ,?ANnxiety?, have SLEEP issues? we got good ?PainsPILLS? n good?BUD n Mary. j ? n the ?Purple/leann? TXT us????) 464-60???. Low key delvry. Real shit. no bs. cgfgfg

        Reply

    • The King Shopper

      June 17, 2015 at 19:04

      IN PAINS ? ,?ANnxiety?, have SLEEP issues? we got good ?PainsPILLS? n good?BUD n Mary. j ? n the ?Purple/leann? TXT us????) 464-60???. Low key delvry. Real shit. no bs. vfgfg

      Reply

  6. Timmy_The_Good_Troll

    June 17, 2015 at 11:01

    Sorry to hijack this thread, but thought this was a good deal Fallout 4 R440 for PC at CNA.
    60$ on Steam.
    Comments?
    https://www.cna.co.za/for-gamers/pc-mac/games/fallout-4-pc.html

    Reply

    • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

      June 17, 2015 at 11:01

      R400 I meant

      Reply

    • HairyEwok

      June 17, 2015 at 11:02

      All AAA games on pre-order are $60 at steam. CNA must be trolling or losing money in the process if that’s the price.

      Reply

      • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

        June 17, 2015 at 11:04

        Thats what I thought, but surely if you pay now they have to honour the deal. I got a similar deal on Kalahari on a early pre order before they realised the correct price and it shot up another R250, but I got the game at the original cheap price.

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 11:06

          It’s all about exchange rates and money conversions. SA’s got a very price sensitive market. Something that Steam obviously doesn’t account for since it’s international pricing. As soon as something is available in Rand, it changes everything. It’s not about profits or screwing the customer, it’s about price entry in a market where R50 makes a huge difference.

          Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        June 17, 2015 at 11:32

        Well Edcon in general is failing, so they might as well go out big!!

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 11:33

          Huehuehue

          Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 11:04

      Exchange rates. That’s all reason why.
      If it were on Origin it would also be around the R400 mark. Just like the Witcher 3 was.

      Reply

      • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

        June 17, 2015 at 11:05

        I think its a mistake by CNA, should be a lot more I think

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 11:07

          I’m not so sure. It’s not impossible, of course, but I work with import pricing and it’s very likely for that price to be right.

          Reply

          • HairyEwok

            June 17, 2015 at 11:08

            Then why the hell was GTA5 R800 at musica XD I had to get the vaseline for my wallet.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:13

            Wow. That’s insane.
            It’s not always up to the retail seller, unfortunately. I worked with a certain boy-band and their merchandise and they wanted to charge so much for royalty and fees that their products ended up being 60% more expensive than any other licensed product.

          • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

            June 17, 2015 at 11:26

            LOL just spoke to my sister in oz, she has preorder it there for 100AUD, basically R1000.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:29

            Wow!
            That’s crazy.

          • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

            June 17, 2015 at 11:30

            To be fair it was the Xbox One version, but still!

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:33

            Oh, alright. Still pricey though.

          • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

            June 17, 2015 at 11:09

            Ok appreciate the input, i still think i am going ahead with my preorder, I expect the price to rise later.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:11

            I will too, to be honest. Thanks for the heads-up.
            That’s a steal of a price 🙂

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 11:13

            That’s to get you to buy it, then comes the season pass… huehuehue.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:13

            It’s Fallout. I won’t even fight the abuse. 😉

          • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

            June 17, 2015 at 11:16

            TBH the main game will be so huge, that I am not that concerned with DLC etc

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 11:18

            You can always add the DLC later on when Steam sales roll in also. Because Fallout games have such great re-playability.
            I didn’t bother with the New Vegas DLCs until I got them on sale for $5, for all of them. To be honest, I didn’t even know there were DLCs before that day 😀

          • Timmy_The_Good_Troll

            June 17, 2015 at 11:20

            Good plan, DLC on steam sale.

  7. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    June 18, 2015 at 12:30

    I WANT THIS SO BADLY

    Reply

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