Avalanche Studios' Mad Max looks to be everything fans of George Miller's apocalyptic series could hope for. An open-world wasteland to explore, vehicle customization and brutal combat are just a few of the game's aspects that players have to look forward to.
With any open-world game, the developers always talk about how large their world is and boast of all the content nestled within it. Like Tech Times has done with Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt before it, we've combed through interviews, previews and press releases to find out exactly how large the world of Mad Max is, how long it will take you to explore it to the fullest, and what all you'll be doing during your stay.
World Size
We don't know exactly how large Mad Max's world is, compared to other open-world games — but by all accounts, it's big. According to publisher Warner Bros., 60 percent of Mad Max's gameplay consists of driving around in the fully customizable car, the Magnum Opus, battling it out with raiders and their ilk. A big world to a character on foot and a big world from behind the wheel of a car that can go 100 mph are two very different things, so it seems like Avalanche has crafted a substantially large world to serve as the arena for the game's vehicular mayhem.
We do know that Mad Max's map is broken down into multiple regions — each with its own unique backstory and controlled by a powerful warlord. Performing activities in a given region and eventually defeating its warlord will reduce the area's threat level, allowing Max to more freely navigate without fear of attack. One area, The Great White, is an old coastline — the surrounding landscape littered with objects you would otherwise find at the bottom of the ocean.
Also worth noting is that the game has a "soft border" in the form of The Big Nothing. Rather than running into an invisible wall, players can drive out past the map's borders — where the game's desert Wasteland becomes flatter, dustier and even more desolate, according to Game Informer. From there, the game warns players that they are entering The Big Nothing.
Look off into the distance and you'll see a massive sandstorm coming to claim your vehicle. You'll have a bit of time to drive around this off-limit area and find rare pieces of scrap metal before the storm arrives — but don't stay too long, or else you'll be ripped apart.
Game Length
Once again, Avalanche hasn't said exactly how long its game will take to complete. What is clear is that there is plenty to do in the Wasteland. There's of course the game's main story missions, which plot Max in a tale of revenge against the warlord known as Scrotus.
But beyond moving the narrative forward, players have plenty of other avenues to explore in the form of side quests, time trial races and optional outposts to take out. Balloons allow players to rise above the Wasteland and scope out points of interest with a set of dusty binoculars. From first-hand accounts, the world appears to be filled with things to do.
Then there's collecting scrap to upgrade the Magnum Opus. Vehicle combat is the main focus of the game, so upgrading the Magnum Opus will be one of the major draws for players. Those who played and loved Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag are sure to remember the addicting nature of raiding enemy ships to acquire upgrade materials for their pirate ship, the Jackdaw.
Mad Max features similar mechanics, with the ability to raid convoys for crafting materials. Just as in Black Flag, players can either destroy enemy vehicles for small amounts of scrap or capture and drive off with an enemy vehicle to earn even more.
Last but not least, there are the collectibles. Throughout the world are images of the world before the apocalypse that players can find and pick up. There are also Scrotus insignias littering the landscape that players will be tasked with destroying.
Install Size
Mad Max's world may be large, but its install size isn't quite as large as other recent open-world titles. On PC, the game will take up 32 GB of hard drive space and require at least 6 GB of RAM. Below are the game's full recommended PC system requirements:
OS: 64 bit: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770, 3.4 GHz or AMD FX-8350, 4.0 GHz
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 (3 GB Memory or higher) or AMD Radeon HD 7970 (3 GB Memory or higher)
DirectX: DX11
HDD: 32 GB available space
According to the game's PlayStation store page, Mad Max on PlayStation 4 will take up 31 GB of storage space.
We still don't know all the details about how large Mad Max's desert wasteland is, but gamers won't have to wait long to find out for themselves. Mad Max releases on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 September 1.
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