Open-World ‘Mad Max’ Game Adds Survival Gameplay Elements

Both the original “Mad Max” movie and its sequel, “The Road Warrior” and “Beyond Thunderdome,” tasked a grizzled Mel Gibson with surviving the desolate wastes of a post-apocalyptic vision of future Australia. With a brand new movie in the works and the recent reveal of a brand new video game, it’s perhaps no wonder that the upcoming game will feature survival elements of its own.

Originally scheduled for release in 2014, the “Mad Max” game ended up being delayed, with a recent gameplay trailer providing plenty of insight into what fans could expect and slapping a Sept. 1, 2015 release date on the dystopian epic. In a tweet responding to a fan query, developer Avalanche Studios has confirmed that “Mad Max” will also feature survival gameplay elements, such as the need to eat and scrounge the wasteland for gas in order to keep driving.

As noted by Game Informer, foraging plays a large role in “Mad Max,” with gamers required to find bits of metal to upgrade Max’s car, “the Magnum Opus.” Scrap metal can be found out in the wastes or by destroying enemy cars. When Max arrives in a new region or area, he needs to find a balloon, ride it up and get a good view of the wasteland; this helps him identify points of interest for later exploration.

Of course, all this doesn’t even take into account the dangerous raiders and enemy encampments Max will need to deal with. Speaking with GamesRadar, game producer John Fuller said there would be multiple bandit camps in each region and warned that some will be especially difficult. He added that these “Top Dog” camps would be marked as such so that players could decide when it was best to tackle them.

“We do sort of telegraph difficulty; for example, every camp has a difficulty marking, and then you’ll see maybe one or two in each territory that are called Top Dog camps, kind of like a finale for that region where you have a boss fight. The level of difficulty is greater there, the number of enemies is pumped up, and so on,” he said.

The Rockstar-esque “Mad Max” gameplay trailer released on the official PlayStation YouTube channel hints at a game that merges elements of games like “Batman Arkham City” with open-world genre classics like “Red Dead Redemption” and “Fallout 3.” Avalanche Studios certainly has their work cut out for them, but between the promising trailer and the high-octane previews for the Tom Hardy-led film, it appears 2015 is set to be a good year of fans of the franchise.