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It’s been quite a while since the surprise announcement of Mad Max at E3 2013, little information since then to give fans of the movies a sense of what kind of experience Avalanche Studios have cooked up. To make sure that gamers don’t forget about the upcoming chance to tear down the open road of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the team has released a short trailer reminding all that as iconic as he may be, Max is only as deadly as his custom set of wheels – known affectionately as ‘The Magnum Opus.’
The trailer makes the claim that the customized vehicle is more than just a means of crossing the sandy wastelands, and is better thought of as Max’s lifeline against both the elements and the murderous enemies who survived the game’s mysterious apocalypse. While gamers are used to vehicular combat and open world navigation – from the Just Cause developer in particular – the claim supports all that we’ve seen of the game so far.
When we got our first look at Mad Max last year, the developers made it clear just how much of the game experience would hinge on the Opus, requiring players to upgrade, reinforce, or simply modify Max’s signature ride throughout the course of the campaign. At the time, upgrading the Opus’ defenses were required to advance the main quest line, but more details have since been released promising that vehicles in general would be a core component of Mad Max‘s open world design.
Beyond the numerous car chases and high-speed warfare that lets players turn their vehicle into a weapon on wheels, the need to actually scavenge resources and fuel has been teased by the developers. Unfortunately the trailer doesn’t provide any further insight into how those mechanics have been shaped in the time since, and how significant they will be in the finished product. Not that we can blame them: cars tearing eachother to pieces is a far better means of marketing than conserving fuel.
Either way, fans will be happy to see any sign that Warner Bros. is still expecting big things from the game. Hopefully more details and footage will be released soon, but if the Mad Max game turns out anything like the movie, gamers may need to exercise a serious bit of patience. On the bright side, that extra development time may mean even more ways for players to turn the Magnum Opus into their personal masterpieces. Deadly, high-speed masterpieces.
Mad Max is expected to release in 2014 for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.