Discussion
I got it on Xbox one. Agreed with what was said before about the opening cut scene. A tad long but not too bad.
Also one small side note, before you get to the menu screen there's a very small intro vid which reveals that the subtitles are on. Now I don't know about everyone else but when the characters are speaking my first language I really don't need subtitles on & find them extremely annoying. Seriously, why do some games have them set "on" as a default?
Anyway, so I only played it for about maybe 3 and bit hours yesterday & first impressions are quite good. The controls are a bit different but anyone that games regularly should be able to master them after about 10-15 minutes of gameplay. I did switch the controls to the alternative setting though, which changes the dodge button (RB) & shoot button (B) around.
I was worried from a few of the videos I'd seen before that the graphics were a bit last gen but this seems to be only be true in very small areas. For example Max's watch seems to keep disappearing into his forearm & his body seems a bit tubular with muscles just drawn straight on. But again, this was only in the opening for a small time & since then everything else seems to look great. Especially the scenery.
The combat is basically the same as the Arkham games except you're not nearly as fast/precise as Batman (although there is an RPG stat building element to the game which may allow you to change that) & instead of a bunch of high tech gizmos you have shivs & shotguns. But it's much more of a challenge in combat which I like, if you could take on as many guys as efficiently as Batman then I'd find it a bit peculiar. Also ammo really is scarce which I like considering it really makes you think about when to use the shotgun. Max is a pure brawler, doesn't use agility or mastery of martial arts to fight, he just pounds his opponents as needed. There's also a rather nice slow motion feature that comes into play now and again when you knock out an opponent or do something big and explosive in a car.
The car combat is enjoyable, all my equipment is still quite low level so I haven't been able to fully play around with enemy cars just yet but with the basic ramming & chasing it has been quite enjoyable. I can see the harpoon coming in very useful once it's a high enough level to start tearing doors/panels/wheels off other cars. At the moment the shotgun does appear to be the most effective weapon against other cars so another reason to refrain from using it in hand to hand combat.
But this is Pistonheads so let's get to it, the car. At first I thought the driving physics weren't great but then realized just how much upgrading your car does effect this. I also hijacked a couple of enemy cars to give them a go (a little speedster & a ramming, muscle, pick up thing) & they both felt completely different from my own so that's a good sign. I am enjoying the upgrades to my car, nearly all the little things you change add to the cars performance & look, even the engine. I do think that the starting V6 engine sounds a bit more like a monstrous V8 though & it still has a full exhaust system so not so sure what to think about that.
You do get a selection of 6 (I think) body types you can choose for your car towards the start of the game. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the selection as I felt there wasn't a huge difference between the last 3. I chose the second one which most resembles a 67' Mustang Fastback. I think the first was some sort of Corvette & the third was the Interceptor for those wanting the full Mad Max experience. The last three were bigger cars. I think it would have been good to have a bit of variation in choice but I suppose it was in keeping with the Mad Max lead character style. I am looking forward to seeing how different I can make the car though.
Also this is the only open world game I've ever played were you actually have consumable fuel. The car seems to get amazing MPG given the circumstances but you can still store a reserve Jerrycan for extra fuel or just to ignite & throw at someone. Think it helps the atmosphere of the game a lot. Can see things getting quite tense trying to fight a war party/convoy while getting close to running on empty.
Lastly you can also change Max's appearance quite a bit with up-gradable gear. I've only unlocked a few pieces of gear & they all fall under different categories (gloves, bracers, jackets etc) so I'm not sure if the more kit you unlock just gets better & better or if each bit of kit has different pros so it's up to the player to decide what to use. I hope it's the latter.
Looking forward to crunching some more hours into it & seeing what else the game has to give.
Also one small side note, before you get to the menu screen there's a very small intro vid which reveals that the subtitles are on. Now I don't know about everyone else but when the characters are speaking my first language I really don't need subtitles on & find them extremely annoying. Seriously, why do some games have them set "on" as a default?
Anyway, so I only played it for about maybe 3 and bit hours yesterday & first impressions are quite good. The controls are a bit different but anyone that games regularly should be able to master them after about 10-15 minutes of gameplay. I did switch the controls to the alternative setting though, which changes the dodge button (RB) & shoot button (B) around.
I was worried from a few of the videos I'd seen before that the graphics were a bit last gen but this seems to be only be true in very small areas. For example Max's watch seems to keep disappearing into his forearm & his body seems a bit tubular with muscles just drawn straight on. But again, this was only in the opening for a small time & since then everything else seems to look great. Especially the scenery.
Engineerino said:
Thanks for the review - as far as you have played it, what is the environment like? Does it differ greatly or is it a little bleak?
It's mainly desert bleak but there are some pretty different types of landscapes about, rock formations, bogs, small mountains etc. Like I said, I only played for a bit over 3 hours so not so sure as yet about anything else. One thing I do like though is the day & night cycles, really does change the whole feel of game. I also encountered a sandstorm, I was on foot trying to take a stronghold so no fast pace driving in it unfortunately but the effects were quite impressive. With my soundbar on it really made for a pretty epic experience. Can't wait for another to drive in. The combat is basically the same as the Arkham games except you're not nearly as fast/precise as Batman (although there is an RPG stat building element to the game which may allow you to change that) & instead of a bunch of high tech gizmos you have shivs & shotguns. But it's much more of a challenge in combat which I like, if you could take on as many guys as efficiently as Batman then I'd find it a bit peculiar. Also ammo really is scarce which I like considering it really makes you think about when to use the shotgun. Max is a pure brawler, doesn't use agility or mastery of martial arts to fight, he just pounds his opponents as needed. There's also a rather nice slow motion feature that comes into play now and again when you knock out an opponent or do something big and explosive in a car.
The car combat is enjoyable, all my equipment is still quite low level so I haven't been able to fully play around with enemy cars just yet but with the basic ramming & chasing it has been quite enjoyable. I can see the harpoon coming in very useful once it's a high enough level to start tearing doors/panels/wheels off other cars. At the moment the shotgun does appear to be the most effective weapon against other cars so another reason to refrain from using it in hand to hand combat.
But this is Pistonheads so let's get to it, the car. At first I thought the driving physics weren't great but then realized just how much upgrading your car does effect this. I also hijacked a couple of enemy cars to give them a go (a little speedster & a ramming, muscle, pick up thing) & they both felt completely different from my own so that's a good sign. I am enjoying the upgrades to my car, nearly all the little things you change add to the cars performance & look, even the engine. I do think that the starting V6 engine sounds a bit more like a monstrous V8 though & it still has a full exhaust system so not so sure what to think about that.
You do get a selection of 6 (I think) body types you can choose for your car towards the start of the game. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the selection as I felt there wasn't a huge difference between the last 3. I chose the second one which most resembles a 67' Mustang Fastback. I think the first was some sort of Corvette & the third was the Interceptor for those wanting the full Mad Max experience. The last three were bigger cars. I think it would have been good to have a bit of variation in choice but I suppose it was in keeping with the Mad Max lead character style. I am looking forward to seeing how different I can make the car though.
Also this is the only open world game I've ever played were you actually have consumable fuel. The car seems to get amazing MPG given the circumstances but you can still store a reserve Jerrycan for extra fuel or just to ignite & throw at someone. Think it helps the atmosphere of the game a lot. Can see things getting quite tense trying to fight a war party/convoy while getting close to running on empty.
Lastly you can also change Max's appearance quite a bit with up-gradable gear. I've only unlocked a few pieces of gear & they all fall under different categories (gloves, bracers, jackets etc) so I'm not sure if the more kit you unlock just gets better & better or if each bit of kit has different pros so it's up to the player to decide what to use. I hope it's the latter.
Looking forward to crunching some more hours into it & seeing what else the game has to give.
To be honest I'm finding it harder & harder to turn the Xbox on to play this again. Gameplay & story has gotten very repetitive. Came across a few unique bits that were quite interesting but unfortunately very short lived. Will try & get back on it for a bit on the weekend but not really impressed over all now.
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