Gaming: TG reviews Mad Max for Playstation 4 and Xbox One

Fair warning: you’ll spend at least 50 per cent of your time in Mad Max on foot, getting into ugly wasteland fist fights with chalk-faced War Boys. The good news is the other half of this game is spent roaring around in a glorious, post-apocalyptic chariot of your own design, called the Magnum Opus.

For us then, that’s the main draw, using the game’s extensive car customisation facility to bolt on bull bars, side-mounted spikes (to deter uninvited hitch-hikers) and razor-sharp rims. It’s a balancing act, though; add too much weight and the car squats on its springs and becomes undrivable.

The plot, if you’re at all interested, would fit comfortably on the back of a folded napkin. Max has had his famous V8 Interceptor stolen by walking skin disorder Scabrous Scrotus, son of Mad Max: Fury Road’s Immortan Joe, and it’s your job as the Road Warrior to construct this new set of wheels and deliver yourself to his doorstep. Preferably at high speed, with a fully loaded sawn-off in case of emergencies, of which there are many.

The storyline’s little more than a support structure for the spectacular vehicular action, which does a fine job of replicating the big screen thrills of Fury Road. The game’s rat rods roll around on satisfyingly spongy suspension, a harpoon launcher is used to pluck unfortunate enemies from their driving seats, dragging them through the dust, and every vanquished vehicle explodes like a Semtex-stuffed turkey. So much for the scarcity of gasoline...

Mad Max is out now on PS4 and Xbox 1, priced at £24.99