Mad Max review: Ugly, depressing, frustrating, and, in the end, oddly addicting | Post Arcade

PA:
Mad Max, despite his propensity for violence and vengeance, represents a flicker of hope that humanity’s best will always work to endure and survive its worst.

And that, I think I finally understand, is what has kept me returning the Avalanche’s wasteland night after night.

[ArchangelMike]

Is 'addicting' officially a word now? I thought the correct word to use would be 'addictive'.

Anyway OT - I loved RAge when it came out last gen, and this looks like my kind of game, but MGSV is taking all my time at the moment. I fear that by the time I'm done with MGSV it'll be time for Fallout 4.

[TFJWM]

addicting is a word, not sure why you would think it wasn't...

OT: Is a great game definitely worth checking out, ending was so depressing thou I haven't gone back to it to clean up the side quests

[thorstein]

Addicting is a word, it is a gerund. Addictive is an adjective it is used to describe nouns. In this case, "Mad Max is Addictive."

The adjective describes the subject.

"Mad Max is addicting..." addicting what? He is using a gerund as an adjective.

[thorstein]

Yet another problem with games journalism. You'd think that the people who write about games should have to master the language first.

[Kingdomcome247]

What exactly is a gerund? I've never heard the term. I know I can google it, but I prefer to engage with my fellow gamers.

[TFJWM]

Addicting can also been used as an adjective...

The Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary list it as an adjective that was first used in 1931 to describe morphine.

So yes you can say "Mad Max is addicting."

@Kingdomcome247 A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "swim" is "swimming."

[Kingdomcome247]

Thanks, TFJWM! The internet has made things so impersonal. I just wanted to ask one of you guys as opposed to Google.

[MysticStrummer]

TFJWM is right, though his name is really hard to pronounce.

[thorstein]

@King and TFJWM

The problem isn't that he is using it like an adjective, it is so far from the noun it is modifying. It should be as close as possible and in this case he has set it off with a comma making it a participle phrase. He also has yet another adjective to modify the word addicting, making it a noun and not an adjective.

I think he made the mistake because he uses two other gerunds as modifiers and wants to stay parallel to the other -ing words.

To use addicting, it would be proper to use "...and, in the end, IT IS oddly addicting."

If in doubt, you should use the VERY test. Inserting VERY should give you a simple way to determine if it is acting like an adjective or not.

EXAMPLE: "That game is frightening" becomes "That game is very frightening." Sounds right.

"Mad Max is oddly addicting" becomes "Mad Max is very oddly addicting." That doesn't work.

"Mad Max is oddly addictive" becomes "Mad Max is very oddly addictive." is correct.

Sorry for the grammar lesson.

Enjoy the game. I haven't played it yet, but I have heard mixed reviews.

[Saxism]

Mad Max is an incredible game. It has the exploration and addictive completionism of Just Cause with interesting side quests. Not as deep as it could be, but it does build ALOT on the Mad Max backstory. Overall an extremely rewarding experience worth playing!

Mad Max and Metal Gear have kept my interest equally as Ive played through them. Both great games!

[guyman]

i 100% agree! well said.

[Scottyxboxoneandps4]

Mad max is a really good game,anyone still on the fence wether to pick this up definatley should. Haven't played MGV yet because Amazon sent mad max first and I'm not dissapointed.
Don't understand the poor reviews this has been receiving, seems it's "cool" to hate on something.
Looking forward to MGSV after this though...

[ARESWARLORD]

I personally am having an excellent time playing Mad Max. Between Mad Max and The Witcher 3 I don't know if I'll possibly be ready for fallout 4. This is a great time to be a gamer

[JustInTlME]

I think Mad Max is better than MGSV. I just can't get into MGSV. I kind of hate it.