Avalanche Studios has unveiled a large amount of gameplay details for its upcoming open-world Mad Max

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As part of Game Informer 's April cover story, Avalanche revealed Mad Max will have "soft" borders, meaning you'll be able to travel beyond the limits of the in-game map. However, venturing into this space, known as The Big Nothing, is incredibly dangerous. This area doesn't contain any food or water, and is filled with deadly sandstorms. If you're able to survive more than a few seconds, you'll occasionally find rare auto parts for Max's Magnum Opus.Survival within the map's borders will also be challenging. Food and water, which are both used to replenish Max's health, will be scarce. When you're low on health and out of food, Avalanche suggests you look toward the sky for circling birds. Birds will fly over nearby decomposing bodies, which are covered with maggots. Luckily for Max, maggots are a good source of protein. Rodents can also be consumed for health, since this world has "absolutely no" vegetation, and very little life.While certain resources are scarce, Avalanche wants to make sure others, such as fuel, can easily be found. "We want resources to be scarce, but we also want a car game, we want to drive a lot and so on. So gas can’t be super scarce, because otherwise it would be a walking game instead of a driving game,” said Emil Krafting, senior game designer.As far as moment-to-moment gameplay goes, the on-foot combat is similar to that seen in the Batman Arkham series, in that it's based on rhythmic button presses, counter-attacks, and rolling away to dodge.The Garage can be accessed from the game's menu, allowing you to upgrade the Magnum Opus on the fly. Garages were initially scattered across the map, but Avalanche found it interfered with gameplay. From the menu, you'll be able to customize engines, armor, ramming grills, defensive spikes, exhaust systems, and more -- all of which containing their own upgrade paths.Lastly, you'll meet Max's companion, Chumbucket, fairly early on in the story. Chum, a skilled mechanic, rides along in the Magnum Opus, and wields a harpoon gun, which can be upgraded to yank enemies off tires, pull people from driver seats, or impale enemies on-foot.Earlier today, Avalanche and publisher Warner Bros. revealed Mad Max will be coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 1 in North America and September 4 in the UK.Source: Game Informer

Jordan Sirani is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @jdsirani