Just because your world is fire and blood, doesn't mean it should be frustrating. is an excellent open-world adventure full of invigorating car combat and gorgeous (if desolate) locales, but exploring the wasteland can be pretty harsh when you're first starting out. If you're hoping to live long enough to get revenge on the big bad Scrotus - yes, that really is his name - and reclaim your prized black-on-black Interceptor ride, you're going to need every advantage you can get.

So here's your chance to get the leg up on all those anarchic War Boys. These tips should make staying alive in the post-apocalypse infinitely easier, especially when you're first starting out. If you're chipping away at that other big-budget, open-world desert, be sure to check out our . Otherwise, buckle up for a quick crash course in surviving Max's crazy world.

Before you go tuning up the Magnum Opus or worrying about Max's post-apocalypse accoutrements, there's one item you absolutely need: the Jimmy Bar. The moment you've got enough scrap (the de facto currency), head to the 'Tools' section of Max's inventory and treat yourself to this handy appliance. It's not very exciting, given that it's just a crowbar, but you'll need it to open up certain crates, barricaded doors, and secret compartments you'll find strewn across the wasteland, all of which result in precious resources. If you buy the Jimmy Bar straight away, you won't have to worry about coming back to previously inaccessible treasure troves later on.

The mysterious merchant Griffa offers Max many ways to strengthen his inner self, including handy upgrades like increased Health and faster Fury generation. But liquid, be it water or fuel, is your true lifeblood in Mad Max, and you'll want to be as economical as possible with your reserves. To that end, you should make it a priority to boost your Essence and Adaptation abilities during every Griffa visit, which will give you additional bonuses on water and gas consumption, respectively. These stats are infinitely more important than things like extra regen from eating food (which is already sizable) or additional melee damage, as Essence and Adaptation will constantly be saving you from those times when you're running dry and desperately seeking sustenance for your body and/or car.

Your hunchbacked pal Chumbucket specializes in all things mechanical, but he's also an ace with a harpoon cannon. And while it can feel pretty dang cool to slow down time and line up a shot while you stomp the gas pedal, you'll eventually just want to leave the targeting to ol' Chum. Tapping the fire button will let Chumbucket decide what to shoot, and he's awfully smart about his targets; he'll rarely deviate from what you probably wanted/needed him to hit, like the driver of an incoming vehicle or a scarecrow as you go speeding past. Once you make him your designated harpoon gunner, all the car combat will feel a lot faster (and in turn, more exciting).

Mad Max is no platformer, but you'd think the game's tutorial would do a better job teaching you that you can jump. By tapping L2/LT, Max will do a jaunty little hop - nothing that would give Mario a run for his money, but just enough to clear pesky dunes or shin-high blockades. This can be a godsend when you're frustratedly trying to clamber up a rocky hillside, though it won't help you scale ladders or vault up ledges any faster. What's more, there are some History Relics hidden throughout the environment that seemingly require a short jump to access, so if you find one that seems impossibly out of reach, a running jump off of a nearby structure is likely the answer.

Part of clearing out the many encampments that dot the desert is the dismantling of Scrotus insignias, those bright red, skull-on-fire emblems hanging on the walls in each camp. And while most of them are conveniently placed at chest level, where Max can shatter them with a few forceful smacks from his crowbar, a few will be hanging overhead in large rooms, or even mounted on the side of tall towers. Nothing's more annoying than spotting one of these hidden insignias only to realize that you don't have any shotgun shells to blast it down, forcing you to come back later. With that in mind, it's best to save your ammo when fighting your way through each camp, especially early on when your supplies are low - you really shouldn't need any bullets to take down the opposition in the earlier camps. If you're desperate, you could try lobbing a lit gas can at an out-of-reach insignia, though their tricky explosion timing may be just as frustrating.

As you zoom across the wastes, you're sure to encounter Convoys: giant processions of enemy vehicles led by a humongous truck. Chumbucket will make wistful comments about the 'mojo' artifacts carried by the vehicle in the lead, which is actually one of the collectible Hood Ornaments that add a perk to the Magnum Opus (in addition to looking totally sweet). While it can be tempting to try and tussle with these warbands early on, it's akin to automotive suicide in the earlier stages of the game. Instead of trying to chase down convoys and take out the multitude of cars surrounding the lead truck, just leave them alone for the first dozen or so hours until you've tricked out the Magnum Opus in protective gear like spiked hoods and barbed rims. Oh, and when you do finally muster the courage to take on a convoy, remember that harpooning drivers is the quickest way to disable a vehicle (though you'll still need to destroy their ride after the fact).

It takes a lot of scrap to upgrade Max's abilities and the Magnum Opus' parts, and you'll only find so many metal bits on scavenger's corpses or buried in the sands. Taking out encampments has the massive benefit of providing a steady stream of scrap every hour or so, increasing with each camp you overthrow - but the real way to make bank is to complete two specific Stronghold Projects. Building the Scrap Crew makes it so that your scrap income will be collected even when the game's turned off (provided your system is still connected online), while the Cleanup Crew will collect all the scrap from the cars you destroy that would typically be a waste of time to stop and pick up. You'll want to construct these ASAP, so be sure to inspect their glowing, vacant workbenches in each Stronghold to make their part locations spawn on the minimap - just remember that you can only track one project's requisite materials at a time.

Certain upgrades are locked behind a specific region's threat level: the numerical representation of Scrotus' dominion over that area's terrified denizens. Pretty much anything you do - from eliminating snipers to tearing down scarecrows - helps whittle down the current threat level, but the quickest way to establish a foothold is to take out some camps. You can scout out where each camp is located during your hot air balloon rides, then decide which ones you want to take down first based on their difficulty (represented by those skull icons). Just know that if you're chasing after a specific upgrade, you'll have to make sure that you're reducing threat in the correct area (though every bit helps out in the long run).

In most games, sniper rifles are a chance to line up the perfect headshot from a distance - but in Mad Max, those bullets are one-hit kills no matter where they connect. When trying to line up your sights, you should only be focused on getting the hit, rather than where you hit, because each bullet is precious. Gliding the reticle above an enemy will typically give you an auto-aim nudge toward their chest - and that's the shot you want to take. And if a sniper is shooting back at you, keep your cool; it can be tempting to frantically try to nail them before they clip you, but that just makes you more likely to waste your ammunition. Instead, simply drive out of their range and come back later. Same goes for if you run out of ammo, because trying to get out of the car will almost assuredly get you killed (or at least have you dancing and dodging away from incoming shots nonstop).

Ever heard the travel expression "as the crow flies"? That's typically a good rule of thumb when trying to make your way to whatever destination you've highlighted on your map. Like most open-world games, your minimap will highlight the optimal road you want to take in green - but you'll usually make it to your mark much quicker if you just go barrelling off a cliff or two, bypassing the windy trails with some off-roading. Once you've unlocked nitro boosts, you can clear most canyons or cliffs without much trouble, which will save you tons of time while you cruise around the wasteland. And don't worry about wrecking your car, because...

You've got to hand it to Chumbucket: the little fella does good work. No matter what kind of body-shattering, axle-grinding torture you put the Magnum Opus through, Chumbucket can always repair it back to pristine(ish) condition. You can effectively ignore your vehicle's health bar; as long as you get out of the car in time whenever you've taken critical damage, even an all-consuming car fire can be fixed. On top of that, the Magnum Opus will never tip over no matter what kind of death-defying jumps you take, so you won't have to pull a Master Chief and flip over a two-ton vehicle in the middle of a fight.

Not wanting to be outdone by his ride, Max himself is also quite resistant to high heat. If you've just rammed a bandit off the road and want to pick up the scrap from their car's burning remains, go for it - those plumes of orange flame won't leave a scratch on Max or his leather jacket. And though you're not immune to explosions, you can withstand some pretty devastating blasts. For instance, the kind of detonation that'll wipe out all nearby enemies will usually only ding about half of your health bar - so if those War Boys have you backed into a corner near an oil transfer tank or an explosive barrel, might as well blow it and hope for the best.

It would probably be frowned upon if NASCAR or F1 drivers actively tried to kill each other while jockeying for position - but in Crow Dazzle's Death Races, anything goes! Make you sure you load up on shotgun ammo before starting a race, because you're free to blast the exposed gas canisters on the back of your competitors' rides and permanently remove them from the rally. It's not time efficient to take out all the other contestants, but this lethal bit of cheating can be a godsend if you can't seem to pull ahead of the car in front of you. You can even take out the nearest vehicle right at the starting line without anyone - be they racer or event organizer - batting an eye.

When I first met Mario in the arcade version of Donkey Kong, he was but a simple carpenter, wearing red overalls, a matching red hat, a blue shirt, and work boots. He may have been fighting a giant monkey, but Mario still felt too common to have a dense collection of costumes, let alone become a cosplayer. What a difference three decades makes.

This November sees add a cat outfit to Mario’s already huge collection of special power-enhancing clothes. A new addition to the dozens of costumes Mario makes this fitting time for GamesRadar to recount the dozens of different super-powered clothes Mario has worn over the years. Believe it or not, even I had forgotten a couple of these, though it’s hard to forget...

First seen: Super Mario Bros.

For many players in the west, Fire Mario was their introduction to the plumber, as the hero is wearing the outfit on the Super Mario Bros. box art. The fire-hurling combo of red and white have appeared in the majority of core Mario games, though the colors flipped post-Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the few times the red and white design was replaced, though remakes of SMB3 exchanged the all-orange attire with the standard look.

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

The second Super Mario Bros.--both US and Japanese versions--didn’t add any new costumes, so Super Mario Bros. 3 chose to bring them back with a vengeance. Chief among them was the cover-featured Raccoon Mario. Like a sexy Halloween costume, Mario simply adds ears and a tail to normal clothes, but with the added benefit of flight. The raccoon outfit lay dormant for years until it returned in New Super Mario Bros. 2. The reappearance was likely hastened by the popular return of...

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

Tanooki Mario doesn’t believe in half measures. If you’re going to dress as a magical raccoon, it’s best to go all the way with the furry getup. Based on Japanese myth, Tanooki Mario can not only fly, but also transform into a statue, and both those skills were recreated in Super Mario 3D Land. While the Tanooki Suit was pretty rare in Super Mario Bros. 3, the useful transformation was everywhere in 3D land, and it returns in Super Mario 3D World.

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

This green ensemble was fun, but it was also hard to handle. Frog Mario moved pretty well underwater, but his stuttering half-steps weren’t all that useful on land. About as rare as the Tanooki Suit, Frog Mario has yet to make a return outside of an allusion in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. If it ever does, we hope Nintendo can find a better approach to the controls.

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

This costume gave Mario a more sinister edge, with him stealing the powers of one of his most annoying enemies to use against them. Also hard to find, Hammer Mario could fling his unlimited supply of hammers as well as his enemies, plus it gave him a handy shell to hide in. Later games had spiritual successors to this costume, but the Hammer Bros. Suit has yet to truly return.

First seen: Super Mario World

Nintendo pushed all of Mario’s animal wardrobe to the back of the closet for Super Mario World. Almost all the old power-ups took a break to make room for Yoshi, and Mario’s flying ability was now tied to a simple yellow cape. The look certainly made Mario look more “Super,” but it was a little too simple for the then-new 16-bit console. Outside of Mario’s reflect move in Smash Bros., the cape has made few recent appearance, which is odd given how many retro powers appeared in recent Mario titles.

First seen: Super Mario Land 2

Super Mario Land was one of the few traditional Mario games headed by someone other than Shigeru Miyamoto, and that situation lead to some odd, one off outfits. The most prominently featured was Rabbit Mario. The bunny ears affixed to his head slowed descent on jumps just like the raccoon tail, but without the added benefit of flight. Because, as we all know, rabbits can’t fly, unlike raccoons.

First seen: Super Mario Land 2

Super Mario Galaxy seems to suggest that Mario can easily breathe in space, but Super Mario Land 2 makes that look like a recent development. In SML2’s few outer space stages, Mario dons a traditional space suit that would likely meet NASA regulations. Perhaps back then Mario could breathe in space, he was just being overly cautious.

First seen: Super Mario Land 2

Fire power-ups in Super Mario Land 2 gave the developers a real challenge. Without any colors beyond spinach green available for the Game Boy, how could the game tell players about the fire ability without red and white coloring? That’s where Mario gaudy feather comes in. It works great as a visual indicator of the power-up, but once Game Boy’s color pallette died out, so did this outfit.

First seen: Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 brought Mario (and the platforming genre) into three dimensions, but in the switch over he lost much of his flare for fashion. The full bodied outfits and matching power-ups were replaced by timed abilities like the understated wing cap. Even if the flight was incredibly freeing, later entries ditched the cap when Mario took to the air.

First seen: Super Mario 64.

CGI graphics were still pretty novel in 1996, so Mario’s new invincibility power-up bit the style of Terminator 2’s T-1000, making his body a metallic, reflective surface. It made Mario temporarily safe from harm, but it also slowed him down considerably. Though Mario has dropped that power-up, Metal Mario has been spun off into his own character, one that frequently appears in Smash Bros. and sports games.

First seen: Super Mario Sunshine

Look, let's not insult the guy, but Mario just looks weird in short sleeves. He may be on vacation, but it feels odd to see that much bare skin on the guy, particularly when a talking water tank is on his back. Despite Mario’s attempts to accessorize with F.L.U.D.D., the item has only made a return appearances as a special attack in recent Smash Bros. games.

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy

After more than a decade of subtler transformations, Super Mario Galaxy was a welcome return to Super Mario Bros. 3’s tradition of introducing a ton of new power-ups. First up is Mario’s fuzzy new bee outfit, which gives him limited flight and the ability to stick to walls, though it isn’t very useful outside the honeycomb. And then there’s the unfortunate side effect of the costume vanishing when it touches water.

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy

The first Galaxy showed players that Mario looks great as a ghost, and we were able to see it happen without Mario dying. This recent addition changed Mario into his classic ghostly enemy, giving Boo Mario the power to turn invisible and float through walls. And it’s such a convincing outfit that it even scares Luigi (though he’s pretty high strung to begin with).

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy

This Mario transformation reminds me of the pretty, but functionally useless outfits that define artsy, high fashion. Mario looks avant garde wrapped in metal, but he can’t really get around all that well. That’s likely a reason that Spring Mario only appears in a handful of stages.

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy

How did it take until 2007 to have an Ice Mario? Despite it being the logical response to Fire Mario, the Ice Power didn’t appear until Super Mario Galaxy. Not only could Mario freeze enemies with balls of ice, he also became a skilled ice skater. When this power appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the icy skin was replaced with a more traditional red and blue pattern.

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy

Galaxy granted Mario the limited ability to fly whenever he shot out a star portal, but his black and red ensemble greatly expanded that power. It functioned pretty much like 64’s Wing Cap, but appeared even less. And unlike the other Galaxy powers, this form did not return in the sequel.

First seen: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii marked the first original 2D Mario game on a console since World, and it made up for lost time by adding a couple new abilities to Mario’s wardrobe. First up was the propeller power-up. It dressed Mario in jumpsuit akin to a skydivers and added a large helmet with a propeller on top. Not only could the power send Mario into the clouds, but other characters could grab onto his feet to ride along with him.

First seen: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Ice Mario is all well and good, but wouldn't you like to throw ice balls and slide on your tummy at intense speeds? That’s what the adorable Penguin Suit offered Mario and friends. It’s also pretty tough, as it can smash through blocks without scratching a flipper.

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy 2

Galaxy 2 brought back virtually every ability from the first game, plus it added Yoshi to the sub-series, and yet it still found room for a couple more new outfits. First up the rough and ready Rock Mario. The change of clothes wasn’t too useful when walking around, but if you give Rock Mario enough space, he can transform into a huge boulder, propelling himself forward at high speeds.

First seen: Super Mario Galaxy 2.

On the other end of Galaxy 2’s weight spectrum is Cloud Mario. The fluffy, cottony garb made Mario light enough to walk on clouds with little effort, and with a little shake of the Wii Remote, he could create happy little clouds of his own. The power-up hasn’t appeared since, save for an unlockable Mii costume in Mario Power Tennis.

First seen: Super Mario 3D Land

3D Land was primarily a celebration of the long-awaited return of Tanooki Mario, but the devs found time to create another transformation, one that’s been long overdue. Boomerang Bros. have been attacking Mario since the third game, and Boomerang Mario gave players a chance to finally return the favor. Let’s hope this one makes more returns than Hammer Mario.

First seen: New Super Mario Bros. 2

The Wu Tang Clan once rapped ”Cash rules everything around me,” and that’s very true for New Super Mario Bros. 2. The games hook was challenging players to collect as many coins as possible, which the Gold Mario transformation really helps with. It grant Mario with the Midas touch, changing every block his fireballs touch into coins. And in a strange insult to Luigi, this power-up turns the green one silver, further illustrating his second place status to Mario.

First seen: New Super Mario Bros. U

You’d think Mario wouldn’t need anymore flying rodents after raccoons and tanookis, but Wii U launch game New Super Mario Bros. U added squirrels to the menagerie. To be honest, the gliding powers of Flying Squirrel Mario might be the most logical flight ability he’s ever had. Even more logical is the power-up’s ability to hold onto walls, something its has in common with...

First seen: Super Mario 3D World

Mario’s cat transformation reaches new heights of cuteness, and it even changes Mario’s behavior. He starts meowing, running on all four, and climbing walls with his new claws. Cat Mario is also great at destroying things, though he mainly uses it on Goombas, unlike real cats, who choose to focus on ruining your most prized possessions.

First seen: Super Mario 3D World

The only thing better than one Mario is two Marios, right? Or three, or four - depending on how many Double Cherry power-ups you can snag without losing any of your doppelgangers, you can amass the beginnings of a small clone army. It's also handy to know that any fatal touch won't bring you to a halt as long as you've got a backup Mario waiting in the wings, and making it to the end of a level with all your copies still intact feels amazing. Go team!