M.A.X. can be played either as a real-time game or as a turn-based strategy game. M.A.X. is very similar to Command & Conquer and Warcraft, where your main objective is to build your base, gather resources, construct buildings, recruit units, and defeat your opponents. M.A.X. features more than 50 units—on land, at sea, and in the air—and every unit can be upgraded for weapons, speed, and armor.
In M.A.X., your mission is to colonize planets to extract valuable resources from their underground deposits while avoiding war with competitors who threaten your operation.