Publisher:Bethesda
Developer: id
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Release Date: 10/4/2011
Its not often we get a new game from legendary developer “id software”, so the release of “Rage” is no small thing. Loving the phrase “It’ll be ready when its ready”, id makes people wait for their games, and in the past they have generally been worth the wait. With the likes of “Doom”, “Wolfenstien” and “Quake” flushing out their past catalogue its even rarer to see a new franchise come out of “id”. So is it worth the wait for a game that isn’t part of their many beloved franchises, or should they have just given us “Doom 4″?
Functionality
In the spirit of its First Person Shooter brethren “Rage” keeps with family values, focusing on the shooter part of the FPS acronym. Polish and tight controls are the name of the game here and are much appreciated over the reasonably long campaign. Clocking in at nearly fourteen hours on my relatively quick playthrough, the game ran much longer than I expected. And I hardly did any side missions. Although I did tend to sit around and stare at the amazing scenery, and search out the many Easter eggs. And although it is a shooter it is far separated from its more arcade like cousins. Rage really allows you to play how you want using the gear you want. With a creation tool allowing you to make things from bandages to sentry bots. And the ability to upgradable vehicles, and a multitude of side quests rage is a great mix of linier shooter and open world RPG that somehow manages to flow together.
Unlike most shooters, “Rage” isn’t about the guns, but about Bullets. Or Bullet types to be more precise. There are modest selection of guns in the game, ranging from your pistol to a, crossbow, rocket launcher and Mini Gun. The guns themselves are your standard fare and do their perspective jobs well enough. Where the fun is had though is in what comes out of them. Each gun by games end has two to four bullet options for you to play with. This effectively breaks the game making you nearly unstoppable if you fully exploit these options. A fine example is “Mind Control Bolts” fired from the crossbow which effectively turn your enemies into controllable hand grenades. Or “Fat Boy” and “Big Mamma” rounds fired from your handgun which are devastatingly powerful shots that can bring down most baddies in a few hits. Then my personal favorite, the “Pop Rocks” fired by the Shotgun, that essentially turn your shotgun into a grenade launcher that will blow even the largest enemies away. And if you take advantage of the items creation ability you will almost never run out of any of these ammo types. And if that doesn’t work for you just through a “Wingstick”. Those puppies should be put on a best weapons ever list.
As I said before controls are tight and responsive, especially in the driving parts, which is a pleasant surprise considering id games have hardly ever even made it out doors, let alone let you drive vehicles. And trust me it is a good thing, and just the right amount of it. I know many people were worried when id first showed the driving bits that the game would be too much of a departure from past titles, and would focus too heavy on the new driving elements. Illtell you know that is not the case at all. The game rarely requires you to be in a vehicle and the times you are, are a thrill. Even the races are some of the funnest I’ve played invoking a strong feeling of “Twisted Metal” influence.
The game features two main online modes, “Combat Rally”, and “Legends”. Combat rally has several modes mostly centered around vehicle mayhem. There is your ‘Team Deathmatch”, and “Combat Rally” which is everyone trying to take down the leader.
“Legends” is a Co-Op mode where you and a friend get to play through past missions not featured in the game, as told by the “Wellsprings” Sheriff. The settings are taken right out of game missions such a the “Prison” and “Bash T.V.” levels. The players are generally tasked to get through an area killing all the badies, while competing for points that are awarded for kills. My experience on this mode wasn’t exactly pleasant as the game kept glitching causing me to be stuck in the environment or not be able to get to the next area and finish the map.
Presentation
There’s no if and or buts, “Rage” is a beautiful game. Utilizing id’s new “id tech 5″ game engine, “Rage” shines as a peek at what’s to come for games. Amazingly colorful and detailed environments are full of character and wonder as you traverse the world. NPC’s are brought to life with great detail and incredible movement and body language. And enemies vault around the map like nothing I’ve seen before in a game, making each battle feel dynamic and unpredictable. Explosions and deaths are visceral and devastating, and each gun gives you proper feedback to let you know that you are holding something destructive.
The visuals in “Rage” really soar, but are not perfect. The game suffers from texture pop, on all systems, even if its installed. And at times some movement can be over exaggerated feeling more cartoony than real. But honestly in the bigger picture these are nit picks. The version I manly played was for the Xbox 360, and didn’t suffer from the myriad of problems reported on the PC build. And the tight controls and sixty frames per second gameplay easily made me forgive the little glitch and pop from time to time.
Atmosphere
Its hard not to play rage without thinking of “Fallout” and “Borderlands”. Even the music can evoke memories of the other games from time to time. Its hard to be hugely original in a post apocalyptic setting these days. “Rage” stands on the quality of its gameplay, but with no real emotion ever shown from the main character, and a world that seems so familiar its hard to get a since that “Rage” has its own identity to make it stand out from the crowd. I have no real complaints about the atmosphere in rage. Its rich and detailed. The music strikes all the right cords and is well made. But the game just lacks that original feel that makes you nostalgic for it one day.
Plot
Rage takes place in the future when an asteroid named “Apophis”, which incidentally is a real life asteroid that got uncomfortably close to Earth in 2004, strikes Earth killing most of Humanity. Man kind knowing that the end was near buried several “Arcs” in the ground with people and information that will one day help humanity survive again. You are one of these “Arc” survivors. You awaken from your pod to find you are the only one to survive in your “Arc” over the years. After you get set and venture forth to the world, its not long until you are attacked by members of the “Ghost Clan”. One of “Rages” several tribes of evil doers. Before they can skin you however you are saved by one of “Rages” main denizens how is voiced by none other than John Goodman. They soon put you to work helping out the locals and fighting enemies, and before you know it you are whisked into the rebellion and put into the roll of the only person that can give the people back their freedom from the tyrannical and blandly named “Authority”.
So not many points for originality in the plot (Coughs “Fallout 3″), but at least it has one, unlike some games today. And due to well written and designed NPC’s that help move you on through the games narrative you start to really enjoy the world and like the people in it. Enough so that I would really miss even some of the minor characters if they aren’t in the inevitable sequel.
One thing the game lacked was closure. The game just kind of ends. And by the time you get to the end of the game, its way to easy with all of your upgraded weapons and gear. To further this lack of climax, there is no real end boss. I found myself saving up all of my best kit waiting for a huge showdown that never came, and I ended up beating the game with my SMG and Wingsticks. My recommendation is to start the game on Hard if you want much of a challenge.
Legacy Rating
Will this game last through time? Few developers inspire such blind admiration and devoted following like id. And its well deserved in this case. They are a team that without them the game industry would not be the way it is today. Their games are always polished and become instant classics, and “Rage” is no exception. It doesn’t have the immediate name power of “Doom” and “Quake”, but I believe that if a follow-up sequel can turn this into a successful franchise, “Rage” has the ability to one day stand up with its contemporaries as one of the great shooters.
How does it compare to other games? Id be lying if I didn’t say that “Rage” has a bit of an issue making its plot stand out in the post apocalyptic crowd. But on a gameplay standard there are few that can compete. The game is fun, smooth and great to look at. with a above average in length campaign and a slew of side activities, “Rage” blows most other shooters out of the water.
Buy or Rent? For me this was a must buy. Its not often these days you get a game worth sixty bucks. With so many disappointments this year it was great to play a game that surpassed my expectations. A long story mode, and co-op and multiplayer, the game has plenty of content. The only thing that I really wish it had was New Game Plus. c’est la vie.
