RAGE Review

A post-apocalyptic wasteland as a playground is nothing new to the gaming world, but what makes the difference between the game being good or bad lies solely in the studio’s vision of this world. Id Software under the umbrella of Bethesda has created an post-apocalyptic world with RAGE. The latest game that I have been enjoying thoroughly and would even go as far as saying that I enjoy it more than Fallout. Don’t get me wrong the games are vastly different in several aspects, but if I had to choose what apocalyptic setting I was thrown into the sheer beauty of this Hell-hole (oxymoron?) is enough to keep me hooked.

Rage starts you off watching a cinematic that shows the impact of asteroid Apophis. The scene was done very well and I would love an HD desktop background of the impact (ahem…Bethesda) and it was even better because rarely do games give you a scene to show you what happened in the lead up to the game’s story. Fallout, Gears of War, et cetera throw you right in the middle of the world. You aren’t lost because of this, but just like in movies people love to see how it began (i.e. super hero movies).

After this scene you are awoken from an “Ark”. Basically they are like lifeboats for the impact and you were lucky enough to get on one and survive. Unfortunately people survived this impact that weren’t very lucky and have started rebuilding civilization under control of a tyrant government. This is where your experience begins.

You will be given quests from different people in a revamped dialogue system that doesn’t have your character speak. You approach a person and they will either talk to you or they won’t and every so often they will offer you a job or need help. You find out by listening to them and/or an option to hit the A button over them will show up. You simply press A, the game shows you one or two sentences on the job and you accept or decline.

You will do these throughout the world and can stumble upon some pretty fun quests with a variety of rewards. It was nice to listen to dialogue that wasn’t detrimental to the story so you don’t have to constantly try to dissect the story being told. It made the world feel real, something that is lost upon some developers who feel like cramming every bit of story they can through in-game dialogue.

The actual gameplay I am on the fence about. The lands are beautiful, but riddle with invisible walls. Id Software created this world that gives such an illusion of freedom and travel, but it doesn’t take long to figure out that your paths are very limited and you are being guided through the game with these limitations. Don’t get me wrong I think the amount of freedom in Fallout is way too excessive so I was happy to see I didn’t have to worry about finding ultra-mega-rare weapons but at the same time I don’t like feeling there is no point in exploring.

That being said, I do like how much more efficient you can be going through a game with these constraints but I also am a gamer and when you give me the ability to jump and my jump height is more than enough to clear a certain railing, you bet your ass I will try to jump the hell out of it.
The controls are very similar to Borderlands if not exactly the same. Y jumps, right thumbstick click does a melee, and everything is else is the same except that LB isn’t a special move but rather a quick use button for things like bandages, grenades, and deadly fun weapons that resemble boomerangs.

A lot of the combat is close quarters and at times I wish I could take cover on walls (especially after playing Gears) so I found myself having to play peek-a-boo against a barrage of bullets which made me feel ridiculous.
The other aspect of the gameplay are the vehicles. I am not a racing fan, but the driving was fun. Whether it were Mario-kart/Halo style races with power-ups, weapons, and destruction or just a straight three laps for prizes, racing was fun. You could even earn and win car parts or tickets to upgrade your cars. The vehicle customization is fairly extensive.

I completed all the races in the first town ‘WellSpring’ and with the combination of a quest or two plus racing certificates I earned from winning lower level races, I turned the dune buggy I had into a decently armored machine with rockets, professional tires, an Id Software paint job, and much more. Like I said it wasn’t deep customization but it is a nice touch. Plus having a good vehicle is very helpful traveling town to town through the wastelands.

Towns are one of my favorite things in a game if they are done well. I envy developers who get to have their vision created into a game when it is done well. Using the town of WellSpring again for an example, puts you in a western-styled city. The style is very Steam Punk and you can find people playing classic games like five-finger fillet and more original games like a dice game that has you wager money, roll four dice, and get four cross-hairs in three rolls before the mutants reach your character on a hologram board. These little touches make the world seem real and create the attachment outside of the game.

In towns you can also buy and sell your loot/junk. Rage did a good job of giving the system depth without overwhelming players. They have an engineering system that allows you create objects like lock grinders, bandages, potions, et cetera if you find or buy the correct ingredients. Also a variety of bullets for each gun, for example you can get mind control arrows that you can shoot into an enemy and turn them into a suicide bomber allowing you to guide them into their allies.

The towns also sell upgrades for your vehicles, upgrades for your armor, and new weapons. You will come across all of this through missions/quests but don’t expect to pick any of weapons/vehicle pieces off of downed foes because they only drop ammo and money.

The world itself is one of the most graphically impressive that I have played in. I stress the word World though, the characters in town are pretty detailed but other than that enemies you fight and the graphics while driving vehicles are pretty generic. The world though, the landscapes, the scenery, all of it just blow me away at the level of detail and how real it looks. When I began playing my brother walked in and thought I was watching a TV show or a movie because it looked incredible, and he is a non-gamer. That is what made the biggest difference to me, when you give me a real looking post-apocalyptic world I want to put myself in there, Fallout doesn’t do it for me because the graphics are terrible for a next-gen game, and games like Borderlands with similar art style don’t quite get it because the graphics are too cell-shaded and cartoony. This was Id Software’s biggest plus with RAGE. However the entire time I played, I felt like something was missing. Sure it had co-op missions and multiplayer, but I felt like the entire game could have been co-op.

The current multiplayer offered a Twisted Metal/Mario Kart hybrid that allowed players to level up, earn medals, and compete on leaderboards but the gameplay was too much like an arcade game.

I did enjoy the co-op missions they added in though. The game placed you in prequels and different characters perspectives and let you experience them with a friend. The co-op had a call of duty style score system on nine missions where you could choose the difficulty. I wish there was more to it but I respect the taste they gave me.

There is no escaping the similarities and resemblance to Borderlands, the difference being they did it better. I feel like Id Software used this game as a test. A test to show what they had to offer, to excite you, and to attach you to this world. With sales pending, this game could easily be pegged for a sequel. A sequel that can offer four player co-op, a more wide open world, and character/vehicle customization that allows players to standout from their friends and show off their characters, would be perfect.

Then again I am a dreamer, I am the person still waiting for Bethesda to allow me just one friend to play Elder Scrolls with, the person waiting for LucasArts to make Gladius 2, and for Southend Interactive to remake Deathrow. Just a bunch of dreams that will probably never come true, but until I will enjoy the world Id Software has created in RAGE and after you play it perhaps you will agree about my rambling above.

A copy of Rage for Xbox 360 was provided to us for this review from Bethesda.