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When
I heard about id
Software developed
and Bethesda
published
Rage,
I was instantly
excited. Supposedly
groundbreaking
graphically and a
badass shooter from
id… how can you go
wrong? I was a
little spooked, I’ll
admit… but probably
for a good reason. I
knew I wasn’t going
to get a lot of
sleep in the days
after the release of
Rage
because I was going
to have a lot of
late nights playing
a great game.
Before we get into
why
Rage
is so awesome, we
need to touch
briefly on where it
could have improved.
The storyline for
Rage
is weak. We’ve seen
the storyline in one
form or another in
various games over
the years. In
preparation for an
asteroid hitting
Earth, a select few
people are placed in
an underground
bunker and given
special powers. An
unnamed you is among
those people. After
the asteroid hits
and a few years
later, you wake up
from your sleep and
make your way out of
the bunker. You get
an awakening that
the world has
changed right away;
you get attacked by
some creepy dudes
but saved by a
wasteland settler.
Once you’re saved,
the story starts
with the settler
setting you out on a
few missions and
equipping you along
the way. Eventually
you figure out how
things work in the
post-asteroid
wasteland and you
advance a meager
story that’s not
nearly as important
as how id Software
is telling it.
The
storyline is weak-
Bethesda has
published games
similar to the
plot/background with
the
Fallout
series and 2K Games
put out
Borderlands,
which has a similar
environment too.
We’ve played games
in this type of
environment before.
The
story is a big
letdown too. It
feels like you’re
doing the chores and
errands similar to
stuff like
Fallout 3,
but without the
reward of decision
making or story
evolvement.
The
story takes a
backstage here, and
for once… that’s
okay. It’s okay
because id
Software’s
Rage
is visually
stunning. It’s the
best game that I’ve
seen on any system.
The textures and the
level design look
and feel brilliant
with every aspect of
every area seemingly
getting attention.
The character design
is just as brilliant
with incredible
attention to facial
movement and
realistic looks. The
game looks so
amazing in detail,
but you forget to
pay attention to the
incredible realism
of the id Tech 5
engine. The frame
rate and the
movement of the
characters, you, and
everything around
you are nothing
short of amazing.
Almost as impressive
as
Rage
visually, the game
controls
wonderfully. That’s
the first person
shooting part of the
game to the crazy
cart driving part of
it that takes you on
races and between
missions. The
controls are
incredibly tight and
responsive and they
play brilliantly.
The shooter part of
the game works well
because the enemies’
AI is intelligent
and hard to beat and
the reaction to how
and where you’re
shooting works
perfect. Headshots
could be more
rewarding, but
that’s a small gripe
when you look at the
big picture of
things. The driving
part of the game is
almost as cool as
the first person
shooter part.
The
controls are
extremely easy to
pick up and are fun
to play.
The
story is a tad
lacking with Rage,
the sound is
unimpressive too,
and the multi-player
is minimal compared
to previous id
Software efforts.
But all of this is
small change
compared to the
gameplay and the
graphics experience
that you’re getting
with
Rage.
It would be better
to get an enhanced
story and for the
developer to shore
up some of the
shortcomings, but
the final product is
a rewarding game
that you’ll enjoy
playing through for
hours and hours. And
yes… you’ll lose
some sleep with
Rage.
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