Thread: RAGE - (Review)

Its been almost 7 years since id Software's last game and now RAGE is finally upon us and all I can say is WOW!

RAGE is at heart an FPS / Racing game that contains RPG elements similar to Fallout 3 and New Vegas where a meteor has impacted earth and everything is now in a post apocalyptic state and is now run by a group called The Authority.

You start out waking up from an ark where you have no clue what is going on. You venture outside where you're attacked then rescued by a guy named Dan Hagar. He brings you back to a hideout where he informs you of bandits and The Authority that run The Wasteland. From here you are offered jobs for completing tasks similar to quests in Fallout 3 and of course you're rewarded for the deed when you return. These beginning quests are minor compared to what lies ahead later in the game and only serve to get you prepared for the rest of the game.

When you venture out into The Wasteland in which The Wasteland is how you travel back and forth to your destinations, you can choose to go on foot or using various vehicles. It is OK to travel on foot as long as your destination isn't far from the towns but any far travelling it is best to use a vehicle as bandits will attack you. In the beginning all you can do is really drive fast and get past them but later in the game you can upgrade the vehicles with mounted machine guns, rockets, mines and more so you can fight back. Once you're able to fight back with your vehicles it almost gives it a Twisted Metal type of vibe when driving in The Wasteland.

There are two main towns where most of the quests are generated from. That's Wellspring Town and Subway Town. Each town is full of unique characters just roaming about, doing their own thing, selling items etc. There are also characters you can interact with in the form of mini games too. There are card games, holographic board games, and even one old guy who is playing the put your hand on the table and stab in between your fingers with a knife game. That one is fun! There is a bar where the owners will offer you money and race certificates for each bandit vehicle you destroy in The Wasteland. There are job postings on walls too where you can take on odd jobs for cash.

The quests in RAGE vary and range from finding items, protecting people, to wiping out all the bandits or The Authority who occupy that space. As with Fallout 3, there is plenty of loot to find laying around and on each guy you kill. You can take on more than one quest at a time and do them in the order you choose.

The AI of enemies is quite good too. They are aware of the situations and do duck and run for cover. Some other guys however just rush you quickly. The mutants are the quickest of the enemies and they can hang and crawl from ceilings and walls in the blink of any eye making it harder to hit them. There are also several large semi boss fights.

Weapons in RAGE follow the Bioshock route in having various types of ammo you can use for them. Some enemies have pulse shields so you should switch to pulse rounds to knock out the shield to deal with them easier. You get a pistol, machine gun, shotgun, sniper rifle and a few other surprises. The Anarchy Edition comes with extras like the double barrel shotgun, fists of rage gauntlets, rat rod buggy and some extra sewer levels all of which must be downloaded and activated from PSN.

There are plenty of items and ammo to find through the levels. Too bad you can't pickup and use enemies weapons but the ones you have are good enough. You can find pieces to certain items and once you have all the right pieces you can build a new item. From health packs, to door lock busters and more. Some of the loot is just junk but you can sell that back at the vendors.

Vehicles in the game are customizeable by competing in racing events and winning race certificates. The race certificates act as currency for the vehicle vendors to upgrade your cars with machine guns, rockets, mines, pulse bombs, armor, tire spikes and more. Upgrades are crucial if you want to survive in The Wasteland.

Gameplay is fast and smooth and always has you doing something new. Controls are easy to pick up and get going. Menu system has a good and easy to navigate layout.

When you get killed, you're actually not dead just yet, you have a chance to revive yourself by your ark suits defibrillator giving you a good jolt of juice to wake you back up. This is done through the combination of pushing the analog sticks in multiple directions then in the end pushing L2 and R2 over the icons. If anyone is close to you when you do this, they'll get a good harmful shock as well. Once you do this though, the defibrillator needs to charge back up or the next time you will be dead for sure.

The new id-Tech 5 graphics engine is leaps and bounds above anything ever seen in a video game. This of course is id Software's trademark in always pushing the visual fidelity in video games and they have achieved it once again. The atmosphere in some of the levels will have you doing a double take and you'll be asking yourself am I looking at a photo? The graphics are just that good.

Currently backups aren't playable as the game requires 3.70 but there is a patch that is 3.60 so if 3.60 CFW ever surfaces you're in luck. The game is however worth every penny. Go buy it in the mean time!

Sounds like a great game! Somebody PLEASE find the keys!!!

some guy i know bought it and he is full of compliments for this game... anyway, it´s a shooter, so, how awesome can it be?

I have the game and have played it through twice. Thought it was a blast!

I wanted to like it. I rented it and only played it for maybe 5-8 hours. I just couldn't get in to it.

Originally Posted by randallray

...have played it through twice

i have another game for you:
reallife!

the best part: it´s free :D

Originally Posted by Brokebad

i have another game for you:
reallife!

the best part: it´s free :D

My back hurts from reallife.