RAGE: Anarchy Edition
(PS3, 360, PC)
(PS3, 360, PC)
Developed by id software
Published by Bethesda Softworks
Rated M
Score: 78 out of 100
Score: 78 out of 100
Rage is the latest FPS game by id software, the guys that brought us Doom and Quake. The game takes place in a post apocalyptic world savaged by a rogue asteroid, dubbed 99942 Apophis. You are the lucky lone survivor of his Ark. Arks were built by the worlds governments before the asteroid hit. Their purpose was to put the strongest and smartest of the world in cold sleep to await the world becoming habitable again. Each Ark burrowed beneath the surface and waited for an activation code before they rose back to the surface to release their sleeping passengers.
Like any good Post Apocalyptic movie or game though we all know everything can't go to plan. That's Rule #1 of the post apocalypse. Some of the Ark's malfunctioned, of course. This led to different things. Some Ark's just shut down, killing their sleeping guests. Others rose early, disgorging their occupants into a harsh hell of an earth. Your Ark, luckily enough (Rule #4) rose on time and left you, and only you, alive.
You stumble out of your Ark, no idea where or who you are, and get promptly attacked by wasteland bandits. A kind soul steps in and rescues you. Thus begins your journey through RAGE...
I went into Rage with some expectations I won't lie. I expected a competent shooter from the masters of the genre with some pretty graphics. I expected to play it for about 6 hours and maybe get another 2 out of multiplayer. What I got was a solid shooter, amazing graphics, and an incredibly detailed world that lived and breathed. I enjoyed this game a lot. So here it comes.
Like any good Post Apocalyptic movie or game though we all know everything can't go to plan. That's Rule #1 of the post apocalypse. Some of the Ark's malfunctioned, of course. This led to different things. Some Ark's just shut down, killing their sleeping guests. Others rose early, disgorging their occupants into a harsh hell of an earth. Your Ark, luckily enough (Rule #4) rose on time and left you, and only you, alive.
You stumble out of your Ark, no idea where or who you are, and get promptly attacked by wasteland bandits. A kind soul steps in and rescues you. Thus begins your journey through RAGE...
I went into Rage with some expectations I won't lie. I expected a competent shooter from the masters of the genre with some pretty graphics. I expected to play it for about 6 hours and maybe get another 2 out of multiplayer. What I got was a solid shooter, amazing graphics, and an incredibly detailed world that lived and breathed. I enjoyed this game a lot. So here it comes.
Das Breakdown!
Presentation: 20
The graphics and audio of this game are pretty amazing. This engine is by far the prettiest i've seen yet. Now if only we could get all the developers that use the unreal engine to switch over we'd have tons of sexy, pretty games. Not that it is a flawless beauty of course. There are some serious issues with textures not scaling up to HD quite as quick as I would like. They do scale though and this isn't an issue really during combat, just during downtime when you have the time to actually look at the scenery. A lot of games have this scaling issue lately though, Mass Effect being another big name game that has the texture scaling issue. The art direction they took with this game is nice. By this point we've seen a lot of post apocalyptic worlds and this one has some differences that set it apart. The biggest difference is the chunks of meteor that dot the landscape. It honestly looks like you're travelling around an alien planet for the most part. The game has a slight cell shaded effect to it as well. Not as pronounced as Borderlands but it helps really bring out the scenery as you tool around the world. The sound effects are solid, nothing amazing to write home about. The voice cast though were pretty great. John Goodman in particular was an awesome surprise. The whole voice cast did a superb job.
The graphics and audio of this game are pretty amazing. This engine is by far the prettiest i've seen yet. Now if only we could get all the developers that use the unreal engine to switch over we'd have tons of sexy, pretty games. Not that it is a flawless beauty of course. There are some serious issues with textures not scaling up to HD quite as quick as I would like. They do scale though and this isn't an issue really during combat, just during downtime when you have the time to actually look at the scenery. A lot of games have this scaling issue lately though, Mass Effect being another big name game that has the texture scaling issue. The art direction they took with this game is nice. By this point we've seen a lot of post apocalyptic worlds and this one has some differences that set it apart. The biggest difference is the chunks of meteor that dot the landscape. It honestly looks like you're travelling around an alien planet for the most part. The game has a slight cell shaded effect to it as well. Not as pronounced as Borderlands but it helps really bring out the scenery as you tool around the world. The sound effects are solid, nothing amazing to write home about. The voice cast though were pretty great. John Goodman in particular was an awesome surprise. The whole voice cast did a superb job.
Story: 15
The main story is solid but I felt it could have really been fleshed out better. I mean, you have these quest objectives, it's pretty linear, but you feel like you're just treading water until about 75% through the game. Then it finally starts to get good and then the game ends. The payoff to the main quest line is pretty weak. It feels less like a real ending and more like an intentional cliffhanger for DLC or a sequel. On the other hand, the side quests are incredibly robust sometimes. All of them help paint this amazing picture of a detailed world. The sidequests really breath life into what was starting to become a stale world there for a minute. The NPC's and your interactions with them also really help to flesh out the world. All of the NPC's are believable
The main story is solid but I felt it could have really been fleshed out better. I mean, you have these quest objectives, it's pretty linear, but you feel like you're just treading water until about 75% through the game. Then it finally starts to get good and then the game ends. The payoff to the main quest line is pretty weak. It feels less like a real ending and more like an intentional cliffhanger for DLC or a sequel. On the other hand, the side quests are incredibly robust sometimes. All of them help paint this amazing picture of a detailed world. The sidequests really breath life into what was starting to become a stale world there for a minute. The NPC's and your interactions with them also really help to flesh out the world. All of the NPC's are believable
Gameplay: 22
The core game mechanics are solid. The controls respond well and are nice and tight. As far as FPS controls go this one is pretty polished. The one thing I didn't like was that even though I could jump there really wasn't much of a call for it. I couldn't jump up to places I thought I should be able to because of invisible walls. There were only two parts that I remember off hand where I actually used the jump, and both of them felt just thrown in there. Both the friendly and enemy NPC's AI are pretty good as well. Enemies don't just run and hide, or rush you madly. Well, a couple do, but thats because they are only armed with a knife or their bare hands. They try to dodge the bullets you shoot at them, they yell and scream, updating each other on your movements or tactics. I just wish there was a bit more variety in the enemies. I understand that this is supposed to be a more realistic approach than say Fallout, or Borderlands, but I felt that there could have been more variety regardless.
One thing I was surprised about though is the vehicular combat parts of the game. I was not expecting such a robust vehicle section from a FPS game. The vehicle's respond well and you have access to a bunch of different parts and equipment to customize your cars. Overall, it's probably the most fun I've had with car combat since the last Twisted Metal.
Another thing that surprised me was the crafting system and just the amount of gear and gadgets you get in game. You find all manner of bits and pieces around the world and some of those bits you can use to put together some very helpful gear. I personally loved the Wingsticks, they are incredibly helpful vs. the melee enemies. You can build your own ammo, lock picks, or even sentry turrets and roving robot sentries. The RC bomb cars are another personal favorite. I just wish the enemies didn't shoot them so quickly.
The core game mechanics are solid. The controls respond well and are nice and tight. As far as FPS controls go this one is pretty polished. The one thing I didn't like was that even though I could jump there really wasn't much of a call for it. I couldn't jump up to places I thought I should be able to because of invisible walls. There were only two parts that I remember off hand where I actually used the jump, and both of them felt just thrown in there. Both the friendly and enemy NPC's AI are pretty good as well. Enemies don't just run and hide, or rush you madly. Well, a couple do, but thats because they are only armed with a knife or their bare hands. They try to dodge the bullets you shoot at them, they yell and scream, updating each other on your movements or tactics. I just wish there was a bit more variety in the enemies. I understand that this is supposed to be a more realistic approach than say Fallout, or Borderlands, but I felt that there could have been more variety regardless.
One thing I was surprised about though is the vehicular combat parts of the game. I was not expecting such a robust vehicle section from a FPS game. The vehicle's respond well and you have access to a bunch of different parts and equipment to customize your cars. Overall, it's probably the most fun I've had with car combat since the last Twisted Metal.
Another thing that surprised me was the crafting system and just the amount of gear and gadgets you get in game. You find all manner of bits and pieces around the world and some of those bits you can use to put together some very helpful gear. I personally loved the Wingsticks, they are incredibly helpful vs. the melee enemies. You can build your own ammo, lock picks, or even sentry turrets and roving robot sentries. The RC bomb cars are another personal favorite. I just wish the enemies didn't shoot them so quickly.
Overall: 21
Overall the game comes together really well. When you are sitting there in the middle of combat, fighting for your life, alien vista's spread out before you, the game just clicks. It had a couple of dull spots in it and there are some small nit picky things I talked about earlier but that all fades into the background for the most part. There are lots of little things and mini-games that also add to the overall experience. The collectible card game that is in there is lots of fun for those who like them. Pretty tough as well. There is also a mini-game of five finger fillet. You know, the game with the knife where you stab it down on the table between your fingers. A nifty little side game if you have the patience. You can tell while playing the game that the developers really cared about making a complete world. I scoured the world while I played trying to find all the fluff stuff and there is a pretty good amount to be found. This game, regardless of the small flaws, is a solid gaming experience that satisfies an itch I've had since Doom.
Overall the game comes together really well. When you are sitting there in the middle of combat, fighting for your life, alien vista's spread out before you, the game just clicks. It had a couple of dull spots in it and there are some small nit picky things I talked about earlier but that all fades into the background for the most part. There are lots of little things and mini-games that also add to the overall experience. The collectible card game that is in there is lots of fun for those who like them. Pretty tough as well. There is also a mini-game of five finger fillet. You know, the game with the knife where you stab it down on the table between your fingers. A nifty little side game if you have the patience. You can tell while playing the game that the developers really cared about making a complete world. I scoured the world while I played trying to find all the fluff stuff and there is a pretty good amount to be found. This game, regardless of the small flaws, is a solid gaming experience that satisfies an itch I've had since Doom.
My Score: 78 out of 100
Fair Price Point: $40
I think that $40 is a fair price for this game. It's not worth $60 but few games are worth that nowadays. The campaign with my completing the lions share of the sidequests (not 100% yet) took me just over 15 hours. Most FPS's today take me at right around 3 hours to complete so playing a FPS for 15 hours and being sucked into it for that long amazed me. The multiplayer aspects are actually fun as well and add to the value, another rare thing for a game. Speaking of which....
Multiplayer: 8 out of 10
Why do I have Multiplayer separate? I'll have a post just for that subject but long story short. Multiplayer should NEVER be the reason you put down money on a game. Now the multiplayer in Rage is different from what you expect from a FPS game. It has two modes. Road Rage and Wasteland Legends.
The Wasteland Legends is a Co-Op campaign that is really fun. You and a friend take control of one of the NPC's from the main campaign and play through an episode of their life. It's really neat to hear the NPC tell the story in the main game then go play through it with a friend. It really shows the dedication that the developers had to making a living breathing world.
The other mode, Road Rage is a points based free for all. You race around various arena's collecting points that pop up and killing other players for their points. First to collect a certain amount of points wins. It's a fun Twisted Metal like game. I'm just amazed that the actual multiplayer part of the game isn't an FPS but instead a vehicular combat game. It's pretty refreshing actually and it will hold me over until the new Twisted Metal comes out.
Feedback and Comments are appreciated. Did my review help in your decision to buy the game? Let me know. Also follow me on Twitter or my page on Facebook.
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