Game Review: RAGE

Review of Rage

Greetings User’s and Browser of the Internet! This is my review of the video game RAGE.

Warning this review may contain spoilers.

Before we get started a bit a disclaimer: My favorite Post-apocalyptic and video game period is Fallout Three so throughout this review I may draw comparisons between the two. So if you haven’t played Fallout 3. PLAY IT NOW!!!

On with the review!

Rage is a game released in 2011, developed by id Software and distributed by Bethesda Softworks.

Lets start off with, in my opinion, the most important element of a good game, the story.

The story starts off with an asteroid called 99942 Apophis about to hit the Earth. This already sets it apart from other games, as most post apocalyptic media involves atomic bombs or zombies. Could we take a break from that please?

Before the asteroid hit, the world governments set in motion the Eden Project where selected individuals would survive the impact in underground shelters called Arks. One hundred years later after the impact, the player character Nicholas Raine emerges from his ark. He is rescued by a band of settlers, in this Mad Max-Fallout-esque world of tomorrow. At first he sent out to do jobs to help the folks who rescued him out. Go to different locations, shoot up bandits or a race of mutants that plaques the wastes, look for things, all that good stuff. He later learns that there is this mysterious, advanced faction in the wasteland called the Authority that wants to take over the remnants of humanity, and they are searching for Ark Survivors, like Nicholas. He then joins a group called the Resistance that is fighting the authority. They send him on missions warring against the Authority leading up to a showdown at their headquarters.

The world they create is very interesting. While it takes place in the future as in one hundred years from the apocalypse the world that the asteroid hit was a futuristic one from our own. So things like hovercraft, robots and prosthetic limbs can be found in the wastes. The graphics of this game are some of the best that have ever come out of gaming. It is gorgeous! The frame rate is as smooth as butter. It’s even a little overwhelming at first! The wastes may be desolate but they offer stunning vistas and views. While my edition on the PS3 has bit of a delay when loading graphics they are well worth the wait.

Every location simply oozes with detail and atmosphere and every location is unique. We have wasted truck stops, banks, power plants, steel mills, and many others and they all are a visual feast. The character design is excellent and every character even those in the background have a unique and memorable appearance.

Now lets talk about the gameplay.

The gameplay elements are some of the best I have ever played even compared to other famous FPS’s such as Bioshock or Borderlands. In those other games there is not a lot of variety with combat. The enemies just sort of stand there shooting at you while you shoot them back. In Rage it is completely different. The enemy will not only shoot at you but when you shoot them back, they will react as if they had been shot. Shoot a bandit in the legs and it will crawl behind some cover. Others will duck behind a pillar and stick their guns out to shoot you. The duck and leap and climb on the walls trying to get to you.

You get a variety of unique weaponry. Each gun had its distinctive feel and effect with a wide variety of different ammunition that offers a rich chance for strategy.

All while using the game’s stunning graphics

There is one critical flaw in the game that is extremely irritating and could be a serious turn off for some gamers. Rage has an autosave system but it is severely lacking, often only saving at the beginning of a stage. Especially if you are a gamer who gets killed a lot you have to save manually which can seriously disrupt your momentum.

Well that should be great! Right? Ten out of Ten Right!!!

Well...

This is one of those situations in creative media where one factor is done so well that is almost works to it detriment.

The side quests are fun but they all follow the same pattern really: “Go here, shoot stuff, come back” It would have been nice for them to have a little more depth and narrative. Bioshock had audio diaries and Fallout 3 had terminal entries to add depth to the stage you were in. Things like this are absent in RAGE. That leads into the next problem with the gameplay, and the fact that it is very linear. The world they craft is a rich one but we don’t see any of it. One of my favorite aspects of a game like Fallout 3 is the incredible exploration element but that is absent in Rage and there is so much potential for stories in this world and it is very disappointing that you can’t go behind that locked door or go inside that building.

We are given this elaborate detailed world but with little to explore. While you drive through the wasteland you see many other ruins but you can’t get inside of them. You can’t even revisit some areas after you have completed the missions.

There are these books scattered through the wasteland but we don’t get to read them.

And the side characters! They all have a name and a lot of them have unique designs and it’s obvious they have a lot of character but we don’t get to talk to them beyond the few quest givers and we don’t even hear any overheard conversations. Some of the NPC’s are really interesting and I was left with the sensation of wanting more.

The story is not simply explored well enough

There is a novelization of the game that I have read, but frankly that is not much help either. It’s not very good and seems to contradict the game in several places.

Another gaff a lot of fans have with the game is the driving aspect. Some fans love it and some fans hate it. I suppose you could lump me into the middle ground. It seems that Rage was trying to do a little too much with this game and it suffered as a result. I don’t mind so much the driving through the world to get to other locations. The racing aspect, however, while fun, does seem a little unnecessary. If your going to make an FPS go all out and leave the racing games to other studios.

The best way to describe the whole thing is like a candy bar. Tasty and filling but not a lot of nutritional value.

And finally there is the game’s final act. I won’t spoil it here, but simply put, the game doesn’t really end...it just stops. Nothing is clearly resolved and we are left with disappointment and a bitter longing for more.

Final Verdict.

Does Rage have its flaws? Yes. But I can say with certainty that Rage is an entertaining, creative game that is a lot of fun to play and provide hours of entertainment for the casual and hardcore gamer, and I can say with certainty that I hope they make a sequel.

Final Score:

B+