As I typed up my review for id Software’s Rage, I couldn’t help but look over the opinions of some of my fellow peers to see what they thought. I saw one site award it with a 9.5 based primarily on its technical achievements and all around fun (which, yes, it does have), and another go a little lower on the scale to about an 8.5, due to its lack of fundamentally bound story. And then I read this truly hateful review, where elements of the game were called “tedious” and logic never came into the picture. I’m not only to hop on any bandwagon. Instead, I decided to carefully work my way through the world of Rage the same way I did previous efforts by id Software, the development studio behind such classics as Doom and Quake. I was looking to have some fun. If I want “in-depth” gold digging or leveling up, I’ll go play a round of Borderlands. What I went scavenging for in Rage was the standout moments – blasting a puss-like monster to bits with a rocket launcher, taking out cart-riding bandits with homing missiles, throwing around a bladed Krull-like glaive to chop off limbs, visiting Crazy Joe, and dwelling opportunities on a job board. And despite some of these negative folk, Rage has plenty of these moments – and then some.
If you do need a story, here it is. You end up crash landing on a deserted planet, unaware of what’s happening and sticking out like a sore thumb in an “Arc Suit”. You’re rescued by one of the locals and brought back to his dwelling, where you slowly start to piece together information and goods by providing services for people, whether it’s killing bandits and acquiring a piece of explosive material or taking part in races merely to score some cash, so you can stock up on rockets, ammo and other supplies. It may annoy some of you to go on so many fetch quests, especially when these guys look just as able-bodied as the bandits, but that’s how you build reputation and assets. The fact of the matter is, you won’t really care what the folks tell you, because then you’ll hit the open road and get right into the action, which feels like pure id Software material. Yeah, the weapon-less roaming around each town hub does go a little slower than usual, but once you get a lay of the land, you can run where you need to go and then proceed to blast away at the monsters and bandits roaming outside city gates.
Outside of the exploration scenarios, Rage consists of two primary parts – first-person shooting and driving sequences. The first-person segments definitely feel like vintage id Software, though closer to Quake and Doom 3 than the older games. That’s fine, as you can pick up an assortment of weapons to help clean house. We’ve already talked about the rocket launcher and the cool Glaive weapon, but you can also pick up secondary ammunition for your other weapons, which you’ll need, as certain enemies – the puss monster, for one – take a lot more to bring down than you may expect. These segments handle fast and wonderfully, and you’ll feel every bit of intensity as you work your way into new areas, wondering what you’ll run into next. Oh, and the boss encounters? NUTS. Wait till you see the first guy, a large beast that spans three floors and takes precision hits in electrical areas to bring down. With a rocket launcher, no less. Then there are the driving sequences, and though it takes a little time to get from point A to point B in some cases (no instant teleport option here), it never gets painfully dull.
The racing action moves briskly, like Motorstorm but with an accelerated frame rate (more on that in a second), and the weapons react as expected, whether you’re dropping a mine on some doofus stupid enough to get behind you or activating a shield to show a weaponized R/C car who’s boss. Load up on rockets, though. You’ll thank me later. You’re not entirely own over the course of battle in Rage. You can lean on a few friends to help you out, like the track guy who happily agrees to let you race (provided you keep winning) or the garage owners who can fix your car for chump change – compared to what most mechanics charge nowadays, anyway. You’ll also gain allies in the Resistance, a group that’s fighting against the government-like Authority, who have a hidden agenda of their own. How they function is explained over the course of the game, though the lack of an epic conclusion may turn some of you off. But hey, sometimes it’s about the journey, not the destination, right? Speaking of which, Rage does have multiplayer, but not in the way you’d normally expect from id Software. There are no competitive first-person matches here, so if you’re looking for that, might we suggest a round or two of Doom II on Xbox Live Arcade.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to read our final thoughts on RAGE.
