RAGE Review: A Beautiful Ride in a Harsh World

id Software is well known for the Doom and Quake series, but they have not developed a big budget title since Doom 3. It’s safe to say that id Software came back strong with a new I.P. and hopefully a franchise that will stay with us for a while. RAGE is id’s first appearance in the open world genre, but does RAGE have what it takes to pull gamers into a new franchise?

RAGE
Developer: id Software
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 [reviewed]
Price: $59.99

RAGE is set on Earth 106 years after an asteroid wipes out most of the world, save a few pockets of settlements that have managed to survive. Before the asteroid hit, however, governments around the world built “Arks” to house a few volunteers to reenter the world some time after the asteroid hit, to rebuild humanity. This is where the main protagonist (silent protagonist) begins his quest as he enters to find his fellow Ark volunteers dead. His adventure takes him to various locations in the Wasteland, and pits him up against various factions of Bandits, mutants, and the Authority, an organization with mysterious intentions for the Ark survivors, and with so much power that many are afraid to step up against them. The Resistance is the only group that fights against the Authority, but does so from secret hiding places.

Our hero meets various characters on his adventure in the Wasteland, many of which offer unique and interesting personalities. Each encounter with non-playable characters are enjoyable and made me feel immersed in the Wasteland. I found myself wanting to talk to every NPC that I came across just to hear their thoughts on the various happenings in the Wasteland.

The NPCs, however, are a contributing factor to the one thing that bothered me throughout my review run of RAGE. Yes, I was amazed by the voice over work and the sense of immersion that NPCs left me with, but they supplied the motive for the protagonist. Not once did I feel as if my character had his own motive for why he fights against the Authority, other than the motive that the Resistance and other characters give him. Not that I think this game could benefit from a Karma system, or at least the player be given an option to either fight for the resistance or the Authority. I appreciate that id Software has taken a linear path for its story, but I would have loved to see my main protagionst have his own reasons for supporting the citizens of the Wasteland, and have his own motives for fighting the Authority.

I was very interested in the story, as I think there was an uplifting message buried within the surface of an otherwise brutal and harsh game (which I can’t explain without spoiling the story). Some of the story missions, however, made the pace fall flat; leaving me uninterested in what was coming next. Not to say that game play was the reason why I felt bogged down by ‘errand boy’ type missions, because I loved every minute of the combat (more on that soon). I felt that some of the missions made strides in the story, pushing it forward to make me really enjoy the tale id Software set out to tell, however some missions had the opposite effect, and did little to push the story forward and only felt like filler missions.

I am completely sold on the game play, which I think is excellent and never grew old to me. id Software showed that they can develop solid FPS controls that, I believe, can compete with today’s FPS juggernauts. Each shotgun blast, grenade blast, and decapitation caused by Wingsticks (a boomerang type weapon that is also my favorite weapon in the game) satisfied me as much as the last and never made the combat feel dull. Customizing the weapons with different ammo types helps ensure that the combat never becomes dull, and allows the player to think strategically when facing the many foes in the Wasteland.

The combat is intense thanks to the A.I. adapting to your style. If you rush the enemy, shooting everything in sight, your enemy will find cover and quickly pick you off as you foolishly move forward without taking cover. Should you hide behind cover, however, you will soon be greeted by advancing enemies that look to rush your position. The A.I. is impressive in these intense moments, and requires tactics on the part of the player in order to succeed.

Like many post apocalyptic type games, (and most RPG’s for that matter), players will come across a healthy number of loot and random objects around the Wasteland of RAGE. A few of these objects are pointless and are only meant to be sold for cash, but other objects can be combined to form tools important to the protagonist’s survival.

Gun combat and item building is not the only thing RAGE does well. Vehicle game play is done so well that, I believe, id Software could have went ahead and developed a driving/car combat game. Driving a vehicle does not take long to get used to, if not right away, and quickly feels like a natural part of the game. Vehicles is the only sensible way of traveling between objectives (you can try walking, but good luck fighting on foot against four or five bandit vehicles at once). Enemy vehicles patrol the Wasteland, so car combat plays just as important role as the first person shooter game play. You can drive right by the enemy vehicles in order to avoid combat, but I found myself chasing down the bandits with my dual machine guns or auto lock missiles, only to be met with a satisfying explosion when ever my ordinance met their vehicle.

Players can also participate in races and other vehicle related events in order to upgrade their vehicle with armor, new weapons, and even engine and boost upgrades. I was surprised to find an upgrade system for the vehicles with this much in RAGE, something that I appreciated very much.

Car combat plays a big role in multiplayer; in fact, the competitive multiplayer is only car combat. Four players can compete against each other in four game modes, earning experience points to unlock new vehicles, decals, and weapons. The level design is excellent. They are large enough for each racer to get away in a hurry, and hit top speed in their vehicle, but not too large that players will get lost, or that the combat will get slow and boring. id Software is known for making excellent multiplayer maps, and it’s clear with RAGE that they have not lost their touch.

Players can also participate in Wasteland Legends, a two player co-op mode that gives backstories for the various characters and locations in the Wasteland. You can tackle the missions in two difficulties and even going at them solo (you won’t earn trophies or challenges if you do the co-op missions solo). The co-op missions are defiantly a lot of fun, and a good addition to RAGE’s multiplayer.

I can’t end this review without mentioning how beautiful this game looks, thanks to the id Tech 5 game engine that powers RAGE. Lighting is the first thing I took notice too; with ambient effects bouncing off every surface in the game, it’s hard to not fall in love with the lighting. There are the particle effects too that are fantastic during intense fire fights with bandits or the Authority, allowing each explosion and impacts from bullets to make the experience in the Wasteland a harrowing one. Staring off in the distance is something I find myself doing more often than not, soaking up the world’s depth of field, and really appreciating the work id Software has put into the id Tech 5 engine and RAGE.

The settlements that you come across are wonderfully detailed, fulfilling a sense that this is a world in the early steps of rebuilding itself after an apocalyptic event. Each settlement is inhabited with NPC’s that walk around town exchanging conversations with one another and going about their business as if this is a living, breathing world. It’s just another fine touch to the immersive atmosphere of RAGE.

The Final Word
I definitely have my issues with the structuring of the story missions, as I found myself uninterested in what my objective was, and felt that caused the story to fall flat at different points. With that said, id Software has developed a beautiful game set in a harsh environment. RAGE is packed with side quests, gambling games (even its very own card game that is easy to pick up and learn) and a solid multiplayer that adds to the game’s replay value. id Software has proved once again, with RAGE, that they can develop a great video game.

– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great