Rage
Review
Has the sage of shooters done it again?
by Chris Davis
reviewed on PC
The Art of 22nd Century Combat
What I really enjoy about an id title is just how unique it feels compared to the rest of the shooter genre. The characters, weapons, tools and levels you explore seem familiar and yet have a unique spin on them that identifies them as an id Software creation. For example, it is a common practice in games with creatures like zombies and mutants to have them charge at you but in Rage they will climb the walls and ceilings, leap form great distances without warning and even accurately throw their weapons at you, negating an attempt to circle-strafe. It is really hard to describe in print what id Software brings to a gameplay experience but once you’ve cut your teeth on Rage or Doom 3, you know what I am talking about.
Weapons in Rage run the usual gauntlet you would expect in a shooter as you start with a pistol, graduate to a shotgun, and eventually get rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers and the obligatory alternate weapon in the form of a crossbow. What makes them different however is that they allow for different types of ammunition that can be utilized and changed on the fly, much like what Irrational Games and 2K Marin have done with the Bioshock series. Feel that a well-armored enemy is too tough? Switch out your buckshot for some Pop Rocket rounds that will make short work of them. Too many enemies? Thin them out by using the Dynamite Bolts for your crossbow. The mix of different ammo types allows you to give more personality to your play style and definitely compensates for the game’s compliment of only seven primary weapons.
What truly adds to the gunplay though is the ability to deploy quick use items that aid you in battle. Using a relatively simple crafting system you can build a wide assortment of items such as specialty grenades, bandages and even sentry turrets and bots to aid you in case the combat gets too much for you. The sentry turret by far is extremely entertaining in that it, both in design and functionality, operates exactly like the spider bot from Doom 3. Having an extra gun firing at the enemy is always handy but when this robot has the ability to move around, do melee attacks and comes back to you when the firefight is over, looking at you like a happy puppy ready for you to throw the ball again, you can’t help but fall in love with your little spider friend.
Death Race Anyone?
There is one more significant portion of the game that must be addressed: the addition of vehicles. Vehicles have never been featured in an id Software title in a functional capacity and so their inclusion in the game’s initial marketing overshadowed the gameplay on display - an act that still has many confused. I can safely report that, while you will spend a lot of time in a car, the use of vehicles in the game only amounts to roughly a third of the overall gameplay experience. You will be using one of four different vehicles to travel about in the Wasteland and each has a different feel to them but not in a way that will make you prefer one over the other. Handling across the board is quite arcade oriented and only during combat do they take damage so you don’t have to worry about running into walls all the time and banging up your ride.
Vehicular combat in Rage is a surprisingly fun affair as you have a variety of weapons and quick use items available at your disposal. These combat sequences appear at random throughout the game and are encouraged by NPCs in the various hub towns you find. Ramming, gunning and chasing are the order of the day when fighting off attacking bandits and fortunately it never really gets old. The end result is a deliciously Mad Max-esque experience that really doesn’t drag down the overall gameplay at all.
Outside of combat you can also compete in races. Time trials, standard races and rally events are what you will be competing in and, with the exception of some rally events, you’ll find them quite enjoyable. The races can be of both the unarmed and armed varieties and the rally events, which are similar to flag collection events (think Rocket Race from Halo 3), are completely weapon focused. You will die in your races, rest assured, but you respawn almost instantaneously in a manner similar to what is utilized in the MotorStorm series.
The inclusion of vehicles in Rage is something that still puzzled me until I got my hands on it, but if id can keep the formula as simple as it is now and retain the fun factor it already has I’will gladly play a racing game with their name on it.
8.0
fun score
Pros
Excellent singleplayer campaign
Cons
Multiplayer is lacking
