[Review] Rage (PC)

While popular, apocalyptic scenarios often feel weak andseparated from the world we live in at large. Rage takes a different angle, playing out a scenario where reallife asteroid Apophis strikes the Earth in 2029, leaving the world in afamiliar wasteland as many have seen before in other games. Inaccurate dateaside, Rage has been in developmentfor over four years and been on the receiving end of some much deserved hype. Thegame not only did a good job of hyping players up, but delivers the premiereFPS experience worthy of id’s reputation.

In the beginning, players assume the role of a nameless arksurvivor and are immediately thrown into the fray, surrounded by eager raiderswho are ready to take the bounty on any ark survivor’s head. Luckily, theplayer is saved by Dan Hager, a leader of a small settlement who sets him upwith everything needed to go out and explore the wastelands, before kicking himout that is. It’s the basic premise that most post apocalyptic games willinclude, but Rage just does such agreat job of throwing players into the world. Rides through the desolate desertbegin as lonely treks, but are soon joined by mutants who would be satisfied bynothing more than turning players’ buggies into scrap metal. More than that,interaction with NPCs rarely result in long conversations, but are shortone-liners that usually telegraph how little trust this society has – untilit’s earned, of course.

As daunting as it may be to drive through the badlands, thegunfights take center stage and instill even more terror into a future wherescientists fail to deter Aphophis’s descent. Though hostile territory willoften seem peaceful, there are enemies waiting at every turn. Not in the cheapway where they will just pop up and scare players into flinching, but they cancome from all corners, announcing their presence with a battle cry andprompting players to search in all directions. The enemies come fast and hard,forcing a panicked shot to repel them. It’s an interesting way to terrorizeplayers and definitely fits with the tone of the game. Each shot providesfurther excitement; enemies flinch and react accordingly to their targetedlimbs, perhaps doing a slight barrel roll and regaining their composure beforecontinuing their assault.  

In order to make mutant shooting an engaging experience, thegame’s arsenal is as varied as they are interesting. While many of these weaponsmay seem like the archetypes we’re already used to, such as pistols, shotguns,and sniper rifles, Rage’s inclusionof special bullets with additional effects. There’s just a certain satisfactionwith blowing up a crowd with a pistol. Appropriately, weapons are banged up andlack the luster that a preapocalyptic world’s routinely cleaned weapons wouldhave. It’s just another way the game makes the environment feel authentic,rather than simply plugging players into a different world with the samegeneric tools, Rage provides theplayer with believability down to the firearms.

In a first, Ragewas developed to be the same across the board, providing the ideal visual andgameplay experience to all gamers regardless of platform. However, that comeswith its own set of problems. While the PC is generally the ideal platform toplay any game, having the benefit of graphics processors that may cost as muchas most video game consoles, these capabilities are clearly untapped. Beassured that the game’s textures and graphics look amazing, but the amount ofpop-ups throughout are staggering. Even worse, the game provided no performanceoptions for graphics, dumbing Rage downto a console game and omitting the customization that PC gamers so fancy.

Of all the first person shooter games available right now, Rage is undoubtedly the standout title,benefiting from years of experience from the id development team. While it’snot exactly a survival horror title, the natural feeling of fear the gameconveys is perfect, eliciting panic that compliments the fast paced shooting. Whilethe military shooters will still duke it out this Christmas season, Rage seems like it already holds theprime position for best single player experience in a first person shooter thisyear. 

Available on: PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Publisher: Bethesda Softworks; Developer: id Software; Players: 1; Released: October 4, 2011; ESRB: Mature; Official Site