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    Rage

    Game » consists of 18 releases. Released Oct 04, 2011

    id Software's Rage combines first-person shooting, vehicular action, and "open but directed" exploration to tell the story of Earth's wretched civilization after a cataclysmic meteor strike. Militaristic authority figures, freedom-fighting rebels, criminal raiders, and twisted mutants battle each other for control of the barren wasteland Earth has become.

    ay_gurl's Rage (PC) review

    Avatar image for ay_gurl

    id Software is Dead. Long Live id Software.

    Unfortunately the best thing Rage has done is prove that the legendary id Software has certainly changed, although that seems to be for the worst if judged by Rage alone. This is a disappointing first for id, a developer who has for the last two decades seemingly released only ground breaking accomplishments for its portfolio.

    Most of id Software's major accomplishments so far have been on the foundation of John Carmack's extraordinary technology and game engine development efforts, cementing the legacy of id Soft releases being synonymous with lengthy demonstrations of the latest in game technology. Rage's claim to fame in this department is the rise of the MegaTexture, specifically an advancement called virtual texturing. The main idea behind virtual texturing is a solid one at first glance, but in Rage's case the downsides are much more evident then the benefits, and unfortunately this is one of the major reasons why Rage is not enjoyable.

    The driving segments really showcase what the engine is capable of when it's at its best.
    The driving segments really showcase what the engine is capable of when it's at its best.

    In combination with the gorgeous lighting and effects the id Tech 5 engine is capable of producing, the MegaTexture technology at use can truly allow for some spectacular views. True to its promise, MegaTexturing allows for each level to look unique as no texture is used twice. However, these start to break down rapidly once you start looking at them closely. The use of a large, single texture file that does not tile means that up close the textures quickly start to blur and look low res. Also, as most of the texture is not loaded into RAM but instead streamed from the hard drive, texture pop-in is extremely prevalent, even with a solid state drive. In addition, the fact that none of the textures are repeated quickly adds up to a staggering install size of just under 24 gigabytes, most of which is textures. Finally, although id Software games have generally been extremely mod friendly, as each level must have its own specific handcrafted texture to go with it, new levels for any game that runs on id Tech 5 cannot be made without a talented texture artist and as of such new maps that are not official are almost non-existent.

    Lamentably it's clear most of the work on Rage went into the visuals, as the sound quality of the game is horrendous. Guns sound great and their noises make firing them that much more rewarding and weighty feeling, but unfortunately the rest of Rage's audio seems to be at maximum levels all the time, resulting in a confusing muddled mess of sound that is amplified almost to the point of blow out constantly. When the gun you're firing has almost the same volume as your foot steps it really takes a lot of the power that the volume of the noise the gun is making out of the equation. Further more there is almost no environmental effects applied to any of the sounds in the game, leaving the audio sounding dry and lifeless.

    Rage's core gameplay is good, but often Rage tries to be a jack of all trades and succeeds at few things. The few hub towns you can visit are chock-full of mini-games, but these are completely optional and often couldn't keep my attention for more then a few minutes at a time. Most of your time in Rage will be spent either shooting or driving, and this is certainly for the best. Driving in the wasteland is mainly just to get from point A to B, but there are skill jumps to be made if you're into collectibles and some random events like meteor showers or bandit cars will give you some extra spending money or items if you complete them. This is okay enough but the car handling and combat are not very deep and at times feels like a bit of a distraction.

    Races can also be competed in, which reward you with certificates you can then spend to upgrade your car, but often times these races are relatively easy and feel too much like another mini-game when this was supposed to be a large chunk of the game. Unfortunately, racing is also the only multiplayer option Rage offers, which seems insane for a shooter that seems to have a racing element only as a side game.

    Many of the character designs conveniently communicate that you can totally trust this dude.
    Many of the character designs conveniently communicate that you can totally trust this dude.

    Thankfully the area that Rage clearly shines in is gun play. Guns feel great to use, and thanks to the beautiful character designs and animations that allow them to move fluidly through the levels shooting people in the face feels extremely rewarding. Levels are almost exclusively corridors that the player cannot diverge from, but the benefit to this limitation is that your adversaries will often bound around the level design, leaping from walls and seeking cover when needed. Although the vast majority of enemies are either bandits or mutants, there is a good range of different designs and themes to both which keeps the combat lively. Your armaments are quite varied as well, with a staggering 16 weapons and gadgets to be used, as well as multiple ammo types for each weapon that truly makes sure there is something for everyone.

    It's lucky shooting things feels so rewarding by itself because Rage's story line barely gives you any reason as to why you are doing anything at all. Granted, most id Software games have little story, but the story they do have is often given up front and has enough driving force to go on for the rest of the game. Rage opens by having one of the first characters it introduces you to state “You probably have a lot of questions, but now is not the time.” The issue is that Rage never gets around to answering any of these questions at all. In fact The Authority, who serve as one of the main antagonists of the game, is never even explained until nearly half way through the game, and even then not in any sort of depth. Most of the game feels like you are simply running errands, until suddenly you are inducted into the resistance against The Authority, and then after running more errands suddenly again there is some kind of massive break through and you are on your way to assault the main Authority strong hold and win the game. Even at the end of the game, the level is short, and there is no final boss; there is only enemies you've already faced before and more story that feels extremely rushed, and is certainly poorly written.

    As the original Wolfenstein 3D was one of the first games I ever played, it pains me to say this, but if you're a lifelong id fan such as myself, playing Rage is akin to seeing your dog get run over by a truck when you were five. I can only recommend this if you've played everything else id has offered over the years and want to be able to say you've played them all. Otherwise, try literally anything else id Software has put out over the last 20 years, or look elsewhere for your FPS jollies.

    Other reviews for Rage (PC)

      Something Wicked this way comes 0

      First off 90% of the graphical issues are due to drivers. They will be fixed** so don't worry about that. I'm playing on a laptop which I hook up to my TV via HDMI. I run the game at 1080p with vsync on and 16x anti aliasing. It runs so smooth and overall looks really good. Towns and zones look a lot better than the wasteland overworld. Character models are incredible and so is the animation. They have some of the best skin textures I have ever seen in a game and their clothing is impressive as ...

      4 out of 6 found this review helpful.

      Rage: A Great Casual Game 0

      I never would have thought, in a million years, that I'd be saying this about a John Carmack game. I'd go so far as to say that if he was to read my "review" of his game, he'd probably commit sepuku.This game is absolutely fabulous for pick-up and play purposes consistent with an older; more family-oriented demographic (like being a dad.) The storyline covers some well worn ground, but you can excuse it because the character animation and all of the art direction in general is simply fabulous.Ga...

      2 out of 3 found this review helpful.

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