All the rage about Rage: A review

The post-apocalyptic wasteland is, by now and in the year of the supposed apocalypse, a place that we have visited many times, one that we are generally accustomed to. It’s with this kind of apprehension that I approached Rage, because, well, what’s there to get excited about when I’m going into yet another scorched Earth scenario with freaks to shoot and a future to build? My misgivings were founded on naught, though, because a few minutes into the world of Rage and I knew that though this was familiar ground, it was being presented in an intense and compelling way.

 

The Earth is hit by an asteroid that decimates the population. To preserve the human race some people are put into arks that are buried deep in the ground. You emerge as an ark survivor, awaking to a world of bandits, mutants, humans living on the fringes, and a sinister authoritarian group called The Authority. And guess what? You’ve got to kill most of ‘em!

 

From the makers of Doom and Quake, we have yet another solid FPS. One of the things that helps to make the Rage experience different is the way that you are forced to conserve ammo and choose which weapons and ammo types are best in specific situations. The weapons are pretty standard: pistol, shotgun, rifle, assault rifle, machine gun, rocket launcher, crossbow, sniper rifle. 

 

But the ammo types are interesting, like Killbursts for the pistol, which fire bullets within bullets for massive damage, or the Shotgun rocket rounds, which are exactly what they sound like. There’s a variety of enemies, and the way you play the game will change as you figure out which gun and ammo is most effective against which enemies. 

 

Along with weapon mastery, another aspect of the shooter that makes it interesting is the options for building. You pick up schematics in your journeys, and these allow you to build or upgrade specific items and even ammo types. This leads to, for example, different kinds of grenades. One of these other items that’s fun to use is the RC car bomb, which you can drive towards enemies, then detonate. Power-ups, and other items are also out there and worth collecting in the Wasteland. 

 

The game runs in a generally linear fashion, with missions that push forward the central narrative being assigned to you. As you go to towns and talk to people, you can also start taking on side missions that will allow you to earn schematics, items, and money. There is a variety in the missions, from basic decimating to acquiring specific items, to providing sniper fire. This helps keep things interesting as you’re playing some short missions mixed up with longer more demanding ones.

 

The big clincher for Rage I think is that its driving modes are their own game altogether. Once you start driving around the Wasteland, engaging in vehicle combat, you get the sense that the driving itself is so well designed and entertaining that you could spend hours just doing that (which I in fact did). There are also a lot of racing modes that you engage in during the single player campaign to get items and money.

 

The driving transfers to a satisfyingly substantial online gaming experience. Take the practice you’ve gotten from the various races to Playstation Network and there’s another great experience. The racing modes are manic and intense. Then you can also play through back-story missions online (though you have to play with a friend, playing through by yourself is insanely hard). This helps to flesh out the world and provide an even bigger experience to the game. 

 

And Rage is all about big experiences. The graphics provide us with a sprawling, believable scorched Earth. It’s in the details that the game really pops, as we see the backgrounds are so carefully designed so that each of the different areas is unique and recognizable in its own way. These demand different tactical approaches, and as a result the gameplay remains fresh and challenging thanks to the various dynamics that are introduced throughout the game. 

 

Rage provides gamers with an intense, top-notch FPS experience. Look no further for a substantial and unique adventure through a post-apocalyptic wasteland. I finished the game in about twelve hours, but I skipped some side quests and suddenly found myself playing the final mission. But the game’s length is decidedly longer than the standard FPS, and with the promising online modes, it’s definitely well worth picking up.  — TJD, GMA News

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All games reviewed on the site are provided courtesy of Datablitz.com.ph