50 Games in 2012 – #13 Rage (PS3) (Completed May 3rd)
One of the last remaining games from my boxing day shopping spree was Rage. The reason I left the game unattended for so long was because I was secretly apprehensive of playing it. I grew up not being aloud to play shooters until my sitter lent me Call of Duty for the PC when I was 10. Pure enjoyment came out of that game but in general I never really desensitized myself to adrenaline pumping games. When I asked for games for Christmas or bought my own games over the years I made sure I would like it. One of the many tick boxes that I'd check was if there was a remote chance I'd be too scared to play a game. There's now a laundry list of these games that I've got to play and Rage proved that adrenaline pumping action can be a hell of a lot of fun.
Being a 90's kid who played little amounts of shooters left me without much knowledge of the company ID. With the release of news on Rage it was evident that people had a lot of respect for them and a lot of expectations riding on there new game. Finally playing Rage knowing that it failed to meet those expectations was a good treat. I got to enjoy the wasteland that ID created without expecting the next Fallout. ID is known for there breaking edge technology and Rage plays the part of a beautiful looking game. I say that a lot but Rage drab world stood out still with sharp visuals and detailed locales.
In Rage you start off as vault survivor with a plot plucked from Fallout. You enter a wasteland after being in a cryogenic sleep and the world ain't too pretty. The story of Rage from then on out is essentially a on rails fetch quest that is more used to introduce locales then actual meaningful story outlines. Character detail in the game is a highlight but actual interactions with NPC's is also limited which makes the world feel empty. There are side quests to partake in but again this largely serves as just extra playtime if your looking for it.
Where Rage redeems itself is in it's combat. Shooting in Rage is familiar because it works like most shooters but it is done extremely well. The missions your set on rarely get old as your constantly faced with new types of enemies and high pressure situations that can get you ramped up. Beside the main shooting mechanics the game also possesses a cool weapon creator system where you can collect parts and create new objects to use in a wide variety of ways against the enemies. Both the shooting and the extra combat facets are what made me continually excited to play Rage til the end as there was always a balance of new things to try and use.
Rage also offers car combat which is interesting to say the least. While traveling in the wasteland you will use cars to navigate the landscape and will later get into car combat with bandits. This aspect of the game also stretches into a shallow multiplayer where you can play in a Twisted Metal like setup multiplayer matches.
Although not revolutionary in what it brings Rage is still a fine shooter to enjoy. Your likely able to find this game too for below $20 which makes it definitely worth a shot if you have yet to play it.
Game Summary:
Date Finished: 5/3 | Rage (PS3)
Pros: Amazing graphics matched with great shooting mechanics. Game got my heart pumping.
Cons: Characters are flat and the story is bland.
Conclusion: Rage serves as a fun shooter that you can get a kick out of.
[8.5/10]
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