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Rage gets storytelling so right and so wrong

Rage gets storytelling so right and so wrong

Storytelling has never been one of id’s strong suits, and Rage is a perfect example of that. On the other hand, it’s also a perfect example of how to get storytelling right in a game.

One of the things id nailed is conveying character personality. Instead of them telling me their life stories with sentences of needless dialog they let their personalities do the talking. From the way the characters are dressed, to how they move when talking, to the quality of their voice acting, they give off the feeling of being more than just generic quest givers.

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Even post-apocalyptic old people have joint pain. 

Unfortunately id only treats these people as generic quest givers. Certain characters just up and vacate the game once their quest line comes to an end. Sometimes they’ll even disappear before I have a chance to turn in the quest. For example the mayor of the second hub town is inaccessible after you finish the last quest he gives. I wanted to know what he had to say about my job well done, but he was out of the picture for the rest of the game.

The world building on display here is some of the best I’ve seen in any game. Each location is vibrant and dripping with personality. It’s one of the most convincingly alive game worlds in my book. Rage is on par with the Left 4 Dead series when it comes to letting the world do the talking.

In some cases the dripping detail is literal.

The opposite is true when it comes to the traditional storytelling in the game. Rage tells the tale of post-apocalyptic society struggling against their technologically advanced overlords, the Authority. It’s nothing special, being particularly reminiscent of the struggle against the Enclave in the Fallout series. The plot itself isn’t what makes it bad. Even the most clichéd story can be told in an interesting way. Rage even gets halfway there with their characters and setting.

Then the game ends and the plot rug is yanked out from under the player. Nothing is resolved. No closure is provided for any of the characters and it blatantly leaves the game open for a sequel. I’m never a fan of sequel baiting in any form of media. When it was done in the new Sherlock Holmes film I hated it, and the same is true for Rage. Unfortunately since every game needs to turn itself into a franchise it feels like getting an actual ending that gives the player a sense of finality is almost non-existent.

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That’s not to say that open endings are bad. Gears of War 2 ended in a way where a serious blow was delivered to the locust and the characters sail away into an uncertain future. It leaves me wanting more while also containing a full story arc. Mass Effect does this well too. The immediate threat of Sovereign has been dealt with, but there are more Reapers lurking out amongst the stars.

 Rage doesn’t have this closure. I haven’t dealt that crippling blow to the Authority. I feel like my character is the star if a 1930’s radio drama, he’s hanging over a pit filled with man eating beasts, and the announcer has just said tune in for the exciting conclusion three to four years from now.

He was hoping for a better ending too. 

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Any piece of fiction (other than the serialized comics and TV shows) needs to tell a complete story. It’s inexcusable to have such an open ending in a new IP. Remember Advent Rising and Too Human? They were billed as the beginning of trilogies and their endings reflected that, and we probably won’t be seeing sequels from either of them.

Hopefully Rage doesn’t end up like those games. The ending id gave us is a crime, but it would be an even bigger crime if there wasn’t a sequel to tell us what happens next.