Rage Review - 7 Years On, Id Is Back!

So it's finally out! The next game from the PC gaming classic studio, Id Software, has finally been released after years of teasing and QuakeCon talks from John Carmack. Well known for making technically cutting edge engines and the studio that popularised first person shooters. Welcome back Id! It's been a long time!

Rage is a completely new IP(Intellectual Property) for Id. It doesn't take place in any universe from their previous games(which ain't much considering they made Wolfenstein, Doom, & Quake). It's a new setting, new theme, new engine, and a new direction for a first person shooter... well almost.

Because you see, Id wanted to make more than just a run and gun shooter with Rage. They wanted to build a world that you'd feel apart of. Something immersive that would suck you right into the game as you boot it up. With Rage, Id went the route of adding some ideas from an RPG(it's still not an RPG... definitely).

So What's With The Story

So a narrative is obviously super important in a lot of games, just not an Id game. All previous Id games had a plot as deep as a puddle of water. You've had prisoner trying to escape Nazi prison to killing cyber Hitler(oooppps spoilers), scientist's unleash demon's from hell on earth... or was it Mars? Oh who cares. And then of course we had the Strogg invasion and the subsequent human invasion on the Strogg planet.

It was all for the sole purpose of blasting away ugly creatures... yes you heard me right ugly... nazi's, demon's, and aliens. In Rage, Id has you blasting mutant, bandits, and a group call the authority(these guys are central to the story). You might ask, why exactly are we killing these guys? This is where you come in... survivor.

Son... There ain't no demons or aliens here

The future ain't exactly a triumph of human ingenuity. Apophis, a giant asteroid, came crash landing on earth in 2029 and made it a barren wasteland, except... not exactly. As a last ditch effort to save humanity, the Ark was built. Humans would be placed in cryogenic sleep deep underground.

You, survivor, emerge from one of these Arks, only to be faced with roving bandits and mutants. Not exactly a deserted wasteland. You meet a certain Dan Hagar in what looks like a buggy from Mad Max who whisks you away to this small little quaint village out in the wastelands. Do a couple of helpful things for him and you get sent packing for Wellsprings (you've probably seen this town a bunch... it's what Id revealed in a lot of tech demos).

Wellsprings, you've seen this for years at QuakeCon

The story then goes into pretty predictable territory as you find that there is a faction called the Authority and The Resistance... yeah , you know exactly where this is going.


Questing

From here on end, you'll be taking on 'quests', well... missions from Mayor Clayton & Sheriff Black in Wellspring and his pals around town(yes there are other towns and the story will take you to new places and meet new characters). There are your main quest givers whom you take main quests from and those side characters that give you side quests. The side quests rarely amount to nothing more other than gaining some extra cash or some supplies(you can sell junk, buy ammo, weapons from traders around town).

Mutant Bash TV is awesome because it is exactly what you expect from Rage... an unabashed frantic shooter, with boss mutants to boot

Id revealed Rage way back in QuakeCon 07.
They debut a tech demo of IdTech 5 and Rage was  forever
cemented in the minds of Id fans as a brave new direction
for the company

Except for one side quest which involves a thing called Mutant Bash TV. It starts out as your main quest but you can take part in an arena battle(after the main quest, you can always come back for more Mutan Bash TV) with mutant for the sole purpose of entertaining the denizens of this post apocalyptic world(the voice acting for the show host, J.K Stiles is great)... oh also for some cool trinkets for rewards. Mutant Bash TV is awesome because it is exactly what you expect from Rage... an unabashed frantic shooter, with boss mutants to boot.  Generally though, as you progress through the game, the side quests become a distraction and they tend to be rather repetitive.




There's more than just shooting in side quests though. There's a card game, a mini holo gambling game(involves a bit of luck), a racing game which you can win prizes if you come first, destroying bandit vehicles in what looks like straight up from a Mad Max movie scene(lots of explosions and earns you bounty for each kill) and the list goes on for a bit. You  now know exactly why people say it is a long game.

Iron sights have been added into an Id game. But it's still a run and gun shooter...
the iron sights don't add much of an advantage

Minus these mini games, side quests and what you have is a 10 plus hour experience(which I admit still puts it above the standard fare Call of Generic Modern Day Shooter) which is good, but something about Rage that kind of makes it feel a lot shorter. It has a rather abrupt ending. A final last mission that would leave you scratching your head asking "Didn't that guy say this is the first step?". That is all I'll say about that.


Shooting Stuff

Good news is that Rage is classic Id in terms of it being a shooter. It's fast paced, frantic with lots of dodges and close range shottie action(for maximum effect). All the main quests are a lot of fun to play with a nice arsenal of toys for you to play with(I mean weapons). The weapons all feel great, you feel like they all have weight when they fire and each has it's own uses.

Why can't we all just be friend?!

You'll learn to use the combat shottie for maximum shot in the face efficiency, the Striker Crossbow for picking off enemies from a distance, a big freakin' Authority Pulse Rifle which obliterates things in a short period of time

You'll learn to use the combat shottie for maximum shot in the face efficiency, the Striker Crossbow for picking off enemies from a distance, a big freakin' Authority Pulse Rifle which obliterates things in a short period of time. Heck, even the settler pistol remains useful till the end of the game. I felt that only the assault rifle felt a bit weak as you get matched up against more armoured foes even mid game.

All of the weapons in Rage come with different types of more advanced ammo. Some super awesome in execution(exploding shogun shells? Sign me in) and others have strategic use(such as the mind control bolt for the crossbow). The weapons and the cornucopia of ammo types certainly encourage an inventive approach to playing the game. This is where the game shines, as opposed to the running about towns and cities aimlessly trying to get to the next combat missions.

Press tab, go into weapon selection menu, change ammo type. There isn't a faster way for PC gamers. 

It is unfortunate that they haven't implemented a quick swap user interface for changing ammo types on the fly. There are 9 weapons and a bunch of different ammo types for each. There's this quick swapping UI that you can open up using the Ctrl key. The problem however is that there are only 4 slots available for you to add weapons to this menu, which means if you want to use a weapon you haven't added to this menu, then you'll have to go to your inventory and add it to it then hit Ctrl and then pick your ammo type(or you can swap ammo going into your weapons menu and switching ammo there).

It's clear that this was a UI built for the consoles but PC gamers will have to do things the hard way... you can still switch between weapons using the number keys like all classic Id games(the complication is with changing ammo types for each weapon without using this consolised UI).


Just A Bit About The Graphics

Id Tech 5(the engine powering Rage) allows for some amazing looking vista's. It runs as smooth as butter(60 frames per second) and looks stunning. It's strength is in rendering distant landscapes with a variety of textures stamped on them which makes environments look a lot more life like. Which is an odd thing to say about a post apocalyptic world, but it's a damn pretty looking post apocalyptic world. It's not totally brown either as Id uses some filters in certain location to make it look a bit more greyish or greenish making things not so the same in every corner.

However, the game utilises some pretty low res and nasty looking textures which you'll notice if you slow down to investigate a texture in close. Some small shrub textures are particularly nasty(basically low res 2D sprites). I don't think it's that big of a deal though considering Rage is a much faster pace game(in combat) than most modern day first person shooter. You won't exactly have time to peer at textures at close range(too busy dodging enemies). Id clearly knew their limitations and stuck to developing a rather efficient engine which would give gamers 60 frames per second while staying beautiful.

One of the major issues PC gamers were complaining when Rage was released was the slow rendering of environments just off your periphery vision as you turn quickly. I can say that it is a lot better now and things render faster when you turn around... but it's still noticeable, if you keep an eye out for it. You'll notice it, but at least it's been improved to do this much faster. Also, ATI(AMD) graphic card owners have reported having huge issues with the game(crashing, stuttering etc) during the early days of the games release. Id has sorted out most of these issues and Rage now performs beautifully for most PCs.


AI & Animation

Rage isn't just a graphical show piece. The team at Id went to great lengths to incorporate an animation system that sets its own bar. Enemies stumble, crawl, roll, hesitate, when they are fired upon. The transitions between the different animations are natural and lifelike, they are never stilted. Really impressive stuff. In fact, when I first started playing the game, I just toyed with the baddies to just see how they would animate, instead of finishing them off with a headshot(which by the way, enemies don't drop dead with a single headshot...it also depends on the weapon you're wielding)

Enemies work together with reinforcements to try to flank you and even retreat when most of their pals have been killed

Enemies react smartly, running for their lives when their buddies have been downed,
taking cover and flanking you

The AI is just as impressive as the animation. Enemies work together with reinforcements to try to flank you and even retreat when most of their pals have been killed. Of course mutants are less intelligent than the human variant of enemies and they will roll, lunge at you and dodge your bullets whenever they can. They sort of remind me of those demons in Quake, except that they carry some melee weapons.



Multiplayer - Say What? No Death Match?

Id is 'the' developer that made death match a staple multiplayer mode for first person shooters. It comes as a surprise that they have decided to ditch this classic multiplayer game mode in Rage. Instead, we get a 2 player coop mode called Wasteland legends. Wasteland Legends is good... and takes the form of a Rage mission. It has the trappings of a narrative...Break in this prison! Help this prisoner escape!... with scripting and all that.

And Id certainly throws a lot more challenges at you and your coop buddy in this mode, so make sure you are up for the increased difficulty. My only complaint is that, it's a pretty simplistic shooter(for a multiplayer coop mode), there is no mechanic built in to encourage teamwork or rather some smart tactics with your coop partner. You both get to carry the same weapons. The only differentiation between both of you is which weapons you have a tendency to use. Maybe you'll be the guy with the shotgun, mopping up baddies in close range while your partner sticks with the the sniper rifle. But apart from that, there really is no mechanic that demands close cooperation with your coop buddy(you can revive your partner who has gone down, that's a bout it).

The other mode is called Road Rage, which is a 'Mad Maxxy' arena based vehicular combat multiplayer mode. Four players in a free for all, picking up rally points and your opponents points. Yeah... only up to four players. To say that the multiplayer offering for Rage is underwhelming is putting it lightly.

The Authority Pulse Rifle carries with it what's called BFG rounds, a nod at their doom heritage

Conclusion

Rage stumbles a little, trying to add more to what could have just been a great first person shooter. The end result is an unsatisfying narrative and extra chores for players to grind away their time. Disregard the side quests, mini games and the forgettable narrative and you get a classic first person shooter that Id's been so good at doing. Rage may not be first person shooter of the year material, but it's different enough of a shooter to warrant a look.

Genre	First Person Shooter
Similar games	Quake 4, Serious Sam 3: BFE
DRM	Steam
Price	RM139/USD$59.99
Best Moment	Jumping and dodging mutants never got old

Pros:

• Gunplay is really exciting and fun
• Weapons and ammo types encourage inventiveness
• Visuals look amazing(as long as you don't look too closely) and runs incredibly smooth
• Coop is a fun experience albeit short

Cons:

• A mediocre narrative that never manages to grab your attention.
• Repetitive side quests
• Lack of strong characters
• Unfulfilled ending
• There isn't a large variety of enemy type
• No classic multiplayer modes(no death match)
• Autosaves not often. Don't forget to save manually or else you'll have to repeat large parts of a mission if you die(for the second time).

Verdict: Great fun shooting action, shame about the rest of the game though