The wasteland is a barren place, and you’re just a dead man walking. 

Rage
Developer: Id Software
Console: Xbox 360
Other Platforms: PlayStation3
Release Date: October 4th, 2011

Rage is the Long awaited game from the creators of  Doom and Quake. This game has been awaited for several years  and I have to say that fans should be excited for this game. Find out why in my review, Enjoy!

Single Player:

In Rage you play as a man from the past with no name. You crash land in the barren wasteland in a device called the Ark and as you are awaken from your slumber, you find yourself in a very strange and dangerous place. You are often told that you must beware of the wasteland and that you should watch your back. This is not an understatement as you will learn soon enough that you must save often and repeatedly. There are towns, villages, and also NPC’s which you must go to get missions from individuals you will meet along the way in the wasteland. Driving in the wasteland works well and it is a much better experience than walking.

There are a lot of enemies that can sneak up on you and they also have vehicles that are equipped with rockets, machine guns and other awesome things. You don’t have to wait long however to acquire a vehicle as you pretty much start out with one to get around. Its sad though, as using vehicles are the the best form of travel to get around. If it gets destroyed don’t worry, you can use your radio to call for a tow.

I want to compare this game to Borderlands as they have many similarities between the two but, I won’t do that because they are too much the same and also different at the same time. You can buy weapons, armor, ammo and vehicle upgrades at shops that will allow you to become more deadly. One thing I noticed was that you will need to stock up on ammo at times as enemies don’t really drop that much ammunition when you search their bodies.

You will definitely meet some strange and unsavory characters in the wasteland. The most dangerous characters you have to be on the lookout for are called the authority. They are the prime governing body in the wasteland and their presence in any part of society means that it can’t be good, especially for you. They are looking to capture people from the past and since that means you, it would be wise to keep a low profile.  This game has a lot of Holy %*^* moments that I can’t tell you about here. It’s best you get the game and experience it for yourselves.

Controls and online:

The controls in the game are pretty good and are easy to pick up for anyone to play. Its very standard and there is nothing I can find to complain about, that breaks the single player experience. The only issue that I had which doesn’t really hinder the gameplay experience is that most FPS would have you think that A is to jump. In actuality the A button opens doors and Y is to jump. Its sort of different from what I’m used to.

The driving in the game runs particularly smooth and the vehicles feel great. There isn’t much to say about the controls, there pretty standard. Especially the boost that can be triggered by pushing the X button that allows you to jump gaps and crash into devices for special items.

The online portion of the game features several different modes for people to play. The modes are Road Rage and Wasteland legends. As you would expect Road Rage is a mode where you customize the load out of your car and participate in races that require you to reek havoc upon your unsuspecting enemies. In Wasteland legends mode you have to complete a set of challenges with a teammate by either split screen or online multi-player to have some fun. Multi-player is really fun and easy to get into.

Presentation:

The presentation in the game is well done and the graphics are better than a lot of the FPS games I have played to date. Now, I played this game on the Xbox 360. Most of you already know that the developers have already gone on and stated that to get the optimum experience for Rage you must install the game on your hard drive. I’ve noticed that when I changed from area to area characters will load up and be visible, but when you look closely at the background the textures look bland and mushy as it takes sometime to load.

The characters in the game look creepily good as you can expect from the screen shots that you see above and below. When a character speaks to you they actually look you in the eyes and track your movements. If you kneel, they look down and face you. It’s completely creepy how real and lifelike the characters look. Character models are beautifully done and it really shows. The last aspect I want to mention is that when you throw grenades and kill your enemies their blood splatters everywhere in gruesome fashion, it gets all over the walls, pretty gory stuff.

Sound:

The music and or sound in the game is eerily creepy with the hint that at any moment something could pop and stab you. This game will keep you on your toes at the begining all the way to the very end of the game. When you’re on a mission and moving towards your objective, sometimes the sound will stop for a split second and you will hear an ominous noise in the background and all of a sudden Bang its right in your face.

I think that maybe either I’m just scared easily or maybe this game is just that good at raising the suspense bar. Either way the fear of being killed is enough to make any Man or Woman scared.

Cons:

• Playing off the disc causes textures to load rather slowly and makes the overall appearance look cheap graphically. It is highly recommended that you play the game with the data on your hard drive to optimize the full graphical experience you may want to play. However, be weary as it takes a whopping 22gigs of hard drive space for all 3 discs.
• You have to save regularly as the game will mention several times to you in the loading screens. Its not often where you will know there is a checkpoint or that you actually arrived at a checkpoint. If you don’t save before reaching a checkpoint you have to begin the game at your last save, which can be extremely annoying.

Pros:

•  There is variety in the missions you can do in single player that players will want to complete if they wish to become a threat to the bandits of the wasteland.
• The single player story is an enjoyable experience and will lead to you to wonder what will happen next. Id’s scare tactics are clear and known and you may get scared at some points, I know I did.
• You have to be a survivalist in Rage in order to progress, enemies will drop ammo but not so much that you will never run out, but it’s just enough to survive.
• The AI in the game are better than most First Person shooters I’ve played. While in others enemies will stand and let you shoot them. Rage’s AI will charge at you head on and dodge your bullets by jumping left and in some instances. You have to be a sharpshooter or you’ll end up dead,
• Online is a fast and fun experience that leaves you wanting more. Its always fun doing challenges with a buddy as opposed to playing by oneself.

Final thoughts:

In conclusion, those of you that have been eagerly awaiting Rage will not be disappointed. The gameplay is wonderful and has some great really graphics for a long awaited game. The game also gives you some variety in the side quests that you can do such as delivering mail, doing races, and side quests for other NPC’s. Rage is an experience that you don’t want to miss out on. There is one question that comes to mind in this barren wasteland, will you be the glimmer of hope that shines through it all?

Final Score:

I give Rage for Xbox 360 an 9

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