Review: Rage

When I was six years old I remember sitting on my dad’s lap at his 486 computer watching him play Wolfenstein 3D.  For me, id Software has always been a unique studio that doesn’t so much adapt to the times as it forges its own interpretation of what they feel a good game is.  Say the names Wolfenstein, Doom or Quake in a crowded room of gamers and you’ll have a hard time finding someone that hasn’t played or at the very least knows about these amazing franchises.  After Doom 3 was released in 2004 id all but disappeared from the development scene, really only appearing at their annual QuakeCon convention in Dallas, TX while letting developer Raven Software continue the Quake and Wolfenstein franchises.  Raven’s continuations didn’t capture the magic id Software can bring to a game however and as such desperate fans like myself were left waiting in the wind.

Rage, id’s first new IP since they introduced Quake in 1996, is something of an event for me.  In addition to being the first time anyone will have been able to play a core id Software game in seven years it is also my first opportunity to review an id title since I started writing about games.  After seven years though one must ask: is the magic still there?

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Welcome to the Wasteland

Many have the justified fear that the end of the world will come from above in the form of an asteroid that will bathe our planet in fire.  99942 Apophis, an asteroid that’s 270m in diameter will pass by Earth in 2029 and 2036 and presents as a level 1 threat on the Torino impact hazard scale.  In the world of Rage however the threat is far greater as it is the size of Manhattan.  Five years prior to its 2029 impact date the international community rallies together for the Eden Project, a program designed to ensure the survival of our species beyond the collision.  Arks, underground containers designed to house the best and brightest amongst us, are constructed all over the world and while thousands are built it isn’t enough.  As the asteroid hurtles past the moon the Ark program initiates and you, the player, are sent into cold sleep.

You awaken with a start to a ghastly sight.  Over a hundred years have passed and everyone but you who were placed in your Ark is dead.  Stumbling outside, you are besieged by a group of bandits only to be saved at the last minute by Dan Hagar, a man who lives nearby and has gotten along by staying out of trouble.  Saving your life has changed this though and as you drive off with him toward his settlement one thing is clear: the rules of the old world are gone and you must do more than live to get along.  You must survive.

Rage’s post-apocalyptic story is about your journey to find your place in the Wasteland.  Ark survivors are a rare order to find and as one you have the skills and know-how to make the Wasteland a safer place.  The ultimate threat to the safety of the remaining human population isn’t the clans of bandits or the mutant hordes that have arisen since the fall of Apophis.  Rather, the prime threat is actually the Authority, an advanced military body that thrives on pre-impact technologies and since you happen to be an Ark survivor they want you bad.

The Rage singleplayer experience is one that will draw many comparisons to another post-apocalyptic game series: Fallout.  While the two share many traits in both story and gameplay Rage is an entirely different affair as it is a directed narrative instead of a non-linear one like Bethesda’s juggernaut title from 2008.  Rage does allow you to explore the Wasteland as long as you see fit but only by completing quests does the plot advance and allow you into sections of the map you couldn’t access before.  While some may lament the lack of being able to go anywhere and do anything id is able to deliver a stronger story than can be told through a game like Fallout.  Fans of Bethesda’s wonder-series should be pleasantly surprised by id’s offering.

Rage’s campaign, despite being a directed experience, is still quite long, offering in excess of twenty hours of gameplay in a single playthrough.  While the overall experience in the singleplayer is quite entertaining you’ll find that the ending is a disappointing affair that feels like it was cut halfway through development.  Perhaps this is a sign that id has decided to capitalize on the success of the post-release DLC that made Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas so successful but, as it stands, you’ll be left wanting more.

The Art of 22^nd Century Combat

When I graduated from high school one of the things I did with my graduation money was build my first computer.  This seemingly daunting yet easy task was done in excitement for two of the biggest PC games of the year: Half-Life 2 and Doom 3.  While I loved Gordan Freeman’s unique journey I found myself enjoying Doom 3 more as it was both a wonderfully scary experience while having some fantastic gameplay.  It was the first major release for id since Quake 3 Arena and the first singleplayer-oriented experience in seven years.  It was dramatically different from everything id had done before and this change in design felt, well, fantastic.

I bring this up because, in many ways, Rage reminds me of Doom 3.  At its core it is still that wonderful corridor-fest shooter that left me with unfortunate stains in my underwear and while the scary element isn’t nearly as present in Rage (though there are moments that will make you jump) it still plays much like it did back in 2004.  You will find far more larger portions of a level than the decidedly claustrophobic buildings of Doom 3 but in the end it is still what it was seven years ago which isn’t a bad thing at all.

What I really enjoy about an id title is just how unique it feels compared to the rest of the shooter genre.  The characters, weapons, tools and levels you explore seem familiar and yet have a unique spin on them that identifies them as an id Software creation.  For example, it is a common practice in games with creatures like zombies and mutants to have them charge at you but in Rage they’ll climb the walls and ceilings, leap form great distances without warning and even accurately throw their weapons at you, negating an attempt to circle-strafe.  It is really hard to describe in print what id Software brings to a gameplay experience but once you’ve cut your teeth on Rage or Doom 3 you know what I’m talking about.

Weapons in Rage run the usual gauntlet you’d expect in a shooter as you start with a pistol, graduate to a shotgun, and eventually get rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers and the obligatory alternate weapon in the form of a crossbow.  What makes them different however is that they allow for different types of ammunition that can be utilized and changed on the fly, much like what Irrational Games and 2K Marin have done with the Bioshock series.  Feel that a well-armored enemy is too tough?  Switch out your buckshot for some Pop Rocket rounds that will make short work of them.  Too many enemies?  Thin them out by using the Dynamite Bolts for your crossbow.  The mix of different ammo types allows you to give more personality to your play style and definitely compensates for the game’s compliment of only seven primary weapons.

What truly adds to the gunplay though is the ability to deploy quick use items that aid you in battle.  Using a relatively simple crafting system you can build a wide assortment of items such as specialty grenades, bandages and even sentry turrets and bots to aid you in case the combat gets too much for you.  The sentry turret by far is extremely entertaining in that it, both in design and functionality, operates exactly like the spider bot from Doom 3.  Having an extra gun firing at the enemy is always handy but when this robot has the ability to move around, do melee attacks and comes back to you when the firefight is over, looking at you like a happy puppy ready for you to throw the ball again, you can’t help but fall in love with your little spider friend.

Death Race Anyone?

There is one more significant portion of the game that must be addressed: the addition of vehicles.  Vehicles have never been featured in an id Software title in a functional capacity and so their inclusion in the game’s initial marketing overshadowed the gameplay on display, an act that still has many confused.  I can safely report that, while you will spend a lot of time in a car, the use of vehicles in the game only amounts to roughly a third of the overall gameplay experience.  You will be using one of four different vehicles to travel about in the Wasteland and each has a different feel to them but not in a way that will make you prefer one over the other.  Handling across the board is quite arcade oriented and only during combat do they take damage so you don’t have to worry about running into walls all the time and banging up your ride.

Vehicular combat in Rage is a surprisingly fun affair as you have a variety of weapons and quick use items available at your disposal.  These combat sequences appear at random throughout the game and are encouraged by NPCs in the various hub towns you find.  Ramming, gunning and chasing are the order of the day when fighting off attacking bandits and fortunately it never really gets old.  The end result is a deliciously Mad Max-esque experience that really doesn’t drag down the overall gameplay at all.

Outside of combat you can also compete in races.  Time trials, standard races and rally events are what you’ll be competing in and, with the exception of some rally events, you’ll find them quite enjoyable.  The races can be of both the unarmed and armed varieties and the rally events, which are similar to flag collection events (think Rocket Race from Halo 3), are completely weapon focused.  You will die in your races, rest assured, but you respawn almost instantaneously in a manner similar to what is utilized in the MotorStorm series.

The inclusion of vehicles in Rage is something that still puzzled me until I got my hands on it but if id can keep the formula as simple as it is now and retain the fun factor it already has I’ll gladly play a racing game with their name on it.

You Aren’t Alone Out There

Id Software has a varied history when it comes to multiplayer.  While the Quake series has seen massive success on this front its other series never really hit the ball out of the park.  Doom 3’s multiplayer seemed like an afterthought done boring but with the way most shooters are going these days you are all but obligated to include a multiplayer component in your AAA title.  Rage is no exception to this rule and it is here where you’ll find that id hasn’t been rather successful.

Variety is something that’s easily acquired in Rage’s multiplayer as you have almost every flavor under the sun available to you in the form of cooperative play as well as competitive car combat.  The co-op, entitled Legends of the Wasteland, places you and your partner in the roles of NPC characters from the singleplayer campaign in missions that take place canonically before the singleplayer begins.  Each of the nine missions detail a story or event hinted at during the game and are unlocked progressively meaning you’ll have to play them in order to experience them all.  The end result is what you’d expect: fun, but clearly needing more to flesh it out.  Experienced Rage players will enjoy themselves but those looking for more will find themselves not coming back after completing them.

The competitive part of the multiplayer is Road Rage, a four player affair spread across three rally modes and a classic vehicular combat mode called Carnage.  The meat of the experience is Carnage wherein you battle one another to get the highest score before the time or score limit is reached in a decidedly id Software take on classic Twisted Metal.  Rally events are fun but won’t keep you excited for long as they all feel the same and with only a very limited level of customization for your ride and a handful of maps you probably won’t be playing it past a week or two.

The thing about the multiplayer is that it has so much potential that it is squandered by just how little there is to do.  Traditional deathmatch play screams for inclusion and yet it is frustratingly absent.  Races too would have been quite fun and probably would have felt like a post-apocalyptic Mario Kart had they been included.  As it stands however it is quite a wasted opportunity.

The Attractiveness of Desolation

Seven years is a long time to go without releasing a new game but id found justification in the creation of their new game engine.  Called Id Tech 5, this behemoth of an engine has Rage as its flagship title.  While the full capabilities of the engine are never explored in its initial outing (developers are still pushing the Unreal 3 engine) it is clear that Id Tech 5 can do amazing things.

Texture detail, especially in the Wasteland’s rock formations, can be incredibly impressive at times and really make you wonder whether what you are looking at is an artist’s creation or a photo taken at Monument Valley.  Animations for NPCs and enemies are wonderfully well done with very well hidden transitional animations and movement patterns that make you sit back and go “wow.”  As you blast into a charging mutant and watch as they elegantly leap off a wall toward you only to be at the wrong end of some buckshot you will find yourself agreeing with me that this is only of the most beautifully animated titles since Uncharted.

What really sells Id Tech 5 however is Rage’s fantastically smooth framerate.  Id was able to deliver a sold 60fps on the home consoles, something that is an increasing rarity in games these days if your name doesn’t include the word “Duty.”  Blazing along the trails of the Wasteland and hitting a bandit car head-on yields absolutely no drop in framerate and, despite my best efforts, I could not find a single instance of lag.  Id has done a masterful job on their new engine and I can only hope that it gets the attention from the development community it much deserves.

One final note I must mention is that I love id’s style in Rage.  Every developer utilizes old assets in their games but id Software has the habit of reinterpreting them for the world they are making next.  Within Rage you’ll find a remarkable number of textures and geometry (a style I would call Techno-Gothic) that comes directly from Doom 3.  Dan Hagar has a Doom marine bobblehead on the dash of his buggy and one character you meet later in the game even has the Martian drawing of the Cyberdemon tattooed on his head!  Id is clearly aware of its heritage and, while forging onward with their technology they have still found a way to make the old still relevant.

Contain Your Rage

When you sit down to name a game its designation has to be something that resonates with the core theme of the game.  Wolfenstein told you that you were going up against the Third Reich.  Doom told you that you were about to face the minions of Hell and probably wouldn’t survive.  Quake, in so far as the original title goes, placed you in the role of a god-like character who made enemies tremble before you.  With Rage however it seems that naming your game after a raw emotional state just doesn’t quite translate to the overall experience.  The game’s great singleplayer experience feels excellent until it drops off abhorrently at the end in a manner that is sequel-mongering at its finest and the multiplayer seems almost tacked on at times.

Rage is a solid experience but it shames me to say that the game isn’t as true to id Software’s legacy.  While the development of a new engine is an almost adequate excuse for the game’s shortcomings it doesn’t make up for them.  You’ll enjoy Rage for what it delivers on the singleplayer front but for those looking fun with friends should hold off to see what the game’s DLC is like.  Maybe one day I’ll get to have a son who sits in my lap and helps me play Rage 3 but unless id Software really delivers with Doom 4 I fear that the magic may be beginning to fade.