the last, Rage is likely to leave modern gamers
wanting.
But, perseverance cap firmly on head, I
headed off on my first mission: to clear out
some mutants as a favour to the chap who
rescued me. With borrowed gun and quad
bike I drove over to the mutant hideout and
some good old-fashioned shooty fun ensued.
The level is linear but plays well; mutants
jumping from random places keep me on my
toes. They move naturally yet unpredictably,
so head shots on moving targets aren’t the
easiest thing to pull off. Weapons look great
and are satisfying to use, ranging from a
simple pistol to a pulse cannon. You can also
get different ammo types for each weapon –
for example the shotgun uses buckshot, but
load it with ‘pop rockets’ and it becomes a
grenade launcher.
After dispatching
the mutants I head
back to town, receive
my thanks and get
sent to someone
else who promptly
tells me the mutants
have something he
needs and I must go
and fetch it.
Wait, what?
Really? I have to go
back to the same
linear level, fight the
same enemies and
fetch something? It’s
not even like I could have done the quests at
the same time as they lead into one another.
Sure, a couple of new doors opened so the
level played out ever so slightly differently, but
it’s an overwhelming realisation that this is still
the same level – and that brings me to Rage’s
second fatal flaw.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the locations
are stunning. The first time you see them,
at least. But when you’re playing the same
damn level for the third time it’s tedious, and
smacks of lazy design.
Plenty of good games require you
to return to places, but usually it’s
much later on. And this isn’t the only
time this happens; some of the levels
change around a bit but it’s not enough
to mask this poor development choice.
Between locations you get to
drive around, fight vehicular-based
bandits and admire the scenery,
which is striking. The designers
have really gone to town on the
inhabited locations (hehe, see
what I did there?) – with a mix of run-down
shanty style and futuristic technology the
locales looks fantastic, as do the people that
live in them. Unfortunately they still suffer
from a ‘ghost town’ feel – people do the odd
thing, but don’t move from the locations they
have been placed in. I’ve played deader-feeling
games but couldn’t shake the impression this
game could’ve been an awful lot better.
Soon the Authority begin to appear; with
strong armour and heavy weaponry they are
fun to fight, but unlike in other games you
fight with the resistance simply because you
are told the Authority is evil. Not even when
I found out what they’re up to did I feel they
were the villains. The only times they wanted
to kill me was when I was attacking them, and
I can’t really blame them for that!
GAME REVIEW
So I’m working for the
resistance, yet not
entirely sure why, when
I’m told to go to The
Authority’s home base.
After being given a new
weapon from a man who
looks like a 1920’s circus
strongman I head off
to what turns out to be
the final fight. This was
easier than half the rest
of the game, finishing
with a small arena
match where I pushed
a couple of buttons and
won. The end came with absolutely no sense
of accomplishment, although
the credits did have a pretty
cool rock/country song in the
background. Good save.
Overall I feel Rage is mediocre. It has its
moments, and looks amazing, but the world
lacks life. Any time a character talks you don’t
listen – you just wait for them to shut up and
get on with the shooting. The vehicle combat
is good fun if nothing new – it just breaks up
the scenery between mission locations.
Conclusion: Rage is worth a bash, but
do yourself a favour and wait until it’s in the
bargain bin. ■
“Rage is the newest FPS from
id Software, ‘the father of
FPS’ and the company behind
Wolfenstein 3D, long considered
the game that popularised the
FPS genre of PC gaming”
RAGE
Developed by: id Software
Published by: Bethesda Softworks
Out now on PC, Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3
Price: From around £30 (depending on
platform)
www.airsoftactionmagazine.com
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