Friday, 14 October 2011

RAGE - Flawed but Fun

Most gamers have a profound sense of respect for id Software since it is this Texan game development studio that popularized and nurtured the first person shooter genre with iconic games like Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein. After Doom 3 in 2004, id has been working hard on returning to their first person roots with RAGE, a shooter that’s been nearly seven years in the making. Is it worth the wait? Will it cement id once again as the undisputed kings of this genre? Read on to find out.

As you boot RAGE up for the first time, comparisons with games like Fallout 3 and Borderlands that share similar post-apocalyptic scenarios will be inevitable. However RAGE is very much a linear fare that merely presents the illusion of being an open world game. In the near future, an asteroid the size of Texas (lol?) crashes against the planet, tearing it to shreds. While most of humanity perished in this calamity, a select few were sent into a cryogenic state so they could emerge from this incident and start rebuilding society. You are one such survivor but instead of waking up in the company of your frozen friends, you find out that everyone you knew is dead.
In the face.... in the FAAAACE
In the face.... in the FAAAACE


As soon as you leave your Ark, you get attacked by a mutant within seconds firmly establishing the fact that the brown stuff has hit the fan and in case you didn’t get the euphemism, this means the Wasteland is a highly dangerous place. You get rescued by a good Samaritan only to learn that he had an ulterior motive in helping you out since you can handle yourself with a weapon. From then on begins nearly ten hours of fetch quests that culminate in one of the most abrupt video game endings ever. Yes, a riveting plot is definitely not one of RAGE’s strong points.

RAGE’s game world is divided into various hubs from where you pick up quests, sell loot, upgrade weapons and so on. While this sort of mission structure will be familiar to anyone who’s played an RPG, it gets real annoying when you’re made to go back to the same areas over and over again. What’s worse is that I can never take on say five or ten quests, head into the Wasteland, complete them all and return. No, I have to take on one, finish it, head back and only then can I pick up the other one. Thankfully the game sports a quick travel mechanic so travelling back to base isn’t a problem. If you’re the more adventurous kind, you could drive your buggy around the Wasteland taking on bandits but like I said earlier, this isn’t an RPG nor is it an open world game so don’t go expecting dynamic events to kick in.
Boo!
Boo!


Vehicular combat is surprisingly quite enjoyable as it takes its cues from games like Mario Kart or Blur. You can strap on a bunch of weapons like rockets, mini-guns and mines to your ride so taking out the opposition is never really a problem. If you’re the competitive kind, you can also indulge in a bit of racing through some of the hubs as well. Win races and you could unlock cooler parts for your ride but since racing is really not all that important in the game, there’s little motivation to spruce your ride up. And don’t get attached to one car because certain missions will require you to ditch in favour of a tougher set of wheels

 source: http://tech2.in.com/reviews/pc/rage-flawed-but-fun/248302


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