By Rafael Rodriquez / Staff Writer
The speed limit is 60 (Games Press)
By Rafael Rodriquez / Staff Writer
From the makers of “Wolfenstein 3D” (the grandfather game of first-person shooters) comes “Rage,” a role-playing first-person shooter, from ID software, that gamers don’t want to miss.
The story for “Rage” is pretty simple but it gets the job done and more than warrants a reason to start exploring the now steam punk, western earth.
The story follows the player, a survivor who wakes up from an ark, a machine that puts humans into stasis, in the now post-apocalyptic world.
During the player’s long dormant slumber the earth was struck by a huge asteroid leaving the few survivors to start rebuilding civilization.
Early on the player’s life is saved by Dan Hagar, a survivor who now more or less is the player’s guide to the gritty wasteland that is earth.
During the time with Dan the player finds out more about the past and what has succumbed to the denizens of earth, as well as the factions that threaten the life of survivors.
Many of the plots unravel here and the player’s tasks are revealed.
The presentation of this game is astounding. Every desert-ridden locale is full of detail, texture and non-playable characters roaming around that really make the game come to life.
This is thanks to the game’s use of a new technology that utilizes a mega-texture that drapes over the game and allows it to run at a full 60 frames per second.
This means that the game runs as smooth as butter and the characters and enemies in the game appear extremely life-like.
It’s really a sight to behold, but sadly it does get a little tiring towards the end of the game as the stark brown desert motif eventually leaves the player craving some color.
Gameplay is as fun as ever. The combining of a role-playing game system and a first-person shooter, works surprisingly well.
Players will travel the land, either by foot or by desert buggy, looking for quests, in three major cities in the game.
These quests do not level up your character, but rather give the player more ways of handling themselves in the harsh environment.
“Rage” still plays the same as many other traditional first-person shooters like “Call of Duty” but its level of polish and its in-depth way of handling other things like weapon and ammunition modes set it apart from others.
Players will also scrounge the land for “loot” that will allow the player to upgrade their armor or create different ammunition types that will turn the tides in the game’s many skirmishes.
For example, players can use a mind control bolt that allows them to control their opponent, guiding them to more enemies, and then detonating them to take out more enemies.
It just feels very empowering and rewarding to shoot an enemy, whether the grueling mutants that roam the land or the enemy factions that will engage, and watch them react to how the player engages them.
The enemies encountered however, are not push-overs. They will dodge and dip in every direction, and try to flank the player in any way possible.
The multiplayer aspect of the game differs from other standard first-person shooters with no death-match type modes, but instead focuses on vehicular battles that players can upgrade and fine tune to give them an edge in battles.
There is a horde mode where you can team up with a buddy online to keep waves of enemies down while maintaining a score multiplier.
“Rage,” although very similar to other games in its genre, is still its own experience.
The game just oozes creativity and polish that just isn’t seen in any other game in the genre.
Although it can use a little work in the audio department and the story doesn’t pick up until the end, this is a solid game that all gamers should add to their libraries.
