Rage is a post apocalyptic shooter game that actually knows it’s a shooter. It does not try and force dice rolling or statistics on you despite its open world and thoughtful characterization, it’s a game about action and skill, through and through. Beautiful artistic graphics are going to be the first thing you notice when booting up the game. Mega texture; the flagship tech of Id’s new engine (id tech 5) allows the game to use one massive texture rather than many small textures digitally stitched together. For the non-tech monkey this means there is a lot of memory free for the system (PS3, xBox360, PC) to actually run the game, resulting in extremely smooth performance at sixty frames a second. The game looks damn good and the differences between the PC and console are almost non-existent. This is quite simply the best graphics tech I have ever seen because it allows for some truly unique and inspired environments and does so on some extremely (by now) old hardware. Artistically, its Mad Max with shades of Water World and the old Tchaikovsky STALKER. Everything is rendered and animated with strict attention to detail, it feels right.

Courtesy of: Bethesda Softworks

The environments are the stars of the show and while this game does give you the freedom to go most places on your own when you want to they aren’t all that large. I will choose an extremely detailed and thorough small level to a loose big one any day. Keeping a dusty wasteland interesting can be difficult (ahem, Fallout 3) but Rage does it better than its contemporaries and this is a feat worthy of note. In an age of post crisis world games Rage has a distinct identity. The artistry and polish has been applied to everything and while the game does not feature as much content as a game such as Call of Duty, the level of detail in what it does offer puts that game to shame. The pseudo RPG “towns” in the game give the characters a sense of place and further the illusion that you are playing through a living-breathing world, which I can appreciate after being shell shocked by Call of Duty’s breakneck pace and lack of character exposition. Intellectually it does not engage like Fallout 3 does but its aesthetic value and campaign length are just deep enough to keep up the facade and the fun.

Courtesy of: Bethesda Softworks

The story is on the light side and while it does introduce you to the world quite well the characters feel undeveloped. The story’s hero is a voiceless hero who seemingly jumps right to the side of the oppressed, no choice, no morality. You’re the good guy. Some people are going to hate that. The weakest element of the game is the lack of character in both the protagonists and the utter lack of a central antagonist. The gameplay is gladly the star and it is hard to knock the game’s narrative when the gunplay is so smooth and offers so much variation.

Courtesy of: Bethesda Softworks

Mechanically the game is the soundest shooter I ever played. Guns feel good, accurate but realistically kicky, deep in their variation (ammo types and upgrades that make the nine weapons feel like 20) and that isn’t even scratching the surface. The gadgets offer a completely new approach to combat; from the simple wingstick (my favourite: a boomerang that can seek out enemies and slash through necks) to the intelligent spiderbots equipped with machine guns or the RC cars that pack an explosive punch. When I saw the game at E3 I was told, “it’s about crafting your shooter experience”, I didn’t really know what to make of that. I have been ruined by the modern trend in shooters to hold your hand and force a specific mechanic or game play style on you ‘a la’ Call of Duty.

Courtesy of: Bethesda Softworks