RAGE (the game)

That’s right kiddies, the repertoire of games of which I write about has grown by one more!

RAGE is an FPS (of course it is) currently in development by id Software, the guys behind Doom and Quake–you’ve heard of those games, right?–will be published by Bethesda, and will use the Tech 5 engine. See the trailer for it here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd-LPHZcLNQ]

So, what’s this game about? A meteor has hit Earth, resulting in a post-apocalyptic setting (of course it does). You play someone who has just been unfrozen from cryogenic sleep, and your main goal is to simply survive in this new, hostile world. Don’t let this fool you, though. It’s not the wastelands that we are so well acquainted with, like Fallout and Borderlands. This game is lush. It’s vivid, it’s colorful. It’s hand crafted, and when I say hand crafted, I mean hand crafted. Every. Single. Thing. No two rocks are the same, you’re not going to be seeing repeats of texture 1, texture 2, texture three. The artists at id Software have individually painted every single thing you see in the game–which explains why the game looks so damn good, visually speaking. Then again, I’m going to assume that the game will be pretty solid otherwise, too, considering the people who are involved with the project. I think we can safely assume that the game will have excellent FPS controls and mechanics. I mean, they…invented the genre. So, gameplay and visuals, check. The story/plot…we won’t know be able to say much on, until the game is tucked into our disc trays.

Yes, there are mutants, there are factions, there’s even some form of “authority” which is questionable at best. Pretty cookie cutter stuff, for a game in this genre. But there’s so much more to it, in a way. It’s just…in the way the world has been crafted. If you took a look at any of the videos that were linked, you’ll notice how much character the people you encounter have. Their personality exudes from their facial expressions and fidelity. And it’s not just an FPS, either–it has many RPG elements, such as side quests, weaponry upgrades, as well as freedom to approach and solve situations as you see fit, looting, blueprinting and building weapons. The folks at id Software promise a multiplayer component, but they’re bullish on revealing what that will be–it’s very likely they haven’t figured it out yet, considering this game won’t release until sometime well into next year.

If there’s one thing I’m particularly unsure about, aside from the story, it’s their decision to give such a huge focus to its racing aspect. I’ve yet to see any game outside of the racing genre that actually gets those mechanics and controls right, and judging from the myriad of videos, RAGE will have a lot of racing/driving in it. After all, your dune buggie is your main means of transportation when out in the wasteland. Still, we’ve all endured the Mako, so it probably won’t be any worse than that!