Preview: We've played the first few hours of RAGE - is it an instant id classic, or a just a fancy tech-demo for idtech 5?
We got to play a bit of Rage at E3 this year, and while we were excited to start with, the demo was... less than actually thrilling. Part of the issue is that these things often dump you in the middle of the game, and without proper build-up a game can seem kinda pointless. And it didn’t help that we were seeing it on Xbox – it didn’t look nearly as good as we’d been expecting.
However, we recently got to have some solid time with the game from the get-go, playing the first couple of hours. Even better, the game is looking worlds better than when we saw it a few months ago, even though we could still only play it on Xbox – there’s obviously been a lot of work between now and then.
So how’s it play? The game will be out early next month, and we really think it’s going to be an interesting launch. Part of this will come down to the fact that RAGE is going to feel awfully familiar to anyone who’s played Borderlands or Fallout – eerily so, in some cases. In fact, when one friend of mine read about RAGE he really thought id was taking the piss. And fair enough, too...
RAGE opens with an admittedly atmospheric intro video, which charts a project sealing away the best and brightest into burrowing Arcs to protect them from an approaching asteroid set to wipe life off the planet. You could pretty much exchange Arc for Vault and asteroid for nuclear war – it’s that similar. That the world is a shattered wreck when you inevitably awaken, filled with mutants and other dangers, doesn’t help in those comparison stakes.
However, there are differences. For one, as an Arc dweller, you are much more advanced than anyone else on the surface. You’ve been injected with some kind of nano-device that not only offers you a heads-up display (and it’s nice to see the classic game UI explained in the game’s world), but also the ability to defibrillate you when you die. The whole defib process is actually a kinda neat mini-game; do well, and you not only come back from the dead, but you’ll be closer to fully healed. Even neater, the process zaps any nearby enemies to death.
This ability takes time to charge up, so you won’t be using it all the time, but it’s nice to have an option to use after dying that isn’t just a simple restart. It also sets you out as someone quite special, and soon enough a range of survivors are making use of your unique talents.
However, as you start to fang around what I’m just going to call the Wasteland, you discover that what has looked like a rather open game, is essentially a series of tunnel-shooters linked by a driving mini-game. The vehicle sections are basically just a cute way to cut down on loading screens. The driving and even the combat is pretty simple, too.
It’s hard to really accurately judge the feel of the combat, though. We suspect playing the game with a mouse and keyboard will really lift the experience, as it’s quite a classically twitchy id game. The weapons are all quite satisfying, and with the added bonus of different ammo types, and different kinds of equipment you can eventually craft, it’s certainly a change-up. There are moments when you can really see id’s incredible experience in the genre shine, but at other times it can all get remarkably samey.
That said, there’s a lot more going for the game than the action. There’s some solid voice talent in play, which is important given that every NPC is fully voiced. Also top notch is just good the latest idtech engine is looking. We talked about this last week, when we discovered just why the game’s going to need 25GB of HDD space, but it’s worth repeating – this is going to look fantastic on a well-specced system. The game’s megatextures are really quite stunning, and it’s wonderful to see an id game with such a vibrant colour palette.
We’re very much hoping for good things when the game releases next week.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012