It’s always a pleasure to see what id Software devises with the development of its new games, and RAGE is no exception. With the game’s rumbling hype engine revved up and ready to go, we take a look at ten reasons to look forward to the next big first person shooter.
#10 Amazing New Engine
RAGE is powered by the most powerful game engine in existence—id Tech 5. Among many other technical features, it offers a powerful technique called Virtual Texturing, which allows game artists to treat maps like a canvas. By cutting down on the time it takes for developers to create content, it allows for the player to experience bigger, more diverse locations.
#9 Post-Apocalyptic Setting
The Wasteland is basically what Fallout 3 should’ve been—a deadly, dusty world populated by unimaginable horrors, instead of human characters that dwell deep in the uncanny valley. The world feels open, as the player must navigate from location to location in a dune buggy, while occasionally engaging in Mad Max-inspired road rage.
#8 Giant World Wrecking Monsters
Mutants aren’t the only inhabitants of the Wasteland, which is now populated by giant beasts who wreak havoc across the landscape. It goes without saying that the asteroid that struck planet Earth left more than just a few craters in the wake of its impact.
#7 Spacious, Seamless Interiors
Most shooters suffer from what I like to refer to as “corridoritis,” or an abundance of straight and narrow corridors. RAGE’s locations are designed to be a lot more organic and non-linear thanks to the game’s powerful engine, which allows for more tactically interesting locations for players to battle it out. There’s a sense of progress as you’re moving from room to room, and the level design accommodates dynamic approaches.
#6 Artificial Intelligence
RAGE’s engine runs its logic and physics faster than any other game, which allows players to experience instant feedback from their actions. Enemies don’t stop to ponder what to do when they’re getting shot at—their reactions are instantaneous. The AI is very robust, and enemies display situational awareness and are perceptive of their vicinity.
#5 Intense Vehicular Action
Most first person shooters are structured as corridors, with the monotony occasionally broken up by rail-shooter sections. In addition to RAGE’s open level design, the game takes it to the next level by offering true vehicular combat. The single player campaign is what id Software describes as “open but directed,” allowing players to progress through the main narrative or simply drive off the beaten path—literally—to explore and experience a larger chunk of the world.
#4 Sensibly Violent
Despite being developed for a “T-for-Teen” rating in mind, RAGE isn’t afraid to get messy. It’s violent, but it isn’t absurd—and with the T-for-Teen rating (surely a first for id Software), it’s bound to be fun for the whole family.
#3 Rage Combat Rally
Rage Combat Rally is one of the game’s multiplayer components. Not only does it provide a measure of the signature vehicle action from RAGE’s single player setting, it layers objectives on top of traditional free-for-all deathmatching, which adds a measure of depth to the game’s competitive multiplayer gameplay.
#2 Legends of the Wasteland
Legends of the Wasteland is RAGE’s cooperative multiplayer mode, where two players can team up to mop up the wasteland. With an increased enemy count and puzzles that require the cooperation of both players, RAGE’s cooperative mode is certain to extend the life of the game, if not double the enjoyment of players with partners.
#1 Made by the Masters
RAGE is made by id Software, the granddaddies of the FPS genre. True to form, id Software raises the bar with each release of a new engine, and a new game to champion their technology.
