Former heavy-weight developers Id Software put out this long-awaited title back in 2011, and it rather quickly faded as it was recognised as a great game but perhaps not the superb, hallmark title that most may have been expecting from the house of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein. That’s disappointing, as the game has absolutely dynamite shooting mechanics and astounding FPS moment-to-moment gameplay that just isn’t seen in the genre these days.
Blowing away mutants with super-satisfying weapons in meticulously well-crafted levels and atmospheres is truly a joy that any shooter fan should treat themselves too. The enemies are interesting and the way that they run, dodge and flip toward you in acrobatic ways elevates what would normally be standard FPS action into something far more thrilling. You’ll be smiling as you dodge and blow your way through hordes of enemies, and watch as they realistically stumble down, collapsing into things, whilst their buddies surge behind them. It’s a fantastic time, made better with fun open-world vehicle sections to get you between places.
Where the game gets let down is in part due to a story which is just shy of something truly memorable, and it’s not helped by an exceedingly anti-climactic final encounter (it’s a shame the developers couldn’t just put a little more time into a more challenging ending). The game also gets you to revisit some of its areas for filler missions, but the environments are interesting enough that you can’t really blame the developers, and they do enough to mix them up. The game also has horrendous texture pop-in issues for PC out of the box, but a quick google will lead you to an easy fix. Ultimately, Rage is a game that gets its core mechanics so right that you’ll forgive it for its few shortcomings, and the rather lengthy game gives you an excellent value experience that you just don’t see in the genre these days. It’s a thrillingly and great shooter experience that stands out in the crowd.
[Experienced FPS players are recommended to play on Hard]