What is your opinion on Id Software's RAGE?

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I wanted to ask because I've been trying it out lately (it was on sale for like 2 bucks) and I'm honestly really disappointed... and I didn't even have very high expectations. I wanted to get the opinion of someone who played more of it to know if it gets any better.

 

I just reached the point where you enter the first (or maybe only, I dunno) real major town and got my own suit, and it's just feeling really slow and uninteresting. It has really good environments, I like the art direction (even if it does have excessive tinting) and honestly the combat is pretty good. It's just that so far I've been strung along a really uninteresting story, been told to do a bunch of fetch quests, I don't even really know what the stakes are... and because of that, all the driving back and fourth just felt like it added absolutely nothing. Even with all that, the characters are all just super boring, every single one feels exactly the same. It's gotten to the point that it's made me re-evaluate how much I value story in a game. I've played and enjoyed games with bad stories, but I've never really played a game that cared this much about a story where nothing happens.

 

And again, the combat is good. Not excellent, but I'd say it's above average. The wingsticks are really fun, and while the guns don't have the greatest sounds, they are powerful. But even during actual play, RAGE has some of the worst invisible walls I've seen in a game. There is way too much stuff that is just clipped off to prevent the player from going there, to the point that it breaks immersion.

 

 

Again, do things start to pick up later in the game, or is it just perpetual fetch quest hell? Because there are definitely things that I like about this game, but if it's just gonna keep going the way it is, I'll probably just skip it and try RAGE 2 instead.

[[McD] James]

It's on my list of video games that I will never play, alongside the likes of Mad Max, No Man's Sky, Hatred, Marvel's Avengers, Minecraft Dungeons, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Tom Clancy's The Division, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Anthem, and Conan Exiles.

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5 minutes ago, Ajora said:

It's on my list of video games that I will never play

[BoxY]

Yeah, I'm also never going to play it, unless one day someone makes some kind of magnificent apologia for it that finally convinces me that it has any kind of creative and artistic value whatsoever beyond just being yet another stereotypically beige post-apocalyptic sleeping aid.

[CivilianM91]

I had considered picking it up myself recently since it was so cheap but based on these opinions... I dunno. I was more interested in playing Rage 2 anyway, I just wanted to work

my way to it.

[Boaby Kenobi]

I played a good bit of it on Xbox 360 a few years ago and I thought it was pretty decent but it's nothing special.

[Jello]

I really have nothing good to say about it. I've tried to play it multiple times, and once I got really close to the end, but I ended up realizing that I had spent several hours of my life just being bored.

 

The gunplay seems lackluster, the weapons are uninspired, the addition of throwable items seemed around a decade too late, the environmental textures were constantly reloading as soon as you turned around (which the megatextures were the biggest tech advancement the game had to offer, and they looked like ass because they constantly had to reload). The story was as bare boned as you can get. The open area gameplay would've been neat if it wasn't so empty all the time, and there really wasn't much exploration available. I see it compared to Borderlands and Borderlands Two quite a bit, and those were far more enjoyable even in single player. The story seemed like it was trying to ride on Fallout 3's success, the world was Borderlands without anywhere near the reward for exploring, the weapons pretty much bit ass on a regular basis. Everything about it just lacked any spirit; and I don't mean that if it would've had more time for balancing or refinement it would've been good, at the base of the game it just wasn't good.

 

And even if it hadn't released during the timeframe when post apocalyptic games like Fallout 3, or Borderlands were really popular, it still wouldn't have been fun. It lacked personality, it lacked drive, it lacked exploration, the different factions essentially behaved the same (oh, another dude with a gun, oh wait, this one has a melee attack!) it lacked anything of interest. It seemed like it was based on technical advancements, and fun was less than an afterthought. And its technical impact kind of fell flat on it's face as well. Megatextures? Neat! No repeated textures, awesome? Oh wait, they're all just repetitions of the exact same dirt cliff face you've been seeing since the game started. And linear as fuck.

 

I guess it did have John Goodman, so there is a silver lining.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Jello

[The Great Communicator]

Rage really wasn't anything special. It had good graphics, reached 60 FPS on Xbox 360 (or at least, it looked really smooth) and I especially enjoyed the animations. The levels are dull, with few exceptions. The environments are repetitive. The gunplay was fun, but there really is little reason to recommend it.

 

I played and beat Rage twice (I think). I enjoyed it, but if you're not having a fun time now, I don't think the game will ever pick up for you. All the issues you have with the game now will persist for the rest of the game. IIRC, even the penultimate level is a fetch quest!

 

Like I said, I had fun playing Rage when it first came out. But I cannot recommend that you keep playing it.

 

Spoiler

BTW, the final level suuuuucked.

 

[HQDefault]

Yeesh. It looks like Rage really does live up to its sour reputation.

 

That's sad because I remember people had a lot of similar issues with Quake 4, but I actually really liked that game, better than Quake 2 even! I was hoping this would be a similar situation. Guess not.

 

Also my friend and I on discord were talking about this game and he just summed up how each quest starts perfectly

[Lippeth]

So, I really enjoyed this game overall, though it's far from perfect. I first played it on ps3 when it came out and had a lot of fun, and at the same time felt that everything about it was very shallow except the actual combat, though combat was only done in small sections but I really enjoyed the weapons and ammo types. A few years later I replayed it on pc and had roughly the same experience: It's really fun, sometimes. The concept of the story was interesting but none of it pans out and the game seems to just stop at what I would normally consider a halfway point. The driving didn't bother me and I enjoyed the racing sections but it seemed like it was only there to make an extremely short game slightly longer, and to further give of that Mad Max vibe which was quite unnecessary.

 

The section in the game where you fight in the televised Mutant Bash TV is a standout moment. It's a direct homage to the arcade game Smash TV which I also like, so that was enjoyable. The characters throughout the game are almost likeable, but the fetch quests and mini games they bring are not. Go here, do this, kill that, here's a gun. It's fine, but bland and not necessary when I already just want to shoot things and don't need a made up reason. And the main town of Wellspring is a confusing labyrinth and took several playthroughs to get a clear mental layout.

 

So overall, not a great game but I like the weapons and combat and still boot it up from time to time. It seems like they had a good idea for a game but lost inspiration halfway through so they gave it a lot of padding that didn't age well in order to release it.

[pilottobombadier]

I really enjoyed Rage as well, but I would compare to the original Unreal.  Very pretty, great ideas, but the gameplay is average.  What gets me is that, going back to it on my 360, I am still amazed at how well it's aged visually.  That's about it.

That said, it doesn't suck.

[DNSKILL5]

I only played through it once on the 360, and it was the anarchy edition or something like that where you get a sawed off sxs shotgun added to your inventory because of preorder. I thought the game had a lot of good ideas but everything felt so small in comparison to other games with a similar setting. As soon as you get really into it and learning some of the features like the vehicles, the game is already half-way finished. Could’ve been more fleshed out. So I think it could’ve been better. Rage, along with Duke Nukem Forever, taught me not to bother with preorders anymore. Only sinned once with Hitman 2016 and didn’t regret that, but I am more cautious about it than I was then because of the overall letdowns. 

[Redneckerz]

The game is technically perfect on consoles. In a world where players were happy with COD's perceptual 60 fps, Rage just delivers it all day, and at very close to 720p.

 

 

World and combat is thus pretty good but if you play Rage for the story you will be disappointed.

 

I thus dont agree with the overal negative sentiment regarding Rage. Its a solid shooter, far more so than DNF.

[DooM Bear]

It’s just forgettable for me. Not bad, not good just forgettable.

 

I said in another thread somewhere that it feels like there is a Dimond in the rough somewhere there but no matter how long I keep digging, I just never find the Dimond I’m looking for.

 

Thing that sucks most is I love both ID and post apocalyptic games so really, really wanted to love that game!

 

Will probably give Rage 2 a go at some point but don’t have high hopes for it.

[hybridial]

Some of the worst texture popin I ever saw which completely destroyed its visual appeal to me.

 

Otherwise like every FPS of that era, boring, lame, shit, I'm so fucking glad Dusk et al. happened. So fucking glad. 

[Biodegradable]

Time to pull a Maes and use a post I've made on the subject last year.

On 11/5/2020 at 12:54 AM, Biodegradable said:

I played a friend's copy of Rage back when it first came out. It was technically impressive with nice graphics, solid weapons, good character animation and the enemy AI was pretty cool for the time as they'd react to being shot in specific areas on their bodies clutching at 'em in pain. But I also remember the game being really damn boring for the most part with repetitive fetch-quests, dull combat, lazy mini-game distractions and its storytelling (what little there actually is) was just a blatant rip-off of Fallout. Basically, another glorified tech demo by id's standards at the time.

Overall, in retrospect I feel that Rage is a forgettable, disappointing lump of lost potential while also being a clumsy Fallout 3 knock-off with better combat mechanics. I'm willing to bet Rage 2 is leagues better despite it basically looking like a mish-mash of Doom 2016 and Far Cry so I'll probably never play it because Ubisoft-style open world games bore me to tears with their lack of focus and unsatisfying gameplay. 

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by Biodegradable

[boris]

[Andromeda]

Probably the only single-player FPS released in the last decade that I've enjoyed.

[Soulless]

26 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

 disappointing lump of lost potential while also being a clumsy Fallout 3 knock-off with better combat mechanics

Thats actually pretty accurate. I had fun beating the game 100%, gunplay felt really good, and it had enough variety and mini-games

to keep me interested the whole game.

But it was obvious it lacked depth overall, falling a bit into the generic story/characters. I even completed a second run in Ultra nightmare,

quite easy to be honest.

I watched the trailers for RAGE2, but I didnt like anything at all.

[Coincident]

It can be entertaining for the first hour or so as you're exploring the game, but then it just loses it's charm. After a while there's no challenge. Boring and repetitive.
Also: most disappointing ending ever.

[Vic Vos]

Boring, still better than Borderlands tho :^)
 

 

^{wait didnt we already have that thread not long ago}

[Payload4367]

The combat was fun and some visuals where amazing, but after beating it, I never felt the urge to replay it. And still don't. For $2 it's great!

[Da Werecat]

43 minutes ago, Coincident said:

Also: most disappointing ending ever.

 

I never really got this sentiment. You're doing a very important thing at the end.

 

It would've been more accurate to say that the level that leads to the ending is a corridor grind that doesn't even have a boss, IIRC. Moreso, the piece of the world that leads to said level is clearly inferior to the first half of the game, which ends up being more like two thirds due to the second part being so shriveled and rushed.

 

If I was to talk about the whole game, then the previous paragraph already says a lot. It's a game with plenty of ambition behind it, that suffered from a tragic development cycle. Some parts of it are good, especially if you're into heavy industrial feel that they were going for. I think it gets more flak than it deserves, but that's what happens when something is hyped and then isn't a masterpiece.

[Nootrac4571]

36 minutes ago, Coincident said:

Also: most disappointing ending ever.

 

Yeah, it really feels like the last third of the game is just... missing.

 

PLOT SPOILERS

 

You get to what looks like it's going to be the final hub area: the city of the evil military empire, but it's just a big empty wasteland with nothing to do except the final level. Which turns out to be a series of featureless grey corridors ending with pressing a couple of switches. Then the game ends with a short cutscene.

 

You never even meet the big bad guy! He's mentioned in the story loads, and built up to be the evil mastermind behind everything, then he just never shows up.

[Swordofdanu]

Eh, I've played a lot worse, but some of the better parts stood out to me. The guns and gunplay were good, Wingstick in particular, although in a dirty move the SSG was locked to dlc?! 

I also prefered fighting mutants over raiders, So I guess the best level for me overall was The Dead City.

(there were also Quake & Doom Easter eggs which were cool) 

Saying that, wouldn't touch it again or its sequel...

[Da Werecat]

One other thing: I'm really not amused by the game's prominent PLUCKY REBELS AGAINST TYRANNY aspect. It's exactly as dull as it sounds, with a rag-tag team of goody-two-shoes that I can't even remember. I wanted more Cowboys v Bandits (and Mutants) instead. The art direction is way too stylish for this crap.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Da Werecat

[Doom_Dude]

I enjoyed Rage for awhile but I never finished it and haven't played it again and don't care if I ever do.

 

One thing that annoyed the fuck out of me, is the places you can see but can't explore.... especially in places where a short jump blocks you from doing so. I recall one spot on a highway where an adjacent road is not accessible despite it being right there.

[ChopBlock223]

I've played it through two times, and I do find it pretty enjoyable, and I think it has some strengths, while also recognizing it as really flawed.

I haven't played Rage 2, but I figure I'll get around to it, I hope it'll address some of the original game's shortcomings.

 

I'd say that the best advice for making Rage more fun is to reevaluate your weapons, always sell all normal revolver ammo and only ever use the 'Fat Boy' ammo for it, it'll perform much better, and always buy C4 and other stuff to convert all your buckshot shotgun shells into Pop Rockets, it's not that hard to build up a good stockpile, and it turns your shotgun into a rapid fire mini-grenade launcher, which is much more effective and much more satisfying.

[HQDefault]

4 hours ago, ChopBlock223 said:

 always buy C4 and other stuff to convert all your buckshot shotgun shells into Pop Rockets, it's not that hard to build up a good stockpile, and it turns your shotgun into a rapid fire mini-grenade launcher, which is much more effective and much more satisfying.

 

Okay, guess I'm giving this game another shot then

[Mr. Freeze]

Really forgettable. The two things I still remember about it are A: wishing I was watching Road Warrior instead and B: the game ending mid-mission.