Rage 2 is a mix of genres that tries to be more than the sum of its parts, and that’s something that very few games can actually pull off.
The original Rage had a “je ne sais quoi” quality about it that set it apart right from the start, even if the gameplay wasn’t all that original or the concept employed weren’t new, by any standard. Even so, Rage manage to capture the imagination of people, but it had something going for it.
Even after the game was announced, the id Software developers refused to say in what kind of genre is placed. When people asked if it’s a first-person shooter, id Software said that it’s more than that. And then we got a glimpse of some racing, but the devs said that it’s not just a racing game.
Their refusal to place the game into a certain category made sense all the way back in 2010. Combining an FPS with combat racing was somewhat novel, and it worked as a recipe. But, if we can be honest now, the first Rage was just an FPS, with some minor additions.
It also benefited from a new engine, called id Tech 5, which was supposed to revolutionize the future of gaming, and we all bought it, hook and sinker. The idea was that id Tech 5 didn’t have a limit on the texture resolution, which in theory sound amazing. In practice, that wasn’t the case, and Rage was plagued by graphical problems right from the start.
Story
The only thing that Rage 2 keeps from its predecessor is the premise and some of the names. In the first game, it was explained that people discovered an asteroid on an intercept course for Earth, but it was too late to do anything to stop it.
Humanity chose to build Arks, secure chambers filled with a select group of people that would open when the dust settles, and the atomic winter passed. The player takes on the mantle of an Ark survivor that awakens prematurely, but it looks like humanity managed to survive even without the people in the Arks.
Unfortunately, it a truly post-apocalyptic world, with mutants, marauders, and a few safe settlements. Above all rules the Authority, an oppressive government-like body that’s trying to solidify its power by using Ark technology.
Some of this might sound a little bit familiar, and no one would mind people draw comparisons with the Fallout series. To be fair, it seems that people imagine the same nightmare scenario for a post-apocalyptic world, and that’s just sad. No one thinks that we might choose to do things better the second time around.
Rage 2 takes place 30 years after the incidents in the first game and jumps straight in. With a defeated Authority, humankind expanded even more, although it’s still pretty much a no-man’s land. You now take on the role of a ranger called Walker (I’m sure that the name is intentional) right when the Authority decimates the most prominent human settlement, marking their return.
Gameplay
Rage 2 is the fruit of a collaboration between id Software and Avalanche Studios. The latter is a studio known for the Just Cause franchise and the latest Mad Max. I’m mentioning Mad Max because Rage 2 seems to have something in common with it, which is actually a good thing.
The game is not innovating, in any way, and my guess is that they weren’t trying to do that at all. The studios most likely aimed towards familiarity and for a straightforward shooter, with the hopes of filling the rest with crazy-stylized artwork and concepts. The result is something fun to play, but with a lot of grinding and moving about without real purpose.
The biggest problem with the game is not the combat, which is meh-fine, or the driving, which is meh-ok, but with the color pallet. Someone told them to use bold colors, like bright purple and pink, because reasons. Everything is pink and purple, but why? Are they trying to be edgy? What’s the point? Not only that it’s annoying, but it’s also not as original as the developers might think.
In any case, the main character has a number of superhuman abilities that are unlocked by visiting unopened Arks and gathering nanites. There is also currently and pieces of the meteor, and of course, some crates that you really need to find.
This crates will take a lot of your time because they contain necessary resources, in much greater numbers than you can usually find. There are some upgrades that can help you locate them faster, but not by much. This means that players will spend a great deal of time combing an area to find crates, long after you’ve killed everyone. If this is not the definition of griding, I don’t’ know what its.
As for the driving part, it’s a thing you need to do to get to the next mission. The drives are long and full of peril, but nothing you can’t handle. Peacefull races are also present, but why would you bother with them at all is being me.
Rage 2 does have solid shooting mechanics, and it’s not bad, by any stretch, but sometimes it feels like they crammed too much in there in an attempt to pad the runtime.
Graphics and sound
The game is the fruit of a collaboration between id Software and Avalanche Studios, and it’s using the Apex Engine, which was actually a surprise. The reason was that Apex seems to be much better at handling large, open spaces, which made it ideal.
It’s well optimized, and it looks really good sometimes, but the choice of colors for some of the items in the world, the HUD, and the menus is extremely distracting. The sound department is not helping either. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either, so it’s in no position to enhance the gameplay.
The Good
- Solid FPS mechanics
- Beautiful landscapes
The Bad
- Too much grinding
- Terrible choice for the color palette
Conclusion
All in all, Rage 2 is a good way to pass the time, especially since this summer is going to be a long one and there aren’t major releases planned. The story itself can be finished quickly if you ignore the sidequests, but if you want to do everything, you’re going to spend at least double that.
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