Rage preorders to include in-game gear

After some seven years in development, id Software's Rage will arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 13. That leaves gamers quite a bit of time to decide whether today's announced preorder incentives are worth buying the Bethesda Softworks-published postapocalyptic combat game in advance.

As has become a standard tactic, preorder bonuses include a swath of in-game content. Those who prepurchse Rage in North America at GameStop, Amazon, Steam, or Direct2Drive will be upgraded to the "Anarchy Edition," which includes exclusive access to the double-barrel shotgun, crimson elite armor, and the Rat Rod buggy vehicle. Also included will be the Fists of Rage melee combat weapon.

Rage is set on a postapocalyptic Earth recovering from an asteroid collision, where humans have emerged from underground "arks" much like the vaults in the Fallout games. Players assume the role of a survivor who has emerged from an ark and has been subsequently outfitted with an array of performance-enhancing nanotechnology and some powerful ranged weaponry.

Gamers looking to delve more deeply into Rage's story can do so by picking up the Dark Horse Comics series beginning June 22 or Del Ray's tie-in novel on August 30. For more information on the game itself, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.