id makes its comeback. Rage shows how it's done
So what exactly is Rage? You start of as an arc survivor who was sent into space along with lotsa buddies and are put to sleep since a meteorite is going to wipe out the Earth. Years later the arc crashes back into the Earth and Lo and behold you wake up only to find that you're the only survivor in your arc and you don't know where you are. What follows is a journey through three towns with NPCs which essentially do the job of handing out missions to keep the ball rolling. With only 3 towns one would feel that there isn't a lot to do in this world, but you would be surprised. Almost all the missions are unique with very less repetition, and you won't be collecting things over and over just for the heck of having a vast story line. There are side quests to keep you busy when you don't want to keep proceeding with the story, but there aren't enough that make you forget the main story entirely, which is not a bad thing. Other activities include, wasteland races and gambling activities to spend more time in the world.
The world is small, but very well fleshed out. There are various gangs which all have unique personalities. And by personality I don't mean at face value, but there is a clear difference on how you would approach each one of them. Where some gangs are technology focussed with armour clad enemies who you have to approach by shooting off their armour first before getting to kill them, others are more primal, not heavy on guns but melee weapons and they attack in hordes, running at you to get the kill. This is where Rage truly shines, the AI is very dynamic. You won't have the same experience twice if you decide to reload a level. The enemies use the environment to take cover, flank and run you down which keeps the action fast paced. Given the shorter duration of the game by RPG standards, the enemy types are very well balanced, and varied enough to keep the experience fresh. There are about 6-7 factions you go up against all unique and all requiring a different approach.
The second shining moment for Rage is its weapons. Regular RPGs allow your characters to level up. How does Rage which keeps the RPG element to a minimum do that. There's no HP increases no attributes to build upon. Leveling up is through access to new weapons. id does this beautifully. The sheer variety of ammo modifications for each gun type keep the experience fresh and you feel like trying every possible ammo type and see your enemies fall. It also forces you to use the different weapons, as some enemy types are prone to one type of ammo and sometimes some weapons allow you to take advantage of the environment as well. One of the few games, where the handgun is much cooler than your standard machine guns etc. The sheer number of variations of ammo type for the handgun does not allow you to put it down.
With id showing off its new engine, Rage is a beautiful game. The level of detail it employs is breathtaking. This is probably the one downside for the game, and you actually feel, only if the world was bigger id could have capitalized on using the colour palette in much more variation. The voice work is excellent, the only complaint being the sound of the vehicles which sound like lawn mowers and some of the weapon sounds.
All in all, the one and only warning - Do not approach Rage as an RPG. It is a shooter, this is what id has always done best and by shooter standards, the dynamic AI and variety of weapons put most other shooters to shame. The short duration could also mean that id might be testing out the waters for introducing this new IP and who knows the Rage may just return bigger and better. If you're a fan of shooters, Rage is a no brainer. Even if you're not, you will appreciate the fast paced action in this tightly built fast paced world of Rage. Buy it!!