Buggy graphics, brilliant gun play, underdeveloped story, amazing atmosphere. Yes, I have mixed feelings.
Update (10/9/2011):
I was able to fix most of the graphical problems using some config files that were provided on the Steam forums. These seemed to clear up most of the texture problems for me. I still get strange artifacts and NPC flicker but otherwise the game looks pretty good. Now that I have finished the game, I am updating my review.
I have such mixed feelings about this game. Many times during this game I got that feeling that all gamers are looking for. Feeling totally immersed in the environment. Its what keeps me coming back to gaming and its why I spend a fortune keeping my PC upgraded and ready for the latest games. I got this feeling while doing the distillery quest. I have to admit that the environment was simply amazing. I was loving this game. I had a walking bot buddy at my side and a combat shotgun with pop rocket ammo. The way mutants go splat with a well placed pop rocket is very satisfying. The way guns feel is very impressive. The hit detection is spot on. If there is a small hole or gap in the environment through which you can see your enemy the bullet will find its target. I would say the gun play is the best I have every experience in a game.
There are still many things that I did not like. The story just ended. There were NPCs that talked about other towns that needed help and I fully expected to visit and help these towns but they didn't exist. At what seemed like the middle of the story, I was sent on the final mission. I did not feel like I had done enough to warrant going on the final mission. When it was finished, the game just ended with no explanation. Very sloppy ending and so much missed potential.
I am changing my rating for this game. I give it a 7/10. That score is kind of an average. Some parts of the game were a 10. Some parts were a 2 or 3. Some parts of the graphics were the best I have ever seen but some looked like they came from the 90s. Some missions were simply amazing and had me wanting more while others were short, lame and under developed. I am actually looking forward to some DLC for this game. I am hoping that they give it away for free to show some good will to the thousands of PC users that suffered through (IMO) the worst launch in gaming history.
Pros
I was excited about this game
Cons
Where do I began?
Graphics
Broken. Strange artifacts all over the place. NPCs flicker. If I am holding a pistol, there is a bullet hovering over my pistol when I am holding it. Holding a shotgun results in a shotgun shell hovering over my gun. If you are having a hard time understanding what I mean dont feel bad. Its hard to explain the vast number of strange graphical glitches in this game. I wonder what that boss looked like at the end of the Mash TV quest. I wouldn't know because it was a mess of pixels and flickering textures. Textures are laughably low quality. I had quite a bit of fun finding the worse texture I could find and laughing about it. Bad textures out number the good ones by 10 to 1. What a joke. Maybe I'll just melee this dead body to make me feel better. Poof! A mist of dust like blood fills the air. What the hell is that supposed to be? Nothing in the environment moves besides you and the enemies. Tiny objects survive grenade blasts. Cardboard boxes are unaffected by an infinite barrage of bullets. Glass lamps are like granite pillars. Sometimes, if you squint your eyes, it kind of looks good I guess. Not really though.
Quests
Boring. Drive here, pick up that. Drive back get reward. Been there done that. Not only are the quest boring and short, they are also way to easy for what you get. For instance, you get the sniper rifle in the first hour of the game and getting it is very easy. You don't have to earn it at all. The game forces you in one direction and one direction only. Invisible walls are all over the place. You want to take a different route to the target? How about right over a small rock? Nope. Nice try. That rock has an invisible wall blocking your progress. You cant even jump on the bashed up cars. That are out in the open and definitely short enough for you to get on top of. Why? It doesn't make any sense.
There are no enemies on foot out in the wasteland. Let me repeat that. No enemies, on foot, in the wasteland. Thats right. You drive very short distances from location to location and there is no one to drive over and splatter on the hood of your car. Only other drivers in vehicles. Sure, there are walking enemies once you get to a location but there are no enemies on the way. Lame. So lame.
Story.
LOL. What story. Take the worst parts of every story from all the other games this one is compared to and thats your story. Lame lame lame.
Multiplayer
What a joke. Seriously. No competitive FPS multiplayer???? No co-op campaign? How very lame. A battle racing multiplayer game is all we get.
I really could go on and on. This game is a total failure. I have a hard time believing what this game turned out to be. I'm not angry, just sad that this game is so bad. I'm going go back to my second play through of Dead Island. That game has problems but is way more fun then Rage.