Rage 2 first impressions

So as most of you are well aware Bethesda put out a new trailer for the upcoming game Rage2. My initial impression of the game says that there are things that make me concerned but there are some nice qualities to be seen as well. The fact that they started out with a filmed trailer that was very much relied on jump cuts and heavy high energy music to trying and force an excited reaction is something that is concerning to me. The impression I got from this was trying to walk a kid passed the candy store. With the release of the gameplay trailer the next day, it has done little so far to remove this concern. !

Let's start with the positives.

The game footage itself appears beautiful with good lighting effects and does not appear to be staged or prerendered footage. The animation appears to be to be well done and I saw no issues with clipping or stuttering after watching the trailer multiple times looking for these kinds of errors. The weapon selection appears to be varied which should facilitate the ability for different types of gameplay as long as it is not relegated to just what is shown in the footage so far which I would feel is unlikely. Lastly, the world does appear to be expansive and well built.

Now for the concerns from what I have seen so far.

My first concern based on the trailer is that with all the focus on high action and pumping music my overall reaction is just, "eh". Action for action's sake is rarely engaging for a long period of time. Look at any of the truly successful open world games, (Witcher 3, Fallout 4 or New Vegas, Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn) and what you will find is that the games focus on the protagonist and what is wrong with the world first, then give you awesome equipment or abilities to deal with the world as you see fit. This is exactly what was lacking in the first game which caused it not to stand out from its peers.

Second for as much work as they put into producing a filmed rave/punk trailer the game caries very little of this aesthetic and honestly looks more like an addition to Fallout 4 than a new unique game. Take a moment to look through the trailer and you will see your Behemoths, what could easily pass as a new form of Synth, the Gunners faction, and your punky savages the Raiders.

I hope there is more to come that will change my mind and that there is much more depth and lore to be found in-game, because if all their shipping us is a murder box with a little bit of story then I'll pass