RAGE 2 review

The first Rage was a memorable disappointment. It was meant to be id Software's big comeback, pushing the boundaries of graphics tech and first person shooters at the same time. What landed was a pretty uninspired, formulaic game. idTech 5 was top notch, to be sure, but it never really felt like more than a tech demo. It wasn't a bad game, and was competent in many regards, but lacked any kind of spark.

Nearly a decade later, we have RAGE 2. Not really sure why they call it RAGE 2, because it doesn't seem to have much to do with the first Rage. I suppose it's an IP id Software had lying around, and thought might as well put it to some use.

The main developers for RAGE 2 is actually Avalanche Studios, the makers of the Just Cause series. It also uses Avalanche's Apex Engine, rather than idTech. RAGE 2 is an open world game, very much like Just Cause, with the vehicles and traversal, but with more of a focus on first person shooting.

The shooting mechanics of RAGE 2 are top notch. This is where id Software's influence is obvious - the first person shooting is a lot more like Doom than Just Cause, but with its own flair. It's fast=paced, hyper-kinetic, and always exciting, but at the same time, the open world opens up more dynamic possibilities than something like Doom. RAGE 2 has some pretty cool special weapons, though they are strangely walled behind random explorable locations.

The rest of RAGE 2 is much like the first Rage... uninspired. There's nothing here that's bad, it's all polished and well made, but it just isn't anything special. The world is your usual multi-biome open world, divided into varying terrain. It certainly has it's moments, but overall, it's a bog standard open world. Traversal can be interesting in some locations, and there are definitely some neatly modeled vehicles, but these promises are never expanded upon. RAGE 2 has some forced exploration / open world events, some interactions with NPCs, but they are far too basic and pale in comparison to something like Fallout 4. Other random events feel very much like filler content.

The same feeling extends to the single player campaign. The narrative is your usual post-apocalyptic survival/revenge tale, with the most unsurprising characters you can imagine. Yet, there's a nice momentum and pacing through the campaign that keeps things fresh and interesting. It's probably due to the fun shooting mechanics, above all else.

So, that's RAGE 2 in a nutshell - excellent first person shooter, average everything else. The question is - does the shooting alone make it worth a play? That's a tough one, and depends on how much you enjoy your first person shooters. I'm not the biggest fan of first person shooters, but I did feel RAGE 2 offered a unique spin on the genre that made it worth a playthrough. If you're not excited by shooting, RAGE 2 is probably worth a skip.

All said, I'd like to see a RAGE 3 though. There's definitely potential here to create a Mad Max-like extravaganza. They just need to be fully committed and send their A-team to deliver something special. The ingredients are there, just need to execute all the way. Another by-the-numbers installment in this series will not be acceptable.