Reviews

Id Software has been hugely influential in past years in the world of gaming, developing immensely popular games such as Doom, Quake and Wolfstein that took the genre of first-person shooter by storm. It's no wonder then, that when news of Rage hit gamer's ears, they held their expectations very high.

But has it lived up to the hype?

Rage is, of course, a first-person shooter, a genre that id Software have largely focused on. When Doom was first launched, way back in 1994, it caused a lot of shock. Players were seeing the violence and the blood in a whole new perspective. It was as if they were the character, they were causing this, they were seeing it through the very eyes of the virtual being they controlled. Doom was so very different to other games on the market.

But today, that has all changed. Id Software are back with an all new first-person shooter, but unlike in the past, the competition in this genre is fierce, with rivals such as Gears of War 3 and Battlefield 3 to contend with.

The game is set on post-apocalyptic Earth, the year 2029. A meteor has hit the world and survivors are left to brave the wastelands and ruins, whilst the Earth's important figures have been sealed in 'Arks' and woken once the dust has cleared.

You find yourself as the only survivor from your Ark after a malfunction and so you begin your journey, exploring the wastelands, collecting items, building gadgets and meeting human settlers. You can collect plants to make medicine and even items to build a vehicle. The vehicles can be used for competitive racing, in both combat and non-combat mode, as well as competitive multi-player.

Not a lot is clear from the start and you have to work your way through to really get into the story and begin learning about yourself. It is first and foremost, a first-person shooter, but the story telling adds another dimension.

Having to manually save the game is something that many players seem to find rather annoying whilst playing Rage, but if this is the biggest thing they have to complain about, id software haven't done a bad job.

Rage was never going to blow the world away in the way that Doom did. The genre is too developed and too full of brilliant competing titles. However, it is a welcome return for id software and definitely keeps the player interested and eager to finish. It isn't perfect, but it is a lot of fun. With stunning visuals, it combines elements such as exceptional gunplay, awesome driving and the RPG elements that pull the story along. Some players feel confused, not knowing what the game is trying to be, but for me, I felt invested and it hails Rage a striking success.