Ah, E3. The lessons you’ve taught me.
It can be difficult starting an impressions post on a game that you were so graciously, and privately, invited to take a sneak peek at.. The regular public would kill for such a chance, you see. Knowing this, and that many people worked very hard on the game, anything less than glowing praise induces no small amount of guilt. I mean, how can I possibly give them a bad review? They gave me Perrier! And a spiffy zip up sweatshirt! No one else gave me a zip-up sweatshirt.
And so it is with me, and the new id intellectual property Rage, an FPS-racer hybrid due out on XBOX 360, PS3, and PC in 2011. I got a first hand look during a private screening while visiting the Bethesda booth at E3 2010 with Tanooki features editor Pete Betcher.
If thought of solely as a vehicle for the id Tech 5 engine, a sort-of glorified demo, Rage doesn’t seem bad. Expect anything more out of it, though, and you may end up disappointed. For a game so shockingly derivative of another title from a series hosted in the very same booth, I’m surprised Bethesda chose to publish it at all. Now, the inclusion of the racing element alone will have many people declaring that Rage is just different enough that a comparison to Fallout 3 would be inaccurate. Fair enough. My opinion is just that, an opinion. However, the first thing I was given upon entering the Bethesda booth was a postcard that had a desert void marked clearly “Wasteland”…and it wasn’t from Fallout.
And call me crazy, when I read a press release that speaks of an asteroid that has left behind a “vast wasteland” and a “humanity working to rebuild itself against such forces as bandit gangs (that wouldn’t be anything like a Raider, would it?), mutants, and the Enclave Authority – an oppressive government regime that has a special interest in you in particular”, I tend to be reminded of something. When I hear that due to the impending apocalypse, “life-sustaining pods filled with select people are buried deep beneath the earth’s surface” and that “you are one of the chosen members of these modern day arks and abruptly enter the RAGE universe after surfacing alone”, how am I not going to recall Vault-Tec, G.E.C.K.s and what will probably be remembered as one of the most iconic “entering the daylight” scenes in modern gaming? Sure, sure, asteroids versus nuclear fallout from bombs or possibly (SPOILER) alien warfare, whatever. That’s a real big twist you got there, sir.
The key word here is derivative.
I know I’m probably being a brat (and the fans of the original Fallout games and Morrowind probably find me ridiculous), so I won’t try to spoil your fun. I’m sure anyone who hasn’t played Fallout 3 (all both of you) will take no issue with the game’s plot, especially when guns and racing are at hand. The background details are merely a set-up to enjoy the weaponry and the vehicles. And if you value the visual experience which, if you own the required PC, Xbox 360, or PS3, chances are you do, you may well enjoy Rage. Just don’t expect too much is all I’m saying. Point, shoot, respawn, turn around. That’s how these id games go, right?
Check out some concept art and screen shots in our Rage gallery below.
