So I stated on another thread that I have yet to upgrade to an Xbox One. Since everyone else has moved on and I am stuck in 2013, I decided to pull out some old games and play them again. I knew some of you are still stuck in the world of Xbox 360 and even you guys with XB1s may want to play something you haven't before.
Tonight's review is going to be of the game RAGE. This game was released in 2011 and was a collaboration between id Software (of Doom fame) and Bethesda (of Fallout fame). These two companies came together and made what I feel is a pretty decent game. This game is primarily a first person shooter placed on a post apocalyptic Earth, but does involve driving and racing, which definitely adds a different element to a game that could be considered a ripoff of Borderlands or Fallout and Mad Max.
The graphics for 2011 are outstanding. Even today on my TV with my old 360, the graphics actually could go up against games released in 2014. The graphics are very fluid and quick, which makes for good gameplay.
The story line is definitely similar to most post-apocalyptic games. Basically, you need to survive. You do that by shooting the bad guys and collecting random crap you find while traveling around and selling it to buy supplies and ammo. While the game allows you to travel freely, the area isn't very large, but you travel to different "wastelands" as the game progresses, so you aren't stuck in the same small wasteland the entire game. So basically it isn't an open map like Fallout.
The weapons are pretty common with pistols, shotguns, automatic rifles, etc., but there are some cool upgrades in ammunition and other lethal objects like explosive RC cars or mind control bolts for your crossbow.
The vehicles are pretty cool, though you are limited. They are all off-road orientated, but you get weapons mounted to them and have other little accessories that help along the way.
Enemies are pretty consistent with what you'd meet in the post-apocalyptic world, ravaging gangs that you need to fend off or mutants that just want to kill you. It does get quite challenging at times and you do get challenged in the "Normal" mode. You also meet some interesting characters and some may have odd jobs just to make a little extra dough.
So what are the cons of the game? Well I'll tell you.
First off, the game (for 360) is three discs and none of them are an install disc. Its all game play straight from the disc. So, that leads us to the next issue at hand: The load times suck. It takes a good 45 seconds sometimes to get between the wasteland and whatever facility you're visiting.
My next issue is that the game play gets very repetitive. Basically anywhere you go, it's "Hey do this for me and I can do this for you" or "You can't do this until you do this, but first you need to do this other thing" type stuff for almost the entire game. Luckily you can get away from that with the racing, odd jobs, and random traveling of the wasteland.
Other than that, I find the game entertaining and challenging. If you like to go down to the video game place and find something used, I would suggest RAGE. They have this game for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
GRM Gamer Rating of: 3.5 Miatas.
