Rage - PlayStation 3

The Father Of The FPS Returns Triumphant

2011-10-04T09:57:00Z

The name id Software rings of nostalgia. Franchises like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake laid the groundwork for the first-person shooter genre, and I can still see their designs influencing many of today’s new releases. Despite the studio’s pedigree, it hasn’t developed an FPS title since 2004’s Doom 3. The genre has changed significantly in the years that have followed. Franchises like Half-Life and Call of Duty are the genre’s trendsetters. Now, id Software makes its long-awaited FPS return with a new franchise called Rage. Can the father of the FPS reemerge as the powerhouse it once was, or will it be playing catch-up to the genre’s latest trends? The answer is a little of both.

At this year’s QuakeCon expo, John Carmack, id co-founder and Rage’s lead programmer, revealed he had been working on this new title for the better part of six years. The lengthy gestation period has produced one of the most technically sound shooters to date. Rage roars at a constant 60 frames per second, offers sophisticated gunplay, and lights up the screen with an incredible level of graphical detail. The game continually wowed me with its technology and small touches, such as every NPC having unique animations scripted to each word they utter, and an enemy being smart enough to recognize that the quickest path to the player’s location isn’t a winding path, but rather cutting the distance by jumping over fences.

The lengthy development cycle could also be responsible for the game’s most disappointing component: the story. After a gorgeous introductory cinematic which shows an enormous asteroid crashing to Earth in the year 2029, producing a post-apocalyptic wasteland, players are introduced to their avatar in this world, a silent protagonist who ends up being the whipping boy of every person with a problem that needs fixing. He’s the perfect accomplice to an uneventful narrative that slogs along with all the excitement of a dehydrated person slowly shuffling his feet in the wasteland’s sands. Just when it seems this story might produce a meaty plot thread, the game ends unexpectedly with no major confrontation or sense of victory leading up to it. The best comparison I can think of is if Star Wars ended with Obi-Wan lowering the Death Star’s tractor beam. Roll credits.

While most people will likely rave about Rage’s technology, this game’s most impressive component is its gunplay. This is largely due to the game’s fearless foes. Like Left 4 Dead’s bloodthirsty zombies, the mutated hostiles of the wastes sprint toward the player. They crawl out of the woodwork, scamper along walls, and create a sense of absolute terror. I can’t overstate how impressive this game’s animation system is. Shooting a mutant in the side might make it slam into a wall, but its legs never stop moving. It drags itself along, eyes glued to yours, and fights to regain balance to continue its rapid pace. Interestingly, the player is not equipped for close quarters melee. In fact, the rifle butt and punch attacks rank among the weakest I’ve seen in a current-gen FPS. The challenge posed to the player is to put them down quickly, or pray that every close range shotgun blast hits a large chuck of flesh. Most of the major battles unfolded with me panicking, firing off shots with a furious intensity, and escaping with the feeling that I had accomplished a miraculous feat.

There’s a nice selection of close- and long- range weapons, and while id’s patented BFG makes an appearance in the form of special ammunition, this arsenal’s most trusted killer is oddly a boomerang called the wingstick – one of the most satisfying weapons in any FPS. The wingstick is designed with the specific goal of lopping off heads. Watching a mutant in a full-on sprint lose his noggin and collapse to the ground just as the wingstick flies back into your hand is a supremely satisfying spectacle.

Rage isn’t a standard level-to-level shooter. At any point in the game, players have the opportunity to freely explore a moderately sized open world. Outside of illustrating how the asteroid affected the world and how mankind has adapted to it, this vast playing space’s primary function is to shuttle players from a hub city to a mission marker. The means of travel is a vehicle tricked out with weapons galore. Bandits in vehicles of their own will try to derail your quest, but even on the highest difficulty setting they pose little challenge. As much fun as it is to blow these adversaries away with rockets, the vehicular component, which includes races, is an entertaining distraction and nothing more.

A slew of other diversionary minigames, such as an awesome collectible card game, are included into the hub cities. However, the most satisfying side activity is looting, which makes the lack of content in the overworld more disappointing. Every item that flashes in the environment – be it gas cans or bandages – can be picked up and stored in a limitless inventory. At first, these items may seem completely random, but as the game progresses and new weapon and item blueprints are obtained, they can be combined for on-the-go crafting. Turrets, remote control cars, healing items, grenades, and other handy devices can be created from anywhere, even in the heat of battle.

Rage’s story and overworld design feel dated, but its heart-pounding gunplay is a nice change of pace in a market filled with “follow me” and pop-and-fire shooters. While light RPG elements are present, this is mainly a game for players who love challenging combat experiences.

Multiplayer
Rage’s gunplay seems like a perfect fit for classic id-style deathmatching, but the only multiplayer options offered are six-player vehicular combat and two-player co-op challenges. The co-op levels are sections stripped from the campaign and outfitted with new enemy formations. They’re a blast to play, but they can be completed in a few hours total. The vehicular warfare doesn’t offer a large number of maps, and as nicely crafted as the controls are, grows old quickly. While the completist in me wanted to reach rank 20, my interest was fully tapped around rank 10.

Jackal Canyon May Never Be The Same

2011-09-29T15:26:00Z

Id's latest shooter, Rage, will be arriving in stores next week. In the meantime, Bethesda has released a piping-hot trailer to whet players' appetites. This one features loads of gameplay set in Jackal Canyon, a treacherous shantytown built along the rocky walls.

This clip highlights the game's open environments, which could be surprising for long-time id fans. In a break with id tradition, Rage forgoes the ordinary corridor-based environments in favor of more open areas. Jackal Canyon is an excellent demonstration of the new direction, which also includes a healthy dose of verticality in the level design.

Of course, this isn't a mere sight-seeing tour. In the stretch of gameplay shown below, players have to retrieve a decryption device from a long-lost ark. The locals aren't exactly thrilled to have company, though. The video highlights the great enemy AI, which allows bad guys to intelligently move throughout the environments, all the while bolstered by fantastic animations. The clip also shows a little mind control in action. If you're a bit of a sadist, this ammo type is bound to accommodate a lot of devious situations.

Look for Rage on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on October 4.

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TV Spot Shows Off What Rage Has To Offer

2011-09-15T18:31:00Z

The advertising juggernaut pushing Rage towards a successful release has begun, and here we see the first TV spot. Accompanied by a soundtrack from the band A Perfect Circle, Rage's latest video shows a series of disconnected gameplay montages showing off enemies, bosses, vehicles, guns and an attractive lady tossing around an intimidating bladed boomerang.

Rage will be available on October 4 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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Click here for more information on Rage.

The Wasteland Got A Lot Less Lonely

2011-09-08T14:30:00Z

We've seen a lot of footage from Rage, but id hasn't put much of an emphasis on the game's co-op component. That changes, with a new video released today. In it, you'll see a pair of survivors blasting their way through a group of bandits who have holed themselves up in the town of Wellspring.

This mission, called Water Service, is one part of the Wasteland Legends mode. These two-player sections feature twists on some of the battles that are featured in the game's single-player campaign. In Water Service, the duo has to fight the Shrouded clan and disarm a series of bombs that threaten Wellspring's critical supply of clean water.

Rage is coming out on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 4.

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These Vault Dwellers Won't Know What Hit 'Em

2011-08-25T23:30:00Z

It's been a while since we've gotten a good dose of gameplay footage from Rage, and it's clear we're not the only people who noticed. Bethesda released a new trailer today, which features more than four minutes of id's latest game in action.

In this video, we see the player infiltrating the Gearhead faction's vault. Fortunately, it's not just a series of headshots. Rage has a nicely variety of weapons and tools, which are in full force. There's some nice footage of spider turrets, mounted cannons, and wingsticks, as well as more conventional fare such as pistols and shotguns. Stick around for the grand finale.

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Look for Rage on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 4.

Rage’s Amazing AI Is No Accident

2011-08-18T20:49:00Z

I got to play an hour of Rage during Gamescom, and one thing stood out from the experience: It has awesome AI. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that its enemy behavior is among the best – if not the best – that I’ve encountered in a game. It’s something that creative director Tim Willits is well aware of.

I caught up with Willits after the demo and told him how impressive it was. He explained that it took a ton of work, and that the team didn’t cut any corners on that front. For instance, he says if players cheat and add in weapons like sentry turrets in areas where they shouldn’t be able to exist (such as the introductory zones), the AI will recognize the threat and still behave accordingly.

One of the things that make Rage’s AI so interesting is how clever the all seem. People have bragged about flanking behavior since the days of Halo, but Rage’s implementation is far and above the competition. In a battle against some bandits in an old garage, the enemies were constantly on the move. In a lot of games, enemies will find cover and stick to it. Then it’s simply a matter of waiting for their heads to inevitably pop up. That doesn’t work in Rage. Enemies not only found and took cover, but the crouched along it as well, looking for better positions. It was a lot like fighting a human player. That popup technique doesn’t work, either. Enemies know when they’re in the crosshairs, so they won’t expose themselves in the same place repeatedly.

The bandits that I encountered were tough bastards. They were fast, too. I fell into the habit of picking off a leg or two in my opening salvo, which forced them to limp. From there, I had much more time to line up headshots. Again, it’s pretty basic stuff, but the way it’s incorporated in the game is a revelation. We’ve all played shooters where bad guys get shot in an arm, jerk back, and then continue on their merry way. When you target specific body parts in Rage, you can fundamentally affect the way that particular character is able to fight you.

Willits says that when id was focus testing the game, they brought in players who didn’t know what they’d be playing in advance. After checking out the game, id asked for feedback. One player cited experience with another AAA shooter, which shall remain nameless, and offered feedback. According to Willits, this player said that he was used to games where when you shot the bad guys, they died instantly. While playing Rage, he noticed a few enemies fell to the ground, supposedly dead, only to take a few last shots. Was id going to fix this bug? Willits shakes his head and laughs while he’s telling the story. It’s clear that he’s proud of the work id has done – even if some less-informed players confuse smart, dynamic AI with a broken game – and he has every right to be.

Written by Jeff Cork

And Now, A Few Words From The Artists

2011-08-11T14:00:00Z

Id has a reputation for advancing game-engine technology, and the company continues down that path with its id Engine 5. While MegaTextures and advanced rendering techniques are certainly impressive, we wouldn't be talking about Rage in the first place if not for the dedicated team of artists responsible for designing the world and creating an impressive soundscape. A new developer diary showcases some of those efforts and the folks responsible for bringing Rage to life.

As you'll see in the video, one of the first characters that players will encounter in Rage is a gruff survivalist named Dan Hagar. An early piece of concept art featuring the character inspired the team to seek out the voice talents of actor John Goodman, and they were lucky enough to get him.

The trailer also touches on the importance of creating gun sounds that connect with players. Players will hear those sounds thousands of times during their time with the game, so it makes sense to spend extra time tweaking and crafting each percussive shotgun blast and booming sniper shot. The video ends with a look at the game's art design. The team says that the game's engine allows for a refreshing amount of freedom when it comes to textures and other assets, which definitely shows.

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Look for Rage on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 4.

New Rage Shots & Box Art

2011-08-08T16:45:28Z

As sort of a post-QuakeCon celebration, id Software and Bethesda Softworks have unveiled some new screens for Rage, as well as the game's box art.

The takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with various factions, and features not only first-person gunplay but also vehicle racing/combat. The game's protagonist is lone survivor of The Ark, a program to cryo-freeze people in advance of an oncoming meteorite.

For more on Rage, check out these recent videos on the game's enemies, weapons, the wasteland. The game comes out on October 4 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Here's a look at the PS3 box. The game is, of course, also coming out on the PC and Xbox 360

Do You Know Your Enemies? You Will After Watching This Dev Diary

2011-07-28T15:19:00Z

Let's take a moment to celebrate one of gaming's unsung heroes: the enemies. If it weren't for those aliens, monsters, terrorists, Nazis, and plain-old-fashioned bad guys, the S part of FPS would be a heck of a lot less interesting. With that in mind, here's a new dev diary from id that focuses on Rage's enemies.

Id's designers know that enemy encounters can get monotonous, so they've made an effort to ensure that players will experience variety throughout the game. For instance, the game's bandit clans come in several different flavors, each with their own style of appearance and in-game behavior. The ghosts are acrobatic types, who hide in the shadows and fling themselves around narrow corridors and up catwalks using their hooked blades. The shrouded bandits use their technical know-how to drive deadly explosive remote-controlled cars to their unsuspecting prey. And the wasted clan, well, id says that have interesting personalities. That has to account for something, right?

In addition to the bandits, the clip below shows off the game's mutants and the mysterious authority. If you're a conspiracy-minded sort, you could speculate that it's no coincidence that mutants are roaming the wasteland and that the new governing force has been conducting human experimentation. When you're done watching the developer diary, be sure to read our latest hands-on impressions on the game.

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Rage Developer Diary Explores The Wasteland

2011-07-21T16:03:03Z

What does the world of Rage have in store? The team at id Software answers that question by explaining the game's setting and how it allows players to piece together an exciting, action-focused experience.

Team members like executive producer Kevin Cloud and creative director Tim Willis share their perspectives on the activities and denizens waiting for you in Rage's wasteland. They also explain how multiplayer fits into the equation. Learn about that stuff and more by watching the full developer diary below

For more Rage info, see other developer diaries here and here, or check out our impressions from E3.

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The Rage Weapon Arsenal Comes Out To Play

2011-07-14T20:44:22Z

Get a firsthand look at some of the notable guns and gadgets you'll be wielding in id's latest first-person shooter.

It wouldn't be an id game without an especially violent shotgun, but Rage also expands the horizon of destruction with new toys like the crossbow, wingstick, and remote-controlled bomb cars. Take a look at the new tools of terror in the latest developer diary:

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Rage comes out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on October 4.

Rage: Emerging From The Ark

2011-07-07T16:39:00Z

It's a hundred years after an asteroid has struck the Earth, and you've just awaken in a world gone truly mad. Some of the developers at id Software talk about your character's origins in Rage in this latest behind-the-scenes video.

Rage creative director Tim Willits, design director Mark Hopper, and others talk about the creation of the game, and focus on the backstory behind the world and your character. You're one of the rare survivors of the government's Eden Project, and have awoken a hundred years after an asteroid has devastated the Earth. You emerge from your Ark and are thrust into a world of different factions trying to survive and vie for dominance.

Rage comes out for Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 on October 4.

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First Rage Dev Diary Trumps Id's Legacy

2011-06-30T16:40:01Z

Watch as id figureheads Todd Hollenshead, John Carmack, Kevin Cloud, and Tim Willits discuss the company's storied past and promising present.

With landmark games like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake in its library, no one can dispute id Software's importance to the first-person shooter genre. In the first of six Rage developer diaries, id's key figures discuss how the latest title (and technology) will continue the company's legacy.

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To learn more about the game, read some of our earlier previews. Rage comes out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on October 4.

We Take On The Authority In Rage

2011-06-08T00:41:00Z

Our latest hands-on time with id Software's post-apocalyptic shooter took us on a daring prison break mission inside a mutant jailhouse.

Earlier in the year I had a chance to play through some of Rage's early missions set in dusty towns and mutant-filled sewers, so when I checked out the missions available at Bethesda's E3 booth, I chose one that sounded promisingly different: Authority Prison. My objective was to head into Authority territory to locate a human prisoner -- the gameplay jumped right into the action, so I don't know why the character was important, just that there was no shortage of soldiers between and my target.

The differences between Authority soldiers and the previous hoodlums I've fought was instantly apparent. While the wasteland's gang members were clad in whatever scavenged gear they could, the Authority wore matching uniforms, had bullet-absorbing armor, and electric shields. There attacks were also more focused, presenting a much tougher challenge. Thankfully I had plenty of tools at my disposal. Emp grenades did a good job of disabling their shields, but were more useful for disabling the generators that powered the deadly energy beams blocking key doorways. Although much of the level took place in corridors, it still felt less linear thanks to the impressive level of detail found in Rage's environments. I scavenged some random parts -- useful for building Rage's Quickuse items -- until the Authority forces proved overwhelming.

After burning through my assault rifle ammo, I switch to the crossbow, a weapon type I don't use much due to slow reloading speed. Luckily, I had some electric bolts handy. Shooting one of these into a soldier will electrocute him, along with anyone in his vicinity. Once I ran out of ammo for my crossbow, I really had to improvise, delving into my assortment of Quickuse items. Dropping turrets into doorways proved invaluable for fending off approaching guards, while spiderbots would seek out victims allowing me to flank enemies from behind. Switching between Quickuse items on the d-pad is instantaneous, allowing you to quickly change tactics when your plan isn't working.

After making my way to the jail cells, I flipped a switch to create a deadly diversion: Liberated mutants out of their cells, assaulting the unsuspecting Authority guards. After picking off the survivors, I made way to my imprisoned comrade and broke him out. A siren sounded as he told me to hold off the approaching guards. After setting up another turret, I pulled out my sniper rifle and aimed at a guard crouching in the corner. One shot with the overpowered weapon and the Authority soldier's head burst into pieces. What else would you expect from an id game?

My hands-on time with Rage reaffirmed how amazing id's new engine is -- few games look this good, or play this smooth. Whether Rage offers enough variety and personality to place it alongside the developer's other revered franchises remains to be seen, but our early time with the game has us eager for more.

New Rage Gameplay Video Shows Off The Town Of Wellspring

2011-06-03T19:46:14Z

Bethesda has released a new gameplay trailer for Rage, titled "The Well." This clip shows off the bandit-infested town of Wellspring, whose water supply is threatened with poison. It also gives players a glimpse at how they'll take out the villains responsible.

Watch below for the gameplay footage, and look forward to Rage on September 13th of this year.

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