RAGE 2 Review (for PC) – “Go anywhere, shoot anything that moves” is probably the main promise of this game from id Software, published by Bethesda.
If you’ve played the DOOM series, then you’d probably know what to expect from RAGE 2. DOOM II back in the 90s was actually the game that made me hooked up to PC Gaming. Well, DOOM II and X-COM UFO: Enemy Unknown to be exact. DOOM II was full of adrenaline and fun. Back then, I wouldn’t care less about stories in games, not until Half Life 2 came along.
RAGE 2 brings back what matters most in gaming: FUN. And it certainly delivers in that aspect.
RAGE 2 is a first person shooter (FPS) game in an open world environment, where you can just go anywhere you like in the presented world, choose what to do/prioritise, and shoot whoever (or whatever) appears. After the cool opening scene, you were forcefully become a Ranger – a regular soldier equipped with a futuristic armor and genetic modifications to unleash super power skills & abilities.
Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with mutants, you embark on a quest to shut down an evil general and his goonies for good. While the game offers you the main mission goals to complete, you do not have to do them in a particular order, and there is no rush to finish. In fact, as you move around the world, you’ll be swamped with more and more things to do (i.e side missions).
These side missions are mostly similar: shoot and kill things to complete, but come in a bit of variety. While I wish these missions can enhance the storyline, I do have to remember that story & character progressions are not exactly the strongest points in RAGE 2 and that’s okay. After all, you are picking up RAGE 2 to be a badass, grab more badass weapons, get badass skills, and kill things better and quicker.
Is it repetitive? Well, yes! But there’s always a reason to somehow finish most of the side missions like getting loot to upgrade your skills, vehicles, or weapons. If you are a completionist, you’ll like RAGE 2.
Later in the game, you’ll get more weapons to play with, but in the normal difficulty setting, I find that everything else can be killed and destroyed just by using the original rifle I’ve got from the beginning (with some upgrades, of course). You can also kill without even using any of your skills (like having the Star Wars’ Force Push with armor break, or an explosive ground slam), but where’s the fun in that?
While you have these new cool weapons and skills at your arsenal, it is up to your imagination and creativity to execute your enemies. How about running straight to an enemy, slide and then fill him with a shotgun pellet on the face with your Combat Shotgun? Or combust your enemies with the Firestorm Revolver while you run to hide?
I have to say, RAGE 2 reminds me of Far Cry but without the annoying stuffs – like if an enemy drives past you in Far Cry 4, they’ll keep on chasing you until you deal with them. Collecting craftable items and resources are also done while you are killing and exploring, no animals need to be harmed.
Occasionally, RAGE 2 will also throw some sort of big boss battles to spice things up (you’ll know it’s bound to happen after seeing the opening scene). They don’t come often, but really change things up as you have to dodge and try to find their weakness.
RAGE 2 Review (for PC)
RAGE 2 is not perfect. Its main storyline is not something that you’d find astonishing and side missions are repetitively similar: shoot and kill. And then shoot and kill some more with better guns and skills.
But before you RAGE quit (pun intended), RAGE 2 is a fun, shooter game from id Software that we all know and it’s the kind of game that you’d just want to play to have fun. No complicated puzzles or tough decision making to make. It’s a game simply about shooting and killing enemies in most imaginative ways possible.
If you value storyline above others or looking for that adrenaline rush found in an online, competitive game, you may not like RAGE 2. But if you are after something casual, fun, and a shooter game where you can just finish a few missions and log out, you’ll definitely like RAGE 2.
Disclosure: RAGE 2 review license was supplied for reviewing but all opinions are mine and not paid
