Rage

By Tristan Tancredi

Rage, a Post Apocalyptic first person shooter is all about Carnage, Destruction and Survival.

After an asteroid (The Apophis) strikes the earth, civilisation as we know it, is destroyed and survivors are forced to rebuild society in small towns and settlements spread across the landscape.

Mutants roam freely across the desolate world reaping havok and destruction, whilst the Authority controls the land with an iron fist.

So basically, it's not a nice era to be living in. Enter Ark Survivor and hero of the year: 2029.

The gamer takes control of an Ark Survivor, a person buried in a capsule beneath the earth in preperation of a disaster. There to preserve knowledge, genetic samples and other items essential for human life as part of the Eden project.

After exiting the "Ark" as its only survivor the gamer enters the world of 2029 amidst a mountain of chaos; destined to save the world.

From here the journey begins through the Post-Apocolyptic, barren and rough futuristic world.

The main objective of the game; to lead the resistance against the authority, to wipe out as many mutants as possible and to restore order for humankind.

Rage, as its name suggests, involves plenty of action and plenty of carnage. Assisting with the carnage are a number of weapons:

The Settler Pistol, The Combat Shotgun, the Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Crossbow, Machine Gun, Rocket Launcher and my personal favourite, the Pulse Cannon.

It's great fun shooting your way through the many great locations of Rage, from Gearhead valley to Prime Capital.

With gaming mechanics and AI being first rate, shooting mutants was a bliss.  The only issue we had was with close hand-to-hand combat, more often than not we were swinging at air.

Weapon upgrades can be purchased from various stores. Laser Lights, Shotgun extenders and Stabilizers are all available, as are Quick Use Weapons, such as Wingsticks, Grenades, RC Bomb Cars, Sentry Turrets and Sentry Bots.

Travelling from different locations is achieved by driving Dune Buggy-like cars packed to the rafters with Rockets, Pulse Ammo, Escort bombs and Aftershockers. Beware, there are heaps of enemies patrolling the barren wastelands so pick your routes carefully.

The driving aspect of the game was quite dissapointing. The turning was stiff and jagged and the braking was majorly askew. Thankfully, driving makes up only a fraction of Rage. (Racing objective will arise, however these are quite easy to complete).

In between knocking a mutants head off with a fatboy, letting some homing rockets loose in your Cuprino or setting up your own Sentry Turret, a number of interesting and colourful characters are met.

- The Hagar and Outrigger Clans

- Major Clayton and Sheriff Black - Residents of Wellspring

- Dr. Kvasir - A weird hermit/scientist on the outskirts of Wellspring

- Captain Marshall & Elizabeth Cadence - The Resistance Fighters

- Major Redstone - Subway Town who rocks a killer tattoo.

Wellspring and Subway Town are the two main civilisations in the Post-Apocalyptic world. Littered with survivors there are numerous objectives that can be completed for these people.

Item management and customisation are unique and important aspects to Rage. Collecting enough equipment to make a lock bomb, or an RC Bomb is vital.

A number of different Bandit Clans and Authority Guards are encountered and destroyed throughout the game, all involving challenging tasks and difficult enemies.

An entertaining, yet somewhat "cheesy" level involves completing a set of stages for a local TV show, Mutant TV. Despite the "cheesiness" to it, we still had a great time.

This level is also available online as a Wasteland Legends Mission, along with variety of other maps, including; Life in Prison, Water Service, Trophy Hunting, Rust's Resupply, Unwanted Guests, Extermination, Grab and Go and A New Toy.

The online Wasteland Legends co-op missions are great fun as they tell the story of Campaign Legends, yet once completed don't have a great lasting appeal.

Road Rage is another Multiplayer Game Mode for up to four gamers. Taking place across a variety of maps, gamers complete different objectives including Carnage, Chain Rally, Meteor Rally & Triad Rally.

A fun, challenging FPS, Rage is highly recommended.

Game: Rage
System: Playstation 3, XBox 360
Developer/Co-Developer: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Rating: 85%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)