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[dark10x]

This game has no story. I've been very harsh on this game, and for obvious reasons. The limited world is what killed it for me. The lack of towns doesn't make sense to me, and their size as well. The ping pong pacing got annoying real fast. Subway Town is such a tease. It looks so awesome, but yet, tiny. This game is a Tech Demo to me. I had fun doing some of the main missions, but the lack of substance(You hardly drive on the second disc)and the know problems this game has is a huge turn off. I think people who enjoy this game is because of the 60fps and textures

I thought it was a breath of fresh air. Larger towns always sound great on paper, but I ultimately find them to be quite boring. The scale of the world is similar to something like Deus Ex (though obviously a very different game). It's not as interactive, but it is very similar in scope. You have towns and a hub world to explore between the missions. I tend to prefer this to the large open sandbox worlds of many other games this generation.

In theory, a large town in which you can enter most buildings seems appealing, but in practice, it tends to become rather dull. It's difficult to create large, detailed environments that are interesting throughout.

Game length seems to vary greatly, I finished just over eight hours, some have put closer to twenty in.

I've noticed that. I've put in about 8 hours already and am still playing through the Wellsprings missions.

 

[AgentOtaku]

concurred, hence i've never finished Fallout 3, New Vegas, or the like

 

[Mr_eX]

I would say the last few would be Rage HD, Doom 3 and Quake 3 TA. All crap.

Doom 3 might not be id's best but far from crap.

I've played through the co-op on xbox several times and now that I have a good PC and own it on steam I wouldn't mind playing the Doom 3/RoE co-op mod. In fact if anyone is interested in playing either with me this weekend let me know. I think mod allows for 4 players.

I read that the mod tools are built into Rage and you just type id studio into the console to access them. I hope someone adds in co-op and a horde type mode. I'm sure someone is already working on new textures.

 

[eshwaaz]

Thanks, sounds good apart from the mission design.

It's definitely good, and some here think it's great. There are a lot of varied opinions in this thread; worth digging back at least a few pages. Lots of well-written, well-reasoned opinions amongst the extremes.

 

[StuBurns]

I've noticed that. I've put in about 8 hours already and am still playing through the Wellsprings missions.

I was only playing on normal, and I've noticed quite a lot of GAF seem to be diving straight into hard too, which I'm sure extends it a little.

 

[plagiarize]

Thanks, sounds good apart from the mission design.

depends on what you mean by mission design. the dedicated FPS levels are one of the things getting praise from most quaters.

judging from this thread, pretty much everyone agrees that it's too easy. start on Nightmare difficulty unless you tend to play through every game twice. i wish i'd started on that, but i only started on hard.

pretty much everyone agrees that the gunplay is awesome. some people think the AI design is lacklustre, some people love it.

some people don't like how headshots != kill with certain weapons. others like what it does for the gameplay and like it that way.

some people really like the racing, some people can barely stand it, but that's okay because the game only really forces you to race a couple of times.

you can power through the game, seeing the bulk of it's best content in around eight hours. if you're really enjoying it you can spend a lot more time exploring and racing. without a guide finding all the sewers can take a while. side missions aren't as fun as the main campaign missions, but are still pretty solid.

if you want to do everything and dont use a guide, hitting all those jumps and finding all those sewers could well push the game up to something more in the region of twenty hours, but it's fair to say that all those extra hours aren't as good as the core eight or so you get from sticking to the story missions.

if the low res textures bother you, you will shake your head at everyone praising the graphics. if they don't, you will really appreciate how unique every single corner of this game looks. it's the antithesis of Halo level design really. whether you like that or not is going to come down to you.

 

[plagiarize]

I was only playing on normal, and I've noticed quite a lot of GAF seem to be diving straight into hard too, which I'm sure extends it a little.

i'm sure it's more down to how much of the secondary stuff someone does.

i've beaten every race but two first time. i've died maybe three times playing on hard and one of those was a failed jump in the buggy which sent me spiralling into a canyon. heck, i've probably only defibbed a dozen or so times. there is nothing remotely hard about hard. i died way more playing Crysis and the Halo games on normal, and those aren't notably difficult games by any stretch.

 

[Hela]

you didn't google it then. i made sure the first hit was relavent before i told you to do the search.

i'm not blaming you for not knowing this, but:



agree with it, disagree with it... that's his philosphy. if you'd known that, you may have steered clear of the game altogether, or you may have come in with different expectations, but now at least, you know.

I read that, but I can't say I care that he's wrong.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

What's wrong with it? .

Nothing i guess, baking specular (shine)maps is as old as the romans and few games do it to such a massive degree these days, seems like it's entirely across the outdoor areas. This is actually where many are seeing the "painterly" quality to the game, the actual assets running on an id workstation would have looked very different to what we have now as they'd be using Diffuse, spec, and normal maps working together. (like the NPC's)

My guess is the second town and outdoor hub is where the engine was done and they saw the limitation of the console hardware and guided their art to making darker looking areas.

They made the right choice, seeing the few instances of normal and specular mapping in the environments they look shockingly bad. Imagine a normal map with macroblocking and you get the idea.

 

[dark10x]

pretty much everyone agrees that the gunplay is awesome. some people think the AI design is lacklustre, some people love it.

I'm consistently amazed by the AI, or more precisely, their reactions to my attacks.

The enemies seem very dynamic while playing. They will jump, dodge, and move in order to avoid your fire in a multitude of ways. I recall an instance where I shot an enemy in the torso which caused him to fall backwards. He immediately scrambled to his feet (with wonderful animation) and jumped out of the way. From there, he started using cover instead of running at me like he was first doing. I've seen this kind of behavior all over the game. Their initial attempts at attacking you may be simple (no flanking going on here), but the way they react to your attacks is really something special. The incredible animation only serves to further enhance this.

This is an id game so military tactics and the like don't make any sense. I feel that the AI here represents the natural evolution of an id Software enemies.

 

[Mr_eX]

So instead of people nitpicking at each others posts does anyone actually have any thoughts on rage? Any issues other than drivers that I should know about, how's the general content in the game, what's the general length of a playthrough.

I couldn't give a shit if you liked a game I didn't like, we all have our own opinions.

Spoiler

and before anyone asks why I'm asking for an opinion when I said I don't care about others, I haven't played rage as opposed to games I have played and made my mind up about.

I'm at just over 14 hours and I still have a lot to do. I'm doing the side quests instead of just rushing through it because I like the gameplay so much. It's my second favorite game of the year behind Portal 2.

If you can accept the fact that the game isn't open world and can appreciate good gameplay (arguably the best gun play of the generation and driving that rivals most racing games) you'll probably enjoy it. It's far from perfect but it's more fun than almost every game released this year.

 

[AgentOtaku]

lol, think i'm gonna need a guide to find those sewers. Just driving for 40 minutes last night and didn't spot one !

 

[Gvaz]

Games are either GOTY or complete shit, remember?

I wouldn't say complete shit but most games I end up playing are either painfully average, bad, or exemplary

when I say average that can also mean they could excel at one or two things but everything else brings it down

 

[Feindflug]

I'm consistently amazed by the AI, or more precisely, their reactions to my attacks.

The enemies seem very dynamic while playing. They will jump, dodge, and move in order to avoid your fire in a multitude of ways. I recall an instance where I shot an enemy in the torso which caused him to fall backwards. He immediately scrambled to his feet (with wonderful animation) and jumped out of the way. From there, he started using cover instead of running at me like he was first doing. I've seen this kind of behavior all over the game. Their initial attempts at attacking you may be simple (no flanking going on here), but the way they react to your attacks is really something special. The incredible animation only serves to further enhance this.

This is an id game so military tactics and the like don't make any sense. I feel that the AI here represents the natural evolution of an id Software enemies.

That sounds amazing, now where the hell is my pre-order you stupid zavvi?

The game sounds like a love/hate situation going from this thread which makes the wait even harder.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Came for the gunplay, stayed for the racing and art direction. And, the gunplay.

Rage is sitting atop of my action GOTY category, just because - for me (burdensome disclaimer needs to be applied, it seems) - it is simply a shooter with a little bit of vehicle antics thrown in. The driving/traversal and hub areas allow for a nice chance of pace. Each area is crafted with an attention to detail few can rival, and if this marks where id are heading from now on, I am pleased.

The architecture, mechanical design and detritus makes my mouth water. Other games are deeper, sure, but goddamn I love whatever happens when an art department gets their hands on id tech. 4 or 5, I don't care. From an artistic point of view, both Brink and Rage are gorgeous creatures...there's just something about them.

The way folks fawn and schmooze over Valve games and the work they do with Source, that's how I feel about id tech.

 

[plagiarize]

I read that, but I can't say I care that he's wrong.

i'm not talking right and wrong, i'm just trying to make sure you understand where ID are coming from story wise. tell me honestly, would you have bought Rage if you were familiar with that quote?

you weren't wrong or stupid to not have heard it before. but that's ID and i just wanted to show you their philosophy on stories in games.

i'm not trying to change your opinion in the slightest. i'm trying to inform it, and in the future if an ID game catches your eye, you'll be better set up to decide whether to buy it or not.

i bought the game knowing that, so i expected nothing from the story. i didn't once wonder who i was, or what my motivations were, or what interesting political and military wranglings might be going on in this world... so when the story was basically as non existant as it was in their other games... i wasn't disappointed.

 

[ShinobiFist]

I thought it was a breath of fresh air. Larger towns always sound great on paper, but I ultimately find them to be quite boring. The scale of the world is similar to something like Deus Ex (though obviously a very different game). It's not as interactive, but it is very similar in scope. You have towns and a hub world to explore between the missions. I tend to prefer this to the large open sandbox worlds of many other games this generation.

In theory, a large town in which you can enter most buildings seems appealing, but in practice, it tends to become rather dull. It's difficult to create large, detailed environments that are interesting throughout.

The thing with RAGE is, to me that is. The world doesn't feel connected at all. Everything feels so random. Like I'm playing a arena shooter(Nothing wrong with that, one of the few defenders of "The Club")Shit, you go from a industrl facility to a jungle, and after that, a Halo looking stage in a matter of 1-2hrs. Great looking stages and NPC's, but it just threw me off.

You mention Deuse Ex(A game I'm currently playing)with its hub structure and all. But here's the thing, the world flows very well in Deus EX, not random.

 

[pakkit]

I wish the races were harder. In fact, I wish the entire game was harder. No matter what difficulty you choose, it's pretty easy to blast through, and by the end of the first disc when your arsenal is almost set, it becomes a matter of which way you want to dispose of your foes instead of a fight to the death.

Which is awesome, of course, but a little more tension would've been appreciated.

Just arrived in

Spoiler

Subway Town

. I'm just taking in the visuals for now. If I want to return to the Wasteland around Wellsprings to finish up all the sewer side missions can I do that?

 

[dark10x]

The thing with RAGE is, to me that is. The world doesn't feel connected at all. Everything feels so random. Like I'm playing a arena shooter(Nothing wrong with that, one of the few defenders of "The Club")Shit, you go from a industrl facility to a jungle, and after that, a Halo looking stage in a matter of 1-2hrs. Great looking stages and NPC's, but it just threw me off.

You mention Deuse Ex(A game I'm currently playing)with its hub structure and all. But here's the thing, the world flows very well in Deus EX, not random.

Yeah, I realize that, but it somehow doesn't bother me in Rage. I'm still in the first hub area but I don't feel as if everything is particularly disconnected. The world seems designed first and foremost for fun gameplay and I appreciate that.

That's not to say there isn't squandered potential here, but what IS present is really good.

 

[Semblance]

I wish the races were harder. In fact, I wish the entire game was harder. No matter what difficulty you choose, it's pretty easy to blast through, and by the end of the first disc when your arsenal is almost set, it becomes a matter of which way you want to dispose of your foes instead of a fight to the death.

Which is awesome, of course, but a little more tension would've been appreciated.

This what I've been sayin'. I absolutely love Rage but it never really puts up a fight, even on nightmare. The game's biggest flaw imo.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Games are either GOTY or complete shit, remember?

It seems that way.

To be fair i haven't seen much criticism from you guys, dark10x for example, have only complained (rightfully so) about performance issues with the PC game. Most other post are about how great the game is. When the game has apparent flaws but good qualities also. I apologize in advance if you did but i don't recall any on your posts.

agree with it, disagree with it... that's his philosphy.

Does Carmack had that type of command over the creative process? To the point that if a scenario writer comes with anything good he will turn it down because its not pornish enough.

So instead of people nitpicking at each others posts does anyone actually have any thoughts on rage?

My posts? Although they have been buried by now but i commented on what i consider its strong and weak points. A quick recap my be forgetting some things:
+Solid shooting mechanics
+Weapons feel as they should
+Competent AI
+Wonderful animation, enemies being the highlight
+Well executed art design helped by a smooth 60 FPS
+Among the 60 FPS in consoles, is one of the best looking.
-Script, narration, story its typical substandard id stuff.
-Superficial RPG elements and mission structure.
-Repetitive gameplay and scenarios.
-Some play systems are unexploited or don't merge well with others.
-Many graphical sacrifices to reach the 60 FPS animations
-Graphical issues, texture pop in being the worst offender
-Player traversal is super restricted
-Plastic like and static feeling world

 

[TTP]

I'm consistently amazed by the AI, or more precisely, their reactions to my attacks.

The enemies seem very dynamic while playing. They will jump, dodge, and move in order to avoid your fire in a multitude of ways. I recall an instance where I shot an enemy in the torso which caused him to fall backwards. He immediately scrambled to his feet (with wonderful animation) and jumped out of the way. From there, he started using cover instead of running at me like he was first doing. I've seen this kind of behavior all over the game. Their initial attempts at attacking you may be simple (no flanking going on here), but the way they react to your attacks is really something special. The incredible animation only serves to further enhance this.

This is an id game so military tactics and the like don't make any sense. I feel that the AI here represents the natural evolution of an id Software enemies.

Yep, that was definitely the best aspect of it. Very impressed.

They should have made it a linear shooter tho IMO. All the driving around was pretty pointless and all it does is annoy you with the long and frequent loading times. A linear progression would have allowed for a streaming system to get rid of that.

There are also a lot of other little things that really had no purpose other than artificially extending the play time. For example, the quick weapons selection screen. Why is it limited to 4 slots? Why not have all the weapons there like in Resistance 1/3? It's not really that fun to access the inventory to rearrange the quick selection thing just for using one weapon you might very well ignore afterwards.

Also, the saving system. WTF is wrong with you id?

 

[thetrin]

Finished the game last night. I feel like the wasteland connected to Subway Town should have been a LOT longer.

Also, your time fighting

Spoiler

The Authority

seems way truncated. The second last mission is like, 5 minutes long, and the very last mission

Spoiler

is nothing but corridors. Thank god you can just use the minigun the entire level, seeing as you keep getting ammo for it

.

I did love that they put a

Spoiler

BFG

in the game. A great touch for fans of id games.

Loved the game, I just wish they had put a little more thought into the last mission.

Also, the saving system. WTF is wrong with you id?

What's wrong with the saving system? You can F5 any time you want. The power is in your hands!

 

[areal]

I finally received this today and have played for about an hour and a half. Holy shit, the action is fantastic. It controls really smoothly, there seems to be no assistance with aiming, and so far the guns are solid. The AI seems really dynamic, and I think the animation makes the characters seem a little smarter than they might actually be. I'm playing on Nightmare, which seems about right with respect to ammo and damage.

I have read some comments about the world feeling a little dead, but for whatever reason I am getting the opposite impression. I agree with whoever said it's like playing concept art. Since it's the PS3 version the popup is certainly noticeable, especially in the wasteland, but it's totally not an issue for me when I'm on a mission. The music is excellent so far as well.

All in all, hype justified. I couldn't stop grinning.

 

[Solo]

I was trying to think of the last SP FPS I had as much fun with, and I got all the way back to Duke Nukem 3D/Blood/Shadow Warrior. Damn.

 

[dark10x]

What's wrong with the saving system? You can F5 any time you want. The power is in your hands!

1) That's not how it works on consoles (you have to go into the menu and manually save)
2) Not everyone enjoys quick saving (I sure as hell don't)
3) Checkpoints solve this problem and do not interfere with those who want to quick save

 

[Metal-Geo]

1) That's not how it works on consoles (you have to go into the menu and manually save)
2) Not everyone enjoys quick saving (I sure as hell don't)
3) Checkpoints solve this problem and do not interfere with those who want to quick save

I sure as hell wish more console games allowed quick saving.

 

[see5harp]

I'm consistently amazed by the AI, or more precisely, their reactions to my attacks.

The enemies seem very dynamic while playing. They will jump, dodge, and move in order to avoid your fire in a multitude of ways. I recall an instance where I shot an enemy in the torso which caused him to fall backwards. He immediately scrambled to his feet (with wonderful animation) and jumped out of the way. From there, he started using cover instead of running at me like he was first doing. I've seen this kind of behavior all over the game. Their initial attempts at attacking you may be simple (no flanking going on here), but the way they react to your attacks is really something special. The incredible animation only serves to further enhance this.

This is an id game so military tactics and the like don't make any sense. I feel that the AI here represents the natural evolution of an id Software enemies.

These all seem like precanned random animations to me and not necessarily "ai." I don't like home many bullets you have to put into most enemies on hard. I do like playing it as a traditional id shooter and just hip firing shotgun though. I've always though id did shotguns well.

 

[TTP]

I sure as hell wish more console games allowed quick saving.

There is nothing "quick" in quick saving when it requires to pause > select "save" > select new save or overwrite another one > back > back.

 

[dark10x]

These all seem like precanned random animations to me and not necessarily "ai." I don't like home many bullets you have to put into most enemies on hard. I do like playing it as a traditional id shooter and just hip firing shotgun though. I've always though id did shotguns well.

At first I thought that as well, but I don't think that's the case. They really DO appear to react to the shots YOU fire. If it were canned, it would become predictable, but it's often not.

 

[Mr_eX]

These all seem like precanned random animations to me and not necessarily "ai." I don't like home many bullets you have to put into most enemies on hard. I do like playing it as a traditional id shooter and just hip firing shotgun though. I've always though id did shotguns well.

Aren't the animations in most(all?) games precanned? I've had enemies yell "we're loosing this" and then run away until they find some backup and then start fighting again.

 

[Tek]

Per my game time, I'm 9 1/2 hours in and just finished getting some RC bomb cars from doing that mission. I've played a few games, completed all the races in Wellspring, all the jobs other than the sniping one....I have a knack for sniping my guy in the head when the mutants get too close to him....only done one sewer...but haven't really looked for the others...

 

[TTP]

Aren't the animations in most(all?) games precanned? I've had enemies yell "we're loosing this" and then run away until they find some backup and then start fighting again.

Yeah, the AI triggers the appropriate pre-canned animations.

 

[see5harp]

At first I thought that as well, but I don't think that's the case. They really DO appear to react to the shots YOU fire. If it were canned, it would become predictable, but it's often not.

I do like the actual movement and animation. I also like the fact that you have a ton of grenades. I'm just not sure if I've ever seen enemies do anything but move if shot at or rushdown (to be fair that might be because most levels are linear and don't allow for flanking).

 

[jett]

Of course all of the hit reaction animations are keyframed(pre-canned), what else are they gonna be? You think your PS3 is imagining new animations on the fly? id simply created A BUNCH of them that trigger perfectly, coupled with an excellent animation blending system. Seriously the way the enemies move is fantastic and makes all the FPS games of the last 10 years Rage's bitches.

Just finished The Well, I'm having a HELL of a time. I really can't imagine why someone would hate on this(and then masturbate to the generic military garbage that has inundated the genre), it's really fantastic. I'm 9-10 hours, still in Wellsprings. I think this will be a long one for me. I've done pretty much every sidequest and completed all races.

 

[AgentOtaku]

animation system is amazing. Would love to see a head to head between this and a 1st person Euphoria title (GTAIV 1st mod would apply I suppose).

Rage's is infinitely more satisfying at any rate...

 

[GrayFoxPL]

Per my game time, I'm 9 1/2 hours in and just finished getting some RC bomb cars from doing that mission. I've played a few games, completed all the races in Wellspring, all the jobs other than the sniping one....I have a knack for sniping my guy in the head when the mutants get too close to him....only done one sewer...but haven't really looked for the others...

And I thought I was taking my time, lol.

11 hours third hub. Way more difficult. Need money for fat mommas. Ammo goes like water.

Btw who else loved sniper missions from the job board?

I tried online for the first time. Really surprised how much more advanced it is comparing to sp car shit. Really reminds of Quake 3 in some cases. Nice surprise was that jumping in I won 5 games straight playing for the first time. Bad news is after 3-4 hours I got just bored of it. Very nice and varied modes. Not bad generally but get serious Id - free on foot deathmatch dlc, stat.

 

[AgentOtaku]

I know one thing for sure, RAGE's has definitely gotten me more excited about Twistel Metal. Can't believe how much I missed car combat.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

Wait, Subway Town is second or third?

How many left?

Is the card game all about pushing x ?

 

[thetrin]

Wait, Subway Town is second or third?

How many left?

Is the card game all about pushing x ?

There are only two hubs, and Subway Town is really really short. You're almost done the game.

 

[thetrin]

There is nothing "quick" in quick saving when it requires to pause > select "save" > select new save or overwrite another one > back > back.

that's because that's not quick saving. Glad I played on PC. F5 for life!

 

[Man]

Killzone and Rage stand alone in the FPS animation part with their animation blending physics impulses.

Killzone has seemingly more elaborate animations to draw from but Rage does it at 60fps and seems to freak out less.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

There are only two hubs, and Subway Town is really really short. You're almost done the game.

Wow shit, really? I did the first mission and thought: "Man, this town is gonna be long".

 

[Mr_eX]

And I thought I was taking my time, lol.

11 hours third hub. Way more difficult. Need money for fat mommas. Ammo goes like water.

Btw who else loved sniper missions from the job board?

I tried online for the first time. Really surprised how much more advanced it is comparing to sp car shit. Really reminds of Quake 3 in some cases. Nice surprise was that jumping in I won 5 games straight playing for the first time. Bad news is after 3-4 hours I got just bored of it. Very nice and varied modes. Not bad generally but get serious Id - free on foot deathmatch dlc, stat.

I really liked what I played of the multiplayer. I hope there's an add on or mod that increases the player limit.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

I really liked what I played of the multiplayer. I hope there's an add on or mod that increases the player limit.

Netcode is good now, but after adding more players it could go to hell, but I generally agree.

 

[Refreshment.01]

From the MC thread:

[PS3] Rage <ACT> (Bethesda Softworks) {2011.10.06} (¥7.980) - 11.320 / NEW
[360] Rage <ACT> (Bethesda Softworks) {2011.10.06} (¥7.980) - 7.853 / NEW

Will have to do until the NPD ones land a month from now.

 

[Prodigal]

Anyone know how to zoom in further with the sniper rifle on PC? I forgot.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Anyone know how to zoom in further with the sniper rifle on PC? I forgot.

E if you're using the keyboard and mouse.

 

[bloodydrake]

There is nothing "quick" in quick saving when it requires to pause > select "save" > select new save or overwrite another one > back > back.

Made for PC,Superior experience, confirmed! ;-)

 

[plagiarize]

i forget to save all the goddamn time.

it doesn't matter. the game is stupidly easy. is anyone actually dying much at all in this? how are you managing that?

i've never bought a bandage, and i've always had a bandage to use whenever i was low on health and in trouble. the game seems to give you plenty of them.

yeah, a quicker way to save would be nice, but this really isn't the sort of game where you need to be saving all the time. if you're low on bandages and JUST defibbed, then sure, maybe... but honestly... who is dying much in this thing?

i'm no savant and it's incredibly easy even on hard.