id Software proudly boasts its claim as creators of the first-person shooter,
known for classics such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake.
In 2011, they released Rage, and while it has some strengths, it isn’t remembered quite as well.
Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, bloody shootouts alternate with Mad Max-inspired car combat
and conversations with an assortment of over-the-top characters.
Now, in partnership with Avalanche Studios,
Rage 2 aims to build on its predecessor’s foundation, for better or worse.
The story picks up thirty years after the events of Rage and wastes no time before it throws you into chaos.
You play as a male or female ranger named Walker,
and after defending your settlement from an attack by The Authority,
you set out to take revenge on the cyborg, General Cross.
To be able to take down Cross, Walker needs the help of old war heroes from the first game,
Dr. Kvasir, Loosum Hagar, and John Marshall.
While each of them offers their own narrative branch that ties into the overarching story,
they’re mostly forgettable, just serving as means to point you in the direction of enemies to slaughter.
It’s disappointing that the setting never reaches its full potential because the framework is there.
Mutant Bash TV is an interesting concept that’s never fully explored,
while a host of factions like the Immortal Shrouded are underdeveloped.
Additionally, the open world does little to pull you in to the story,
aside from hiding audio logs filled with small bits of lore.
The map is split into six different biomes, each with its own visual aesthetic,
varying enemy types, and side missions to complete.
Completing a mission associated with one of the three war heroes earns reputation with them
and unlocks project points that can be spent to upgrade a slew of abilities.
The missions are almost always about destroying enemies or their supplies, which
does little to convey any meaningful stakes.
A little variety would have helped to make missions even more memorable.
Another missed opportunity is the Trade Towns.
They offer convenient places to fast travel, shop,
and talk to a host of different residents, but they feel lifeless and static.
Even quest-giving characters just add waypoints to the map
and deliver generic lines about ambushes and missing convoys that never amount to anything.
Finishing their quests doesn’t even require going back to pay them a visit, which
streamlines things to an extent, but makes the entire process feel hollow.
The main draw of Rage 2 is without a doubt, shooting things.
There are times when using the assortment of high-powered weapons
in conjunction with potent nanotrite abilities can border on euphoria.
There are nine firearms, but many are hidden, and as a result,
you may not unlock some of them even after finishing the main eight hour storyline.
Four of them in particular are essential and given to you fairly early.
The combat shotgun decimates anything unlucky enough to be near you.
Its alternate fire is a slug shot that has greater range
and knocks enemies back, making it more tactical
without compromising its point blank identity.
The assault rifle complements the shotgun beautifully with its lethal precision and high rate of fire.
Switching between the two to pick off close foes with thunderous shotgun blasts
and distant enemies with well-placed headshots creates a rewarding rhythm.
The audio adds another layer of bliss to the frenetic carnage,
with a satisfying crunch awarded for each headshot
and it gives appropriate weight to the game’s most powerful weaponry.
A disappointing side note, one of the most iconic weapons in video game history, the BFG 9000,
is locked at launch for players who don’t own the deluxe or collector’s edition.
Why anyone would hold such a legendary weapon hostage behind a paywall is beyond comprehension,
and it’s frustrating for anyone with nostalgic memories of the classic gun.
With the necessary materials, weapons can be improved from levels 1 to 5.
Each weapon level increases a gun’s damage and allows you to modify it, changing various stats like
ammo capacity or reload speed.
In conjunction with nanotrite abilities and project upgrades,
the combat possibilities continually expand at a steady pace, making each improvement meaningful.
The Weapon Juggler upgrade is one of the best.
When the magazine for your current weapon is empty, switching to a new weapon fills that magazine,
encouraging you to continually bounce back and forth between guns
while keeping an eye on your ammo count.
There are a handful of abilities that enhance your combat power to extremes.
Overdrive boosts your damage to absurd levels while also regenerating health.
Blasting someone with the combat shotgun while Overdrive is active
absolutely vaporizes them into a puff of blood and guts.
Meanwhile, Shatter is a melee attack that destroys enemy armor and knocks them back.
Slam is a ground pound that can disrupt grouped opponents.
Combining these abilities with a double jump, dash, and a devastating arsenal,
results in combat encounters that deliver an adrenaline rush while encouraging you to keep moving.
Rage 2 constantly pushes you to be creative without ever feeling overwhelming or
cornering you to play a specific way.
There are tons of ways to upgrade gadgets, weapons, abilities, and your main vehicle.
While it’s nice to have a constant sense of growth,
keeping track of which currency is used for each upgrade is messy.
The menus are cumbersome and they lag for a few seconds when cycling tabs, which
amplifies the problem.
Worse though, is that many of the most important materials are hidden in chests at mission sites.
After securing the area, searching for chests can slow the pace to a crawl.
Overall, this wouldn’t be a problem and finding some of the more cleverly placed chests
can add some much needed exploration, but over the course of the game, it becomes monotonous.
Driving through the wasteland in the Phoenix is the primary means of travel.
It’s basically a tank that feels reminiscent of Batman’s Tumbler, but with a more lethal weapon set.
You can enter random races with other cars,
but the minimal rewards prevent them from being more than quick diversions.
It’s also much more fun and efficient to tackle objectives on foot.
This only leaves disrupting enemy convoys as the primary use for the Phoenix.
At first, it can be fun to slam into weaker vehicles and watch them burst into fiery deaths, but
the convoy bosses quickly become routine.
Simply follow behind them and keep shooting with an occasional EMP blast to open their weak points.
Rage 2 has some of the most rewarding and impactful combat in the genre.
However, the bland world, repetitive missions, and weak story
make it hard to care about the lives you take or the lives you save.
Driving controls well, but ends up feeling completely unnecessary other than getting you from point A to B.
Fortunately, shooting things never gets old,
and the combat shotgun will surely put a smile on your face.
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