Rage Preview

10 May 2010 at 12:07:11 by Andy Alderson

“We knew, at its core it needed to be a hardcore FPS,” says id's Tim Willits as we catch our first glimpse of the developer's “open but directed” shooter Rage. “But it's more than just a hardcore FPS,” he adds, emphasising the role of both vehicles and a “more compelling story” in the game. As we learn throughout the presentation, id has a point to prove with Rage.

And as soon as Willits unveils the id Tech 5 engine for us, it's hard not to be impressed as we see the landscape in one of Rage's two main wastelands for the first time. “Wasteland” is a bit misleading in the context of Rage, however, as it implies dour scenery dominated by greys and browns. Rage's environments may be desolate but they are not devoid of colour. Willits pans around a desert region, framed with spectacular “hand crafted” mountains, before explaining that the aim was to create a “uniquely-textured world.” And it's not just the visuals which Willits hopes will stand out from the crowd.

“We knew we had to do something different, so that it wasn't just shooting mutants,” he says, tipping a nod to the developer's glorious back catalogue which has become a little unfashionable in the gaming world these days. As such, Rage features a more considered and complex narrative than any other id title to date, telling the story of a “futuristic man from the past.” In Rage, civilisation on earth has been all but destroyed by an asteroid collision and you take on the role of a man cryogenically frozen in an Ark before the impact. Your mission is simply to survive and to learn.

When the asteroid hit, humanity's progression was drastically halted and we slipped back into a new dark age dominated by bandits, mutants and the mysterious Authority. From a decrepit old codger named Crazy Joe we learn that, far from being the benevolent source of order in the new world, The Authority finds itself at the centre of some sinister rumours about biological experimentation and the mutants. But before we have a chance to find out more, we're interrupted by mutants and get our first taste of combat in the game. Willits whips out the Wing Stick  - a boomerang-style thrown weapon, perfect for silent kills – and promptly decapitates the advancing mutant.  
Our protagonist's next task is to find the town of Wellsprings which acts as a kind of mission hub in the first of the main wastelands. Jumping into a buggy, we're introduced to RAGE's vehicular combat mechanic as, within seconds of embarking on our journey, we're surrounded with bandit vehicles. A directional indicator around your vehicle shows the positions of enemies during battle and, using the pretty hefty machine guns on our ride, Willits disposes of the bandits quickly. 

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