For anyone whose initial reaction to seeing this game for the first time is something like "OMG hey, it's a Borderlands clone"; start over before finishing that sentence. Rage actually just so happened to be in development long before Borderlands. Rightfully so, 'id' software developed a new openGL and engine just for this game and their upcoming Doom 4. And just like it's grandfathered status would denote, it refines the Mad Max genre. Doing just about everything right that Borderlands may have failed to do (minus the talent trees and a few other notables) seems to be the goal with Rage. What ensues in this title is nothing short of solid and honed gameplay.
To avoid any spoilers I will intentionally leave this following text as vague as possible.
In the beginning you find yourself climbing out of a deep sleep into a desert wasteland. You are then met by a character (voiced by John Goodman) who takes you under his wing and protects you from the wilds. With your character in his care, he evades bandits who later come to pursue you. Because of this unwanted attention you bestow upon him, you find yourself doing a few odd jobs here and there to assist with his survival and your own. While the first 30 minutes or more of gameplay are really nothing more than a series of tutorial lessons with background stories, it does make the act of being involved much easier. Seamless in fact.
However, for all the quality involved in the character dialogue and voice acting, there is one major oddity which can make the entire game feel quite disconnected. Every single person in the game speaks with absolute perfect grammar, and not a single contraction is used. It feels terribly odd that people who are living on scraps and fighting day to day for their own survival would be left with the desire and knowledge to display such oratory skills. But then you have the bad guys. The chain and skull toting goons gunning for blood never cease to inflame you with a garbled "South Wales" accent. So one must wonder if there is a lesson to be hinted at towards the British dialect. Or perhaps they're just trying to borrow a page from yet another genre flick known as "Doomsday". Sadly, just that aspect of the game could muddle the experience for some.
Perhaps the only other flaw left to be encountered would be the uber "MegaTexture" (or "Virtual Texturing") which could very well be game breaking for some. Designed to allow larger objects filled with eye candy, faster frame rates, and lower load times; the Virtual Texturing in this game is grossly apparent. If you find yourself turning too fast in a firefight or while just walking around, it is easy to notice all of the textures "snap" into place. Which is basically to say "nothing exists until you actually look at it" and if you look top fast, you can see it not existing. So for less ill desired effects, it would be advised to crank up the motion blur just a tad bit. After all, that's what the feature was made for.
Enough of the whining though. I don't really want to highlight each and every positive element the game has to offer, but I will outline a few here and if that doesn't sell you, go back to Madden 12 or Modern Warfare.
The storytelling is quite engrossing as well as character development. Each character you encounter has a unique and distinct personality. There was no expense spared when it came to variety and depth for the NPC populace. Some of the most noticeable are the gruff appearances some might have, but once you talk to someone about helping them or acquiring some praise, you can visibly watch each individual "light up" in their own way. There are no "cookie cutter" reactions or banter. Every individual is different.
The shooter aspect is also void of any awkward smoothing or misaligned axis'. The controls are just as solid as everything else 'id' has produced. Now armed with an intelligent (and yet awkward) iron sight aiming mechanism, the player will only "snap" to their intended target once the trigger is pulled. While it takes a bit getting used to, it's actually pretty nice because it allows you to adjust for any environment changes on the fly.
The game also has a few other neat elements to add to its variety of being more than just a quest shooter, such as: vehicle combat (controls are just as smooth as the ground controls), minigames featuring an assortment of different gambling styles (collectible card game, dice, and other chance variables), and even an inventory, junk collecting and crafting system.
Altogether the game is something like a bundled collection of all the Borderlands and Fallout 3 (+) features in one hefty 3 disc package. However, it is altogether more fast paced and requires less effort in micromanagement than its so called "precursors" (which it probably has to maintain because of its length). So, if you're a fan of anything 'id' or just generally enjoy the deserted wasteland genre, this title should make a warranted edition to your library.
