Rage 2 | Xbox One Review

Great history of games

For a long time now ID software has made some of my all-time favorite games such as Doom, Quake, and Rage. All of these games are top notch FPS games with awesome gunplay and are a ton of fun to play. They are great at stories except for the ending of Rage but we don’t talk about that right now. Avalanche Studios is the creator of the Mad Max game and the Just Cause series; both with awesome open-worlds to destroy and enjoy. Now putting both of these studios together is a no brainer, but does it make Rage 2 into the most exciting FPS of the year?

Story (Or Lack Thereof)

Rage 2 takes places on Earth around 2165, which is 30 years after the original game, where an asteroid named Apophis knocked out about 80 percent of all human population. You play as a Ranger by the name of Walker which can be played as male or female, with the only difference being the voice actor. Walker is the last remaining Ranger. He or she is an orphan brought up by Erwina Prowley, a decorated war hero and one of the last remaining Rangers. From early on in the game the player will meet General Martin Cross, the leader of the Authority. They are a faction in the game that has a high level of technology on their side. Martin Cross is the main villain in the game; his force is very powerful and he will stop at nothing to rule the wasteland.

Guns, Gore, and Mayhem

At its core Rage 2 is a first-person shooter with lots of creatures that want to be killed, and about 99% of them are out to kill you. The game does have its main quests that are split between 3 main characters.The other big thing is Arks. These contain the abilities and weapons of the game. This is where players will really step up the fun, as they find abilities such as slam, dash, overdrive, datter and rush just to name a few. Guns found in Arks are awesome, some of the best are Smart rocket launcher, combat shotgun, grav dart launcher, hyper cannon, firestorm revolver and, of course, the BFG 9000.

The Mechanics of Killing

A majority of Rage 2 involves driving from location to location where players will either be killing nests of enemies, racing in the circuit, and collecting Arks. There’s also Mutant Bash TV, a twisted killing game show which is wave based and gets increasingly difficult as you go. All of these activities are really fun. The shooting is really on point and some of the best that can be found in any first-person shooter out currently. I would say the weakness would have to be the racing. The map of Rage 2 is filled with several different factions there is the Good Squad, the River Hogs, Immortal Shrouded, and The Authority. Each faction has their own different fighting style and all want a piece of you.

One of the best parts of heading out into the world of Rage 2 is if you see a vehicle you can drive it, which makes it a lot of fun. You can even bring it back to a hub town so you can add it to your collection. Some are generic vehicles, but others like the Booma, which is a tank on steroids, are a blast to get. The main vehicle is The Phoenix, an upgradeable and customizable companion.

The gun mechanics make Rage 2 a blast to play, just by mixing your abilities with some of the most badass weapons out there. The game really doesn’t take itself too seriously and gives you the ability to experiment the way you want to. The driving in game feels great. There’s a lot of great movement, such asthe ability to shift the vehicle from side to side so you can send enemies off the side of a cliff. The main currency that can be found in the game are cash and Feltrite, and both of these can be used to upgrade weapons and vehicles.

Room for Improvement

Rage 2 is a great game, but it doesn’t come without some flaws. The side activities are spaced apart really far from each other, at times leaving parts of the map wide open with nothing but a few scavenging bandits. Driving from location to location can be very tedious and boring, but luckily there is always lots of boost and doesn’t take long to get from point a to b. The story is weak and there isn’t much incentive to go back to NPC’s that you have talked to in towns. The amount of times this game has crashed has been way more than it should be. I have crashed at least a dozen times while playing either from random glitches, or just getting into a firefight and the whole game shuts down.

Rage 2 Final Verdict

Rage 2 is between 17 and 30 hours depending on how much of it you consume. It can be beaten quicker if you skip a bunch of the side content, but if you want to do every activity it will be closer to 30 hours. Some of the activities can be repetitive, but luckily the developer has a full roadmap for the game which includes free DLC as well as season pass content. They have community challenges in game currently that can be unlocked just by playing. So far they have been for weapon skins, but they will be adding new vehicles and enemies. I love seeing when a developer supports their game with both free content and paid content, and it doesn’t feel tacked on.

Rage 2 has one of the best features that I haven’t seen in game in a few years. and that is cheat codes. It does disable achievements and trophies, but they are ton of fun to use and they will be adding more the future. If a person enjoys awesome first-person shooters such as Quake or Doom, and also enjoys open-world game destruction such as Just Cause 3 or 4, they will enjoy Rage 2.

Rage 2 is worth the price of admission. It’s a blast to play through whether you’re new to the series or a returning player. The amount of guns and abilities in this game alone make this game a must buy.