Jump to content

Rage (video game): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 6: Line 6:
| publisher = [[Bethesda Softworks]]
| publisher = [[Bethesda Softworks]]
| engine = [[id Tech 5]]<ref name="engine" />
| engine = [[id Tech 5]]<ref name="engine" />
| released = '''iOS'''{{vgrelease|NA=November 18, 2010}}'''Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360'''<ref>{{cite web|last=Watts|first=Steve|title=Rage delayed to October 4|url=http://www.shacknews.com/article/68863/rage-delayed-to-october-4|work=Article|publisher=Shacknews.com|accessdate=June 12, 2011}}</ref>{{vgrelease|NA=October 4, 2011}}{{vgrelease|AUS=October 6, 2011}(Aus street date broken, October 5,2011)}<ref>[http://www.ebgames.com.au/search?title=rage Search - EB Games Australia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>{{vgrelease|EU=October 7, 2011}}
| released = '''iOS'''{{vgrelease|NA=November 18, 2010}}'''Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360'''<ref>{{cite web|last=Watts|first=Steve|title=Rage delayed to October 4|url=http://www.shacknews.com/article/68863/rage-delayed-to-october-4|work=Article|publisher=Shacknews.com|accessdate=June 12, 2011}}</ref>{{vgrelease|NA=October 4, 2011}}{{vgrelease|AUS=October 6, 2011}}<ref>[http://www.ebgames.com.au/search?title=rage Search - EB Games Australia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>{{vgrelease|EU=October 7, 2011}}
| genre = [[First-person shooter]], [[Action-adventure game|action-adventure]], semi-[[open world]], [[racing video game|racing]]
| genre = [[First-person shooter]], [[Action-adventure game|action-adventure]], semi-[[open world]], [[racing video game|racing]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]

Revision as of 04:33, 5 October 2011

"RAGE" redirects here. For the receptor, see RAGE (receptor).
RAGE
Developer(s)id Software
Publisher(s)Bethesda Softworks
Engineid Tech 5[3]
Platform(s)iOS
Microsoft Windows
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
Release'iOS'Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360[1][2]
Genre(s)First-person shooter, action-adventure, semi-open world, racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rage is a first-person shooter video game by id Software, released on the 4th October 2011. It uses the company's new OpenGL based id Tech 5 engine.[3] The game was first shown as a tech demo on June 11, 2007, at Apple's WWDC,[5] and was officially announced on August 2, 2007, at QuakeCon. On the same day, a trailer for the game was released by Gametrailers.com.[6] A handheld spin-off has been released for iOS.

Information available indicates that the game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world somewhat similar to the movie Mad Max 2 and that of other popular video games such as Fallout.[7] In an interview with GameSpot, designer Tim Willits revealed that the game is set in the near future following the impact of the asteroid 99942 Apophis.[8] Matthew J. Costello, who worked on the plot of Doom 3, also worked on the Rage plot.[9] Influences on the driving and racing gameplay include games such as MotorStorm and Burnout, according to another Willits interview by Shacknews.[10] Players will be able to upgrade their cars with money won from races.[10]

The iOS version of the game does not use a version of id Tech 5 engine technology.[11]

Gameplay

The user plays as a survivor of the 2029 Apophis meteorite impact who has just awoken from an Ark (a world-wide movement which took scientists and other significant people, and froze them underground in cryo-pods so they could rebuild Earth). Soon, the player comes to realize that his Ark has malfunctioned and that he is the only survivor. Players will have the ability to augment their cars with various items and upgrades they can gain by completing races, but the game is not specifically a racing title, trailers have shown a mix of mainly first person shooter elements as well as driving elements. (Racing is optional in Rage.)

Rage will also feature some role-playing game (RPG) elements—an inventory system and the capabilities of weapons will be based around types of ammo. Players will also have the option to customize their weapons.[12] There will also be side missions. More on the RPG elements have not been detailed. At E3, Tim Willits stated that at the game's core is a first person shooter with car-combat added in and without the racing being the sole and central focal point. The world will be populated by the human survivors of the impact who were preserved from the asteroid by being buried in the Arks. The world will also be populated by mutants, who will serve as the player's main enemies at least for the first half of the game, as id is currently talking of a major change taking place at the midway point of the game.

Multiplayer

Rage has two multiplayer modes: Combat Rally and Legends of the Wasteland. In Combat Rally, up to six players compete in a free-for-all match that takes place in an arena designed to make use of the vehicles. The objective is to collect rally points that appear around the arena while killing your opponents and stealing their points. Legends of the Wasteland is a series of two-player bonus co-op missions based on stories that you hear about as you play the single player campaign.

Plot

In Rage's story, the asteroid strikes on August 23, 2029, and the few pockets of survivors are forced to begin a new civilization.

The world is populated by human survivors of the impact, who have come together to form settlements around oases and other practical or habitable locations, including racetracks. These fragile homes are diligently defended by the inhabitants against bandits and mutants, which are divided into various gangs and organizations of their own. Bandits and mutants serve as the player's main enemies for much of the game, and later races, although id Software has hinted at some sort of significant change around the halfway point in the storyline, where races become relevant.

The player emerges into this setting after being preserved inside an underground shelter called an Ark. The Arks are the direct result of the Eden Project, a massive international undertaking in which hundreds of Arks (cryogenic pods) were sealed under the surface of the Earth with twelve people inside each. Each passenger possessed a special ability or trait that, combined with those of the other members, would help them rebuild society. The Eden Project, however, was far less successful than hoped. The player's Ark in particular is in sorry shape upon the start of the game - all of the other residents of the player's Ark are dead (presumably because of the impact), and the equipment of the Ark is destroyed as well, and so the player wakes up alone and uninformed. With no memory of his identity or objective, the player is forced to head for the surface to find sustenance and allies.

Hostile factions

The Authority: Very little is known about the Authority. While their motives are unclear, they offer rewards to anybody who turns in an Ark Survivor. Obviously, avoiding them is in the player's best interest. It is also hinted that the Authority has been experimenting on the mutants, resulting in such beasts as the giant mutants.

Mutants: While not necessarily organized enough to be a distinct faction, mutants are nonetheless a common presence in the wasteland. Although a few have been wrangled for use in entertainment on Mutant Bash TV, plenty remain loose in the wasteland. Few details have been released, although one trailer depicts a mutant over two stories tall tearing apart a billboard, indicating that many victims of mutations have been altered dramatically. It has been evidenced that the Authority has conducted experiments on the mutants, resulting in the giant mutants.

The Wasted Clan: A dim-witted bunch that enjoys mechanics, home-brewed alcohol and fighting. The Wasted are most commonly found in (what used to be) industrial areas, where more scrap and parts are on hand for their automotive projects. In fighting, they will sacrifice any semblance of tactics for the sheer effectiveness of blunt objects to the face, and prefer to reach for the nearest club and come at the player from any direction they can (although they will use guns on occasion).

The Ghost Clan: Sinister and stealthy, fearsome and fearless. The Ghost Clan is arguably the most id-like of Rage's enemies, dealing in the occult and staging gruesome sacrifices in order to gain a seat in the afterlife. Feared even by the other clans, Ghosts use the environment to their advantage while fighting - climbing around walls, leaps of faith, and hanging from beams are some of the many ways they evade the player, while their boomerangs provide both melee and ranged opportunities for them to cut intruders to ribbons. They also appear to be cannibals, as in a gameplay demo, one Ghost can be seen eating a corpse.

The Scorcher Clan: The asteroid Apophis was the steed of a demigod - so says the Scorcher Clan, who believes that tapping the energy of the asteroid (and thus its supposed supernatural owner) will make them invincible. As their name suggests, the Scorchers like fire - lots of it - and they make this abundantly clear with the amount of it they paint onto their bodies and cars. Their leader, a brutal fellow named Reaver, absolutely despises the Shrouded Clan, and displays his leadership with a picture of the asteroid itself, emblazoned on his car. He likes fire, a lot of fire.

The Shrouded Clan: Behind the gas masks and orange scarves, they are deserters - the Shrouded Clan is made up of those who abandoned their own clans in disillusionment, and banded together to disguise their identity and motives. They are skilled engineers, and use their cunning to booby-trap their lairs, as well as craft RC bomb cars and automatic turrets (like those the player can make).

The Jackal Clan: aka "The Jackie Clan" aka "The Jackie Chan", howls in the night signal the coming of the Jackal Clan. Part animal and part human, they are a savage group of hunters and combatants. The Jackals act more like a pack of wolves on a hunt than a well-trained military force. They adorn their bodies with bones, furs and animal scalps that give them an appearance more beast than man. They are savage in nature and vicious in combat. They are feared even by mutants, as a group of large mutants (who themselves had just slaughtered a bandit clan) fearfully back down from a fight with only two of them.

The Gearheads: The Gearheads are the most intelligent of the wasteland's factions. Not relying solely on brute force for survival, these bandits have built advanced machinery and weaponry that make them a force to reckon with. These bandits look to technology for their salvation and vow to never let “mother nature” destroy them again. Some believe that founding members of this group may well have been Ark survivors that gave up on society and went their separate ways.

Timeline

  • 2004: Scientists detect an asteroid the size of Manhattan spiraling in deep space. Excitement turns to concern as predictions have it passing dangerously close to Earth’s lunar orbit sometime in 2029. The asteroid is dubbed 99942 Apophis – after the Egyptian god of chaos.
  • 2024: Apophis is privately assigned a Torino rating of 7, the highest ever on the scale to measure the likelihood of an object impacting Earth. Publicly, the US and other collaborating governments announce a rating of 4. NASA and the European Space Agency believe the rating will be increased to 10 within 12 months.
  • 2025: The “Ark” project begins. Capsules are buried deep underground and designed to burrow out at preset dates several years after the disaster. The goal of the project is to preserve knowledge, genetic samples and other items essential for human life. Thousands of Arks contain groups of “inhabitants” who are injected with Nanotrites, an untested new technology allowing them to survive deep-freeze hibernation.
  • 2025–2027: The government stockpiles massive arsenals of weapons and supplies within hardened fortifications deep inside the Earth.
  • August 2029: News reaches the general population as smaller meteorites impact the Earth ahead of Apophis. The Ark project is initiated.
  • December 2029: Apophis strikes the Moon and slams into the Earth carrying the force of 1,000,000 megatons of TNT. Entire countries are devastated, cities are erased, and lakes and rivers evaporate. The Earth is cast into a multi-year impact winter as the sun is blocked by dust and debris in the stratosphere. Within one year, 80% of Earth's life disappears.
  • 2035: The dust starts to settle as survivors crawl out of caves and shelters to a world that is nothing like before. Civilization is gone, and little hope remains. People group together in loosely formed clans. Small settlements and camps are constructed as many try to find shelter from the unknown dangers lurking in the wasteland that Earth has become.
  • 2135: 106 years after the Ark's initiation, life support systems begin to fail, and the Ark Survivor is thrust into the wasteland...

Development

One of a number of early screenshots of the game released at the SIGGRAPH conference.[13]

RAGE was originally intended to be Teen [7] but ended up receiving an M rating. The Windows, and Xbox 360 versions will ship on three dual-layer DVD discs[14], while the PS3 version will ship on one Blu-ray disc.[7] John Carmack has revealed that an uncompressed software build of Rage is one Terabyte in size.[15] The PC version uses OpenGL 4.2 as the graphics API. While a Linux version is speculated there has been no confirmation of an official build, though Timothee Besset has stated that he will try to make Linux builds for Rage much as he has done in the past.[16][17][18]

Id announced its decision to partner with Electronic Arts for publication of Rage.[19] On March 9, 2009, the company's CEO Todd Hollenshead told GameTrailers TV, "No, it won't be out this year," when asked about a possible release date.[20] A trailer and several screenshots[21] were released on August 13, 2009 at QuakeCon where it showcased various locations, racing and first person gameplay, and a brief insight into the storyline of the game.[22] During GamesCom in Cologne Germany, Electronic Arts released four new screenshots for Rage.[23]

In 2009, John Carmack stated id Software is not planning to support dedicated servers for the PC version, and instead will use a matchmaking system not unlike console games.[24] ZeniMax Media Inc., who had acquired developer id Software in June 2009,[25] announced that it had picked up the publishing rights to Rage, and that EA would not be involved in the sales or marketing of the title. The announcement also noted that the development of Rage had not been affected by the new deal. Creative director Tim Willits confirmed to videogames blog VG247[26] that the game would miss releasing in 2010, and will now launch in 2011.[27] Rage is due out on October 4, 2011 and will be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Willits later accepted the award from IGN Media for "Best Game" and "Best First Person Shooter" at E3. Additionally, the game was awarded Best First-Person Shooter, Best New IP, Best Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 game as well as the Game of the Show of E3 2010 by GameTrailers.[28]

In his keynote speech at QuakeCon 2010 on August 12, 2010, Carmack announced that id was developing a Rage-related game for Apple's iOS.[29] He later described the mobile Rage as a "little slice of Rage ... [about] 'Mutant Bash TV', a post apocalyptic combat game show in the Rage wasteland",[30] and separately hinted that he might try to port Rage Mobile to Android.[31][32]

At QuakeCon 2011, Carmack offered many technical insights of the development and differences between the three main platforms (PC, 360, PlayStation 3), noting that it was not easy developing such an optimized engine to be able to smoothly run on consoles and still having the best artistically looking game on consoles. He also affirmed that the PC platform is as much as 10 times faster than the current generation of consoles, but this did not mean 10x the performance because of the extra layers of abstraction found in PC OSes.

On September 16, 2011 Bethesda announced Rage had gone gold.[33]

Post-release support

Content DLC was already mentioned to be planned for all platforms, without providing further details.[34]

At QuakeCon 2011, Carmack mentioned a number of additions PC version of RAGE might receive in the forseeable future. These include unofficial patches as Carmacks named them "research engine things, "far-out technologies"; such as HMD support, Kinect support, "tracing, splatting, voxels and non-polygonal stuff", "perfect motion-blur" and "perfect anti-aliasing". id Software is committed to update the id Tech 5 engine past Rage's development.

During the Keynote, Carmack also stressed a number of times that the PC version would possibly get a "super quality texture pack" to fix low-resolution(blurry) textures that Rage suffers at the shipping dataset which is identical to console counterparts. He admitted that artists were sad because a combination of multiple professional compression solutions necessary to fit the ~150 GB internal build to a shippable product of 25 GB, on three dual-layer DVDs or one single-layer BD.

Marketing

On November 18, 2010, id Software released the mobile version, RAGE HD, for iOS devices. John Carmack also hinted that he intends to release another iPhone app based on the Rage universe that focuses on the racing aspect of the game.[35]

On January 20, 2011, Bethesda vice president of public relations Pete Hines told VG247 that a demo of the game is not likely.[36]

On March 11, 2011, Bethesda and Dark Horse Comics have announced a three-issue comic book series based on id Software’s upcoming RAGE video game. This original miniseries is being written by Arvid Nelson, the acclaimed creator of Rex Mundi, and penciled by Andrea Mutti. The cover art is being created by Glenn Fabry, best known for his work on Hellblazer and Preacher.

This comic series, developed with the direct participation of RAGE’s creative director, Tim Willits, presents a new twist on the post-apocalyptic near future as one woman discovers that the survival of humankind doesn’t necessarily mean the survival of humanity. The Earth has been devastated by a collision with an asteroid, with a tiny fraction of the population surviving in life-sustaining Arks buried deep below its surface. Those who survive emerge to find a wasteland controlled by a global military dictatorship called the Authority. But a rescued scientist learns that the Authority has lied to her and the other survivors about how this new world came to be.

File:IDepicness.jpg
The welcome screen of Rage's modding tools - id Studio, with the source compiler in the background.[37]

On March 30, 2011, Bethesda has announced that they will team up with Del Rey to create a novel based on RAGE. The novel will be based on the world of rage and its characters. The novel is set for release on August 30th and will be written by author and game writer Matthew J. Costello.

On April 18, 2011 it was revealed that those who pre-order the game will receive an automatic upgrade to the Anarchy Edition which will include four exclusive in-game items. These include a double barrel shotgun, Crimson Elite Armor, Fists of RAGE (spiked brass knuckles) and a car called the “Rat Rod Buggy."

Tim Willits confirmed modding tools will be available and supported.[38]

The game was featured on the fourth season episodes "Problem Dog" and "Hermanos" of Breaking Bad.[39] On September 13, 2011, it was reported that Breaking Bad will be referenced in-game in three specific ways.[40]

Reception

Rage has received generally favourable reviews, with a score of 82, 84 & 85 on Metacritic for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 & PC recpectively. Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game, giving it a score of 9.5/10. They stated that the game features impressive visuals, brutal and satisfying combat, fluid animations and advanced enemy A.I., numerous entertaining side-missions, and an addictive multiplayer component. The one complaint they had with Rage was that the final boss fight was unsatisfying compared to the rest of the game's impressive combat scenarios. Ars Technica, however, published a more negative review, criticizing a "broken save system" (going into the menu and manually saving instead of auto-saving), lack of story, undeveloped characters, and uninteresting quests, while acknowledging the quality of the visuals. Game Informer chipped in, giving the game a 9 out of 10 and said the multiplayer component of the game got old after awhile as there are only two game types: two player Co-Op which they said was quite fun and a driving game type which got old after awhile. IGN praised the game's graphics calling them some of the best ever, but criticized the game's story and forgettable characters. [citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Watts, Steve. "Rage delayed to October 4". Article. Shacknews.com. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  2. ^ Search - EB Games Australia
  3. ^ a b Faylor, Chris. "id Reveals Rage For PC, Mac, PS3 and 360 (Updated, Reorganized)". Shacknews.
  4. ^ "RAGE PC System requirements". Bethblog. September 07, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Hatfield, Daemon. "New id Engine Showcased at WWDC". IGN.
  6. ^ "Quakecon RAGE trailer". GameTrailers.
  7. ^ a b c Ocampo, Jason (2007-08-03). "QuakeCon 2007: Rage First Look". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
  8. ^ "Rage Interview". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
  9. ^ Matt Costello - Games
  10. ^ a b Remo, Chris (2007-08-17). "id's Tim Willits and Todd Hollenshead on Rage". Shacknews.
  11. ^ "Rage Mobile on Bethesda Podcast 05". Bethblog.com. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  12. ^ Some cool Rage Screenshots, and Videos Bunker 37, April 8, 2011
  13. ^ Grant, Christopher. "RAGE screens show up in id Tech 5 presentation". Joystiq.
  14. ^ "Rage game to span three DVDs".
  15. ^ Breckon, Nick (2008-08-01). "Rage Will Look Worse on 360 Due to Compression; Doom 4 and Rage Not Likely for Digital Distribution". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-01-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Rage and other Tech5 games might be Linux-friendly Neoseeker, September 14, 2009
  17. ^ Kommender Id-Titel Rage auch für Linux ? PC Games Hardware, September 17, 2009
  18. ^ Rage probablement sous Linux NoFrag, September 15, 2009
  19. ^ EA, id Join Forces for Rage from Wired News
  20. ^ Rage not "out this year" says id's Hollenshead, release date elusive
  21. ^ http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/main/showthread.php?t=201826[dead link]
  22. ^ http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/main/showthread.php?t=201815[dead link]
  23. ^ http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/main/showthread.php?t=202344[dead link]
  24. ^ Dedicated servers and Rage - news you probably don't want to hear
  25. ^ Reilly, Jim. "Bethesda Picks Up Rights to id Software's RAGE". IGN.
  26. ^ Cullen, Johnny. "Rage delayed until 2011, confirms id Software". VG247.
  27. ^ "E3 2010: The Latest on id Software's The Rage". DreadCentral.
  28. ^ "Best First-Person Shooter E3 2010". GameTrailers. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  29. ^ id Unleashes Impressive Rage On The iPhone
  30. ^ Carmack, John (October 29, 2010). "John Carmack discusses RAGE on iPhone/iPad/iPod touch". Bethesda blog.
  31. ^ Tweet hinting towards Android Availability
  32. ^ http://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/29204671827
  33. ^ RAGE is ready!! | Bethesda Blog
  34. ^ "New ID "IP" not likely". BeefJack.com. 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-00-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  35. ^ Pocket Gamer, After RAGE: Carmack talks racing and Quake on iPhone
  36. ^ Johnny Cullen, VG247, Bethesda’s Hines: "I don't see a demo for RAGE on the cards"
  37. ^ ID Software. "Rage: Behind Scenes - ID Legacy". Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved Sep 30 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  38. ^ Tim Willits. "Rage ships with full modding and editor". www.PCgamer.com. Retrieved May 5 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  39. ^ "Rage Trailer". AMC.tv. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  40. ^ "Quake creator breaks bad with Rage". 3news.co.nz. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  41. ^ Rage Review, Rage Xbox 360 Review - GameSpot.com
  42. ^ http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1197935p2.html
  43. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/rage
  44. ^ [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/rage
  45. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/rage
  46. ^ http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/04/rage-review/
  47. ^ RAGE review | VideoGameWriters.com
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rage_(video_game)&oldid=454024565"