Genre: | First Person Shooter |
Developer: | Avalanche |
Publisher: | Bethesda Softworks |
Release Date: | 2019 |
The Ghosts were once a terror in the wasteland. Ruthless, vicious, tactical and cruel, they took what they wanted and left no survivors. Following the Authority Wars, they were nowhere to be found. At the time, many people assumed they had simply been wiped out and they began to fade into wasteland legend. In reality, they had found a higher calling; a strange woman named Iris promised them power and glory if they did everything she said. Iris and the Ghosts fled to the Overgrown City, where for years they underwent intensive brainwashing and were subjected to experiments that left them with powerful and mysterious nanotrite abilities.
The Rise of the Ghosts Expansion includes:New story
New enemy faction – Ghosts
New region to explore – Overgrown City
New weapon – Feltrite Laser Launcher
New Ability – Void
New Vehicle – Ghost Motorcycle
Moment-to-moment action, unlike Ranger Walker’s rote journey, is the saviour here. Fast, visceral, and immensely satisfying through and through. Weapons you collect are not only varied but they each have an often surprising and engaging alternative firing function — like the Smart Rocket Launcher’s lock-on system, for example. When taken as a whole Rage 2’s arsenal offers up a range of ways of taking on enemy encounters. And while you start off with just an assault rifle and a pistol, additional weapons are found in Arks: giant fallout-like shelters designed to withstand the cataclysmic effects of an asteroid’s impact on Earth. Visiting these massive structures to pick up new weaponry gives you more to play around with, and that only adds to the fun. Oh, and Rage 2’s shotgun just might be the best digital double-barreled firearm in a long while.
There was a time when discussing a first-person shooter, the only part that people cared to talk about were the weapons. The guns. How did they feel? And was there some sort of heat-seeking plasma rifle that turned enemies into goo? RAGE 2 is the sort of game that fits into this mold. A game where one can quite simply talk about the numerous, myriad various guns (see, overkill -- just like the game). Such as how the assault rifle hits that right mixture of powerful and satisfying in how each bullet strikes its target. But also, not something that you’ll avoid most other weapons for...Click here for our in-depth video-highlighted RAGE2 expanded hands-on.
To make it simple, on the enhanced consoles, it runs at 1080p/60fps. On base hardware, it runs at 30fps. On PC, it’s uncapped. We went for speed over 4K for the enhanced consoles.
Putting the push-forward, ability, and weapon-based combat that we got to experience in the context of an environment where all the above is there, ready to explore and discover – adds immeasurably to the enjoyment. As does the overall neon aesthetic and the fact that the world is detailed and full of, well, if-not life then things to look at and do. Rage 2 is not a sombre time to contemplate the destruction of a world, it presents a theme park of attractions in the form of player-controlled destruction and a surprisingly engaging cast of characters and oddities.
This freedom to explore a new future from both a visual and ecological standpoint also extends to how these new inhabitants behave in combat. Where, as John describes, each new encounter offers “different sorts of tactical challenges”. Adding that factions will “have their own location, and the way they’ve built up their defenses in their homeland will colour how you approach them, how you fight them, and how they fight you. You’ll have to think about [it], and maybe even work the world to prepare yourself for certain types of encounters.” That last bit in particular hints to a persistent world where player action affects both the environment and those choosing to live the post-apocalyptic lifestyle.