I love that someone at Bethesda actually went to the trouble of finding a Nathaniel Hawthorne quote that used the word “rage” – “The fiend in his own shape is less hideous than when he rages in the breast of men.”
Maybe I’m an asshole and id Software always intended that quote to drive their latest shooter; if so I apologize, but frankly I don’t think anyone at id is that well-read. In fact I often doubt if anyone at id can read at all. They just like words with one syllable. Their next opus will probably be called Grrrr.
All that aside, the game’s out and the reviews are all over the map. Behold my impressions!
First, in Steerpike Teaches Himself Premiere, Part 2, a bit of video:
[UPDATE]: I misspoke in the video, calling Tim Willits the “CEO of id Software.” This is incorrect. Willits was Lead Designer on Rage. Todd Hollenshead is id’s CEO. Apologies for the error.All in all Rage seems good so far. It’s nothing brilliant, but it’s much more fun than Borderlands – the “open-world” shooter from which it so clearly derives inspiration. id Software went with more roleplaying and story elements than they’ve ever done before, and the result (after just an hour or so) is a very tight, fun game that should entertain you. I hope it holds up in the long run.
Many have been experiencing massive technical problems with Rage. These seem chiefly associated with Radeon cards; I can only say that – as a GeForce owner – I’ve found Rage to be more than just technically proficient. In fact, it’s technically amazing. 60FPS, period, on my machine – which isn’t ancient but could use a nice bath – is impressive, particularly given the attention to detail in Rage’s environments. Gross texture popping is the result of id Tech 5’s Megatexture system, something first innovated in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and apparently improved here. Megatextures – without going into the technical details – have a lot of promise but also many shortcomings. I suspect the texture pops will be fixed in a patch, but Rage also lacks dynamic light, and closeups of some models display clear seaming. Beyond that, though, it looks pretty amazing – and it runs great.
Rage is not STALKER, something I think no one should fault it for. Its method of “guided nonlinearity” means it’s a shooter in classic id style but includes a story and enough self-prioritization that you almost feel as though your path is up to you. Mat C gave it some real props on the console side during his experience at Eurogamer Expo 2011, and if I enjoy Rage enough in single player I may just invest in a 360 copy so I can play with friends when we’re at each other’s houses. So far the game plays great solo, but I can see massive opportunities for fun with the drop-in multi.
The tightness of controls, particularly in the vehicle interface, deserve special mention. Mouse and keyboard (heck, even thumbsticks and triggers) are not optimal for vehicular control, and games have run the gamut from okay to appalling when it comes to driving. Here in Rage, the controls are as clean and tight as you could expect, which makes driving a joy rather than a chore. Shooting, too, feels incredibly optimized; there’s a kinetic link between your click and the gunshot. While some of the secondary controls are obviously optimized for a D-pad rather than a keyboard, in general Rage feels like it’s been tightened and tightened by experts in human-computer interaction.
I’m scarcely an hour into Rage, and I just lost all my saves because I had to go back in order to film the intro sequence, but here on the same day Dark Souls came out, I find myself juggling time equally between them. This one may well be worth your attention.
Send an email to the author of this post at steerpike@tap-repeatedly.com.
I didn’t quite finish the first mission at the expo so wasn’t fortunate to witness John Goodman’s lukewarm reaction to me clearing out the bandits.
Your impressions very much reflect my own though I’m surprised to hear that the PC version still suffers texture pop-in.
Nvidia 4 – 0 ATI.
Amnesia, Brink, Fuel, Rage, all off the top of my head have had issues with ATI cards. I’m so glad I decided to ditch them with my new rig.
The pop-in seems to be related to the Megatexture system that allows Rage to manage so many other visual marvels. It’s not as bad as the pop in the first Mass Effect (where you had 2-5 seconds of blur before the hi-res textures popped in), and it’s not as noticeable as 3D object pop (like flowers and grass in Oblivion). But it’s there and you see it. The pop happens so quickly that it’s more an out-of-the-corner-of-your-eye thing than a crushing flaw, but like you I’m surprised they allowed something that’s so obviously grist for complaints to ship in the game.
The technical problems do appear limited to Radeons, and ATI has already released some new drivers that might help. In the end, like you, I’m really happy I went with the GeForce this time around, and I’ll stay with nVidia until they fail me.
Apparently the GPU Transcoding feature (available on nVidia 4 and 5 cards, and some Radeons) will help address the texture pop, but when I enabled it in the game options I experienced a strange vertical hold issue. I’ll try turning it on again and see what happens.
Like most hardcore gamers I like to tweak and tune my own graphic settings, so the dearth of options (resolution, anti-alias, and GPU transcode) in Rage irritates me. Still, since the game runs and looks great without any twiddling on my part, I can’t complain too much.
This game looks like it may be worth a buy (meaning I am pretty much typing in my debit card numbers as soon as I am done with this post.) John Goodman rocks. I feel like a bit of an unobservant ass though. I never noticed the popping issues in any of those games you mentioned. Of course I played them back when it was good enough for me if the game actually worked, and before I learned anything about the process of making games.
Still this also presents an interesting opportunity. My desktop has an Nvidia card and my Laptop has a Radeon, and they are both capable gaming machines. I’m going to play it on both and see if there is a noticeable difference.
Please do, Jesse, I’d be interested in first-hand observations. ATI did release a second fix today that – apparently – corrects the most serious problems. My own experience with Rage (and remember, we’re talking like an hour and a half here) has been perfectly stable, minimal technical fuss, and enough fun that I can recommend it with confidence.
I wouldn’t say not noticing texture pop makes you an unobservant ass. Hell, in a way it’s a blessing – if you don’t notice it, it doesn’t bother you!
Steerpike, I gotta ask, dude: is the crazy “grrrraawwwwrrrrnnnnwwwwaaarrrrrlllll” voice at the beginning of those videos yours?
*laugh* No, it’s a Llama. Technically an Alpaca. But I need to change it to something else… ever since Harbour Master described it (accurately) as “Gollum shagging a controller,” I’ve known we need something else there.
No no no no. You can’t change that! That has me laughing every time!
I’m desperate for this to be good. I really am. I enjoyed my time with it so much at Eurogamer and I have so much time for id and John Carmack etc. I was almost heartbroken to read that the PC version was having so many issues.
I’m still 99% certain I’ll be buying this on Friday. My rig is easily good enough to run it but the performance issues seem to be a case by case basis reading reports elsewhere. I’m prepared to take a risk even at £30.
I HATE my RAYDEON card (oh I love you Americans!) 😉
It runs games amazing, as long as they have nothing to do with ID tech, at which point my 5870HD turns into a spluttering mess. I’m liking these video impressions Steerpike, they rock my world.
Hey Steerpike, from what I understand, below are directions on how to adjust game settings not included in the menu. It looks like gibberish to me, but you may be interested:
http://forum.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=4116058&postcount=983
Thanks Armand. To tell the truth, it runs so nicely, I’m a-leavin’ it alone.
Lewis: we Americans love you too. I used to be a big Radeon loyalist until I realized that ATI has always been weak in drivers – particularly OpenGL drivers. And Rage is, natch, an OpenGL game. Hopefully it’ll all be sorted soon.
Mat: I think you’ll enjoy Rage. Just approach it for what it is – a well-made shooter with some RPG elements. It’s not gonna change the world, but it doesn’t have to. It’s fun, at least so far. And your rig is almost surely better than mine, since you built so recently, so it should run like butter on your system. Butter!
Unless you have a Radeon, in which case it will run like ass. Ass!
Steerpike, you misunderstand my accurate analysis of your cinematic intro. Like Gregg B, it makes me laugh too. I played it several times on the DXHR video before proceeding to the meat of the video. And then I went back again one more time.
I’d be horrified to be instrumental in its destruction!
But if you really really set on this course, I can ask the Little Harbour Master to say “Tap Repeatedly” into a mic and send you the MP3.
Okay, well, we definitely want a Little Harbour Master’s rendition of “Tap-Repeatedly.” But we’ll save it for special occasions. If no one dislikes the Alpaca, then the Alpaca shall remain!
Video was awesome, Matt. The Alpaca makes my life worth living.
Great Review. You had me at John Goodman.