Review for RANGE 2. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 14/05/2019
Version for Google Stadia from 19/11/2019
Anger is not only inevitable, it is necessary. Its absence indicates indifference, the most disastrous of human failings.
Rage 2 arrived on the videogame scene at a particular moment, in which the shooting games are many, fairly varied and each of them proudly flaunts those distinctive features that have become iconic over the years. For this reason, probably, the expectations around the Bethesda production, the daughter of a solid collaboration between Avalanche Studios and Id Software, has perhaps - unfairly - passed too quietly, a fate similar to that of the first chapter of the saga, of which this new episode represents a sort of spiritual and not direct sequel. Let's make one fundamental thing clear immediately: if you haven't played the first Rage you will not be hungry for notions about the game world, since everything is optimally contextualized to current events, thus letting you enter without problems in a plot that, to be honest , will never represent the cornerstone - and we didn't expect it to - of production.
It is essential to underline this concept in the review because, despite its caciarona and crazy nature, Rage 2 brings to the stage a very intimate - albeit not fully original - imagery and does it with great style, making personality exude from every pore. We are not faced with a perfect product, mind you, but the sensations experienced after each game session, twisted in an endless loop of exploration, destruction and addiction, are really important. Glory to those who have decided to set up such a fun, satisfying and never frustrating play formula, net of all the shortcomings in terms of innovations. There will be time for that.
Pink it's my new obsession
Rage 2 is a title - and it could not be otherwise - that starts immediately with a thousand, "guns drawn", immediately making it clear which direction has been taken in development. ID Software and Avalanche Studios have pulled up a frenetic and satisfying shooter, and this can be seen from the very first game session, a sort of giant tutorial also used to bring the narrative incipit to the screen. The Authority, the now old enemy of the human race, is back and wants to wipe out the inferior homo sapiens left from the face of the Earth for the purpose of an inevitable evolution of the species from its point of view. In the role of one of the inhabitants of one of the strongholds of men - selectable between male and female - and generically renamed as "Walker", our mission will be to come out unscathed from the assault of the fortress, even at the hands of the leader himself. Authority, General Cross, believed to be dead and buried for a long time now. The epilogue of this dramatic beginning is a fundamental watershed for the whole narrative, which is readily established on a precise track but which, immediately after, demonstrates how essential it is to leave the player when and in what way he wants to reach his goal.
The first part of the game is immediately concerned - and a lot - about wanting to make things clear: Rage 2 is an open world in the strict sense of the word, in which - if you exclude the very first hours of the game a little more "addressed" - you can progress the way you want, without ever forgetting to have some sort of macro lens always present. Which? Defeating the Authority, of course, but young Walker needs good allies to do so. Initially, therefore, your main mission in Rage 2 will be to recruit these fundamental characters who, to offer you their services, will ask you to do something in return for them. Here the doors open wide to what is a sensational product in terms of density, fun and spectacularity, capable of keeping you glued to the screen without interruption.
Rebuild to start again
In Rage 2, while not forgetting that the pulsating vein of the title is the gunplay (which we will explore further on), it is impossible not to appreciate the strong "role-playing" nuance that stains the forms of production, whose role becomes vital already in the very first jokes. Bethesda's work is an explosive concentrate of activities to be carried out - fairly differentiated from each other, but do not expect miracles - and above all inspiring a strong "grinding", necessary (but never obligatory) to strengthen your alter ego. Everything is upgradeable, including the various vehicles with which to face the threatening lands of the equally threatening game world, but not only: crafting is fairly important in the economy of the title - albeit not very elaborate - and, above all, the developers have decided to give great importance to the exploratory factor. Going around the map, excluding the main points of interest, which can be "revealed" thanks to the discovery - therefore never an end in itself - of datapads (erroneously considered as simple "collectibles") or talking to the many NPCs present in the cities / outposts, it is possible to find numerous "unknown" places, indicated with a question mark, which can often represent additional missions for one of the three factions present.
Basically, these represent the different missions that can be faced in Rage 2: the activities to be carried out for the good Marshall usually consist in freeing outposts or taking out bands of enemies, those of Hagar in the destruction of vehicles scattered around the world and the feared Sentinels of Authority, while, finally, those of the odd Doctor Kavisr consist in the discovery of elements such as feltrite (necessary for many upgrades) and, above all, of the Arks. The latter are the highest point of exploration: by finding and exploring them it will be possible to unlock new skills and equip new weapons, thus becoming fundamental and almost mandatory from the first minutes of the game.
And here, however, something breaks. Being first of all an open world, it is impossible not to be disappointed by the excessive underlying repetitiveness of most of the underlying activities but, above all, by the narrow general longevity of the main campaign. The whole, however, shares the same heart: the gameplay first of all. Net of this clarification, it is nice to underline how the developers have made it necessary, but without constraints, to carry out these tasks. By completing the requests, in fact, it is possible to unlock numerous advantages, which can be purchased with a particular currency obtainable at the end of one of the missions. A variegated but simplistic system, therefore, necessary however for a simpler and more layered continuation within the story. In some cases it will be necessary to carry out a precise number of activities (all characterized by a level of difficulty indicated with a figure ranging from 1 to 10) in order to continue with the plot. A hidden "forcing" and not at all invasive, but still necessary to get to the decisive clashes, in particular with the (few) bosses on duty, which could create some headaches too much, if you do not necessarily arrive prepared. And it is even more sorry, in light of these more than appreciable choices, to note the general paucity that grips the game world, sometimes excessively vacant for the genre.
One word: violence!
We have already repeated it several times: despite being heavily surrounded by well-marked RPG mechanics, the soul of Rage 2 is clearly found in the gameplay and, above all, in the gunplay. No matter what mission you are facing, no matter at what point of the - honestly disappointing in terms of longevity, which can be completed in about fifteen hours - the main campaign you have arrived: the engine of the game will always be that of destruction, the destruction of hordes of increasingly bloodthirsty enemies. The shootings, themselves, are absolutely the central aspect of the production. And they work great. Rage 2 is therefore supported by a gameplay as solid as it is fun, in which the various innate abilities of the protagonist (unlockable thanks to the findings of the Arks) are perfectly combined with the singing of the various guns present within the title.
The total number of them, although not miraculous (even the weapons can be found by exploring the Arks), is perfectly matched by a variety and by a really satisfying feedback, in addition to the "enhancement" speech that once again returns with enthusiasm on the scene . Each of the weapons present, in fact, will be upgradeable, both in terms of power and other "basic" characteristics, and in terms of the types of ammunition that can be used and various ballistche additions, thus making the differentiation between a weapon and the other one. This solution has been inherited from the last Doom, the reboot that arrived in 2015, to which the title is very much inspired from a strictly playful profile.
Such great videogame beauty, however, is not without problems of sorts. The first, the most important, is that ofenemy artificial intelligence, actually too static and at times almost deficient. The opponents (for this reason we advise you to play at a higher difficulty level) will only be able to worry you if in sound numerical superiority since their movements, choices and various attitudes on the battlefield often turn out to be a sensational hole in the water. Enemies will hardly surround you or try to catch you off guard, resulting almost annoyingly "correct" in their attitudes. Some enemies, of course, are clearly more difficult than others but, fundamentally, the challenge rate offered at the lowest difficulty levels - but also at the highest ones - is decidedly set downwards. A choice all in all understandable, which perhaps tries to focus gameplay more in the wake of the genuine, near-orgasmic fun of vanquishing waves of monsters - between explosions and various automatic turrets - without having to worry too much about your health, but that won't make everyone happy. We are sorry, however, to witness this situation even facing the various bosses, in truth few, and all too easy to take down.
Another factor that is not really very successful, and we have also mentioned it a moment ago, is linked to the nature of the activities, especially the secondary ones. Although fun and enjoyable, the risk of falling into repetitiveness is just around the corner as, inevitably, the various types of activities are very schematized and without any twists or "surprise effect". It must be said, however, that the title of Avalanche Studios and ID Software is designed to expand and progress over time (we have already been able to witness a long list of updates planned for the game), and this is noticeable even after the credits. . After the main quest, in fact, the game will make you immediately understand that the real fun has just begun and that the liberation of the "free world" is far from over. An almost inevitable gameplay solution, which we hope will be adequately supported in the future with the already mentioned expansions already partially revealed.
The eye always wants its part
The mad rush of Rage 2, in addition to hitting the playful palate of every gamer, is also concerned (and not a little) to do the same thing from a technical / visual point of view. At least on PC (version we tested) the Bethesda product manages to offer a glance at times important, with a very convincing rendering of elements such as the lighting effects, the facial animations of the various NPCs and more generally the various textures and polygonal models. The game world is beautifully characterized, although it is impossible not to notice a certain redundancy in the models of the enemies, in truth very few (especially the bosses), especially the human ones, really excessively similar to each other, even in relation to the different bands to which they belong. Even the three cities are all in all little characterized, but it is above all the outdoor phases - those riding the bubbling transport vehicles, so to speak - that make this limit clearer. The environments, although splendid to look at, are substantially bare and poor in detail, resulting excessively similar to each other. Nothing sensational, of course, and certainly not able to affect the overall quality of an important product from a technical point of view, whose graphic quality is also revealed in the care of the particles. Each explosion is simply an epiphany of a number of sensations that are difficult to experience elsewhere and it does not matter if, in some situations, we have witnessed some small drop in frame-rate (solid at 30fps with the "Ultra" setting and at 60 when choosing the option “High” - all in Full HD) and some small delay in loading the textures or a slight pop-in, more evident in the phases, needless to say, outdoors.
What convinced us little, in truth, is the sound sector: the dubbing is all in all positive, but often and willingly (surely it will be fixed with some patches on day one) it lets itself go to even important problems. The audio track, occasionally, is literally skipped, leaving the task of explaining what happens to the inevitable subtitles. This did not seem to happen to us with the English dub, fortunately, but we hope it will be promptly fixed in view of the official release.
Rage 2 is a formidable war machine. From the first to the last minute of each session, the Avalanche Studios and ID Software title will have fun with its frenetic and crazy gameplay, which winks in a clear way to well-marked role-playing elements. Unfortunately, however, the main plot will take you "only" about fifteen hours, and will not surprise you for writing and narration in general. As if that weren't enough, the activities to be carried out, even if fun, in the long run fall into the dangerous whirlwind of repetitiveness, whipping too much an otherwise unassailable playful experience.
An excellent return for the saga, however, capable of standing out as one of the most solid shooting games of this year, net of some technical hiccups and some overly redundant gameplay choices. It is an almost mandatory purchase for all fans of the genre, but not only: thanks also to a more than accessible level of challenge, the title can be considered an excellent entry level for all those who intend to approach the world of shooters in first person. May the anger be with you!
► RAGE 2 is an FPS-type game developed by Avalanche Studios Id Software and published by Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 14/05/2019
Version for Google Stadia from 19/11/2019
