Rage 2 is an exciting new shooter and let me tell you that you never really rage even though it is the name of the game. You do feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins when you have to kill hordes of enemies and I for one did get excited when I unlocked a new ability or got a new weapon that I really liked. This might be a single-player game but the gameplay is so good that I would say that if you like how Doom plays then you will find Rage 2 satisfying too.
Rage 2 picks up where the last one ended but you really do not need to play the 2012 title in order to enjoy the new one. While the characters are not memorable and you do not make any decisions in the game, the gunplay and action are what Rage 2 is really all about. The enemy AI might not be too smart but it is aggressive and keep moving in most cases.
Rage 2 Review
The campaign is around 10 hours long and Rage 2 will keep you hooked by giving you new abilities from time to time. These abilities can change how you play the game and also affect exploration. Combining all these abilities together can result in satisfying combos especially when you pair them with the secondary function of your favorite weapons.
Rage 2 encourages players to leave a safe spot and dive deep into combat. You need to be near the enemy in order to collect rewards and these rewards can also heal you. This allows the player to get away with combat that might not be possible in other shooters.
What We Like About Rage 2
The action and shooting is the major highlight here. We see elements of Doom in the gameplay and that is great. If you play Doom then you will be familiar with the mechanics of Rage 2 and getting deep into the enemy hordes is not going to be something new. The progress is not guided so you can unlock the abilities that you want and need first skip the rest. The nano toys are scattered across the map and you can go find them from the start without anyone or anything stopping you.
There is an entire city that you can explore that is not part of the main story. This is one of the reasons why you would want to ignore all the markets that you see and go on exploring the world as you see fit. The combat is the major highlight of the game. It is fun to try out different abilities and then chain them together with your weapons in order to kill hordes of enemies quickly. Chaining combos and killing enemies will fill the overdrive meter that gives you an alternative firing mode for your weapons and also increases the damage that you deal and your healing.
There is a roadmap and the developers are going to introduce more content for the game in the future but then again, some would argue that this content should have been included as part of the game at launch.
What We Did Not Like About Rage 2
The story is not great and some people might even call it shallow. If you are into shooting enemies all the time then that might not be an issue for you. The characters in the game are not particularly memorable and I would not be surprised if you do not remember their names by the time you have finished the campaign. Shooting bad guys is fun and all but having a purpose for all that insanity would have been a great addition.
Once you have cleared an area you can find different loot boxes. These are very well hidden and you might get frustrated trying to find them if you have not unlocked the ability that pinpoints their locations. While the weapons and abilities are great, managing them can be an issue.
Each gun has an upgrade menu and the same is the case for each ability. Your allies have a separate upgrade tree of their own. Craftable items and vehicles have their own menus and upgrades as well. All this can be a bit overwhelming if you are not used to playing games with similar mechanics.
The map is expansive and there is plenty to do in the form of side quests but the open world does seem empty and you will not have any random encounters as you explore the world. The Pheonix is a great vehicle. It has armor, is fast and can fire weapons but there aren’t many activities that you can use the vehicle in. That was a major bummer for me.
Upgrading different skill trees requires different currencies. If you are interested in upgrading your abilities then you might need a specific currency but upgrading a weapon might require a different currency. Farming all these different currencies can be an issue if you have not already done so.
Verdict
Rage 2 has a large open world and loads of upgrades that you can use to your advantage. This is a great game to play if you are sick of Fallout or Far Cry and need a different setting for your next RPG shooter game. The shooting and gunplay are great and is similar to Doom in some ways but the open world is lifeless and the game does not take full advantage of the vehicles that it has.
This concludes our review of Rage 2
