Pure unadulterated chaos is where Rage 2 shines brightest and there is plenty of it to go around. If only that had been more of a focus.
Yes, it’s another open-world post-apocalyptic shooter to throw on the pile, but Rage 2‘s commitment to inventive gunplay helps give some flair not found in others, even in the similarily over the top Borderlands series.
The plot certainly isn’t a memorable one, rather it’s functional, seeing your protagonist, Walker trying to unite the good guys of the wasteland against the twin threat of an officious army and wild mutants. Oh and Walker acquires a Ranger suit that allows them to build up a staggering arsenal of superhuman powers. It’s a fine excuse for the carnage you get to cause.
With Id Software collaborating beside Avalanche, it’s not surprising that Rage 2‘s combat is so in your face and brutal. Heads explode, bodies get ripped apart, and there’s a beautiful flow to battles where you can chain abilities and weaponry together in seamless sequences of death-dealing majesty. Id knows how to craft a satisfying shotgun, and the one here is another sparkling example. It’s got the punch to destroy enemies from close range, but by aiming down the sights, an alt-fire mode funnels multiple rounds into one shot powerful enough to knock foes flying. Walker’s powers are cool (more on that shortly), but the shotgun was a constant companion as I waded into yet another carnage-filled battle.
The Wingstick returns from the first game, a boomerang-esque side weapon that lets you decapitate enemies if aimed just right, and it remains an amusing side weapon that can cap off kill combos with grisly finesse. Not exactly an essential bit of kit, but it slots into Rage 2’s impressive combat nicely.
The weaponry is as upgradeable as Walker’s Ranger suit, meaning they keep up with the ever-escalating toybox of destruction Rage 2 deals out. and while that gunplay would be satisfying on its own, when combined with the Ranger suit’s upgradeable powers, Rage 2 becomes an exhilarating joy as you toy with the less desirable denizens of the Wasteland by catapulting them into the sky, turning them into mince with a push of your open palm, and dodging them at lightning speed. By finding ‘Arks’ littered around the game world, Walker can obtain new abilities, further improving their chances of taking on the big bad in a final assault. This acts as the real motivator for exploring the open world, as you’re eager to see what new crazy things you’ll be allowed to do.
It’s interesting that Rage 2 further amplifies a problem that Id’s 2016 version of DOOM suffered from. When the action isn’t front and center, the game struggles to maintain the high enjoyment levels. With DOOM, it was relatively short bursts of downtime, and it was just about excusable as you definitely needed the odd breather. For Rage 2 though, the open world design poses a greater risk. If the combat is great, but you have to pad the game with other open-world activities, then they need to be fairly entertaining in their own way to cause the least amount of frustration for the player. The problem Rage 2 has is that its open-world is rather flat and unexciting to explore beyond seeking out Arks and well, blowing up mutants.
Rage 2 is all about big explosions, chucking vigorous splashes of neon pink over everything, and facing wild and crazy mutants. It has a mantra that invites the ridiculous, and that is channeled best in its combat, but the Wasteland? The Wasteland just isn’t that fun to be in for the most part. It exists largely for the sake of its vehicles, and feels at odds with the on-foot warfare, which is very much about being up close and personal. So what you get is pockets of disgustingly good combat encounters in a large sea of plain desertland. Supposedly there’s an ongoing historical conflict happening, but you certainly can’t see much evidence of it. Everyone in the world is just ‘there’, rather than feeling like a part of it. The game isn’t particularly long as open-world games go either, which works for and against Rage 2. For, in the sense that it doesn’t drag out its exploration too much, against because it makes the open-world seem like it’s worthless.
The vehicular aspect of Rage 2 also falls short. The handling tends to be a touch scatty, and while the weapon lock-on is fairly intuitive most of the time, it still has its moments of unpleasantness as you struggle to hit your targets in more hectic situations. Early on there’s a mandatory race you have to win, and this may be a personal gripe, but there’s nothing more aggravating than having to win a race in a less than perfect vehicle segment. The shortcomings really come to the fore in that race, and it happened to come after a pretty humdrum 30 minutes of game time so I was in desperate need of a reminder of what Rage 2 can do so well.
For all Rage 2‘s shortcomings, it’s worth stating again that whenever you find enemies, you find some of the best combat encounters in any modern shooter. It’s so good it makes the duller parts close to irrelevant. Would Rage 2 have been better off as a more linear shooter? Maybe, but I’d rather have seen a bit more refinement and polish to the open-world, and its driving, because by trying to be a bit of everything and not creating each aspect equally, Avalanche and Id has diluted a hi-octane shooter’s venomous sting with a beige paste of open-world busywork.
Rage 2 review code provided by the publisher for PS4.
Rage 2 is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.