RAGE 2

Rage 2 makes it very hard to befriend the game.

Classic Id gunplay is attached to an old-fashioned, noisy but danger-free open world. There’s fun to be had but it’s limited and we’ve seen and blown apart these goons before. [Issue#163, p.81]

Whilst Rage 2 offers an intense wave of combat, the open world is dull, and the story and missions rarely excite.

Rage 2 is a truly excellent shooter with big, beefy weapons and some huge, challenging battles to participate in. However, it is wrapped up in an open world which is quite bland and too generic to separate it from all the post-apocalyptic sandbox shooters that have come before it.

Over all, Rage 2 is a good game, but not worth buying if you’re already an established fan of open world games.

Rage 2 has some of the most rewarding and impactful combat in the genre. However, the bland world, repetitive missions, and weak story make it hard to care about the lives you take or the lives you save. Driving controls well, but ends up feeling completely unnecessary other than getting you from point A to B. Fortunately, shooting things never gets old, and the combat shotgun will surely put a smile on your face.

RAGE 2's on-foot action is some of the most fun we've had this generation. As a shooter it's undeniably top tier, but the combat constantly has to fight for its rightful place in the spotlight. All the bright pink paint in the apocalypse couldn't stop the game's open world from feeling lacklustre, and the vehicular stuff struggles throughout. RAGE 2 needed the chaos and insanity that its marketing campaign was so eager to push, because we've ended up with a disappointingly safe objective-based grind, in which the excellent combat is the only thing strong enough to string you along.

The satisfying action and relentless chaos of Rage 2 peppers a formulaic open world with thrills.

The list of things I don’t like about Rage 2 is much longer than the things I like about it, but the one thing it does better than I even expected is combat. Once you’ve filled up your toolbox of weapons and powers, you have seemingly endless ways to take on the game’s foes. Unfortunately, its bland story, drab tone, and scattered open world drag it down, but the fierce firefights kept me engaged the whole way.

The up-close-and-personal style of combat that id Software games are known for was the first milestone in Rage 2 and that’s reflected in the overall package. When you’re fighting, the game is at its absolute best. The elements around it don’t feel as if they received the same amount of love and drag the experience down a few notches. Fans of id Software games or anyone looking for a good old fashion Doom shooter will find it in Rage 2. Fans of Avalanche Studios’ sandbox games will want to stick with Just Cause 3 or 4.

Rage 2 is buggy and features a by-the-numbers open world, but the core shooting mechanics are exemplary and the progression systems are a ton of fun.

Rage 2 is a chaotic, fun, and rewarding adventure that combines a light but interesting narrative with explosive combat and a well-structured open world. It won't blow you off your feet, but you'll have plenty of fun blowing everyone else off theirs.

Rage 2 is a victim of a wave of technical issues and painfully average story but still manages to be one of the most fun FPS you can encounter and can provide you with your adrenaline shot for the day if needed.

It's a game that's definitely worth playing, but it could have been so much better than it really is. For all the vibrant pink and yellow, it's the game equivalent of beige.

id Software's magic touch with the old ultra-violence isn't quite enough to completely save Rage 2 from the rest of its sloppy and seemingly rushed trimmings, but if you want to play as a superhero who isn't fussy about killing, you're well set here.

RAGE 2 is a culmination of many gameplay tropes we’ve seen year after year. That isn’t inherently negative, but when it doesn’t do many of them particularly well, it makes you just want to go play better games. Traveling across the map is a slog, the menus are slow and clunky, and there were significant texture issues that broke the immersion for me.

The relentless thrill of one half of it dragged down by the barren, boring needless sprawl of the other. [Issue#334, p.110]

Rage 2 sadly epitomises everything that’s stale about the gaming market today, and while it’s by no means a bad game, it’s just one that should have released years ago, if at all.

Rage 2 is a satisfying FPS. Even if if the whole weapon and powers' package feel generous in order to fight dozens and dozens of enemies, campaign feels very short, and its world is not what we can call very lively and full of interesting things to do.

Underneath it all, RAGE 2 is one of the most energetic and frenetic shooters I’ve played since DOOM. But you must, unfortunately, wade through a poorly paced story, a drab open world, and a few locks and progression gates to even experience the best it has to offer. Those who persist will adore RAGE 2, but it’s such a bizarrely inconsistent journey to get there that it’s hard to recommend to everyone.

The combat of Rage 2 is its saving grace, and depending on how many gibs you’re producing it can be a blast. Like a string of neon pink Christmas lights, there are fleeting moments of brilliance, but every moment in between feels dull.

A special kind of frustration swells up from playing a game that delivers pristine action mechanics set within a creatively vapid world.

The story is dreadful and short with no personality, charm or consistent tone. The Wasteland is vast but feels empty with repetitive side activities and large sections of the map underutilized. There’s a lot of great ideas and ambition here, but the excellent combat never quite gels together with the game’s other elements. Rage 2 kicks off with a bang of explosions and personality but ends with a whimper.

Rage 2 is a short game with a weak story and dull open world elements. However, the core shooting gameplay is strong enough that hardcore FPS fans may still want to give it a look once the price goes down.

As a first person shooter, Rage 2 has some of the best action of the year but as an open world adventure it squanders everything on a listless story campaign and banal mission design.

It’s hard not to be disappointed in how little use the Wasteland has for you when you're not dealing in lead.