Changes: RAGE

Revision as of 14:52, 18 February 2012

Rage (stylized as RAGE) is a first-person shooter and racing game developed by id Software, and published by Bethesda Softworks. It uses the company's new id Tech 5 engine. The game was first shown as a tech demo on June 11, 2007 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and was officially announced on August 2, 2007 at QuakeCon. On the same day, a trailer for the game was released by Gametrailers.com.

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world similar to that of other popular video games such as Fallout and Borderlands. In an interview with GameSpot, designer Tim Willits revealed that the game is set in the near future following the impact of 99942 Apophis. Matthew Costello, who worked on the plot of Doom 3, also worked on the RAGE plot. Influences on the driving and racing gameplay include games such as MotorStorm and Burnout, according to another Willits interview by Shacknews. Players are able to upgrade their cars with money won from races.

Gameplay

The user plays as a member of a worldwide movement which took scientists and other significant people and froze them underground in cryogenic pods so they could rebuild Earth, named Nicholas Raine that comes to realize that his shelter has malfunctioned, and that he is the only survivor after the others have perished from cryogenic failures. Players have the ability to augment their vehicles with various items and upgrades they can gain by completing races, but the game is not specifically a racing title, as it has plenty of first-person shooter content as well.

RAGE also features some role-playing game (RPG) elements — an inventory system and the capabilities of weapons that are based around types of ammo. Players also have the option to customize their weapons and select one of three (four with the Anarchy Edition or Campaign Edition) outfits after completing several story quests. There are also side missions. Creative director Tim Willits stated that at the game's core is a first-person shooter with vehicle combat added without the racing being the central focal point.

RAGE has two multiplayer modes: Road Rage and Wasteland Legends. In Road Rage, up to four players compete in a free-for-all match that takes place in an arena designed to make use of the vehicles. The objective is to collect rally points that appear around the arena while killing your opponents and stealing their points. Wasteland Legends is a series of two-player co-op missions based on stories that you hear about as you play the single-player campaign.

Story

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of a wasteland created by an asteroid impact, based on the real life asteroid 99942 “Apophis”, which will pass by Earth in 2036. In RAGE's story, the asteroid strikes in December 2029, and the few pockets of survivors are forced to begin a new civilization.

The world is populated by human survivors of the impact, who have come together to form settlements around oases and other practical or habitable locations. These fragile homes are diligently defended by the inhabitants against bandits and mutants, which are divided into various gangs and organizations of their own. Bandits and mutants serve as the player's main enemies for much of the game, with later addition of more organized and dangerous forces.

The protagonist emerges into this setting after being preserved inside an underground cryogenic pod. The Arks are the direct result of the “Eden” project, a massive international undertaking in which hundreds of Arks were sealed under the surface of the Earth with twelve people inside each. Each passenger possessed a special ability or trait that, combined with those of the other members, would help them rebuild society. The Eden project, however, was far less successful than hoped. The protagonist's Ark in particular is in bad shape at the start of the game. All of the other residents of the Ark are dead, and its equipment is destroyed as well, so the protagonist wakes up alone and uninformed. With no information on his location or objectives, he is forced to head for the surface to find sustenance and allies.

Enemies

The foes found in RAGE consist of mutants, various bandit clans and in the later stages of the campaign, the Authority.

Timeline

2004: Scientists detect an asteroid the size of Manhattan spiraling in deep space. Excitement turns to concern as prediction's have it passing dangerously close to Earth's lunar orbit sometime in 2029. The asteroid is dubbed 99942 “Apophis” — after the Egyptian god of chaos.

2024: Apophis is privately assigned a Torino rating of 7, the highest ever on the scale to measure the likelihood of an object impacting Earth. Publicly, the US and other collaborating governments announce a rating of 4. NASA and the European Space Agency believe the rating will be increased to 10 within 12 months.

2025: The “Eden” project begins. Capsules are buried deep underground and designed to burrow out at preset dates several years after the disaster. The goal of the project is to preserve knowledge, genetic samples and other items essential for human life. Thousands of Arks contain groups of “inhabitants” who are injected with nanotrites, a new untested super-science of the day, allowing them to survive cold sleep.

2025–27: Governments stockpile massive arsenals of weapons and supplies within hardened fortifications deep inside the Earth.

August 2029: News reaches the general population as smaller meteorites impact the Earth ahead of Apophis. The “Ark” project is initiated.

December 2029: Apophis strikes the Moon and slams into the Earth carrying the force of 13.3 Gigatonnes of TNT. Entire countries are devastated, cities are erased, and lakes and rivers evaporate. The Earth is cast into a multi-year impact winter as the Sun is blocked by dust and debris in the stratosphere. Within one year, 80% of all life disappeared on Earth.

2035: The dust starts to settle as survivors crawl out of caves and shelters to a world that is nothing like before. Civilization is gone, and little hope remains. People group together in loosely formed clans. Small settlements and camps are constructed as many try to find shelter from the unknown dangers lurking in the wasteland that has become Earth.

Development

Reports indicated that id was developing RAGE with a “Teen” rating in mind, and that the Windows, Mac and Xbox 360 versions will ship on either two or three dual-layer DVD discs. John Carmack has revealed that an uncompressed software build of Rage was one terabyte in size.

On July 14, 2008, id announced its decision to partner with Electronic Arts for publication of RAGE. On March 9, 2009, the company's CEO Todd Hollenshead told Gametrailers TV, “No, it won't be out this year”, when asked about a possible release date.

A trailer and several screenshots were released on August 13, 2009 at QuakeCon where it showcased various locations, racing and first person gameplay, and a brief insight into the storyline of the game. During GamesCom in Cologne, Germany, Electronic Arts released four new screenshots for RAGE.

On November 5, 2009, John Carmack stated id Software is not planning to support dedicated servers for the PC version, and instead will use a matchmaking system not unlike console games.

On December 15, 2009, ZeniMax Media, who had acquired developer id Software in June 2009, announced that it has picked up the publishing rights to RAGE, and that EA will not be involved in the sales or marketing of the title. The announcement also notes development of RAGE has not been affected by this new deal.

On May 3, 2010, creative director Tim Willits confirmed to video games blog VG247 that the game would miss releasing in 2010, and will now launch in 2011.

On June 17, at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo Tim Willits accepted the award from IGN Media for “Best Game” and “Best First Person Shooter”.

On October 4, 2011, RAGE was released in the United States for Windows, Xbox and PS3. Australasian release was announced on October 6, and the European release on October 7.

On October 8, 2011, patch for the Windows version was released which added various graphical options to the game and fixed a number of driver-related graphical issues.

On February 2, 2012, RAGE was released worldwide for Macintosh in the form of digital download by Aspyr Media, Inc. The Macintosh version was called the Campaign Edition, as the multiplayer content was cut from the game.

On February 2, 2012, second patch for the Windows version was released which added new features and addressed various compatibility and performance issues.

System Requirements

Minimum

OS: Windows XP SP3, Vista or Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo or Equivalent AMD
RAM: 2 GB
HDD: 25 GB free disk space
Graphics: 265 MB Graphics Memory
Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
DirectX: Version 9

External links

Official website
Official forum
RAGE at Xbox.com
RAGE at PlayStation.com
RAGE at Aspyr.com

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 ==Enemies==
-The foes found in ''RAGE'' consist of mutants and various bandit clans. The clans include:
+The foes found in ''RAGE'' consist of mutants, various bandit clans and in the later stages of the campaign, the Authority.
-* [[Gearheads]]
+*[[Mutants]]
-* [[Ghost Clan]]
+*[[Bandits]]
-* [[Jackal Clan]]
+** [[Gearheads]]
-* [[Scorchers]]
+** [[Ghost Clan]]
-* [[Shrouded Clan]]
+** [[Jackal Clan]]
-* [[Wasted Clan]]
+** [[Scorchers]]
+** [[Shrouded Clan]]
+** [[Wasted Clan]]
-In the later stages of the campaign, there is also a group called the [[Authority]]. They are a highly organized and weaponized military force that controls the land.
+* [[Authority]]
 ==Timeline==