Once again, we find ourselves in a post-apocalyptic world, with its eternal destruction, wastelands, and mangled remains of cars. There is noticeable influence from both Fallout and Borderlands, as well as games like Burnout and MotorStorm. The game's plot is based on the discovery of the asteroid Apophis in the early 21st century, which collided with Earth in 2029. Practically the entire population of the planet was destroyed, and only those who were put into cryogenic sleep as part of the "Arca" project survived. Five to six years after the nuclear winter, the survivors begin to emerge to the surface, simultaneously mastering the stockpiles of weapons and supplies that had been stored for a long time in the deepest catacombs. Naturally, a fierce struggle begins for a place in the sun and the scarce resources.
Rage, as this game is called, is simultaneously a shooter and a racing game with a considerable addition of role-playing elements. It's an interesting project, especially considering that the game's developer is id Software, known for its love of first-person shooters. In the world of Rage, players won’t have to walk through narrow dark corridors; instead, a wide open space for maneuvering and driving vehicles awaits them. Since the game is a shooter, there is inherently a large amount of various weapons that can be upgraded and modified.
There is also an economic component. With the money earned through honest (or not so honest) work, players can buy weapons or armor, and various modifiers. Gaining a little fame and money can be achieved by participating in no-holds-barred fights or racing competitions. Additionally, various certificates are given for winning races, which can be used to upgrade one’s “vehicle.” Rage also offers several multiplayer modes, one of which - Combat Rally - allows players to fight in a special arena using vehicles. The second mode, Wasteland Legend, offers nine cooperative missions.
The game was announced in August 2007 and was released only four years later. Everyone eagerly discussed what this experiment by John Carmack would be like. Since the game's optimization was primarily tailored for consoles to achieve 60 frames per second, PC gamers ended up with rather mediocre graphics and numerous bugs that took a long time to fix. Moreover, the desire of id Software to straddle even not two, but three and four chairs at once was not understood by all players. Nevertheless, the post-apocalyptic universe will surely find its fans.