Draconian Protection…

With so many games being launched these days, it’s increasingly difficult separating the wheat from the chaff in the industry, especially with shady launch practices, incomplete games, massive day one patches and questionable DRM. RAGE 2 launched this week and I honestly couldn’t get the game to even launch on PC. I tried all the fixes, tweaks, and suggestions but nothing. Finally, Bethesda announced they removed Denuvo from the game and bam, I was off to the races! Sad that most of the time DRM punishes the legit users more than the pirates but at least Bethesda was smart to be rid of it early and soon. This article isn’t really to harp on DRM but rather a means to express what a pleasant surprise RAGE 2 truly is..

… With Pleasant Surprises

The first 30 minutes or so of RAGE 2 is beautiful if not a bit cliche and underwhelming. After some wonky tutorials and obligatory opening story sequences, you get your first vehicle and a huge world is opened up to you and IMHO, that’s where the game truly starts.. and shines. RAGE 2 is a bit reminiscent of 2015’s criminally underrated MAD MAX and that isn’t shocking since Avalanche Studios are behind both titles. RAGE 2 though feels extremely solid, polished and a bit more accessible than Mad Max ever was.

Although the jury is still out on the game as a whole, the gunplay, driving and especially exploration and photo mode are absolutely top notch. The world just begs to be explored and captured in the stellar photo mode. Bouncing between blasting baddies in and out of vehicle is smooth, seamless, and an absolute riot. Stay tuned for more RAGE 2 coverage but until then, check out the launch trailer below.