Did you enjoy Rage, a post-apocalyptic FPS that launched for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 in 2011? If so, did you ever wonder about a sequel in the franchise? Yes! Then we’ve got a special new update on Rage courtesy of Joystiq.

Over the weekend, id Software cofounder Tom Willits said that he is proud about the universe that they built in Rage, and that the “franchise is not dead” during QuakeCon 2013 in Dallas, Texas. However, Willits made it clear that development on the game isn’t getting started anytime soon, but the universe he created is easy to “step back into.”

“I’m proud of what we did, I’m proud of the universe that we built. The franchise is not dead,” Willits said. “We’re not doing anything immediately with it, but when I designed the universe, I designed it in such a way that it would be easy to step back into. I’m still proud that we did something that was different–it wasn’t like the games that we’ve done in the past.”

In addition, Willits also touched on the id Tech 5 game engine that Rage was initially built on, which is currently being actively upgraded since it’s flexible and robust . It’s an engine that continues to be used in other Bethesda products such as Wolfenstein: The New Order.

“We really tried to do one engine that worked for everything,” Willits said. “It really helps establish a robust tech that, as John [Carmack] said last night, we’re adding stuff into it based on the new consoles, and it’s allowed people to make different games because the technology is flexible and robust and works on everything.”

We promise to bring you more updates on a sequel to Rage, if development starts in the near future.

The worst crime a hotly awaited game can commit is to be ordinary. Not awful. Not even excellent. To be unremarkable is the worst offense. RAGE is here at last. One of the year’s most eagerly anticipated titles is finally on store shelves. While the game is easily capable of standing on its own merits, it’s undeniable that RAGE was assembled from parts of other, sometimes even better, games.

If you take the time to peruse RAGE’s family tree, you’ll find branches from three particular titles: Borderlands, Fallout, and Bioshock. RAGE borrows and sometimes outright steals elements from all three games to the point of lacking any originality to call its own. The end result is certainly pleasing to the eye, well-crafted and enjoyable while it lasts, but no reviewer should ignore the obvious similarities to other games. RAGE is a mixture of Borderlands’ driving and obsessive loot collecting, its post-apocalyptic setting is a picture-perfect replica of Fallout 3’s, and the weapon upgrading and ammo swapping mechanic is a clear nod toward Bioshock.

Thus, the question facing players is: Can RAGE stand on its own two feet and be judged solely on its own strengths? Or will the shadow of other games send it scurrying into a deep, dark hole, hiding its face in shame? While the following review may seem negative, keep in mind that I enjoyed my time with RAGE. However, if I had to recommend a game in the post-apocalyptic shooter genre, RAGE would never be my first pick. Games do not exist in vacuums and must be judged against their peers. While I like RAGE, I simply cannot deny that it is a Frankenstein’s monster assembled from the parts of stronger games.

This is Yell! Magazine’s review of RAGE, available for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. For review purposes, the PC version was used, along with DNA testing to determine whether or not Borderlands is indeed this baby’s father.

Congratulations! It’s a… it’s the deformed guy from Goonies, apparently.

The Story

Rather than boring you with a prolonged opening sequence filled with story bits, RAGE wastes no time in getting you into the game. A mere 60 seconds after firs starting Rage, you, the lone survivor of an ark, emerge into the desolated wastelands of the near future in a scene entirely too reminiscent of Fallout 3’s vault dweller’s exit from the Vault. I half expected to find a discarded Pip-Boy on the ground.

Mere moments later, you’re dealt a vicious manhandling from a bunch of roving bandits. Luckily, you’re saved by Dan Hagar, soothingly voiced by John Goodman, who gently shoos away the evildoers with a generous amount of automatic fire into their higher brain functions. Of course, this being a video game, Hagar is going to want something in return for his good deed. In fact, every single person you encounter in RAGE has some type of Fetch Quest™ waiting for you. At this point in my gaming career I’m so completely past the point of caring about the insanity of NPCs asking perfect strangers to carry out their inane requests, but Rage does take things a bit far. Minutes after emerging from your hidey hole Dan fills your hands with cold steel and asks you to infiltrate a heavily fortified bandit base and murder a baker’s dozen of their members. Dude, I just woke up! Let me get some coffee in me before I get my murder on, will ya!?

Now see, if I had some caffeine in me, this never would have happened…

In any case, the game then proceeds along familiar pseudo-RPG lines by sending you on a variety of assignments, some of which will net you cash, others better gear or a combination of both. RAGE apes Borderlands’ quest model something fierce here. You could literally copy the quest giver monologues from Borderlands and paste them into RAGE with no noticeable difference. Kill bandit leader A, wipe out bad guy camp B, fetch vehicle part C and so on and so forth.

The game’s overall tale isn’t very interesting. RAGE suffers from a lack of a Big Bad. Yes, there’s the ephemeral Authority to defeat but fighting an idea is always less interesting than fighting an actual opponent with thoughts, goals, and witty bad guy dialog. Writing clever stories has never been ID’s strong suit. They excel at atmosphere and mood rather than immersive storytelling and all the flaws inherent to that business model as present in RAGE. It’s a shame since great characters and writing would have made the long breaks between gunfights more tolerable.

Read about the gameplay, presentation, and verdict after the jump…

Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):

[rating:3]

Published by:

Bethesda Softworks

Developed by:

Id Software

Year Released:

October 4, 2011

Also Available On:

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iPhone, Macintosh

Genre:

Action

Official URL:

RAGE Official Site

In this video, the Resistance has heard rumors of an Ark surfacing in Jackal Valley, and they need you to search the site for a valuable data decrypter. Finding it won’t be easy as the valley is home to one of the Wastelands most brutal factions, the savage Jackal Clan.

RAGE releases next week in North America on Tuesday, October 4th (October 7th in Europe).

Created entirely from gameplay footage, the trailer takes you through a mission where the player needs to find equipement to upgrade the standard defibrillator submerged into your chest. The old man at the beginning of the trailer prompts you to explore Dead City where all the actions begins, and finally escapades to something too extreme to handle.

Overall, you get to see some shooting action with a deadly secondary weapon that does justice for close range combat, kill a few fugly mutants, and see a detailed city scape in ruins (that looks nearly just as impressive as the cities in Bulletstorm, or even better I would say). The trailer also reveals at the very end of it the next mission teaser called “The Shrouded” that should be released very soon.

RAGE is in development by id Software, the pioneers of the first person shooter (DOOM, QUAKE, Wolfenstein), and releases in North America on September 13th (September 16th in Europe).

Stay tuned at Yell! Magazine for more RAGE trailers and news updates.

Release Date: May 17th, 2011

Brink, an immersive first-person shooter under development at Splash Damage, will be available in North America on May 17th and in Europe on May 20th. Brink was named as the ‘Game of Show’ at Eurogamer Expo 2010, while G4TV.com declared “Brink takes shooters to a whole new level.” Blending single-player, co-op, and multiplayer action into one seamless experience, Brink features dynamic battlefields, extensive customization options, and an innovative control system.

Available for: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (Action RPG)

Release Date: May 10, 2011

Hunted, a fantasy action game, will be available in retail stores across North America on June 1st and on store shelves in Europe on June 3rd. Hunted is a fresh take on the classic dungeon crawl experience that delivers the intensity and action of a modern-day shooter. Hunted, under development at inXile Entertainment, has been called “A Dungeon Crawl for the Gears Age” and has also been described as “violent, deceptively thoughtful and witty.”

Available for: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Rage (First-Person Shooter)

Release Date: September 13th, 2011

RAGE, the highly anticipated first-person shooter from legendary developer id Software, will hit retail shelves across North America on September 13th and throughout Europe on September 16th. The game has already won numerous awards at E3 2010, including ‘Best Overall Game of Show’ and three ‘Best of E3’ Game Critics Awards including ‘Best Console Game’. RAGE features intense first-person shooter action, breakneck vehicle combat, an expansive world to explore and jaw-dropping graphics powered by id’s revolutionary id Tech 5 technology.

Available for: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (RPG)

Release Date: November 11th, 2011

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the most recently announced title from world-renowned developer Bethesda Game Studios. The studio is widely known for developing the 2008 Game of the Year, Fallout 3 and the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Skyrim, the latest chapter in The Elder Scrolls saga, re-imagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic and will launch worldwide on November 11th, 2011.

Available for: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Bethesda Softworks; Brink, Rage, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Some worthy mentions that we agree with that made their lists are: Portal 2, Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham City, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Although, the titles considered for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC were slightly repetitive, they were ranked accordingly by console. On the obvious side, the overall ranking of the titles were also somewhat biased and they tried to make up for it with the pretty little intros. Whatever nonsense they want to throw at us, in the end the gamers decide what are best and most promising.

Anyhow, Rage is the newest of the series completely developed in-house by id Software since Doom 3. You heard that right, Quake 4 was developed by Raven Software and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars was done by Splash Damage, both using the id Tech 4 engine. So, not only will the original creators of the FPS be fully hands-on, but we will also finally experience an entirely new engine called, you guessed it, id Tech 5.

Rage looks very promising in that we will embark stunning new graphics, intelligent AI, dune-buggy racing, role-playing elements, and hopefully a great story. The only issue we have is that it might just be too similar to Borderlands, another FPS/RPG game we recently had a blast playing. If it turns out great… who cares, right?

In the meantime, enjoy this HD trailer for Rage and tell us what you know or think of it so far.