True to their word, Bethesda has released a game play trailer for Rage 2 as well as a torrent of details. The trailer is a kaleidoscope of explosions, vehicular exploits, and gun-slinging goodness. We cross dusty arid deserts, verdant jungles, menacing swamps, and snow-covered mountainous regions, all blanketed in schizophrenic intensity and the saturated neon scheme that first surfaced in the leaks last week.
Rage 2’s world seems to rotate on an axis of violent, drunken debauchery where rules are thrown to the wayside with all the messy consequences this entails. Visually, there are certain similarities with the first game in the franchise with a dose of Borderlands and Mad Max, in part due to the recurring wasteland scenes and the punk aesthetic. The game is set to feature downtrodden punk types, giant trolls equipped with re-purposed sporting equipment, macabre ghouls with glowing eyes, heavily armored mechs, and sword-wielding half-machine half-flesh mutants.
The game play promises to be frenetic and fast-paced with battles defined by their chaotic nature and impact on highly interactive environments. Expect an array of powerful makeshift weapons, ramshackle armor, high-octane composite vehicles, and a continuous question mark over what the hell is going on exactly.
As for the story, Bethesda provides a few snippets, notably that the main protagonist is a certain Walker, the last ranger of Vineland. Walker must traverse a vast open-world to fight against the ominous Authority (a familiar antagonist from the first game) headed by General Cross, a bloodthirsty wretch determined to rid the world of pure blood Arkists at any cost. The post-apocalyptic setting is explained by an asteroid destroying much of the world causing isolated factions to fight for the scarce remaining resources.
Things don’t come that easily though as Walker must contend with a veritable fleet of equally destructive factions as he vies to protect his inherited home. Fortunately, he has an arsenal of upgradeable firepower and vehicles including buggies, monster trucks and tank-car hybrids at his disposal, and, more importantly, the unique ability to harness Nanotrite abilities.
These combo-enabled abilities remain mysterious as it stands, but we understand that a ‘devastating slam attack’ and a ‘lethal energy push’ are among them. The Nanotrites can also be fused with weapons to push them beyond their normal mechanical function, into suitably dubbed ‘overdrive’, which grants extra damage, better loot from enemies, and health regeneration.
As we previously speculated, Rage 2 is indeed being developed by Avalanche Studios, of Just Cause 3 fame, in conjunction with iD Software who released a spectacular reboot of the Doom series a couple of years ago. If we take these developers at face value, we can comfortably expect the exquisite FPS pedigree of Doom meshed with the lush and expansive landscapes that defined Just Cause 3, a game that though burdened with performance issues shone by the sheer beauty of the world on offer.
Though tentatively scheduled for release in 2019, Rage 2 is already available for pre-order in the UK and US. A showing at E3 is confirmed as well and we expect many more details going forward.
