RAGE against the machine

It's been over a week since ID Software's new IP, RAGE, hit store shelves and critics are already releasing negative and misunderstanding criticism. Having played the game, there's a couple of game elements I'd like to set straight in the expecting and disappointed minds. RAGE has a lot to offer in 2011 by offering nothing new at all. It is that balance that makes this game one of the best and (to few) disappointing games this year. RAGE has successfully left most of the gaming world confused in how much the game should be praised or cursed. I give this game nothing but praise because I understand what it stands for and what it intended to deliver; good ol' fashion first person shooter (FPS) fun.

What should you expect from this game? Well, if you've ever played an ID Software game, you should know what to expect. ID has shaped the FPS genre to what it so gloriously is today. Most of our most beloved games today only exist thanks to the development team at ID Software. You can imagine that when making some of the first FPS's, ID had a simple idea for the games; shoot the enemies. Since then, with technology advancements, the FPS genre seemed to have outgrown ID with games like HALF LIFE and BIOSHOCK. These modern shooters pushed the genre to different levels of capability and story telling. There is no denying that within the past five years we have stumbled upon some of the most ground breaking and best story driven games in history. So needless to say, ID was being treated like the "old dog" when DOOM 3 was released in 2004. Despite overall good reviews, DOOM 3 was looked at as proof that ID is stuck in the old ways of the FPS; shoot the enemies. It may not be bad, but it isn't innovative. Seven years later, ID's next game (RAGE) is released to the earth with the exact same reaction they got from DOOM 3; "it's not bad, but it isn't innovative." What's an ID game? SHOOT THE ENEMIES. So if ID can perfect that philosophy and make it what video games are all about (fun), then they have done nothing to deserve a negative response. It's a little irritating to think there's quite a bit of people who didn't like RAGE because it didn't follow the status quo of a modern shooter. Modern shooters always bring way more to the table than just shooting. Some of the most important elements of a modern shooter is complex gameplay. Complex gameplay is anything more than shooting. RAGE is, for the most part, simply shooting. People seem to have a problem with that for some reason. What did they expect? It's an ID game.

RAGE never intended to be an open world experience. Yet, one of the reasons this game is being shot down is that the "open world element was not polished." Open world games are typically games that the developers seemed to have focused on the game world first and then sprinkled the gameplay and narrative on top. No levels, no area limits and no straight direction. We have been treated to some of the most detailed, living and breathing open world locales. Liberty City (GRAND THEFT AUTO IV) is a great example of succeeding in delivering a realistic and free form style of the open world genre. RAGE isn't this. RAGE has a traditional game world style, which revolves around actual linear levels. The level layout resembles THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME in that there is a large middle section of your map called "The Wasteland" that is like ZELDA's "Hyrule Field." That section is "open" and has little purpose other than being the game's lobby to the bulk of the game; Settlements (separate sections of interests. Much like ZELDA's "Temples" where most of the gameplay takes place). The fact that ID added optional vehicle battles in-between levels is quite generous and keeps the game's pace set to "high." So I wouldn't go as far as placing this game in the "open world" genre of games. That would be foolish of a regular game player like myself to treat it like one.

Who said RAGE was going to be a role playing game (RPG)? Not ID. The creative director of RAGE, Tim Willits, said himself about RAGE, "It has adventure elements, but I hate to say adventure because then people think of Monkey Island, and it's not an RPG. I wish there was some word in between RPG and adventure, where you have an inventory." RAGE never set out to be an RPG, yet it's being criticized with the standards of one. You wouldn't hold the standards a football game against a shooter. That's foolish. RPG characteristics typically fall in the lines of exploration, collecting, character customization and lots of back story supported dialogue. These characteristics can be found in other genres of video games, but are prominent in RPGs. The characteristic that is closest to the RPG genre that is found in RAGE is the collecting element. In RPGs, collecting is necessary and sometimes crucial to progression. Sometimes you need to be looking for a specific item that is require for a specific objective. Sometimes items you find end up being a large deal to a character you stumble upon later in the game. The items you find may have a purpose or not. A box of nails could be used for building something or could be completely useless by the end of the game. You'll never know the worth of items until the opportunity presents itself to make the item useful. RAGE is very straight forward about the items you collect. You never have to second guess if you need the item or not. There are three types of items you find in RAGE; usable (grenades, wingsticks, etc.), buildable (scraps to create wingsticks and other useful items in combat) and sellable (items that are worth nothing but money so you can buy more bullets and combat items). After you pick an item up, you can check your inventory to see what category this item belongs to. In the end, all items you pick up support one element of the game; combat. You never have to worry about a rare object that might open up another branch in the story arch or anything else of the sort. If you did, this game would be in the RPG category.

RAGE does so many things right for itself, but I won't call it a perfect game. ID definitely perfected the shooting element of the game, but again, the game is not perfect. RAGE reminds us that video games have always been about the fun factor. That without having fun, the game becomes a chore. ID reminds us that they remain to be the "forefathers" of the FPS genre. Its heartwarming to play this game and to recognize that it feels traditionally simple. Given that it was created by the "forefathers" of the genre, it feels like you're being treated to a story about the "good ol' days" told by your grandpa. Your grandpa's stories are about a different time and different priorities, but you enjoy hearing them. Its an escape from your world. And you gotta admit it.. Grandpa knows how to cock a shotgun.

Are you a gamer?

"Are you a gamer?"
I get asked this question from time to time. The question bugs me because I don't know how to answer it. Whenever I get an opportunity to talk about games, I kinda go overboard with the subject. But when someone asks me this particular question, I've come to be very cautious about the person asking me before answering. This is because I have  to  figure out if the person asking is a “gamer” or a “casual gamer.” Casual gamers don't know they're casual gamers. Depending on what type a gamer the person asking is, I can more efficiently answer the question. I used to get myself caught in one sided conversations because of this; I would end up feeling like I was talking to a seven year old about the theory of evolution when they just discovered that babies don’t come from a stork...

"Hey Anthony! Are you a gamer like me?"
"O heck yeah!! Dude, how psyched are you for ARKHAM CITY?? I read that the game will pack double the number of combat animations than it did in the first one! How crazy is that? Rocksteady is really proving themselves to be a triple ‘A’ studio, huh???"
"..?.. Uh... Black ops?"
"... O... No, I don't play video games.. I'll see you later.."

When I  talk about video games to a person and they look at me like I’m speaking an unfamiliar language, I know I'm talking too much about to much to someone who doesn't know much about much. I know I'm talking to a casual gamer.

I would imagine the term "gamer" is more often used by people who are not very knowledgeable (or perhaps don’t care to know) about people who dedicatedly play video games.. To these people, if you play games, you're a gamer. That's fine and understandable. If you like to shop, I'll call you a shopper; makes sense. My gripe isn't with those people, it's with people who play games who use the term lightly amongst themselves. I try not to use the term AT ALL because I'm not comfortable with what it typically represents.

The term "gamer" tends to represent a very large and still growing group of people who occasionally play games. A majority of these "gamers" are more so competitive gamers. I've become uncomfortable with the fact that video games have become more socially acceptable to the general population, resulting in the saturation of passionate video game players. Basically, what's happening to games is what happened to comic books. For some reason, comic books and anything relating to comic books has become WIDELY accepted by the general population. About a generation ago, it was uncool to read comic books, and in general  was perceived as "nerdy". Now we see the "cool" kids sporting Captain America shirts and having Spiderman theme songs as their ring tones. They've taken something that used to be "uncool" and made it "cool". But the thing is, they most likely don't love comic books. They love Captain America. They love Spiderman. They might own ONE comic book of that hero or none at all. But they don't go out of their way to the comic book store for a new Captain America issue. Their "love" for comic books is just touching the surface of what LOVING comic books is all about. It’s as if comic books became a fad. The devoted readers are now mixed in with the "fad" people. So when a comic book "lover" comes over to talk to a comic book LOVER and ends up not knowing what he's talking about, he leaves the LOVER confused and thinking to himself, "why does he call himself a comic book lover when he's really not? I hope he doesn't think we share the same passion." This is the problem I have with "gamers".

The term "gamer" means "one who plays lots of games". I find this to be the reason because "games" are plentiful in quantity. So if someone plays one game very much, I wouldn't call that person a gamer. I'd call him devoted to whatever game he's playing. You wouldn't call someone who only watches football a "sports fanatic". He's not into sports. He's into football. So when someone comes up to me and claims to be a "gamer" and ends up only playing CALL OF DUTY (COD), I can't help but feel irritated. You need to play more games than COD to be seen as "one who plays lots of gameS". Otherwise, you're not a gamer, you're a COD buff.

I visited my cousin that I haven't seen in a while and he's in his room playing MODERN WARFARE 2. So I automatically assumed he liked to play video games. I come to find out that he only really owns MODERN WARFARE 2. I figure he's a little tight on cash so I offer to let him borrow some of my games. I first let him borrow BAD COMPANY 2. I figure that its pretty close to CALL OF DUTY, in  gameplay. He beat it in two days and says..

"it's alright. MODERN WARFARE is better"

So, I let him borrow FEAR 2; a solid first person shooter with a story that's a little more elaborate than "war stuff." He plays (not beats) it within two days and says..

"I didn't like it. I got stuck at this one part. And I don't like the shooting."

So, I take a step back into war stuff and let him borrow CRYSIS 2; an awesome first person shooter with extremely fine shooting mechanics as well as amazing graphics and gameplay. One day later,

"I didn't like it. It's too confusing.."

Two weeks later, I see him at a restaurant. I ask how the gaming goes.. He says..

"Aw.. Video games?.. Man, I don't play video games anymore. I'm trying to sell my Xbox. How much do you think I can get for it?"

I came to the recognition that he didn't love playing video games.. He loved playing CALL OF DUTY; and even then,  not very much... "I don't play video games anymore"... Needless to say, I was irritated. This guy who was so “into playing games" less than a month ago just gives up on VIDEO GAMES. Not just on CALL OF DUTY.. on ALL video games.. WTF??? Someone who claims to love something and devote a large amount of time to it, then just decides to drop it, couldn't have truly loved it. I cannot even imagine myself selling any of my video games, let alone, the system itself. This is because, I LOVE to play video games. Not just one game extensively, but lots of games. Simply because I enjoy it. If anyone deserves to be called a "gamer", it's me. Not individuals like my cousin. Not the people who bought an Xbox for CALL OF DUTY. Not the people who refuse to give any other game a real chance. Not the people who feed society an image of gamers screaming and cursing over a headset. There is more to a "gamer" than CALL OF DUTY.

(note: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is one of my top favorite games of all time)

So when it comes to the term "gamer" I am very cautious about when and where I use it. I find the term to be meaningful and deserving to be taken seriously. This is because I don't want to be in the same category as the casual gamer. I, like many others, have  worked too hard and spent too much money to be in the same category as a casual gamer (if you need further proof that I am indeed “one who plays lots of games,” just look at my gamerscore. I bet I have more points than you. I rock and roll all day long, sweet susie.)