At E3 2018, Bethesda officially announced that Rage 2 was currently in development and scheduled to be released in 2019. The official announcement came after Walmart Canada informally leaked Rage 2‘s inevitable release which then prompted Bethesda to release teasers depicting famous landmarks with pink alterations. Back at E3 2018, we had the opportunity to preview Rage 2 and ask Tim Willits questions about the game. At PAX East 2019, we had the opportunity to preview an expanded version of the game.
At PAX East 2019, Andrew Peggs and I had the opportunity to preview an extended version of Rage 2. While Andrew focused predominately on the driving elements of the world in Rage 2; I took the time to explore the world and attack strongholds.
During our hands-on preview, we set out to try as many vehicles as possible while also clearing strongholds with surgical precision. The demo featured thirteen different vehicles, each with their own unique traits. By far, our favorite vehicle was the hover vehicle. Throughout our demo, there was an overwhelming temptation to just chase hordes and unleash chaos. Instead of that, we made our way over to the different fortifications and strongholds to take down Raiders. After a death or two, we were able to get a better hang of the controls and weave combos to unleash devastating attacks.
In Rage 2, there is no greater feeling than clearing a stronghold with just a sliver of health left. The ability to rotate through weapons in a way similar to DOOM (2016) made clearing out enemy camps fun and efficient. The powers available made us feel like a superhero.
When driving around, Andrew spoke of having raiders driving around, but they weren’t just any raiders. During one of his runs, he was targeted by an 18-wheeler armed with machine gun turrets. As he tried to take it out (and remove himself as a target) he also had to fight off the additional raiders that were part of the truck’s convoy. This task alone took at least 10-15 minutes, just to survive. Besides destroying the small raider vehicles, he had to target critical areas of the 18-wheeler and avoid machine gun fire from the turrets that followed him, which created a special kind of challenge.
Rage 2 looks to be the game everyone wanted the original Rage to be. With a vast open world, a large variety of vehicles, and multiple ways to kill enemies, Rage 2 might be a contender for Game of the Year.
The mayhem it is about to unleash. Rage 2 comes out on May 14th on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC. Find more information on their official website.
For more coverage from PAX East 2019, check out our take on the newest versions of Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition or our brief interview with Kent Mudle, creative director of The Walking Dead: The Final Season.
