Rage 2

Our analysis

Vibrant, energetic gameplay is anchored by excellent vehicle combat and a striking neon art direction that gives the action real personality. The momentum holds up well once things get going. The weak, sluggish opening area is the main drawback before the experience finds its stride.

Our analysis

Rage 2 has phenomenal, satisfying combat thanks to id's weapon work, but it is dragged down by a near-nonexistent story, forgettable characters, and a barren, repetitive open world that forces hours of grinding. The campaign is short and abruptly ends, and forced open-world busywork wears thin fast. Worth picking up cheaply for the gunplay alone, but disappointing as a full-priced package.

Our analysis

Rage 2 has an awful story, forgettable characters, a bland map, badly understeering cars and a convoluted UI. Its first-person combat is the best he has had in years, though, so Mack thumbs it up as worth 40 pounds for the combat alone.

Our analysis

A frustrating shooter with genuinely satisfying combat ripped from Doom, striking post-apocalyptic art, and fun armored-convoy chases, but almost no meaningful content to support it. The main story runs only about six hours and is interrupted by a tedious open-world reputation grind, while progression is so disjointed players can finish without ever upgrading. Decent gunplay and world-building cannot justify the full price at roughly a third of a real game's worth of material.

Our analysis

A jam-packed single-player FPS whose fast, smooth shooting combined with superpower abilities makes nearly every encounter a playground for destruction, helped by strong enemy variety. The open world breaks up the flow and the merely adequate driving is the weakest part, and the story, characters, and world fail to grip. Still, it is genuinely good mindless fun that knows exactly what it is.

Our analysis

The shooting is the standout, with high-powered weapons and nanotrite abilities combining into euphoric, fast-moving combat that never gets old. Unfortunately the bland open world, repetitive destroy-the-enemy missions, and forgettable story make it hard to care, and the largely unnecessary vehicle combat grows routine. Messy upgrade currencies and laggy menus further dull the experience.