The Rage DEMO

Back in the day, video games used everything at their disposal to make the action as ridiculous and intense as possible, disregarding realism entirely in exchange for pure fun and entertainment. Thus, beat'em'up titles featured anything from flaming fists, to crazy combos and lasers, as long as the players got to have fun in the process.

The Rage is a game that adheres to these rules, although it also tries to keep a somewhat mature story going in the background, in order to give the violence depicted on screen a purpose. Thus, it all starts when the main character's girlfriend falls into a coma, after being drugged with an unknown substance in a club. Later, Bruce finds out that the entire thing happened because the mob wants to test a new type of drug on unsuspecting victims and document the effects.

Naturally, Bruce goes on a quest to find a cure and take out the mob in the process, gathering a few friends with him in the process. At the beginning of the game, you get to choose one of the four characters that are available and use their unique abilities to punch, kick and throw the bad guys around, all while exploring a lively city crowded by hippies and punks on the lookout for trouble.

Since this is a classic beat'em'up, everything you do in the game revolves around your ability to dispatch with the enemies that stand in your way, using various martial arts techniques to do so. Since every character's got his own fighting style, you can always replay the game multiple times and take advantage of the new moves, as well as try out every possible combination.

Although the graphic engine is a full 3D one, the action still takes places in a classic sidescroller style, meaning that you have to travel from one part of the screen to the other in order to advance. Despite that, the fighting mechanics are a bit more difficult to pull off, since the extra dimension leaves more room for error and not all of your punches will land where you intend.

Even if it might lack depth and the gameplay suffers from a few design errors, The Rage is definitely a fun game that quickly gets you hooked. Moreover, there are always more combos to try out and interesting enemies to face off against, especially when you get toward the end and you have to take out the heads of the mob.