Vulgamification [Rage The Scorchers DLC]: Apocalyptic mayhem, extended gameplay, and loading issues

I think it’s safe to say that Id software knows the ins and outs of first person shooters. From Doom to Quake, they’ve certainly had plenty of practice.

Rage is no exception to that rule. If you’ve never heard of it -then you’re probably living under a rock- it’s a post apocalyptic shooter, which borrows elements straight from Mad Max. Seriously, you play some dude who wakes up after the apocalypse and your main goal is to drive around desolate landscapes, and shoot mutated beasts, bandits and marauders. It’s a pretty awesome game, and the visuals are utterly astounding for an older title.

Of course, the PC port had it’s fair share of issues and many were unforgiving. Some of those issues still aren’t fixed to this day.

Recently I picked up Rage on sale through Steam, along with the DLC pack The Scorchers, which I’ve never had the opportunity to play before. One of the biggest quirks I had with the main game, was that as soon as you made it through the single player campaign it abruptly stopped. You were returned to the main menu and that was it. You could load a saved game or an auto-save before the end and keep playing, but I find that a bit silly. Since there are a ton of side-quests to do, it’s a real bummer if you hadn’t completed them by the time the game ends.

The new DLC apparently extends the game, and allows you to keep playing long after the final cutscene jumps out at you. For me, this was enough to entice me to pick up the game again and start another playthrough.

Welcome Back

For me it was a familar experience, but obviously for you that will depend on whether or not you played through the game before.

Surprisingly, you encounter a bit of the DLC right at the beginning of the game. Repeat after me: fuck yes!

You will have to reach Wellspring before you can really do anything, which means if you don’t have any of your previous game saves you’ll have to play through the first couple hours. Fight your way to Hagar’s outpost, bang out a few story quests to advance the game, and then you’re thrown right into the thick of things. What I love about the DLC is that it adds a little more variety to the experience.

The very first portion of the DLC has you venturing into a cave to meet up with a rather eccentric character, named Sarah. At the end of the first mission she hands you a unique new weapon- the nailgun. Just like all of the other guns in the game, it features different ammo types all with their own strengths and weaknesses. The nailgun isn’t very useful in the later game, as the enemies get significantly tougher, but it’s a great help when you jump into the Mutant Bash TV mini-game (if you’ve never played Rage then I won’t spoil the fun and tell you what that is).

The DLC package also adds in several additional features like an Ultra-Nightmare mode, and an extended play option. Once you complete the game, you can return to some of your favorite missions through a unique menu.

Yes, it’s pretty obvious that this DLC is a little late to the party. In fact, some folks will probably have to dust off their copy of the game just to play it. If you loved Rage the first time around, despite it’s blatant flaws, then you might want to check this one out.

Personally, I’ve enjoyed revisiting the world of Rage, and it looks soooo much better on a PC. My first playthrough was on the Xbox 360. However, there are still quite a few framerate and loading issues. Whenever I enter a big area, like an open portion of the world it stutters for a couple minutes before running smoothly again.

Before you assholes say anything, no, this is not a problem with my system, it is an issue with the game itself. Seriously, just check out the forums for the game and you’ll see what I’m talking about.