As much as id Software's new game, "Rage," feels like a cliché – fighting mutants in a post-apocalyptic wasteland – that somehow seems perfectly acceptable, given the studio's storied past. These are the guys who more or less made the first-person shooter genre what it is today. There are still, incredibly, politicians and other podium orators who use "Doom" as an example of the videogame violence that will surely corrupt the minds of America's youth. So, yeah, when id makes a dark, gritty first-person shooter, I'm still interested.
The developers have just released a behind-the-scenes video of sorts, detailing the thought process behind the enemies of "Rage." The focus on providing variety to the player looks promising.
If you're not up to speed on exactly what "Rage" is all about, here's a quick rundown. A giant asteroid had smashed into the earth, leaving the landscape looking like a giant asteroid has smashed into the earth. When the big collision happened, you were conveniently kept safe in an underground bunker. While civilization is trying to pull itself back together on the surface, people are unfortunately mutating. You'll have to take out those mutants, of course, as you battle your way across the wasteland staying off the military forces of a new shadowy government, the Authority.
Even if the story isn't all that original – sounds a bit like "Fallout," no? – id is hoping to bring new ideas in the form of enemies with big personalities. Moreover, the studio claims that we can expect a nice variety of enemies, which I fully support. There's nothing more boring than killing the exact same mutant for hours upon hours.
"If you fight that enemy for 12 hours, I don't care how cool he was in hour 1, it's not going to be that cool in hour 12," said design director Matt Hooper. "So it's about mixing it up for the player. Not reinventing the rules, but give them something different around each corner; that's what we strive to do."
"Rage" releases September 13 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.