"Liking" something on Facebook generally doesn't do much more than inform your friends that you're really into "Rainbow Brite." But, occasionally, "liking" something actually makes a difference. In the case of "Mass Effect 3," the design for the female version of Commander Sheppard that would grace the cover was decided via votes on Facebook. (In fact, they're now voting on what her hair color should be. Seriously.) Sure, it was an effective marketing campaign, but what do the fans really get out of it in the long run? Well, in the case of "RAGE," fans will get a free game out of it.
Bethesda announced during QuakeCon that if the "RAGE" Facebook page manages to reach 100,000 "likes," the iOS versions of "RAGE" would go free for a limited time. And guess what? It happened. Yes, thanks to the hard work of thousands of people who clicked a button, anyone can download "RAGE" on the App Store for free for the next week.
Both the iPad and the iPhone versions of the game are free, so choose wisely. And while I wasn't head over heels about the game when it released, it's hard to deny just how impressive it looks running on a mobile device. It's probably a little too ambitious, controls-wise, but when you're talking about a free game, it's hard to complain. Give it a download, wow your friends and shoot the heads off a few mutants.
As for the full game of "RAGE," we've still got some time, with that planned for release on October 4.