The rain was lashing down, seemingly intent on destroying the land that lay beneath it. Winds with a forceful velocity were ravaging the nearby foliage, making it increasingly difficult to move freely, all the while there was a muggy heat in the air, one that should not have been present. However, by the time I arrived at Bethesda Softworks Europe’s offices in London to get some time with the soon-to-be-released apocalyptic shooter RAGE, the sun was out, the bullish gales now just a breeze and, aside from the sweltering tube, a much more gentle temperature had descended over the capital.

There’s been an abundance of apocalyptic shooters in recent years, and the thought of yet another wasn’t overly appetising, despite how fantastic RAGE looked. I wasn’t overly sure of what to expect with a game billed as ‘a new gold standard in video game graphics’, but three hours later there was little doubt; I was unequivocally impressed.

Opening with little fanfare, the game’s setting is swiftly established. With that aside, I was thrown into the action faster than my eyes could adjust to the superb vistas before me. Having awoken in what was the future to me, I was in danger within seconds and armed within minutes, before being off on my first mission. Whilst RAGE may look like the love child of Fallout and Borderlands, it’s really not got that much in common with either. There’s not a huge amount of walking to be done – due to the inclusion of vehicles, and whilst there are some RPG elements featured, there’s no XP or leveling system. In that respect, RAGE is a first-person shooter at heart, with a couple of extras. There’s a seemingly vast land to be traversed, a huge array of items to be scavenged, combined and sold, and then of course, ample side missions to partake; especially as, in the Wasteland, I won’t get anything for nothing.

“It is evident early on that the enemy AI is quite fantastic.”

Controls were familiar, tight and responsive – the hallmarks of a great shooter – which allowed for some fast-paced combat. Something that was often necessary as one of many savage bandits rushed towards me with a huge cleaver in hand, ready to slice me into as many pieces as possible. It is evident early on that the enemy AI is quite fantastic. They would duck when fired upon, flee to cover when shot, flank me when I was outnumbered, dodge oncoming shots when charging towards me and even shoot from the floor when greatly wounded. There was an unnerving amount of teamwork from them as well, and whilst the bandits were quite easy to dispatch, the Authority were another story.

It become apparent very quickly that looting is vitally important. Not only was I gathering ammo and combat supplies, but a whole host of aptly named ‘junk’, ‘scrap’ and ‘rubbish’, that whilst are of little use, will still fetch a price at the local store. I could combine items using recipes that I’d acquired as well and I was searching every nook and cranny, every body and doing anything for some of the more valuable items. Especially as some of the things I could engineer were incredible useful in the battlefield. Mind control bolts – they are as awesome as they sound, RC Bomb Cars, Sentry bots, a variety of grenades were just a selection of the toys at my disposal.

“The world that id have created for RAGE is one to marvel and enjoy, despite it’s hostilities.”

The world that id have created for RAGE is one to marvel and enjoy, despite it’s hostilities. Visually, the game was a little rough around the edges compared to the, probably PC-run, trailers that have been released, and there’s a noticeable issue with textures loading if you do a one-eighty too quickly. However, this is trying to find flaws in what is a stunning game. The environments are rich with detail and look quite superb, whilst characters models, textures and animations are all top-notch. There’s very little out-of-place and it engrossed me in lightning speed. Characters are both cautious yet interested in you, whilst entire towns and villages have been set up and there’s no lack of charm amongst it all.

As mentioned earlier, vehicles are prevalent in RAGE and not just as a means to reach a far away location with hast. There are races and challenges to partake, earning upgrades for vehicles, including armour, parts and weapons; which in turn allowed me to engage with vehicle-dwelling bandits in the Wasteland. Handling is great, with the Dune Buster – essentially a buggy – being an absolute treat, however they do have the worlds most impressive brakes as stopping will surely give you whiplash every single time.

One feature that stood out the most was post-death. Rather than reload at a nearby checkpoint, there is a well-integrated mini-game that, due to the nano-bot technology within you, allows you to restart your heart defibrillator style. Depending on how well I did depended on the amount of health I came back with, and the amount of damage my Area of Effects (AoE) did to nearby foes. There is a recharge timer on it though so it’s not a get-out-of-jail card all the time.

The weapons, enemies, locations all improve with time as well, and after two hours in, I got the chance to jump forward six or so hours to battle the Authority – the avoid-at-all-costs faction. It highlighted some of the advancements you will get later on and that RAGE is not all Wastelands and bandits. There’s also Bash TV, which is a combat challenge mode integrated into the world, and Dusty 8 which is all of the racing challenges. Both were fantastic fun, but it was their incorporation of the world of RAGE that was most impressive.

After just a few hours with RAGE it had me hooked. The ease and enjoyment of gameplay, the superb graphics, incredible AI and the overall attention to detail are just a few of the things that means I can’t wait to get back to the Wasteland. If you weren’t that interested in RAGE, you really should be.

RAGE is due for release on October 10 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.