Rage 2 | Cheerful Ghost

No Need To Be Angry: Get Rage 2 Free Until Feb 25th!

Rage is a very hefty feeling but there is no need to be angry while you play it. I paid full price for Rage 2 at launch and I loved every minute of playing it but I could see a world where some people might play games angry after paying full price. If you see red after paying for things you are in luck because Rage 2 is entirely free on the Epic Games PC Store until Feb 25th. While you are there saving yourself a few bucks you can also get Absolute Drift for free too. I have no experience playing Absolute Drift but if my growing backlog is an indicator, I never will but will lament the fact I haven't.

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/rage-2/home
... Read All

I Lived, I Died, I Rage 2'd

Rage 2 was one of my most anticipated games of 2019 and as such I pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition that April. I always felt the original Rage was a somewhat forgotten shooter that I think is good by falls flat at the end. When the trailers came out hyping Rage 2 I was excited as it looked like the perfect follow up.

When I wrote about Rage 2 back in May of 2019 I noted that Rage 2 was fun and that it took a bit of practice to master each of the abilities to fit my style of play. I also wasn't so focused to sticking to the main story and didn't write about this, but played a few things out of order and got my ass handed to me quite a few times. The BFG saved my bacon... Read All Rage 2 was one of my most anticipated games of 2019 and as such I pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition that April. I always felt the original Rage was a somewhat forgotten shooter that I think is good by falls flat at the end. When the trailers came out hyping Rage 2 I was excited as it looked like the perfect follow up.

When I wrote about Rage 2 back in May of 2019 I noted that Rage 2 was fun and that it took a bit of practice to master each of the abilities to fit my style of play. I also wasn't so focused to sticking to the main story and didn't write about this, but played a few things out of order and got my ass handed to me quite a few times. The BFG saved my bacon early on but wasn't something I ever really used beyond getting out of those "oh shit" moments caused by playing the game out of order. One big event was that I wanted to complete early was the Cult of the Death God mission to get the Settler Pistol and Raine armor. If you do that early on in the game the super mutant boss is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT and I wasn't quite ready for it but the BFG was.

I'm mentioning my first experience with Rage 2 only to note that Rage 2 is a good game but not an absolutely perfect one and frankly it doesn't really need to be. Rage 2 is a kick ass shooter that focuses on what it does well which is great gameplay and a really hardboiled Mad Max styled plot with a villain so campy he never leaves the tent. Which is to say, Rage 2 is a lot of fun.

I never felt Rage 2 was so compelling that I had to complete it all in a short amount of time which I'll note to the games credit. Games that are fun in bursts and compelling enough to return to a year after you bought it get high marks in my book. I know some gamers are looking for the next fully immersive experience where you lose yourself in a game but I'm not. Is a game fun? Can I pick it up again quickly for 45 minutes? Do I even want to keep playing it? With Rage 2 the answer is hell yes.

I finally completed Rage 2 a couple days ago on a whim. I had completed enough of the main story to have the "last mission" marker unlocked on my HUD. Up until that point I had just been exploring the map and defeating random bandit dens and decided I might as well complete it. In this way Rage 2 and it's open world feel a lot like a Far Cry game. Far Cry is an open world game with a lot of places to explore but each "bandit den" is very similar to the others and you have those interspersed with story locations and you can decide to main-line the story or just hang around doing other stuff if you want. It took me just as long to finally complete Far Cry 3 and I enjoy it just as well as Rage 2.

Since I purchased the Deluxe Version I have some story DLC and i'm not sure when I'll get to playing that. Until then Rage 2 will camp out on my PC until I decide I want to head back to its particular shooter shenanigans. I hope Rage 2 did well enough to justify it becoming a series that will live on for a Rage 3 because I think there is a lot they could bring to the table with MORE player powers and by doing some sort of time fast forward to space.

DF Retro Analyzes Each of the Rage 2 Console Ports

Travis and I have both been playing Rage 2 and loving it. It's a fun shooter and as such want to drop every news bit or interesting review I've seen of it here. DF Retro has an all new video comparing each of the console versions of the game so if you've been thinking of picking it up on PS4 or XBox One this video should help you decide.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 58: The Duo Two’o: Rage 2 & Super Mario Maker 2 Details

In this episode, we talk about what we've played and watched over the last month, the new decision from the WHO to recognize Gaming Disorder as an illness, the new details Nintendo dropped about Super Mario Maker 2, and Jon and Travis share their first thoughts on Rage 2.

If you think you may be affected by Gaming Disorder, please see the WHO's description: https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%3a%2f%2fid.who.int%2ficd%2fentity%2f1448597234

If you need help finding treatment, please see the SAMHSA National Helpline: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline

And if you feel like you are a danger to yourself, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline: ... Read All

Five Hours of Pure Rage (My Rage 2 First Thoughts)

Yesterday iD Software launched Rage 2 which has been one of my most anticipated games coming out this year. I solidly boarded the hype train devouring all the trailers and early reviews and I can honestly say that it wasn't for naught, Rage 2 is a whole lot of fun.

A few details about me. I don't play a ton of shooter games anymore. Besides the occasional Fortnite and dabbling with the latest free to play battle arena for a few minutes, I play single player shooters every couple of years. Wanted to get that out of the way because my thoughts aren't from the point of view of a FPS connoisseur, if that's a thing.

The Day Santa Delivered Rage 2

Travis and I both pre-ordered... Read All

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/16/2019 at 05:42am

Right now, none of the extra DLC seems to matter in Rage 2. I got the pre-order DLC which is a settler pistol, armor and a truck skin. I have the truck skin but no truck to use it with so I can't yet comment if that's cool. The pre-order DLC comes with a exclusive "Cult of the Death God" mission where you get the pistol and armor except I haven't played it yet. Could be cool, not sure yet. The digital deluxe DLC was some cheat codes which I haven't used and not sure I will along with the BFG 9000. This gun comes with 3 bullets and each other bullet costs $1k and you can't find any more in game anywhere. Seems like an odd choice and I haven't used the gun yet but it seems ultra overpowered so I haven't used it. The other cool bit of the digital deluxe is the first DLC pack included and since that's not out yet I can't comment.

I'm early still but so far, the pre-order DLC and digital deluxe stuff seem like a wash. I have high hopes for the Cult of the Death God mission but the pistol and armor don't seem like a hard requirement to play the game.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/16/2019 at 05:44am

I don't mind paying a bit more to iD as I really liked the original Rage game but I'm not sure any of the DLC to this point has been super critical. That said, when I experience that stuff more i'll come back and let you know how it goes.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/17/2019 at 03:10am

I'm also about five hours in and my experience has been mixed. This is not the fault of the game, though. Some games give me motion sickness and this is one of them, unfortunately. I can usually eliminate it with some settings changes but I haven't gotten there yet with Rage 2. So I'm not playing nearly as much as I want to. I've read that bright colors can cause stronger symptoms and that may be at play here because there is a TON of fuchsia. I love the look of it but maybe my eyes/stomach/head/etc do not.

But more to the point:

I love the campy plot, it feels like a throwback to late 90s/early 2000s FPS sensibilities in terms of plot and I love that. But it's much prettier than those games. The id engine always shines and it's definitely great here. The cheesy as hell intro kinda says "hey this isn't a serious shooter, have fun and turn off your brain" and I respect that.

Jon you're spot on with it feeling more like Rage than any other game. You can feel influences from elsewhere, and the powers you unlock even give me a Mass Effect vibe, but this has its own identity. If you liked the shooting mechanics from Doom or any other recent id game you'll feel right at home, but you can't play it the same way. To really get the best out of this game you have to play it tactically-- and it helps that the tactics involve some pretty badass powers and a lot of pew pew.

It's just pure fun.

It's not perfect though. Driving was my least favorite part about the first game, and that holds true for the sequel. It's a little dull. I had hoped that they would learn a few things from Borderlands (and I'm not even really a fan of driving in Borderlands).

Sometimes the various upgrade paths are vague until you understand it. I recommend reading guides like the one Jon posted. You aren't really going to spoil much plot because the plot is fairly thin (to the game's credit, honestly).

From what I have read, it seems like the average gamer will probably get 25-30 hours out of this and that feels perfect. They could have tightened it up and made it feel a little more active by shrinking the map a bit so travel time wasn't as much of a factor but that's a minor complaint.

Overall I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 20-25 hours have to offer.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/17/2019 at 03:48am

Rage 2 community goals are up. Seems like if we all get a certain number of kills on a theme we get a skin. Cool idea.

https://bethesda.net/en/article/2WoZ1SERuSMriqtaEzLxHV/rage-2-may-wasteland-challenges

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2019 at 12:50am

New patch out: https://steamcommunity.com/games/548570/announcements/detail/1609388832806702098

"Bandit Camps are now replayable! Open your map and select any previously cleared bandit camp to replay them as much as you'd like -- and get rewarded. "

Cool.

"Wasteland Wizard now only travels to 3 different locations instead of 15."

Cool but I haven't found him at all yet. Not that I'm looking, I'm not. The cheats sound interesting and I have some but I haven't tried them.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/19/2019 at 03:06am

I've stumbled upon the Wasteland Wizard a couple times but decided to ignore him because I never felt the need to cheat actually.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2019 at 04:14pm

Yeah. I've found that after you get quite a few powers, level up your abilities and have a decent FPS count the game isn't too hard. Then again I'm on normal so I've never felt the need to cheat. But I did do a quest earlier than I should have and needed the BFG but .... I prob won't do that next time

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/16/2019 at 04:07pm

https://twitter.com/rage/status/1151159830868037632

Flashlight? Awesome.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/17/2019 at 01:55am

FLASHLIGHT. Oh my god that's amazing news.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2019 at 04:11am

https://bethesda.net/en/article/4RaQB7ylQPgNXNycKtOGGE/rage-2-update-2-and-new-roadmap

Wish I had more time to play it, but Rage 2 keeps truckin' along with some great content.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/30/2019 at 02:15pm

Yeah I’ve found that the service style they’re doing isn’t working for me because I’m just waiting for that big expansion. And even then I may not be interested by then.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2019 at 02:32pm

Right. I’m not sure I have time to head back right now. I might make some time over the holidays.

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Here Is 9 Minutes Of Rage 2 Gameplay That Will Blow Your Mind

Rage 2 is the AAA game that tops my anticipation list for 2019. I have a soft spot for iD Software games and was a fan of the original Rage so much so that Rage 2 will be a day one purchase. Rage wasn't the biggest hyped game when it came out and thoughts on it today aren't negative as much as fuzzy memory around it coming out entirely. All that said, I really enjoyed the shooter mechanics, think the game nailed driving around in your car, dug the wingstick and loved the co-op. A new nine minute gameplay trailer dropped today focusing on combat, driving and ... flying. Yeah, it seems that you can fly around in Rage 2 something I didn't know was coming and it looks... Read All Rage 2 is the AAA game that tops my anticipation list for 2019. I have a soft spot for iD Software games and was a fan of the original Rage so much so that Rage 2 will be a day one purchase. Rage wasn't the biggest hyped game when it came out and thoughts on it today aren't negative as much as fuzzy memory around it coming out entirely. All that said, I really enjoyed the shooter mechanics, think the game nailed driving around in your car, dug the wingstick and loved the co-op. A new nine minute gameplay trailer dropped today focusing on combat, driving and ... flying. Yeah, it seems that you can fly around in Rage 2 something I didn't know was coming and it looks quite fun.

Rage 2 Looks To Mix Up The Best Open World Games

I don't want to lose the fact that Rage 2 has some very deep callbacks to the original. The shooting sounds and looks like the original, the wasteland looks HEAVILY influenced by the original game with more of a bright neon focus making Rage 2 something fresh. The game really looks to take the best parts of Rage and turns it up to 11 while adding a whole slew of new stuff that makes Doom 2016 look tame.

It seems Avalanche studios has taken open world elements from the modern Far Cry and mixed it up here to produce something really fun. Some people have wondered how far Rage 2 gets to the Borderlands series and it looks from this gameplay likes it's nothing really obvious. Rage 2 has a bombast feel but it looks to pull more elements from Mad Max Fury Road than Borderlands. And frankly, if you're shooting for that post apocalypse wasteland feel you should be borrowing more from George Miller than 2K anyway.

I Am Excite

Not sure I can be more excited for Rage 2 but I am. One big aspect of fun for me with the original was Mutant Bash TV and I hope Rage 2 goes all in on that. There were only two Mutant Bash TV levels in Rage and one was tied up in DLC. Hopefully Rage 2 goes deeper here and Bethesda has stated they plan on dropping even more Rage 2 gameplay and I hope they focus on the ol' Mutant Bash. I know I did.

Riddles In The Dark

So this Gameplay footage is all crazy and great but it doesn't show the games HUD at all. I know that's a work in progress but it gives a bit more open feel than the actual game will have. iD isn't known for bad HUD's I just noticed it wasn't included and wondered what they might land on?

I also really wanted them to show a "(T)alk it out" option in gameplay where instead of punching people to human pulp you can sit down and calmly talk out a non-violent solution. The end of that might not be well but at least you could start things off with something a bit more diplomatic than a hello rocket blast to the face. Still, hello rocket blasts to the face can be fun in video games and watching people debate the merits of water rights might not make the most entertaining time.

Rage 2 Will Scorch The Wasteland May 14th 2019!

I don't have time to play each new release in gaming, but in some rare cases I'll make the time and Rage 2 is one of those games I'm gonna make time for. The open world trailer dropped tonight during The Game Awards and I was happy enough to watch it and then nab the link on YouTube to share with you here. The game looks even better than what they previously showed and the artistry shown in how the trailer is cut is superb. My only question is how much like the real game is this? If they can deliver on most of what we see here this game is going to be bloody great.

Oh and the Russo Brothers just came out at The Game Awards making a finger snap joke and delivered the... Read All

Get Featured In The Next Episode Of Cheerful Ghostradamus Radio 2019 Predictions Episode!

The new year is fast upon us and as such a new year of 2019 gaming predictions need to be made! This year we're going to do things a bit more fun in that all our collected Cheerful Ghostradamus 2019 predictions will be read aloud in our upcoming New Years episode! If you want to be part of the gaming festivities please read the following.

How To Be Part of the Cheerful Ghostradamus Radio 2019 Predictions Episode

You're a gamer and as such have an opinion on things you'd like to see happen in gaming in 2019. Maybe you have a thought as to what might happen that you don't want to happen but you feel might anyway. Take those thoughts, write them down and send them to us in... Read All

Quakecon 2018 Keynote featuring Quake Champions, Rage 2, Doom Eternal & More

The Quakecon 2018 keynote streamed earlier today and Bethesda and iD had some really interesting stuff to reveal. Firstly Bethesda bought out Escalation Studios that have worked with them on Skyrim VR, Fallout VR and Skyrim Switch. Escalation is currently working on Elder Scrolls Blades and Fallout 76 and will be renamed Bethesda Texas. This is a pretty cool development as Elder Scroll Blades is a game I'm really interested in playing and more Bethesda stuff is always a fun prospect.

Quake Champions

The other big news out of Quakecon is that Quake Champions is now entirely free to play forever. They also dropped all new bot AI and a new class making the game seem like... Read All The Quakecon 2018 keynote streamed earlier today and Bethesda and iD had some really interesting stuff to reveal. Firstly Bethesda bought out Escalation Studios that have worked with them on Skyrim VR, Fallout VR and Skyrim Switch. Escalation is currently working on Elder Scrolls Blades and Fallout 76 and will be renamed Bethesda Texas. This is a pretty cool development as Elder Scroll Blades is a game I'm really interested in playing and more Bethesda stuff is always a fun prospect.

Quake Champions

The other big news out of Quakecon is that Quake Champions is now entirely free to play forever. They also dropped all new bot AI and a new class making the game seem like it's hit a proper release. Since it's free to play and an online only game it's hard to say it's hit 1.0 but now that it's free to play forever and such it feels like it's "officially launched." If you login to Quake Champions during Quakecon right now you will get a special Quakecon 2018 machine gun.

Rage 2

The gameplay and game shown at Quakecon of Rage 2 has bumped it up to an instabuy when it launches next year, which is a pretty rare thing for me. I'm going to figure out which pre-order I should get and then jump in. I like owning a physical copy and I prefer PC so I'll most likely pre-order it from a store I can pick it up on launch day. I know i'll just be buying a case and a Steam code but I like having that kind of thing even if it just lives on my shelf.

The new driving and gameplay footage of Rage 2 makes it look like Mad Max Fury Road meets the best parts of Doom and the original Rage but the stages seem a bit more open than the original linear corridor missions of Rage. I'm sure there will be some kind of DLC for it later and a season pass but so far nothing has been discussed about it.

Doom Eternal

When I originally saw the new Doom Eternal reveal I only watched half of it. Needless to say I wasn't too impressed, it really didn't look like a big upgrade from Doom 2016. After coming back and watching the whole reveal i'm not sure i'm too much further from my original thought but the game looks a bit better than I thought at first. If you loved Doom 2016 this looks like doubling down on all that but somehow Doom 2016 didn't hook me. Might have had something to do with my son being born around that time, or maybe I'm just a very old man that is getting tired of ripping and tearing.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/11/2018 at 03:21am

BUT RIPPING AND TEARING IS LIFE

Travis Admin wrote on 08/11/2018 at 03:23am

It's interesting, the general reception I seem to be reading is that the Doom Eternal gameplay is bonkers incredible and the Rage 2 gameplay show's a mediocre, repetitive game. I... don't know what Rage 2 video people have been watching. I think they're both bonkers incredible.

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/11/2018 at 03:27am

Looking through my YouTube subscriptions, I noticed some long reveal trailers for Doom Eternal. I didn't watch them. I actually did like Doom 2016, so I think Eternal is something I could get into. The game really made me feel like I was a badass demon slayer and I liked that. I hope and assume Eternal would do the same and also hope and assume the music kicks ass as well (I thought Doom 2016 had a great soundtrack).

Travis Admin wrote on 08/11/2018 at 03:29am

In that case Greg, you'll love this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoG_5cY_Ph0

:D

And yeah I felt like the Doom Eternal reveal was basically showing that sure, you felt like a badass in Doom 2016 but that was an 8/10 at best on the badass scale, and this one turns it up to 11. BUT. I'm sure that was played by someone way more skilled than I am.

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/11/2018 at 04:20am

@Travis LOL.

Maybe I should watch those reveal trailers, they were like 10 or 20 minutes long, which is why I didn't watch them.

Have they announced a release date yet?

Also, that video Travis shared reminds me of how I pretty much played most of the game just using the shotgun. I don't know why it's my favorite weapon, maybe because it's so powerful up close.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/11/2018 at 04:33am

Shotty is my go-to in every id shooter, they just feel so satisfying.

And the one I watched was like 7 minutes but the ones you saw may have had the keynote speaking in between gameplay.

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/11/2018 at 05:02am

Yeah, Super Shotgun was my favorite and most used weapon. I did finally watch one of the videos. They're both about 20 minutes long and it is when the two guys were presenting the gameplay, which does look awesome. I like the additions they've made. They also said this one is visually superior, "fidelity" they said, and at 60fps. No release date announced, but they did mention the 2014 Quakecon where they revealed Doom 2016. This makes me think we're still a year, maybe two, away from release.

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/12/2018 at 04:04am

Did anyone catch the Fallout 76 video? I didn't look at any of them. At least one of them was pretty long. They apparently had a Q&A session. I was wondering if someone watched those videos and could give a summary. Here's an article I found about how nukes work: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-how-fallout-76s-nukes-work-and-what-they-do/1100-6461104/

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2018 at 04:42am

I did not, they didn't even mention that much in the Keynote did they? That gamespot article echoes (and elaborates a bit on) what they've been saying about nukes and anti-griefing measures. I just hope they're done well. Trolls gonna troll, you know?

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/12/2018 at 05:16am

If you look at their YouTube channel, you'll see the Fallout 76 Q&A. It's almost an hour long. There are also a few other shorter Fallout 76 videos, much like others we've seen before.

https://www.youtube.com/user/BethesdaSoftworks/videos

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/12/2018 at 05:41am

Oh, the video I mentioned is actually a GameSpot video. I decided to watch it. I noticed it doesn't actually start until 13 minutes in, so I'll provide a link below that begins when the stuff begins.

https://youtu.be/4IDLGUO7zXk?t=13m23s

AzureAzule Super Member wrote on 08/12/2018 at 06:56am

After watching the video I shared in my last comment, I have a better perspective on Fallout 76. It doesn't seem like PVP is going to be a major problem, there are some really good anti-griefing things going on. You can even block someone and they won't be able to see you on the map. I think it'd be awesome if somehow we could get a Cheerful Ghost server for Fallout 76, I'd feel more comfortable playing with friends instead of strangers. Voice chat is included in the game, which is cool because I already have a good headset. Anyway, I suggest watching the video I shared.

Fallout 76 comes on November 11th, but I'll be busy playing the new Ark Expansion that arrives on November 6th. I'm still kind of hesitant about Fallout 76. I'm thinking of waiting until it's been out at least for a little while to see what it's like and what others say about it before jumping in. It does sound cool though. I was afraid it'd be a Fallout version of GTA Online, but that doesn't quite seem to be the case.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2018 at 01:24pm

It looks like the idea of playing on a Cheerful Ghost instance in Fallout 76 may be possible eventually but not at launch. From what they’ve said previously, private games will come later. Which is unfortunate but I guess understandable.

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Rukus The Crusher Rage 2 Special Edition

Rage 2 was one of my most anticipated games out of E3. They teased a Rukus The Crusher talking head and it looks like it's a thing you can buy with the upcoming collectors edition. It doesn't seem to steeply priced at $119 considering it comes with Rukus, the base game on the platform of your choice(as long as it's only three systems) and a steelbook case, a collector’s poster, an exclusive mission, & wasteland wizard cheat codes. There's also a bit more DLC included such as a monster truck, an armor set, and the... BFG. Looks like all pre-order versions of the game get the "Cult of the Death God" exclusive mission, settlers pistol, Nicholas Raine armor, and a... Read All