I'm not sure what I expected when I sat down in front of id's latest shooter, Rage. I had seen it at last year's E3, and it looked beautiful when the PR folks played in front of me, but what does that tell you? I'm still not sure of the story or setting, and the whole thing looks suspiciously like Borderlands with a little more polish. If you're used to being blown away by each new engine from id, you may want to dial back your expectations.

I had a chance to play two missions, one of which was given to me by a dude in a broken-down shop looking for parts to get a car running. I had to travel to the location on an ATV, and again the feeling of the Borderlands-ness of the situation and the mission came rushing back. There was a little exploration, a little shooting, and then the mission ended. Without any kind of context for my missions or a greater meaning to any of the action, it was hard to be drawn in. Things were just kind of... there.

The second mission took place in a prison, and it was my job to bust a guy out. Why? Because that's what you do, dangit! There was some very light puzzle solving here—I had to kill the power to certain areas by throwing EMP grenades on glowing generators—and it's moments like this where you wonder why the (good?) bad guys leave the vulnerable bits of their security out in the open and so easy to find. The enemies are bullet-sponges, but the shooting is satisfying and the shotgun is nice and loud.

Finally, I busted the guy out and he's hacking something, so I throw down some spiders that have turrets on them, and... I'm digging through my notes trying to remember any of this. Say what you will about some of the other games I've written about at E3, but they made an impression. This is a game that began to fade from my memory the second I stood up from the demo station. It's not bad, but nothing about it jumped out at me as being memorable, either. There may be a hook in the game that's missing in the demo sections—the ability to race and upgrade your car may be that hook, in fact— and I'll keep an open mind, but the best thing to say about Rage so far is that it's a tolerably fun first-person shooter.

Bethesda's Prey 2 and Skyrim both looked great, however, and you can expect previews of those titles very soon.