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(Image: BETHESDA)

Out of all of my appointments at Gamescom, it’s safe to say that Rage 2 was the most predictable of the bunch. That’s not a bad thing, mind you. I knew what I was in for, but to be honest, I still wasn’t prepared for the extremely visceral gameplay slice I was provided with.

The demo kicked off in a rotten garage, where I was taught how to use the main Nanotrite abilities, Shatter, Slam and Overdrive. One of my main takeaways was how much they function like the powers in Dishonored. Truly, they even sit in the same spot on the U.I.

It’s Dishonored with guns, if you’ll pardon my triteness, with the DNA of Doom mixed in for good measure Clearing out my first wave of enemies, I noticed how mobile the player character is. I was dashing around the shop, leaping into the air and basically making mincemeat of anyone that stood in my. Gore and viscera was flying at me as I was discombobulating some punk thugs. A wry smile appeared across my face.

It’s high-octane, and the madness never stops. There’s no quiet sections where you ponder your choices or study the environment. Rather, you’re hurling your Wingstick (a highly underrated weapon mind you) into a crowd of enemies as a blood-pumping soundtrack blares in your ears.

It must be said that Rage 2’s sound design is absolutely impeccable. Quickly I found myself lurching with the crunch of every shotgun bullet as it tore the abdomen of my enemies. It becomes instinctual as the crisp blast of the shotgun hits your ear, the rumble in the controller coinciding.

Shifting into Overdrive just amplifies the madness ad nauseum and turns you into a superhero. I particularly enjoyed backing enemies into a corner and hitting shatter to see their guts spring all over the shop, or letting my wingstick keep an escaping foe placid as I blasted his mates into the environment.

Enemies don’t just drop to the floor in Rage 2. Rather they are sent hurtling backwards towards whichever asset is in their reach, to glorious effect.

It was even a pretty solid challenge too, especially when the number of enemies increased rapidly near the end. I found myself dependent on my mobility and questioning my reckless abandon. It’s kind of like Doom where you have to lean into the fast-paced combat to get the most out of it.

There’s even a building combo-score and a killstreak meter that rewards chained attacks and over-zealous power use. It reminded me of a hack-n-slash shooter, in spite of how mental that sounds.

One thing I will say is that there really wasn’t anything there narrative wise. Not that this is a major problem, but (and maybe i’m in a small group here) the original Rage actually had a pretty decent story and some nice characters.

We know Avalanche and id can do it, so it’ll be interesting to see how it works in the main game, as I’m sure I only experienced the high thrills of the combat.

There was nothing to be seen in regards to the vehicle combat yet either, a feature which I feel is make or break in making this game novel.

Though, with the clever minds over at Avalanche, the game is in safe hands if they take what they’ve learned from games like Just Cause and Mad Max.

Rage 2 launches in June next year, and if that demo is anything to go by, it’s going to be a wild ride. Much like Prey, it feels like Bethesda is spinning forgotten original I.P’s into clever products by utilizing studios like Arkane, Avalanche and id to make them special. Gamescom Preview by Jordan Oloman

Release Date: "Spring" 2019Developer: id Software & Avalanche StudiosPublisher: BethesdaPlatforms: PS4, Xbox, PCGenre: First-Person Action-Adventure

It looks like the lovechild of Rage, DOOM, Wolfenstein and Mad Max. We're sold.

You can also read the official press release from Bethesda, just below:

"Dive headfirst into a dystopian world devoid of society, law, and order. RAGE 2 brings together two studio powerhouses – Avalanche Studios, masters of open world insanity, and id Software, creators of the first-person shooter – to deliver a carnival of carnage where you can go anywhere, shoot anything, and explode everything.

Bethesda confirmed a rough release date some months back along with the games initial announcement, telling fans:

"Head to the wasteland for pure pandemonium in 2019 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC."

At the time of writing, there's still no solid release date for the game, with Bethesda only going so far as to confirm it will arrive in spring 2019.

The RAGE 2 Collectors edition was - surprisingly - revealed with an infomercial during the RAGE 2 extended gameplay demonstration at Bethesda's BE3 Showcase during E3 2018 week.

As you can see, this collectable is a wall mountable head of RAGE character, Ruckus the Crusher.

Better still, it's voiced by singer-songwriter Andrew W.K.

"The loveable half-dead mutant will live on your wall, singing songs and telling tales of his life on the wasteland – you know, before his head was cut off." Bethesda jokingly announced during the reveal.

Whilst Ruckus is the piece de resistance, it's not everything you'll get; there's plenty more. Here's the full rundown of what you get for your hard earned cash.