Rage 2 is out now, but what about the first game? Do you need to play Rage 1 before you play Rage 2, or can you go into it fresh?
Rage 2 is out this week, and it’s the long-coming sequel to id Software’s game from 2007. Both games are open-world first-person shooters set in an apocalyptic wasteland, with a lot of Mad Max influence and plenty of driving. By all accounts the new game is a lot of fun, but is it worth playing Rage 1 first? Do you need to play Rage 1 before Rage 2?
While the new game is undoubtedly different to the original game from 2007, there are still a lot of similarities. Is Rage 2 a direct sequel to Rage 1, continuing the same storyline? Are characters from the original game back in the sequel? Is the gameplay the same? Overall, is it worth playing the original before the sequel? We’ve played Rage 2 and Rage 1, so we’ll give you your answers below. Only minor spoilers for the beginning of Rage 2 will follow, although we will discuss the ending of the first game.
The most important question is, is Rage 2 a direct sequel to id Software’s original game? Alternatively, is it a similar game but a different world, like Quake 2 was to Quake 1? Or does Rage 2 sort of continue the story, but mostly it’s original, like Wolfenstein: The New Order? Like Rage 2, the Wolfenstein games have changed developers a few times, and they’ve only had superficial continuation of their storylines.
Rage 2 is almost right in the middle. It is indeed a continuation of the storyline of Rage 1, although it’s by no means a direct one. Rage 2 is set many years after the events of Rage 1. At the end of the first game, Ark survivor main Ranger character Nicholas Raine and the Resistance lead a successful attack against the technologically-advanced army of The Authority. This battle seemingly saw the death of its leader General Cross, and all the other Ark survivors were revived by Raine to combat The Authority.
Rage 2 continues after this ending, with the Rangers and other Ark survivors having set up a strong settlement called Vineland. However, they are quickly attacked by a resurgent Authority, who have been rebuilding underground and are now back in force. A very much alive but basically Strogg-ified General Cross leads the attack.
