Honestly the first Rage had IMO the tightest gunplay of any videogame ever made. It’s graphics and enemy AI were also years ahead of its time, and it had some pretty neat gadgets like the wing stick and explosive rc cars. The level designs were fantastic (aside from the main world map that was lacking inspiration). Also the car-battles were the best in that genre of any game since Twisted Metal Black.

The game did have a lot of shortcomings though. The script and plot were derivative and cliched, the game was entirely too short. The “open world” was the smallest most closed-off open world game I’ve ever played.

But for all its shortcomings the first Rage was an overall solid game. It wasn’t breakthrough in any regard but the superior gunplay, AI, and map design made it feel fun from beginning to end. It was a solid 6/10, maybe even 7/10 game that was still worth it. The sequel was an abomination though.