RAGE's release has been dominated by reports of the game running poorly on PC. Unfortunately, a PC version wasn't provided before we were able to run our review, but I've gotten my hands on a copy via Steam and played through the first mission to see how it stacks up compared to the Xbox 360 version.
I am beginning to count myself lucky that I didn't have to fully play it for the review.
RAGE (PC version)
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda
MSRP: $59.99
Released: October 4, 2011
Tested On: Intel i7-2600k @3.40 GHz, with 8GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 580 GPU (SLI)
Things start off poorly with a menu screen that has random black lines flickering across it. Sometimes they're there when the game boots, sometimes they're not. I wouldn't be able to play with the in-game settings to see if something can be fixed, however, because the in-game menus are pathetic. The only graphical tweaks available within RAGE are screen resolutions and anti-aliasing settings. id Software didn't feel the need to provide anything else.
Right from the very outset, RAGE looks like garbage. The first cutscene is so poorly compressed, it could have been an opening FMV for Dungeon Keeper back in the nineties, and the in-game graphics don't fair much better. Any dark spaces are clouded with artifacts, as if the shadows were actually low quality jpegs.
[Pictured: A dark corner, looking like it was drawn in MS Paint]
I can confirm one of the most common complaints -- textures pop in a split-second before you view anything, leading to a distracting environment in which everything appears to twitch. Turning around at any point in the game causes the visuals to "re-focus" which puts the player off completely. Speaking of being put off, the screen-tearing is beyond obscene. Whenever you turn around, you have to deal with obnoxious lines all over the screen and textures shunting themselves in before your very eyes.
The framerate, especially on vehicles, is abysmal as well. This is all after I did as Bethesda recommended and installed the very latest NVIDIA drivers. I noticed a slight framerate increase on-foot, but no improvements anywhere else. Screen still tore, textures still popped in, and the vehicle sections look like they're being watched through a zoetrope.
[Pictured: A corridor I was able to screengrab a moment before the textured popped in]
Oh, and you'll want to alter the keyboard controls for vehicles. Someone figured they should control exactly the same as the first-person perspective, which means that you're expected to hit Shift to boost -- which means you'll be taking your finger off "A" and thus can't turn left without enjoying some finger gymnastics (Edit: Or you can be like the FREAKS in the comments who use their pinkies, I guess. How uncomfortable).
Another weird control issue is the fact that the cursor sensitivity ramps up considerably during any in-game menu. Be it the options screen, the mission acceptance screen, or the inventory, the mouse suddenly goes at more than twice the speed, which is incredibly jarring and forces the player's brain and hands to recalibrate every time they go from gameplay to menu browsing. I just have no idea how something so stupid could be allowed to happen, other than to surmise that nobody cared, and nobody tested anything.
[Pictured: Some pre-texture scenery. Character models don't seem so badly affected]
All these issues were apparent within the first fifteen minutes of play, leading me to conclude that RAGE is by far among the very worst ports I have seen on any system, from any company, during any year. While the game is good on consoles, and a recommended purchase, I'd say that anybody looking to get it on PC steer well clear, at least until a laundry list of tweaks and the obligatory first five patches have arrived. Right now, there are all sorts of conflicting reports on how to make RAGE run better on PC, but most users will be tearing their hair out and lamenting their wasted cash if they download this and expect to get a good product for their $60.00.
Yes, $60.00. It's ten dollars more expensive than PC games should be, and it's still one of the worst PC versions of any game currently available. That such things are legal truly blows my mind.
Contest:
12:30 PM on 10.05.2011 | 
I can't believe companies don't catch this or for that matter let crap like this see the light of day, dev's are getting lazy as fuck or just sloppy.
Ahh the days before a "patch" was needed to play any game.
Don't you hit the Shift key with your pinky and A with your ring finger?
I just hope id's planning on fixing this fast, that and that Prey 2 doesn't suffer these problems when that comes out.
Or was that someone else? I can't remember... I'm just going to believe it was and enjoy the bitter coincidence (it's not irony).
What's odd to me is my system isn't a monster. It's a 3.2 dual core, 570 GT with 4 gigs RAM. Not a slouch but I'm hearing about people running essentially HAL rigs that are crippled by this stuff. I don't get it.
As for your mouse, Jim Sterling, I don't know what kind of you have, but does it use basic drivers? If you have a gaming mouse with it's own drivers then your "nobody tested anything" comment might not apply.
for a first game after selling to Zenimax this doesn't look good.
i wouldn't be surprised if SLI users had issues, it's not unusual to get better performance out of one card than 2 before all the bugs get worked out.
why that's often the case i don't know, i mean don't these people have a QA department?
Real FPS enthusiasts know nothing beats a keyboard and mouse for FPS games. There's nothing wrong with the controls with the PC version (Jim's remarks about the driving controls are off-base and I haven't experienced any issues with sensitivity in the menu) - the problems lie almost entirely with the graphics.
My finger layout when game is, Pinky on shift, Ring on A, Middle on W, Pointer on D, Thumb on Spacebar. I guess it's all comes down to how you place your hand.
Wait - did they compress this game way down from the console versions to make it easier to download on Steam? Because the cutscene on the XBox version looks fine...
I have a pretty killer PC, so I briefly considered buying the PC version to save some money. Until I found out it was the same price. Good thing - the XBox version is killer on my 65inch TV.
That struck me as odd as well. It must be those Sterling sausage fingers...
"First, use a 360 contoller. I know that's heresy to PC enthusasts but grow up"
You, sir, can fuck right off. Many folks game on PC because they like using a mouse and keyboard along with having the option to customize their keybindings and control scheme or use a controller if they prefer it. A major part of PC gaming is all the options you have. That's why many of us invest so much into these systems in the first place. So when a developer ignores such expectations and denies us those options, they are effectively eliminating a major benefit to our chosen platform. PC gamers have a right to bitch it, and anyone who willingly accepts it is only a part of the problem.
Using a gamepad has 0 to do with console's "dominance". Some games play better with a gamepad others play better with a mouse. some of that is just objective fact, some of it will absolutely be subjective personal preference.
The cool thing about PC gaming is that you are seldom stuck with 1 option. THAT's why we are PC gamers. While options scare average joe gamer, we embrace them. We ask for them. And we hate it when they get taken away.
I've been a PC gamer since the 90's and I happily whip out my gamepad for any 2D platformer, adventure game, etc.
I don't ... what?
I'm trying, but I can't even ...
Shocking lack of care for the community that fucking made them.
I don't see how anyone can defend the clusterfuck state PC gaming has become. Having marginally better graphics, sometimes, doesn't make this bullshit worth dealing with, all the time.
I'm glad my new rule is to not by games new until price drops, except on rare occasions. That way I get to hear about shit like this.