Alright I got my copy yesterday and I played for about five hours so far.
Like everyone, I was speechless when I saw the low resolution textures, and when I experienced the textures or even objects pop-in issues especially when simply looking to the left or right. There's a couple of quite obvious technical issues with the game and of course after seeing that in the first moments of the game I thought "there's no way this could possibly be the best looking settings of the PC version, this thing can surely be modified to some extent". So I went on the Steam forums and checked at some of the inevitable tweaks that the community found out that can (and do) fix many of the problems. I used the tweaks (modified configuration) and fixed pretty much all of the technical problems that were annoying or were simply unbearable (such as the pop-ins). So, with the problems fixed and the textures actually looking "good enough" I started playing "for real" and had a good three hours session of non-stop immersed play (using the word immersed a bit loosely here). The point about those community-made tweaks however is that the community shouldn't have had to make them in the first place. But anyway, I like the game overall, it's certainly more linear than I expected, but I wasn't expecting the kind of freedom we have from a game like Oblivion, I knew I was in for a story-driven campaign. But still, so far anyway I think it's a bit too "narrow" and the exploration is barely existent (it might change later on, I'm aware of it, and I hope it will).
I like the voice acting, the unique NPC looks and faces, I like that some NPCs in Wellspring seem to move around a bit (not much though, but better than nothing) and sometimes stand on a different wall or go sit on a different chair, no all NPCs do that but some do and it makes the town a bit more active-looking, organic and natural. It's not much of an illusion but it's definitely better than the never-moving NPCs in Borderlands for instance. I like the atmosphere as well, very reminiscent of Fallout 3's (they even included a nice easter egg as a nod to the Fallout franchise). I like the sounds as well, and the animations (from enemies mostly), their voices, their banter. Additionally, lo and behold I even like the enemies' A.I. so far, it's indeed quite better (significantly so, enough to be mentioned) than most recently released action games (even excluding FPS games) I can think of (that I happen to own that is and can compared them to RAGE's A.I). I like the draw distances but they don't serve much purpose really, they're good to look at, but knowing that I'm looking at a desolated down town that I can't go to is a bit frustrating given the game's context, being a wasteland and all, I do feel some urged drive to go and just explore, but I'm stuck driving a buggy from settlements to settlements on a set path (roads) and I quickly have to just forget about such distant scenery.
There's ONE thing, so far, that really did frustrate me and it just keeps coming, from games to games, from developers to developers, engines to engines. I just don't get it, but I deal with it...
SMALL SPOILER AHEAD
(side quest-related, within the first hours of the game)
Ok, at some point I have to go back to a bandit hideout (the Ghost one, can't recall the exact name by heart right now) for a side quest (I won't bother saying what the side quest consists of since it's not important for what I want to point to). Now, of course, I had CLEARED that hideout about... oh, an hour ago? Then I drove my buggy around doing other missions (before having to go back to that hideout) and I passed by quite often. Not only are the roads barren of life but the bandits don't actually "transit" between their hideouts. See where I'm going with this? Hell yeah you bet, bandits magically replenish their beloved hideouts out of no where and of course they so conveniently happen to spawn back because you have to get back there for a side quest. For some people out there it wouldn't be a problem. But for me, it is. I am absolutely TIRED of games in which caves, hideouts, settlements, small bases or whatever shacks or guard towers you have to clear out or quest in ALWAYS magically get a new supply of whatever enemies are thrown at you. Without the SLIGHTEST of efforts from the developers to create some sort of patrols or random encounters outdoor that would give a minimum amount of illusion that bandits DO care about and patrol their territory and "check out" about their hideouts regularly enough. So when I saw that happen I literally stopped moving and fixed the screen and just slowly shaked my head in disbelief.
Why can't the hideout STILL be empty and then suddenly AS I PLAY in (not right from the start) bandits suddenly enter because they would have been a patrol? Which would have created a very nice surprise for me, no? Of course not buddy! I'm surely asking for too much. So, what, when I leave this hideout it'll be silence outside again? Just some wind blowing the dust off the ground with the occasional backdrop sounds of rocks falling down a cliff and the dried wasteland brushes crackling in the wind? No bandits coming that were part of the band that just got inside before I arrived? OF COURSE NOT! It's RAGE! A game that has a very fitting title! Ok, seriously, it pissed me off, but overall, it's alright, it's a good game. I'll finish the campaign and then... and then I don't know, I'll wait for Skyrim, obviously.