14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Bethesda has delayed the launch date for the first-person shooter RAGE to October 4 in the United States and October 7 in Europe from its original spot in the middle of September, apparently in order to make sure that the release is not too clear to that of the Epic Games-made Gears of War 3.
The official website of the game has confirmed the new date after it was at first changed on the site of retailers like GameStop.
Bethesda Softworks has not offered any official reason for the delay of RAGE, but most discussions on the Internet about it is linked to Gears of War 3, the third-person shooter that comes exclusively on the Xbox 360, with gamers saying that the publisher is trying to avoid a head-on clash with the mammoth franchise.
The new launch dates put RAGE close to the launches of Twisted Metal and Dark Souls, two titles that have a smaller profile than the id Software-made first-person shooter.
The delay comes as a surprise because the developers working on RAGE have talked at length about the fact that the game is already done.
RAGE is a game that has been in development for quite some time and any new delay is a blow to those who have been following it since originally announced by id Software.
The game uses the new id Tech 5 game engine and looks very, very good, with nice, crisp characters model, complex vistas and smooth action.
RAGE will combine the first-person shooter genre that id Software aims to once again revolutionize with a lot of vehicle-based action, that will also make up the multiplayer element of the game.
I managed to get some hands-on time with RAGE at the E3 2011 trade show and I was fairly pleased with what the game had to offer.