As I had expected, Rage 2 is exactly like Rage 1: a game with identity crisis.
Except now, minus sweet graphics for its time - or sweet performance. Basically Rage lost all of its perks, B-game from front to back. Well done Bethesda, you nailed it once again...
I was honestly flabbergasted to see the crafting system return, and even more RPG-lite elements added, when this was supposed to be a fast paced shooter. Bullet sponges... the same linear 'open' world (with arrows on the floor to tell you where to go... really?!)... what a waste of time. I cannot understand why developers are so keen to copy over existing concepts so badly, even when they totally don't fit in the rest of the game.
I mean, I'm playing Borderlands 2 again right now... and it has almost all of the same elements, but it also has a very distinct concept and is actually a very 'tight' game; you collect loot and you use it to shoot moar faster to repeat the cycle. The game also offers RPG-style classes and progression. To spice things up, it has a very peculiar set of characters and a very distinct sense of humor. It borrows heavily from the ARPG such as Diablo but does it in first person and with guns. No identity crisis despite the marriage of two very different game types - they work well together.
Now enter Rage 2: has crafting but no loot game, has skills but is no real RPG with actual builds, classes or synergy, has a story but that is forgettable, has a big game world that feels linear (and might just as well be a series of missions, allowing the developer to tell a real story instead)... I don't get this.