Ranking All Games Published By Bethesda Softworks From Worst To Best

A much-hyped first collaboration between Bethesda and the newly acquired id Software (aka the inventor of the FPS), Rage is sadly a little bit of a mixed bag.

What's great? The fantastic shooting gameplay, several variations of guns and ammo types, and impressive enemy A.I. (with their animations fluid and unpredictable). Also, this is one of the most stunning visual games of the 360/PS3 generation.

What isn't great? The plot and protagonist have no driving force, the NPCs are one-note quest givers, and the campaign is bland and cliched.

The world itself is also just plain tired with not much to do in it. Certainly, the long development time did it no favors, but by the time Rage finally released, the market was saturated with post-apocalyptic FPSs.

There's no RPG element or open-world interaction that Fallout 3 didn’t do first or better, and there's no weapon or loot-shooting hook that Borderlands didn't bring before with more stylish verve.

It’s not a terrible experience, the missions that delve deep into mutant hideouts are executed slickly and play fun and strategic... but it's not enough to make the enterprise feel more than a case of ‘Johnny Come Lately’ in the end.