The RAGE Engine, or Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, has powered some of the most critically adored and commercially successful games of the past fifteen years due to it running every Rockstar Games title since the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation.
Looking through the following list reveals even the lowest rated games received scores most titles only dream of. Because most of these are multi-platform, each score is taken from the console which received the highest rating. The engine has advanced so much since its inception, it is difficult to believe both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV use it.
10 Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis (81)
The obvious outlier on the list was also the first game to run on the engine. It is completely devoid of excess blood and profanity, and there is not a single race car in sight. The team was interested in making a game which focused all the power of the hardware into one activity. By all accounts the effort paid off, as eighty-one is not a bad score for a sports game.
9 Midnight Club: Los Angeles (82)
Midnight Club: Los Angeles hit shelves in October, 2008, and was the last fans saw of the series before Rockstar focused their efforts on open-world epics and action-packed shooters. The graphics and HUD design somewhat resemble the GTA series, especially with the trademark circular mini-map. Younger gamers might not believe anybody who says the company used to make racing games.
8 Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (87)
Back when Rockstar made single-player DLC expansions, they really went all out. Undead Nightmare boasts enough content for a full standalone release. In addition, the zombie outbreak completely changes up the gameplay. While the game is still serious, it is weird to play a zombie game using the same characters as the grounded and serious Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar games manages to make it work, however.
7 Max Payne 3 (87)
Instead of crafting an open-world adventure, Max Payne 3 is all about linear action. Max's dramatic third chapter sees the character in a sorry state, drowning the demons of his past in alcohol.
In between the masterfully crafted cinematics are a flurry of bullets, blood, and carnage. The animation, level design, and AI all come together to deliver one of the best third-person shooters of the past ten years. Max's story still isn't over, so here's hoping for a fourth entry in the future.
6 Grand Theft Auto IV: Ballad Of Gay Tony (89)
The second Grand Theft Auto IV expansion goes for a different vibe than Lost and Damned. Instead of tough biker gangs, the playable character works for a washed up nightclub owner. Several modifications to the structure introduced here, such as replaying missions from a menu and a rating system after each mission, made their way into Grand Theft Auto V.
5 Grand Theft Auto IV: Lost And Damned (90)
The first expansion to GTA IV is all about biker gangs. Johnny Klebitz, the player character, goes through all sorts of personal drama related to the Lost MC and his ex-girlfriend. Mission checkpoints are finally introduced in this game, something which alleviates much of the inconvenience from earlier GTA titles. Klebitz would make a small cameo in GTA V, where Trevor Phillips shows players what his brains look like.
4 Red Dead Redemption (95)
This 2010 Western proved a change of pace for the open-world game developer. Instead of the haphazard chaos and parody of modern culture GTA thrives on, Red Dead Redemption strives for a slower, more nuanced look at the old west.
Some missions are simple, mundane task, but they all contribute to engrossing the player in the world. John Marston's hunt for his former outlaw comrades goes down in gaming history as one of the best, most tragic stories told in the medium.
3 Grand Theft Auto V (97)
Originally released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V quickly made the leap to PS4 and Xbox One in 2014 and is now gearing up to come out on next-generation consoles. Rockstar cannot be blamed for keeping a good thing going, considering the game is the highest grossing piece of entertainment ever released. The single-player campaign is huge, featuring over seventy story missions, but it is Grand Theft Auto: Online which has truly given the game its impressive legs.
2 Red Dead Redemption 2 (97)
While some lobbied complaints at the gameplay feeling outdated, there is still no denying how incredibly beautiful and engrossing Red Dead Redemption 2's vision of the old west is. Arthur Morgan's journey is equally as devastating as John Marston's, and the campaign is on a larger scale than its predecessor. Where many games feel like a long movie, Red Dead Redemption 2's story feels like a seven season television show.
1 Grand Theft Auto IV (98)
Starting off two consecutive generations with Liberty City shows just how big of a leap it was between the PS2 and PS3. Niko Bellic's troubles in his new home start almost immediately after getting off the boat, and don't stop even after the credits role. The more grounded, serious tone helps differentiate from the rest of the series and gives it plenty of value even after GTA V's release. More than a decade since release and fans still remember Niko Bellic fondly.