Here is an initial review of Rage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJvF-MBJMB8

It's getting delivered tonight. Hopefully I will have some initial impressions tomorrow. Looks to me like a slightly prettier Fallout 3 with much much much less RPG elements. It looks to play much more like Borderlands with an emphasis on the shooter elements. The graphics truly do look amazing. Even details about how the AI responds to a shotgun blast versus a pistol shot is pretty neat. But if you liked the wandering and plundering of Fallout 3, this game looks to be much more linear, so I'm guessing the replayability is lower.

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One more review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0lxBHN01oo

a pitchfork? is that what the ladies are using these days for intimidation?

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@audioidkid

There are good games because they are groundbreaking (truly something different) and then there are good games because they play "clean". This is the latter. Nothing here is original, but EVERYTHING works very well together. The most obvious comparison I can think of is Bioshock, a game that I haven't seen compared with Rage yet. Comparisons with Fallout are only valid in terms of the setting. This is a straight up shooter with almost zero RPG elements. Yes, you can haggle with merchants for supplies, but the focus is ammo and healing and leveling up your weapons. And the comparisons to Borderlands are invalid because looting isn't a major focus either (although there is looting).

The gameplay, like I said previously, is EXTREMELY clean. Shooting/aiming is very responsive and guns feel genuinely powerful. AI reacts differently to a pistol shot versus a shotgun. From what I can remember that is unique about this game and makes you feel that guns are truly different. Driving is very intuitive and responsive. Similar to Bioshock, most of the gun battles occur in close quarters, which is very different from a game like Borderlands. Driving is fun and very responsive... but it may be too simple for some. It breaks up the monotony of tunnel battles.

The graphical attention to detail is off the charts. You can spend a decent amount of time admiring the detail on the junk laying on the ground or the beautiful vistas or rays of light shining through a broken window. It may be as rich of a world as Bioshock. Lack of screen tearing, short loading times, etc... it just works like it is supposed to.

The biggest difference with Bioshock is the lack of a compelling story. Bioshock had the Ayn Rand inspired dystopia. Rage has post-apocalyptic cliches. I will give them credit for some unique Boss battles, but that's it. The biggest difference with Borderlands is Rage is not a sandbox game in the strictest sense. It is much more linear. Some people won't like this lack of freedom, but sometime I need a little direction.

All in all, I'm genuinely enjoying my playthrough of Rage. The reviews seem to be in the range of 8/10, which I think is fair. I think to get above a 9, you really have to have some sort of hook, some differentiating element. Rage doesn't have that. But nonetheless, it's great fun to play.