In an era where software piracy is considered the bane of the Internet, why on earth do companies that produce quality software like RAGE continue to use awful third party distribution methods?! I'm of course referring to Valve's STEAM. This client has not only prevented me from playing my retail product for over an hour after receiving my pre-order in the mail, but also when I got up this morning after having played it quite happily for the last 2 days.

The auto-patching part of Steam in this case is nothing but a severe cockblock that's making Bethesda and id look like fools. I'm one of the lucky few who were able to play the game right off the bat without graphical issues or any other problems. I considered myself fortunate on that point and forgave everyone for making me wait over an hour after installing before I could commence playing the game.

However, because of Steam, I was confronted not only by an annoying message preventing me from playing the game, but also no suggested approach to remedying this problem. Imagine my confusion and frustration after having enjoyed the game for the last 2 days and suddenly having STEAM prevent me from playing! One thing I know for sure is that had I pirated this title, I would not have had any problems with running the title, or getting updates and being prevented from playing whilst obtaining the updates.

I fail to see the merits of STEAM. Get rid of it Bethesda / id and either create your own front-end client, or stick to the tried and tested downloading option from a website for patching. Forcing your customers to connect to the Internet and play as well as being prevented from playing during the patch download process is ridiculous. What happens when someone purchases a title and has no Internet access at the time? What happens when they are away from their Internet connection when they want to play (laptops etc)?

I love RAGE, I believe I purchased yet another awesome title from id / Bethesda and uphold my belief that both companies are Gods in the Entertainment Software world, but it is diminished by the fact that they fall back to relying on STEAM to manage their customers accessibility

GET RID OF STEAM!!

I agree, I hate steam after they jacked my account and I lost access to all my stuff. Went through the BBB and still couldnt get a positive result. I always leave my steam in offline mode.