Spiritual successors aside, it’s been a long wait for a named sequel to 1988’s Wasteland; yet thanks to a fruitful, crowd funded, endeavour on Kickstarter, Wasteland 2 became a reality in 2014. The ‘Director’s Cut’, released around a year later, has been let loose on consoles in what might be quite the culture shock for modern gamers.
For those who’ve not experienced the old school style of Wasteland in the past, calling it a turn based, virtually isometric, party orientated RPG, might seem a tad daunting. And it is. Straight from the off, you’ll quickly learn how extensive, intricate and deep every aspect of Wasteland 2 can be. Whereas in a typical RPG, you’d be able to create your character in minutes, haphazardly putting points in whatever skills you fancy, in the knowledge that it’ll probably be ‘alright’. That’s not the case here, with four characters to create and with hardly a plethora of points to work with, it’d be wise to specialise each one with a few talents.
Upon eventually working your way through the intimidating and seemingly endless process of assigning stats and skills, you’ll be thrust out into Wasteland’s inhospitable surroundings. You’ll be introduced, not necessarily gently, into the world of map navigation, grid based combat and resource management. Even within an hour or two, you might still be a little unclear as to some of the basics. Make no mistake, Wasteland 2 can be quite difficult during the early stages and the sheer overwhelming amount of things to keep track of can sometimes exasperate matters.
The transition from cautiously inspecting each and everything you come across, into combat is seamless. Upon spotting an enemy, things slow to a halt and the game enters into its most unforgiving form, an X-COM style, turn based combat affair. On top of the usual worries such as strategic soldier placements and nefarious hit chances, you’ll be dealing with ammo conservation worries and also remembering who wields what weapon. Inevitably at the start you might well forget which of your motley crew brandishes a shotgun, and who possess a sniper. Needless to say, this can be an issue. Of course, you can always have more than one of your squad member’s proficient in a number of weapons, yet problems arise when you start doling out the quickly exhaustible supply of ammo to everyone.
Navigating the world map is also far from easy too, on top of being able to explore and discover new hidden areas, it will replenish your party’s health; often becoming a necessity during the early stages. The gamble being that, the further you stray from your relative safety, the greater the risk of encountering higher level enemies. The entire game seems to focus on a risk/reward system; this is nowhere more prevalent than out here.
Aside from the combat, there’s a wealth of depth to the narrative side too, with so many choices to make, decisions can be difficult and are often rarely black and white. Seemingly performing the ‘right’ and ‘just’ action on the surface can often lead you astray as more information is unveiled. Whilst you might’ve thought you’d been acting in peoples best interests, occasionally you’ll be condemning them to a much more severe fate. This doesn’t just end at the major mission choices either, acting in certain ways via the dialogue selections in order to get through a difficult scenario will invariably result in locking you out of something else.
There’s no more of a throwback to a game of this style and standard than its relentless difficulty at times. On top of the several hours it takes to simply become comfortable with its basics, early unknown character creation mishaps will soon rear their heads. I found it better to abandon my initial playthrough of a few hours and start again from scratch. The importance of certain skills can literally change the way you play the game and their significance can’t be ignored. Some aspects of the character creation only start to realise their potential after a few hours and (understandably) missing out on them the first time through is all too easy.
Due to the game’s inherent style, the look and feel of Wasteland 2 is to be expected. The shift to consoles, and more notably, the controller from a mouse and keyboard, can’t have been stress-free, and at times, especially during the early stages, it’s noticeable. The copious amount of menu and chart navigations unfortunately don’t feel at home; because of this, what should be a simple task can feel arduous.
Despite Wasteland possessing all the hallmarks of an old-school game, its audio and visuals been spruced up to keep in line with modern titles. Character models might not hold up too well under close scrutiny, but the environments repeatedly look appropriately foreboding and often spectacular. The artwork and designs show themselves off throughout and the contrasts between areas always keep it looking fresh. The amount of dialogue that’s present deserves a mention on its own, and the audio’s general ambiance partners well with the game’s theme.
As a whole, you’ll likely know what to expect with Wasteland 2, it’s an unforgiving, old school game that demands meticulous patience, planning and devotion throughout. There are a few niggles such as the controller feeling a little out of its depth and the myriad of menus it has to contend with, but overall it’s a fantastic time sink if you can get past the notorious learning curve. Certainly not for everyone, but for those who crave it, nothing much can come close.
