Well:
Overall feeling: positive, though withdrawn.
My base feelings towards this game is that either The Codex simply doesn't know what it wants, or alternatively it wants every game to be the first Fallout. Wasteland 2 is an unapologetically oldschool RPG. It is far from my personal favourite version of such a game, but putting my own tastes to the side it delivers what it promised. By and large, Wasteland 2 is an experience that reminds me of my time with the original Wasteland: a lot of light story C&C, a lot of stock environmental interaction, a lot of NPC interaction and a square fuckton of pretty basic but surprisingly fun combat. Highlights:
- Surprisingly fun combat considering how basic it is. The combat is both Wasteland 2's saving grace and the peak of its issues. On the one hand, whoever developed the sound, kinaesthetics and ~*feels*~ of the combat should be given a gold medal. Icons, blasts, effects and everything makes the combat crisp. Weapon types are diverse and carry the basicness through. Enemies have too few abilities but manage to feel different none-the-less. BUT, and that's a big but: when you do this much combat, the system has to be a focal point. And Wasteland 2's combat system is way, way too basic. It feels like an afterthought. What is there is crisp as can be, really, there's just not much there. Fallout can excuse its horrible, horrible combat with the fact that that's not really what the game is about. It's about interacting with the world and surviving however you can. In contrast, Wasteland 2 is
very much about the combat. The game is about 1/4 container looting, 1/4 other environmental and NPC interaction and 2/4 combat. In the end, you can have fun with the combat in Wasteland 2 and unless you really hate turn-based systems you probably won't get bored to tears, but there's no greatness to be found there.
- I'm willing to bet that a lot of the people who hated this game reloaded too much. No reloads unless you suffer character death is the only way to play this game (well that and not reloading at all I guess).
- The game's systems are pretty shallow in general. Functional, but shallow. It's a lot like how I remember the original in this way, but there's simply no excuse not to have a trait and perk system here. Traits to help make characters differ at their core, perks to help develop them differently.
- It is very nice to read so many words in an RPG again.
- Can I just say how much I've fucking missed playing with large parties? 7 feels exactly right for this game. Due to me going in blind and not reading hints, I never got the "perfect coverage" of all skills, but I never felt left behind either.
In general, I don't get the Codex criticism of Wasteland 2. I mean, we liked Dragonfall a lot. And Dragonfall remains this cute little sidenote. It's not really a full-fledged RPG experience the way I remember any of the oldschool games. I like it, but it was just starter meal. Wasteland 2 on the other hand feels like a complete experience and a full-fledged RPG compared to others I played. It is a) not my favourite type of RPG and b) a very flawed game in many ways, but then nearly all RPGs I've played fall into either or both of those categories.
What I'd call Wasteland 2 is exactly the same title I bestowed upon its predecessor: a sufficient RPG. It wins no gold medals with me, but I can't really knock it too hard. In the end, I don't have many games on Steam that show this:
and where I haven't been bored at some point. I wasn't really a fan of Hollywood and started to get slightly tired of the game there, but beyond that I honestly enjoyed the time I spent with the game. By and large, the two pieces that best give my own opinion of the game are these:
The RPG Codex review, by
Vault Dweller:
Vault Dweller said:
I tried Wasteland 2 and couldn’t stop playing. The more I played, the more I wanted to. It’s a wonderful yet rare feeling that every gamer can relate to.
Does it mean that you’re going to like it? It depends entirely on your expectations. If you expected a long overdue sequel or a game that allows you to chart your own course, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. If you expected a game like [Fallout / Jagged Alliance / ‘best game evar’], you might be disappointed.
and SuperBunnyHop's review, by George Weidman:
It is as many RPGs I've played before it. Story: meh, combat: meh, interaction: meh, C&C: meh, systems: meh. Yet the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Wasteland 2 was not my favourite game and it won't ever be. In terms of my personal sensibilities, it was "alright". However, when judged on the promise to pretty much deliver a by-the-numbers sequal to Wasteland? Well, I gotta say, the game pretty much succeeds.
