Wasteland 2 Previews
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We've rounded up a few additional previews for inXile's upcoming Wasteland 2, the sequel to the original 1988 post-apocalyptic RPG funded by Kickstarter (and probably also The Bard's Tale and Choplifter's sales).
Calm Down Tom:
What's notable about Wasteland 2 is that choices matter. This is an element that seems to have been lacking from recent similar turn-based games, notably XCOM Enemy Unknown, where choices such as which mission to pursue affected just what resources you had at your disposal. Here, choices visibly affect the world, well articulated early on when two SOS calls from different locations come in you can only save one of them, and a later visit to the other finds the consequences of your inaction clear. This really contributes to the rich nature of the game world, not only do your choices have an impact, but your non-choices and things that happen off-screen also have an impact. It's not unique to Wasteland, but it's a good touch that suggests a lot of promise.
The devs are very keen to be transparent that this isn't a complete experience yet. There's still some bugs and there only seems to be the first few hours of content in place. You're going to run into missing textures, and the UI gets a little touchy in places, where trying to select an enemy to attack becomes a huge challenge. The biggest issue however is that there are a lot of reports of major slowdown on a widespread range of hardware. I've been fortunate enough not to encounter that, so it doesn't affect everyone and it will almost certainly be addressed shortly, but be warned, this is still a true (Early Access) game.
From the minute you're handed control over Wasteland's 2.5D climes, it's clear that this is a labor of love for both nostalgic cRPGs and isometric graphical engines. Details matter, from the hand-drawn environments to the descriptive chunks of text illuminating beyond the top down perspective; this is old school roleplaying, the type your grandpappy told you about.
The comparisons to the Fallout series squeeze out of the monitor immediately. For those with Van Buren R.I.P tattoos, this feels like a tear stained apology for that ill-fated project. Murky browns return, as do overgrown reptiles. It's like returning home - the radioactive, goo-sticky, mutated homestead that is.
So wrangling control of your crack team of desert marauders, Wasteland follows in familiar patterns of bygone RPGs. Conversations come in equal measures of quest locations and lore, linking up with ever-present radio contact, and violence is never far beneath the surface.
Even for someone like me -- a lover of the classics and yet appreciative of many of the progressive mechanics that have been brought to bear on the rich templates of old in recent years -- Wasteland 2's combat can seem lethargic and uninspired at times. As with everything in this beta, though, the key phrase is early days. There's a long way to go when it comes to certain aspects of the experience, but the game is hardly in a complete state yet, and it's not helped by a shuddering, stuttering framerate (though more recent patches certainly seem to have helped) or occasional crashes.
However, it is clear to see some flashes of magic already. There's a classic fork in the narrative that sees you having to choose between two calls for aid: one is the Agricultural Centre that handles food production in the area, the other is the town of Highpool, whose community is responsible for collecting fresh water. Knowing that saving one will mean the destruction of the other, and coming across the ruins and the charred bodies later on is striking, but the radio amplifies that immensely.
Quite a few detractors of Fallout 3 had issue with the switch from the top down isometric view point to first person. Wasteland 2 sticks its roots with a top-down RPG perspective that should appease both fans of the original and first two Fallout titles. Combat is turn-based and focused on action points which control how far characters can move and what skills they can use while in combat per a turn. Depending on the character build, it tends to work out a bit like the recent incarnation of XCOM where there is a closer area that you can both move and attack once in and a bit wider area that you can only move to.
Missions try to guide the players way across the wasteland but the openness allows access off the beaten path as long as the party has water and no fear of running into enemies that are faster and stronger. Smaller optional missions are found through exploration while the more elaborate missions are from major plot characters such as being radioed in by the General at the ranger's headquarters. Quite a few seemed to favor player choice between the combat and noncombat route with multiple solutions. Pay the toll or resist and fight the bandits. Choices seemed to be a bit typical of games that follow a similar philosophy but that could just be due to the limited amount of content in the early access beta.
The first quest turns out to be pretty dull - a glorified fetch quest - but it carries a sense of mystery; I find the severed leg of what looks to be a cyborg and have to follow the blood trails back to his corpse. I'm then sent out to two locations; on approach, I get a distress call from both. Here is my first big choice - who to save? My decision has a satisfying sense of consequence.
While playing the game I'm faced with a number of smaller decisions and what is nice about them isn't that they're a simple 'should I do this? Do I want to do this?' but also a case of 'can I do this and am I quick enough?' at one point I stumble across a young boy drowning. I notice there is a tree that I can use the 'brute force' skill on to knock down. The skill takes time to pull off and my skill level is low so I fail. '˜Not a problem, I think to myself '˜I'll just keep doing it till I succeed'. As I try again the boy drowns and I'm attacked by irate villagers. If you play a number of RPGs you may not expect events like these to be timed. Trust me, here they are.
Finally, the jokes: there are plenty of cultural references and humour; one victim of a fungal infection I find is described as being like '˜a druid that casts too many barkskins.' Amusing but in general the whole world of Wasteland 2 seems to lack a distinct personality.
