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Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 Review – Customary to most games set in a post-apocalyptic setting, Wasteland 2 is set in an alternate timeline, in which a nuclear holocaust takes places in 1998 and the world is pretty much left in ruins. Countries are left without governments and the lands are lawless, where you either kill or be killed or are forced into servitude. However, there are those who do their best to uphold the law and bring some peace into the desolate lands, this band of self-appointed lawmen are the Desert Rangers and you are part of them.

Wasteland 2

The game is actually set fifteen years after the events of the original Wasteland, where an experienced ranger is found brutally murder and your squad of rookies are tasked to investigate and solve the murder of said ranger. Yes, instead of just playing a single character, Wasteland 2 puts you in control of a squad of rangers.

Initially, you start off with four characters but along the way you will recruit more characters and have a party of seven. The initial four characters you have can either be picked from a set of pre-made characters or you can custom make each one.

If you love stats and skills customisation, Wasteland 2 will not disappoint as there are no class limitations and plenty of skills to pick from. However, it is best to build a balanced team and have a good range of characters such as a medic (very important), a charismatic leader, a sneaky sniper and so on. There’s really no limit to your imagination and this also opens up replayability as you can try out different builds during your next playthrough. Once you’re done with creating your squad, you’re then thrust into the Wasteland and set on your quest.

The game is played out from a top down view and moving out of battle is in real time. Unlike Fallout 1 and 2 where each step and action costs action points (AP), Wasteland 2 only uses AP in battle and this element will keep you on your toes as there is no undo feature and we found ourselves carefully counting our AP to move into cover and attack enemies.

Battles are challenging especially in the start as your skills and equipment aren’t the best and you will be easily overwhelmed by enemies. This is why we said that having a medic is handy as characters can bleed out and the game practices permadeath, which means if you can’t save that character in time, he or she is lost forever and you’ll be one squad member short and that is never a good thing. The storyline of the game is really interesting and drew us in easily. However, quests can be a little confusing as there are no proper markers to tell you where to go or what to do. It really leaves you to find it out yourself, which can be very frustrating at times.

Another great thing about Wasteland 2 is its choices which impact not just your party but sometimes everything and everyone around. At a few instances, some of your recruited party members will even leave your party or try to kill you if you make the wrong choices. All in all, Wasteland 2 is a true labour of love and if you love tactical role-playing games that is challenging and engaging, then you will definitely have to pick up Wasteland 2.