Publisher: Deep Silver
Developer: inXile Entertainment
Platform: XB1, PC, PS4, Linux, Mac
Genre: Turn-based RPG
So what a time, what a time to end a decade with a crazy pandemic and with my own shenanigans dealing with computer replacement parts, am in sheer utter despair living without being able to write and play games properly. Speaking of, you know how good this one is? It isn't sensational, but man it took me back to olden Balders Gate and Planetscape days. It's not something you easily can escape it.
Right after Microsoft purchased inXile, the studio gathered all the funds it needed to finally release Wasteland 3. A continuation of the highly regarded post-apocalyptic tactical RPG series that is also a distant relative of Fallout. In fact, the first game was made right before Fallout came out, since 1988, so this game had some big shoes to fill. Luckily, the few original creators worked on this and some of the charms are still there while others, new still didn't give the best impressions.
This game however, wasn't released in the best shape and there are some aspects like UI, I feel really needed to be pointed out. With that being said, hope you enjoy the read and help a guy out in desperate times. Leave some votes, of which am sure you will.
Campaign
Ah yes, the brutal, twisted mindset and interesting dichotomies of every post nuclear human beings surrounded with decadence, lack of social structures, abominations, sheer anarchy and unusual weather patterns. Time to roll the welcome mat to the wasteland.
The game is a direct sequel to Wasteland 2, taking place in the nuclear frozen tundras of Colorado after an army of Rangers in Humvees escaping from the ashes of their home base in Arizona, utterly destroyed but also a sacrifice to kill Cochise once and for all. Now that they've scattered, a new enemy named The Dorseys ambushes them by killing most of the members left, with only few fleeing the slaughter.
After you survived, you are tasked by the Patriarch, ruler of Colorado Springs to help him bring his usurping children down while he provides the resources to rebuild your base of operations close to his homestead. Also, he's named Buchanan, name and personality based on the real life 15th President of the United States of America. Things only get interesting once you realize the crazy political side and social unrest juxtaposed in between while exploring the maddening and obscene world of Colorado.
You guys remember playing Table-top RPGs with multi-layered stories and great world building with indepth lore? This somewhat gets there. The writing is just spectacular, there are so many different kind of characters and the dialogues, the writers weren't afraid of flexing their lexicon on this one. There's more brevity than you could ask for, obviously humor was always a trademark of the series but this game is also dealing with a lot of intense subject matters including some allegorical to the current political climate, a bit too much on the nose though. Meeting these characters, getting to know their idiosyncrasies and such, finding out what their story is, and doing Ranger jobs for them with payment in the end. Some characters being really intense compared to the rest while others are more composed and it just shows how they distinct from one another. Like you can read a lot from these guys.
There are a lot of ways to end your missions, most of them involve just you doing single track objectives for cash rewards, others you have to make decisions and this affects a lot of things. You piss them off, you lose allegiance benefits from them like discounts and powerful items. So yeah, even for a game such as this, choosing between which moral gray area you wanna stick to. Of course, it isn't complicated to see who's the bad guy, it lets you delve into human complexities with a lot of things from modern society taken away while adding some contemporary additions like complex characters in complex circumstances.
Right, now let's get into the gameplay. What about the gameplay you ask? Well, it sets up the foundation of what the previous games did and derives from other game series like XCOM, Divinity, Gears Tactics and so on. Like it's familiar when it comes to those but also unique to some degree on its own way and it works mostly. Combat is satisfying, this is a thinking man's game. Mind before action, but when the action gets started, oh boy, it is so much fun. There are some legit tactics and strategic planning required to win this. Let's not forget the whole RNG thing.
Outside of combat, you can move wherever you want as long as you aren't detected but once you're in combat. Either you initiate first or your enemies will do that for you. So it's about who rolls the dice first.
Combat is pretty addictive, it's all highly stats dependent. So it's a strategy game as much as it is a tactical RPG. You can have 4 character created or preset of characters from hire pool and pick 2 companions, story NPCs that are there along for the ride at your disposal. So that's total of 6 characters. Those with animal whisperer skills can enlist animal companions into battle or you could hire mercenaries, though you won't have control over them, they provide friendly assistance during battle.
In battle, you can pick various weapons from melees, brawlers to machine guns and rocket launchers from all sorts. Including energy and flame based weapons. Based on how much action points they have and mobility, you decide how to use them in ability. Again, it's based on stats so build your characters to their benefit or detriment as you wish. Because here's the thing, as your character progresses and levels up. They unlock skills, attributes and perks. Perks give you passive and active abilities. These, however cannot be respac. Then again, you can create another custom character and used the points left for use during your missions. All unused characters outside your group will automatically level as you play. Then there's preparedness, these are the next best thing. Ambush is similar to Overwatch long as you have action points to use, you will attack another enemy as they come towards you. Defend is pretty much as you can guess. There's another which allows you to save upto 2 action points for the next round as reserves. Also, just to spice things up, you have limited munition to work with.
Managing your characters stats are important. As some items they hold are more reliable once they have the skill requirement for it. Sure, anybody can hold these and use them, but to successful degree, you'll have to meet these criterias.
As for inventory, like you can hold as much items as you want. Complete infinite amount of stuff, though it'll be difficult to manage that because of the simplified UI design. In fact, the UI makes things look a little too clustered. It's difficult to deal with it even for a game with lot of micromanaging going on, I mean this is 2020, least update the UI design. Am hoping that happens in the next update. You can mod weapons and armors, but even that can't be removed. It's just bizzare considering the premise this game is set in. You'd think there be a weaponsmith that could help remove mods or I don't know maybe strips weapons to retrieve them instead of losing? I mean of feels outdated, also lazy design. Lastly, you also travel around Colorado with your massive vehicle, it can even participate in battles and shoot your enemies down for the kill. You also get to roadkill stupid bucks(deers)
Man, I could go on about your base of operations as well but I'll leave it here. Like, there's hours of stuff to do. It'll take you nearly 40hrs to finish the game provided you play well enough. I played it in Rangers difficulty, it got really difficult around the last couple of battles, yet fun. Of course, there's stuff that does hold it back a little, but there's so much more to do. Even older characters from the previous games return and boy do they do know how to set the mood. This game reinvigorates what its like to play Turn-based RPGs once more. Also thanks to great dialogue, writing and abundance of interesting quests to search and do.
Online
So there's co-op mode, yes you can play with a buddy in any of your campaigns. Though I heard it's a bit of a mixed bag so didn't try much playing it. It's alright, nothing much of a deal to make about.
Production Value
Look at this Jesus statue in clown makeup and tell me nothing about this looks amazing. Funny enough, this game was made using Unity. Other games like Mutant Year Zero or Phantom Doctrine and even latest XCOM used Unreal Engine. This used Unity and it isn't that bad honestly. Even if the aesthetics is minimalistic in small variations.
The music is oh so intense and haunting, like it constantly reminds you what awaits while pitted against the bowels of hell. The voice acting is pretty good, not always but when it goes up to the high mark, it really shines.
The game doesn't have much of a unique look but it is doing so much in there. 90's post apocalypse with some dash of Fallout stuff like old radios and computer terminals. I gotta least admit, even with this engine, they do pull it off pretty amapzing. Animation on the other hand, well it works for the intention of being ridiculous in this game, I guess.
This ran fine on a 2200G build I borrowed on medium settings. At high, runs past 60FPS on an R9 380X. It's well optimised. But damn, it does need polish, it can look really rough.
Verdict
This has been a good year for Tactics game, am glad I held my breath. Wasteland 3 didn't disappoint much, it's a really game that should be looked at for a good investment of your time. With that being said, here are my positives and demerits.
Pros:
- Combat is fun, challenging and addictive.
- So many interesting characters both old and new.
- Large open world filled to the brim with stuff to do.
- Weapons, armors, character stats make a whole lot of difference.
- Nice graphical touch, aesthetics wise.
- This game has mutated animals you can fight and robots.
- Fixing toasters gets you cool stuff.
Cons:
- Co-op mode is underwhelming.
- Some bugs and glitches here and there
- Item managing can be tedious and design around mods feel artificial.
- You can't actually pause the game. Everything runs real-time even during inventory menu.