Wasteland 2 Director's Cut Digital Classic Edition

Some heterophobia going on at this company. I reported a bug where two women characters were talking about being married. Obviously one was a man, just an error in the dialog text. I got kick banned for "homophobia, spam, circumvention" I just thought it was a funny thing. The game DOES feature, among other things, characters that own sexual slaves and ones that want to rape you. I guess those topics are a-ok. Otherwise I would have given 3 stars. The game is an ok fallout-like role playing game. You open chests, you kill things, you level up, you buy better stuff. At fist I did not like the overhead camera view that this game uses. Constant mouse panning. But then I bothered to learn the keyboard controls and that helped alot.

As a big fan of Fallout 1&2, I find Wasteland 2 a good successor. However, it could have been much, much better. The other reviewers already mentioned that the combat could be more challenging, tactical and smart. Little variety of enemies and random encounters doesn't help in that regard. However, my biggest personal disappointment was the quests, or, more specifically, the approach to alternative solutions and attention to the writing if the party doesn't do things in exactly one way that was envisioned by the devs. The quests in Arizona felt a bit more polished in that regard, but later on I started to see too much of it. For example, when I'm just entering a new town, I expect there will be quite a lot of learning to do. I need to understand who's in charge there, what are the interesting places and people and so on. However, when I start talking to NPCs in slightly different order, I get very weird interactions, when the topics I can discuss are the ones my party is not even supposed to know about yet! Imagine this: your party enters a bastion of some faction in a slightly unconventional (but properly designed) way, so that you appear right next to one of the bosses. You start a talk with that NPC and the topics you can discuss are, like, 6 names of the other NPCs related to that faction, while it's literally the first time I even hear about all of them. This approach to conversations completely kills my interest - I lose all the bits and pieces of information since they just don't seem to fit together. It's a shame, since the tech engine could be a basis for a really great RPG. Sadly, sloppy writing killed it for me mid-way.

I was really excited about this game, especially as the promised the new fallout 1/2. Unfortunately the only similarity between this, and the old Fargo games, especially FO2 is the insane amount of bugs in the initial release. Start with the pros: the setting is good, and the art creates a good overall atmosphere (though its not today's standards but this game is not about eye candy). Writing is also ok, the story is just enough for such a game. But that's it. :( The bad: Fighting is terribly unbalanced, this close range penalty thing on assault rifles and other long barreled weapons is just ridiculous. The system suggests a tactical flavor, but hasn't even got the depth of shadowrun returns. The combat AI is also terribly simple... With also make your NPCs "going rouge" actions suicide, as they rush into the hands of the enemy without any second thoughts. And so much more is bad with fighting... The bugs. Some quest variables don't update properly leaving the game in inconsistent state (leaving you with all your weapons confiscated for good, this is why i personally stopped playing :/) The random number generator has a resemblance to the one in temple of elemental evil, which was so much bugged that natural 20 was impossible due to a fencepost error (funny in a d20 game). Skills are totally independent from the attributes. First this makes no sense, second, this makes some attributes unnecessary (e.g. charisma, which the developers noticed really fast so they started to tell people that is is important in loading texts...). I could list the design and programming flaws all day but that's where is stop. Buy it when it is $5, no sooner.

It's quite hard to review this title. When it's works, it's fun, but there are many glitches and just disappointing quest outcomes due to no alternatives being offered, even though it wouldn't take much more than a few lines. Things like having to trudge around the map everywhere, vendors never upgrading their stock, lots of useless, low value items being inside high skill containers. I don't have much problem with the combat. Combat Initiative seems weird, but workable. The big problem is game design. It's like they had a game 85% complete, then just decided to tie up the loose ends and call it finished. Examples; For most of the game, you right-click to examine an object, then any options to interact are displayed, (disarm, lockpick, etc). But on a few occasions they don't work this way, right-click and you get nothing - you need to select the skill from the bar on the screen then click on the object to see your chance of success..assuming you know what skill is needed. I had to look up how to open the door at Darwin because of this. AFAIK, the peaceful solution to Rail Nomads Camp can only be done by typing in the right word at the console. Often when you leave a map, a recruit will say a line that sounds like it should be said upon entering the area. The boss battle with Tinker in Damonta has NO spoken lines, and is all text bubbles. Some objects appear solid, but you only find out after getting shot through them they aren't. Energy weapons are feeble, and I can't think of any area where they are superior to regular weapons. Some encounters are time sensitive, but as you speak to someone asking for help, the event they want you to stop is happening. It's easy to bypass a quest, or complete one by just entering a room, when it's obvious this quest wasn't meant to be done until later. Any NPC who might follow you will charge into battle with bare fists and 30 hp. My advice, pick it up during a 50% off sale, research beforehand to avoid pitfalls.

While certainly not the worst game I have played by any means, this title is littered with questionable design decisions, backtracking, quest bugs, and linearity. The game is split into two parts, Arizona and LA. They might as well be the base game and an expansion- once you leave Arizona you can never return. Quests are often confusing to follow and too obtuse in instructions. Some main quests require collectathons to find items hidden amongst settlments. And the combat, oh lord... talk about unbalanced. The guns are a complete hit or miss compared to melee.