Wasteland 3

Backed this game on Fig (loved Wasteland 2) and waited until last week to start playing because of the inevitable bugfixes. I have played the game with my wife using a direct connection and have just started the second run-through. (So bear that in mind when reading the annoyances listed below - the game was still enticing enough to play through and want to replay.) One thing that we noticed often is the quirks that crop up for the player joining the host - minimap disappears frequently, speech bubbles from party members or enemies get stuck obscuring parts of the screen, weapons get unequipped for a character (on 2 occasions vanished entirely). The host does not go unscathed either - on 2 occasions the dialogue options could not be clicked and it was not possible to transfer control to the other player so an ALT-F4 and reload of the most recent autosave was needed. The frequency of the bugs seemed to increase towards endgame too, however most were not game-breaking. There are odd design quirks like the camera zooming in for interactions or to focus on an event but not automatically zooming out again, and lack of quick travel (especially the final encounter where there is only 1 destination). The art style, animations, models, voice acting & music are excellent. The humour, variety of classes and quests with choices that matter are very well done. Overall we have thoroughly enjoyed the game, and we have little patience for buggy/poorly designed games.

For a game that dropped on launch day, I was very pleased to encounter NO show stopping bugs (see below). The graphics had better detail than the previous entry in the series, and the music and sound were also notably improved. The use of music (musac?) in the game at times greatly enhanced the mood of the play. There was much more voice acting this time around, and side-characters did have some limited interactions. I certainly was left wanting more of both elements. For anyone looking for "build your party" RPG play, this is here in spades. The issues: load times felt on par with last generation consoles (using a fast ATA3 SSD). There WERE bugs, but minor, e.g. I found two skill books that improved skills that weren't in the skill list. Input lag was occasionally noticeable and at times could become annoying (i.e. made the "loot management" that much worse). A sniper using a weapon they didn't meet the prerequisites for could complete heal the enemy--VERY annoying. Many side story elements were often tied to exploration, so there is some benefit to exploring early...which ties to the use of radiation as a gameplay element, which serves to limit your exploration; figuring that out early on meant I didn't bother exploring until I'd almost fully upgraded my vehicle. It felt to me like that could have been handled better. The story starts just after the end of the previous game, with the Rangers going to Colorado to help the Patriarch with some problems in exchange for aid to Arizona...your team is ambushed with few survivors and still need to succeed in your mission to "save the day". Good story elements, including many dark humor points which the series is known for, make the appearance in this entry. I finished the game with what I'll call the "peaceful transition of power" ending and believe I could probably enjoy at least one full replay with different characters. A hearty "recommend" if you like this kind of game or the series in general.

I really wanted to give this game a chance, but after 12 hours I give up, there's no soul in this game, and no fun. The story is bland, the characters are forgettable, nothing stands out in this game that could provide an enjoyable game experience. Also worth mentioning, that they were able to put out several DLCs, but still couldn't bother fixing the bad UI, and the awful skill upgrade preview window. The zoomed in view is again something that bothered me from the second I started the game, I found it really disappointing that there is no option to zoom out more, and there isn't any mod either. And the game definitely doesn't look that good so that you want your team to fill up half the screen.. But in the end the bad writing that made me quit the game finally. Just don't bother, there are much better games out there.

This reviews the game as a comparison to Wasteland 2, and focuses on the quality of the writing. Wasteland 3 is very well designed and manages to be more streamlined, while keeping a level of depth similar to Wasteland 2. Besides the studio's experience with W2, more effort and care has been put into the design. How: the game presents the most important information first, then, with more clicks, in-depth options and mechanics can be accessed. On launch, it is also way less buggy whan W2 - in fact, seems like a welcome 'break in tradition' for games from Black Isle & its succesors. The game's tone is, of course, 80s post-(post-)apocalypse - grisly murder, PTSD, fundamentalist murder hymns, totalitarianism, disco, robots & toaster repair. The writing is very good - well written, well voice-acted, and offering plenty of choices. The game also accounts for both the choices given to the player, and those not obviously given: the options of (sometimes) killing the bad guy before they kill the hostage are still present, and are as satisfying as ever. As a story-based RPG, Wasteland 3 is for me 5/5, and better than Wasteland 2 - although that game, too, is 5/5 for me, despite its bugs and rough edges. If you want a squad-based TBS game, the mechanics are good, but not perfect. I'd say a 4/5, if you're not interested in the story.

If you want to play CRPG or experience what prompted Fallout - this is your game. It is not necessary or advised to play other wasteland games before 3. If you are new start there. Still some bugs, but a lot got fixed.