Perhaps if I had played this series BEFORE Balder's Gate 3, I would have liked it more. Or if I play DoS1 first. But after playing BG3 this game is like a somewhat crude sandbox version of BG3. It's over course very similar all the way around. However, after a few weeks of playing and making decent progress through the story, I just couldn't get into the story. The story felt just kind of vague and not very compelling. The NPC companions just seemed very hollow and unlikeable. One thing I decidedly did NOT like was how everything in the world was flammable and ALWAYS catching fire. Every combat encounter turned into a raging inferno, every time. It kind of got ridiculous. I think there probably is a lot of good content in this game and again if you play 1st version and haven't played BG3, there's probably a decent game here. It was on sale very cheap so I rolled the dice on it. I've given up playing it and probably won't go back - but I tend to be picky with CRPGs. If you love RPGs and can get it on sale cheap, it's maybe worth giving it a shot.
All around a great game, with an engaging story, good writing, an excellent turn-based combat system with tons of options, and great graphics/art/animation. Yes, the story prods you along in one direction (just like a real DM would do) but there's a lot of latitude in the paths you choose. If you play solo and bring on the NPC companions, they are interesting and fun to have along. There's a ton of character possibilities (classes, races, specialty skills, etc.) and magic items to really build unique and varied characters. I started playing D&D around 1982 and then computer RPGs soon thereafter on the Commodore 64 and then PC's. This game ranks up there with the all-time greats like The Bard's Tale, the Ultima series, Wasteland, Fallout 1&2, the SSI AD&D games, and Balder's Gate 1 & 2. Tons of side quests to keep you busy, lots of great combat encounters, plenty of puzzles to solve. This game made me enjoy PC gaming again like the good old days. It also has good replay value. I highly recommend it.
Wasteland 3 was a good game but just not as good as I expected or hoped. Cons : It was fairly predictable. Very early on you can see where it's going and where you're going to end up having to make deicions, and how the game wants you to play it. Equipment and gear just gets silly and not in an occassinally quicky fun way - the armor is just dumb and unrealistic for the most part and it kind of breaks immersion. Too many 'wacky' items in the game. A few weird or silly things fits in with the Wasteland spirit, but every 3rd item is like "Egg Beater Pistol....give your enemies a whippin' ! Applies 'Yokes on you' toenemy for 5 turns". It just gets stupid after a while. Radio chatter gets annoying really quick when you're out on the world map. It was interesting and sometimes fun in Wasteland 2, it just gets dumb fast in Wasteland 3. Thank goodness I found the off button for the radio eventually. NPC's....they are pretty bland and not very likeable, except maybe the mutant girl but you won't find her until late in the game. Ridiculous gangs and freaks - yes its a messed up post-apocolypse world, but does every 3 out of 4 groups have to be off the scale crazy/goofy? Game doesn't let you go prone or roll in the snow to put out characters on fire??? Why even have snow? Pros: Combat is still fun even if it feels a bit dumbed down from Wasteland 2. Most of the side-quests are decently interesting The idea of building up the Ranger Base was interesting (but could have had more bearing on the game). Overall the attributes and skills were pretty good. The villians (although predictable) were decent and it feels rewarding when you take them out. The graphics/setting/etc. looked pretty good. The game moves along at a good pace. It has some replayability to it. Final thoughts - the game is solid but has lost some of the magic the orignal and even Wasteland 2 had. At a discout price, its worth checking it out.
