Format – PC

Version: 1.01

The vast, expansive games continue to fill the September release schedule with Wasteland 2 now loading up on Steam.

The long-awaited sequel to Brian Fargo’s 1988 sci-fi RPG took to Kickstarter in 2012 and stormed past its target, acquiring almost 3 million in funding. Fargo and ex-Obsidian developers were back in business and finally able to show us their inspired vision for the future.

Now over two years later we have the finished release, but as you can imagine, this game is absolutely enormous in size, so it’ll take more than a simple summary to articulate our thoughts.

For the next week, stick with us AS WE PLAY and get a feel for of this wide-open RPG.  After that, we’ll round things out with a FINAL VERDICT.

As always, feel free to interact with us in the comments and ask us any questions about the game. We’ll endeavor to get them answered.

 This post will be updated regularly throughout launch week, so be sure to keep checking back…

Key

– Approve – Section of the game we particularly like

– Observation – Something we’ve encountered that we want to draw attention to.

– Competency – An issue with in-game stability and balance

– Mixed feelings – Not sure what to make of a section

– Dissatisfaction –Section of the game we don’t particularly like

Vargas Rules

– Observation – If you’re new to Wasteland, it’s important to note that this is filled with hardcore detail. Various different classes can be selected from the outset, you can even create your own character. There’s plenty to sink your teeth into, and you’ll need to pay close attention right away. Ensure you’ve built an effective team capable of covering a multitude of areas. Hackers, hunters, engineers, even a jack of all trades. It’s well worth spending your time deciding here, otherwise it could have devastating consequences later on. My team consists of a Scavenger, a Jack of All Trades, a Hunter and a Techie – let’s see how I get on.

If you’re playing along, let us know who you went with in the comments.

– Approve – So you start off with a base mission in order to curry favour with the Rangers. The job? Dig up a body, get a log book and some repeater units. Do all that and you’ll have passed your final test. What kind of club am I getting into? One cool thing is the ability to switch out characters during conversations to open up unique dialogue options. Keeps things fresh across multiple playthroughs, and, of course, might get you to your objective quicker if you’re particularly knowledgeable or charismatic. For instance, I got into a tough spot, so switched out my hard ass for my kiss ass and told these hoodlums who threatened me for scrap that i’d beat them back, then eat their dog. Scared them so much that they backed off and let past free of charge. Would you mess with someone who threatened that?

– Approve – You can explore as much as you want on the World Map, but it’ll cost you water. As you can imagine, out in a post apocalyptic desert, water is in short supply, so you’ll need to mindful of supplies if you’re going to be a completionist. That’s a good thing, and encourages you to map out your route. Refreshing in an open-world environment.

 

– WARNING – Save regularly! I died and went quite a way back. Do NOT rely on the autosave. Also, i’m hearing reports of some crippling bugs crashing people’s games. An enormous 8gb update went live today which should hopefully quash most of the Early Access jaggedness, but make sure you’re manually saving. I know that’s not normally something people tend to think about doing these days.