What to expect from Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 title Wasteland, created by none other than Brian Fargo. If you find yourself scratching your head round about now, wondering why that name is mysteriously familiar, then relax. Brian Fargo was one of the creators behind Fallout, the original one. Ahhh, the connections click. As you may expect, the two games series relate to one another, but each hold on to their individuality through detail. The games separated once Fargo left Interplay and they began the journey to Bethesda and creating games that are closer to Elder Scrolls than Fargo’s original creation. Despite the pressure on Fargo and inXile’s shoulders in making another Wasteland game, as opposed to a Fallout title, the Wasteland 2 creator is confident and here’s why…..

One of the strengths that Wasteland had over its Fallout counterpart was the player’s perspective. Gamers would take on the role of a single character in Fallout, carrying them through the entire story while boosting individual character traits in the hope of success. However, in spite of how high you boosted one character aspect, there would always be an occasion when you would need your weakest ability. The charismatic will need to shoot their way out through a stealth escape and the fire-friendly players will eventually be required to charm their way out of sticky situations. The narrow scope of the player conflicted with the full range of opportunities presented in Fallout, which inevitably left the player at a disadvantage.

Fargo has learnt from this apparent mistake and has decided to maintain the group style of Wasteland in his latest project Wasteland 2. Although players may not feel a personal bond, or connection, with the characters, variety is said to be the spice of life and it certainly is in Wasteland 2. The versatility in gamers’ hands as they choose the character to deal with specific and individual situations is empowering. By having access to a greater inventory from the beginning of a game, players will feel less pressure in venturing forward to increasingly difficult tasks and perhaps enjoy them even more.

The importance of choosing your characters and ultimately your tactics in Wasteland 2 cannot be underestimated. When you’re confronted with a decision that can extend, or reduce, the game by two hours, you quickly realize that every option has consequences that you need to deal with. But that isn’t to say there is an incorrect choice to take. The sandbox nature of Wasteland 2 means that players influence the game as they progress through it, as a result gamers could experience entirely different games to one another. To emphasize this point further, there are at least three different scripts for Wasteland 2. Whether you continue with script 1, 2 or 3 depends on whether you pick up a character or not and the timing of a specific event. If this can happen on the basis of just one character, there is no knowing how many alternative scripts there could be for each of the options available. The possibilities seem endless, or at least time would if you tried to uncover them all.

However not all of the choices you make in Wasteland 2 will stay with you throughout the game. It seems that Fargo aims to make the decision-making element of the game a tad more realistic. In other games players will encounter the consequences of their decisions beyond the immediate, but does that really happen? When people traditionally annoy an individual, that doesn’t lead to an entire town being annoyed at them. Rather, the next person is unaware of the previous annoyance and treated them as normal. This element of humanity is being introduced to Wastelands 2, meaning that the reputation you acquire in one area will have no impact on your reception in another one. That is, unless you bring the trouble with you.

There really will be no correct way to play through Wasteland 2, instead you will have to make up the game as you go along and hope you eventually conquer it. Three lefts make a right, but another one sends you back to the start; so don’t keep on the same path in Wasteland 2 when it comes out! One of the game’s pillars of strength is its sandbox nature, which players ought to take advantage of to get the most from the experience.

Rather than games consoles like PS4 and Xbox One, which Ubisoft considers worthy platforms, you’ll be able to download Wasteland 2 on PC once the Kickstarter project is complete.

 
What are you expecting from Wasteland 2? Did you prefer playing Fallout or Wasteland? Let us know in the comments below!

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