Wasteland Wasteland 2 - what's your general opinion?

[Eyestabber]

Great game overall. Some constructive criticism (things they should improve on WL3):
- Mediocre weapon balance (AR >>> all, handguns are terribad, bladed weapons are terrible, heavy weapons squander ammo for no real advantage over ARs and so on)
- Weapon progression is completely linear/no real choice when comparing 2 guns (one is almost always CLEARLY better, swapping is a no-brainer)
- NPCs have intentionally gimped stats. Dat 7 inteligence, dat 3 int, dat odd Coord and so on
- Voice acting varies a lot. Some characters have really bad voice acting (Woodson).
- Charisma locking NPC's is a great idea, but WL2 implements it poorly. Since NPCs vary from "marginally useful" to "deadweight" there isn't a great incentive to roll a high CHA party. Well, except maybe for getting Pizepi/Gary Wolfe (they aren't that great, but still...). The best NPCs aren't CHA-locked (Rose/VC)
- Some weird design choices. WHY is brute force a skill? Can't we have a STR check instead? Rose is better at kicking down doors than Takayuki, that just looks weid. Also, dialogue checks are wholly independent from CHA. This is also really questionable design. Perception skill <> awareness attribute. Why?

 

[DosBuster]

Great game overall. Some constructive criticism (things they should improve on WL3):
- Mediocre weapon balance (AR >>> all, handguns are terribad, bladed weapons are terrible, heavy weapons squander ammo for no real advantage over ARs and so on)
- Weapon progression is completely linear/no real choice when comparing 2 guns (one is almost always CLEARLY better, swapping is a no-brainer)
- NPCs have intentionally gimped stats. Dat 7 inteligence, dat 3 int, dat odd Coord and so on
- Voice acting varies a lot. Some characters have really bad voice acting (Woodson).
- Charisma locking NPC's is a great idea, but WL2 implements it poorly. Since NPCs vary from "marginally useful" to "deadweight" there isn't a great incentive to roll a high CHA party. Well, except maybe for getting Pizepi/Gary Wolfe (they aren't that great, but still...). The best NPCs aren't CHA-locked (Rose/VC)
- Some weird design choices. WHY is brute force a skill? Can't we have a STR check instead? Rose is better at kicking down doors than Takayuki, that just looks weid. Also, dialogue checks are wholly independent from CHA. This is also really questionable design. Perception skill <> awareness attribute. Why?

Whose alt are you?

 

[Eyestabber]

mmm?

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

Major , GotY for me!
Way better than D:OS I think, especially when it comes to everything but combat.

 

[Nas92]

I liked this game well enough and I probably will finish it - putting it on hiatus for the time being - but I will not replay it most likely. The combat was fun at the beginning, when I had to conserve ammo and had to think hard whether the situation warrants my sniper taking a shot, whether it's worth it going for a headshot and the like. I've even enjoyed some of the more drawn out fights at the Prison. By California, however, combat has become a chore and a user here told me that not even cranking up the difficulty will help. Ah well, this is not a game that is supposed to be about combat.
The story and the writing I like well enough so far. The Canyon of the Titan is an area that I most definitely will remember for some time. The main story is also pretty interesting, heard it only gets better (yeah, I've spoiled myself already), though the Children of the Citadel is a much too obvious Fallout reference. I like the choice and consequence part too, but it seems to me that it had to take a backseat in California. It's too bad that they decided to pour so much time and resources into Arizona.

- Some weird design choices. WHY is brute force a skill? Can't we have a STR check instead? Rose is better at kicking down doors than Takayuki, that just looks weid. Also, dialogue checks are wholly independent from CHA. This is also really questionable design. Perception skill <> awareness attribute. Why?

Yeah, this bothers me as well. I don't know shit about shit when it comes to stats and RPG mechanics, but having Intelligence govern how many skillpoints you get on leveling up makes INT a bit overpowered. It got so bad that I had to start setting restrictions for myself, ie: don't use the high int characters for Brute Force, use Chisel or Angela no matter what; the leader character must have very high Charisma (though Charisma is more useful with the companion restriction and the exp bonus).

 

[Commissar Draco]

Finaly finished it and its just as good as I thought to be except rushed and combat heavy ending expected more after Angel Oracle and Hollywood multiple C&C... Base in California was a fracking joke I am surprised it was not overrun the second my team left it and some faction heavier mechanics like leaving Rangers/being kicked away were cut off from the game but overall the game was best kickstarter delivered.... Prison was huge locking the content via magic turrets/minefielfds only to see an obscure Wasteland 1 reference but its only place in game when you are railroaded this way and Rangers were a bitt too goody good shoes for my tastes but since you could choose from multiple solutions it was not that jarring same as SJW content which was minimal. Can't wait for Wasteland 3...

P.S. Lack of of start combat/turn mode sucked fortunatly game is not that hard when you train your rangers well and give them decent gear (finished with AK-97/Dragunov/Minigun/AK-97/Eviscarator/Jackhammer/Ion Blaster armed squad with all PC and NPC at 40+ Level while playing at Ranger dificulty.)

 

[Vikter]

Bought it on a whim to help go through a recent break-up, and having a blast with it. I've been playing JRPGs only for a good time now, but Wasteland 2 is really blowing me away to the point that I'm feeling really dumb for not having played good CRPGs before. Not only that, but the Mark Morgan soundtrack made me get Planescape on GOG and save for the Royal Edition of Pillars of Eternity.

Now... about the game itself, I'm loving it. It runs terribly on Linux, but it's great on Windows on my shitty machine. The world map exploration is something really great to do, although I'm still in the beggining. I really feel an urge to be completionist because the content actually matters. The combat is also good. I liked it in Shadowrun and XCOM and I am loving it here.
And goddammit, that soundtrack is good. And the writing is great too.
Amazing game. I am really happy that I am starting to get into CRPGs during this period.

 

[Akratus]

Bought it on a whim to help go through a recent break-up,

Lol, fag.

 

[Gregz]

Lol, fag.

FUCK OFF NEDERLANDER, BISHES CAN BREAK A MAN..

 

[StaticSpine]

I've been playing JRPGs only for a good time now

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

I've been pushing it down my backlog because character system was terribly convoluted. I'm around prison but decided to go back to rail nomads because enemies there took too many bullets to kill. Here's my opinion
-The character system is convoluted for no good reason, having to create 4 characters while not knowing what the heck should I do and only hint being "take a surgeon" was overwhelming
-AR's rulling over every other weapon type is not really an issue for me. Other weapon come to shine as side-arms when enemies get too close or when ammo for ARs. It's not like other RPGs didn't have obviously superior weapons. Like going full small arms and then bozar in F2 and grabbing turbo plasma riffle as quickly as possible in F1. Combat is still fun with trying to position your guys correctly and use your supplies
-Overral atmoshpere/dialogues/plot is pretty great, really hit a spot for me. AG center was one of the better locations I've seen in RPGs.
-While not as good as Fallout it certainly has better combat/encounters.
-Certainly one of the better RPGs I've played. I'd say it's the best RPG of 2014 but I'm not really sure if it tops Original Sin since I've played only a little of Original Sin and it has great production vales (monster design, area design, music).
-Overall I'm really happy with the game, wouldn't call it "mediocre" like many peaople out there, while the game has issue it's certainly better than most RPGs out there. I'm certailny waiting for Wasteland 3 even if it's just going to be the same game with tweaked mechanics and different adventure (like Dragonfall).

 

[Cyberarmy]

Eventhough WL2 has some real rough edges, I had great fun while playing it. That's all matters for me in the end.
Dunno if I replay it though. Probably I'll wait for some mods or enhanced edition.

 

[DeepOcean]

I have just one word for Wasteland 2: Boring. Jeez... this game almost made me fall out of my chair of boredom.

 

[hiver]

The game is a product of a team who never made any RPG, designed by some general bullet point list of supposed RPG features. (there was a few people with some experience involved but only partially and for specific smaller parts of the game that were not under their control)

A complete incoherent disaster of bad taste, cheap forced schlock that pretends to be "reactivity" - almost always based on killing some woman or seeing a woman KILL HERSELF for some fucking stupid reason. It wasnt MISOGYNY!!!! but just incompetence and thinking that is what will get most of the players extremely emotionally engaged. Plus a mindbogglingly bad quest design in which you can do what the linear incoherent and idiotic plot tells you to do or role-play an imbecile.

The overall story is the simplistic obnoxiously rehashed "plot" of good rangers fighting against some evil robots who want to KILL EVERYONE!

Combat is simplistic actiony turn based combat with no depth but with horrendous encounter design and areas full of illogical "cover boxes". Not to mention several really huge mistakes in the design of mechanics that resulted in effects like energy weapons doing almost no damage to characters without armor. All the difficulty in it was created by tripling amounts of HP enemies have and nothing else. The hyped destructive environments turned out to be nothing more then one or two small boxes per fight. The barrels you can shoot to explode are available in one or two places in the whole game. etc, etc...


There is no scarcity in the game, no actually sense of any kind of post apocalypse except as paper thin superficial incoherent circus where anything goes - except anything smart and sensible.
Almost all "factions" and groups in the game are ordinary modern factions or groups, only masquerading to be post apocalyptic by ways of dress up. The exceptions are literally few rare exceptions to this rule.

Every ranger team you make will have all the skills in the game well before first half is finished. Most of the skills are just one skill that was forcefully split into several different ones just to create false skill bloat and illusion like any of that matters. Several, like heavy weapons skill - are completely irrelevant and not needed at all to use such weapons. not to mention more cosmetic ones like animal whisperer and other such shit.

All the more bombastic features that the company brags about in their trailers on steam are direct blatant lies.
-edited-

The communication with backers was horrible and based on cheap superficial PR stunts while the chief talked to gaming media and proclaimed himself to be everything from "creator of Fallout" while taking credit for how the Ip ended in bethesda hands... as if thats something you should publicly brag about... to savior of RPG renaissance - while working very hard to deny any influence of backers on the game, except "buying some icons" and taking on one guy Ui suggestion. The forums were overrun by yes men and "developer defense" squads of idiots, many of whom have became moderators as reward for screaming anyone with different opinions away.
No doubt, the bosses very quickly came to see any suggestion that wasnt in line as enemies of teh progress and their awesome "vision".

Which ended in this incoherent, superficial, unimaginative mess most of us paid good money for.

-
errm, basically.

 

[Name]

+ Great use of continuity
- Minimal plot
+ Firaxis XCOM combat system
- Poorly executed and balanced
+ Moderate length
- Second half is clearly rushed
+ Great varieties of NPCs and factions
- Reused too many portraits and rehashed too many old concepts

And the list goes on and on when you scrutinize the game.

Conclusion: Exactly what you got when you tried to make an Bioware/Black Isle era RPGs with modern day technology by modern day developers.

 

[hiver]

I would not agree with use of continuity being great. Passable at best, yet completely superficial.
Same can be said about NPCs and factions. There is a good number of them in the game but what is it worth when it doesnt really matter one way or another and they are all just the usual everyday groups, or cliches.
The only actual PA faction are the monks.

 

[Ulminati]

World is bland
Character building was fun for 30 minutes, but then you map out the optimal comp and it becomes bland
Combat is ultra-bland
Graphics are 'k if you're into bland turds
Music was 'k
Writing slightly above average

pretty disappointing.
Might've scored it better during the Great RPG Drought. But with so many RPGs being released lately, WL2 falls flat by comparison.

 

[DragoFireheart]

I give it a N/A because fuck my backlog of games.

 

[Morkar Left]

But with so many RPGs being released lately,

There weren't really that many...

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

So after finishing the game to the end I'd give it 7/10.

The Arizona section was really great, for the reasons I've stated in my earlier post. I'd give it 8 to 8,5. California looked half-baked and banal shit boring most of the time, not to mention it's the time where combat system started to become boring. Really nothing special. I'd give it 6/10 at most. So overall it's 7/10. Very enjoyable but not great. My recommendation: next time hire Avellone to write the whole game for you, not just a couple of locations.

 

[Whiran]

For me the game was / is... bland.

The game doesn't do a good job at capturing my attention and keeping it. I stopped playing after a few hours (I was trying to give it time to grow) and just haven't gone back to it. Maybe I'll give it a whirl again after the next patch or something. Maybe not.

I suppose if I were to rate it I would go with: it's okay. The game isn't bad but it isn't good - it's firmly in the mediocre range. Is it worth getting? I'd say sure just to check it out 'cause some people seem to enjoy it but I wouldn't put it higher than a $10 USD value. It's a bargain bin value purchase.

 

[Gnidrologist]

My recommendation: next time hire Avellone to write the whole game for you, not just a couple of locations.

Which locations did he do?

 

[Zombra]

My recommendation: next time hire Avellone to write the whole game for you, not just a couple of locations.

Which locations did he do?

I think just Ag Center.

 

[Gnidrologist]

Really? I thought it was kinda boring. He has lost his touch. Btw, slight offtopic, but i wouldn't know where to find this: which parts (locations/npcs) did he write in New Vegas, if any?

 

[ghostdog]

So, my final opinion about W2 is slightly harsher than my initial one. W2 has its high points but some of its low points can be jarring. I dropped it somewhere in Hollywood. It was the occasional retarded writing and the shitty loot/gear mechanics that probably did the most damage. Oh well, I still played it for many hours and had a lot fun overall.