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Official Website for InXile Entertainment https://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/ I know we have a few old school PC gamers on the forums that played through games like X-COM and the Wing Commander series. But I'm curious if there are any fans of the original Fallout and Fallout 2 video games who might be playing Wasteland 2. This long separated sequel was just released this past week on Steam. I've got about 10 hours into it so far and I'm curious what other fans think of this game. For those who don't know, Wasteland 2 is the result of a very successful kickstarter campaign that raised over $3 million dollars for a $900k project goal. The game is also made by former Interplay staff that worked on both the original Wasteland back in 1988, Fallout in 1997 and the early Fallout sequels before Bethesda took over in the late 2000s. Project lead Brian Fargo is running the show once again, Michael Stackpole (yes, the same) returns to the world he wrote in the first game to write this sequel and a bunch of Fallout veterans are also here, including Mark Morgan scoring. So far, I'm really enjoying the game. Unlike the single player in the first two Fallout games, in Wasteland 2 you play a group of four characters just like in the original Wasteland. However just like Fallout, character creation is a deep, thoughtful process that requires you to think carefully about your choices and sacrifice a lot of options to ensure you can build a few core skills. I've already restarted the game once after learning the hard way how to properly balance my team and build a complimentary party of characters. But the time spent building characters is really worth it and can result in some very effective players even at low levels. Plenty of opportunity for personalization of your characters exist in the game, though sadly the visual customization is not up to the level of something like X-COM Enemy Unknown. The world of Wasteland 2 is beautifully rendered in glorious detail and feautres a perfect color palette instantly recognizable to old school Fallout fans. The writing is again excellent, with plenty of fun dark humor and vibrant characters for meaningful interactions. The combat is just as bloody and graphic as it was back in the old games, perhaps even moreso here because of the vastly improved game engine. Most important of all, the game is once again a complex and detailed game world that never penalizes you for playing the game your own way. There is no "right" type of character that will penalize you for not choosing to use them; instead choosing certain skills will open parts of the game world to you just as other parts of the game world will be closed off to you for lacking certain skills. I'm curious if Wasteland 2 can be played without combat if you choose the right kind of character just as it was in Fallout. Worth finding out There are a few criticisms I have. I think a lot of my love for this game is due to my affection for the type of gameplay Wasteland 2 offers. In many ways it plays much like the old Wasteland and Fallout/Fallout 2 video games, but with many improvements. Yet - for all it's graphical and modern gameplay improvements - the game also suffers some really retro concepts in both game design and interface. I think the most noticeable design drawbacks is a lack of what I call "quality of life" features where simply the menu system and HMI of the game lacks all the features one would expect in a modern game. I wouldn't go so far as to call the game interface dated since it is an improvement over games of decades past. BUT...there are many little things - like lacking a zoom feature in character creation or a proper mouse rotation in the tactical map - that just irk me. They really seem out of place in a current title and draw attention to how little we think of these "standard features" until they aren't there. Nonetheless, I'm being quickly drawn into this game and have spent almost as much time out of the game learning how to build a good character than actually in game playing. That might turn off certain gamers, but Wasteland 2 is my kind of in-depth entertainment that rewards your time investment. Being rewarded for your patience, I've no problem spending lots of time in this world. I can't wait to see what is around the next corner. Any one else here on MW playing this game and have some experiences or opinions?