I’m late with most things – late on arriving to events, late on buying games (largely due to waiting on sales), and yeah… just late.
Anyhoo, I’ve been replaying the original Fallout of late (no pun intened) and something seemed to be missing, so I installed Fallout Tactics. But the more I play Tactics, the more I wish the game were turn-based. In my humble opinion, most strategy games benefit from being turn-based, as it allows you to really look at a situation and place your units. This allows you to utilize cover, elevation, and set up all sorts of elaborate traps. I’m not saying real-time strategy doesn’t work, Starcraft is the shit and Company of Heroes definitely seems to have something going for it. But being an old-fogey (with those decreased reaction times), I like to look at the field of battle, take a moment to mull things over, and place my units accordingly. In many ways, it’s like a game of chess.
There’s something to be said about the Fallout series. It’s far darker than I remember, and though I can certainly appreciate the gloomy worlds that Bethesda and Obsidian has (further) fleshed-out in the more recent Fallout games, it’s not done by Black Isle. And something seems to be missing as a result. Part of that may be due to the change in perspective as Fallout will always be isometric to me. There’s just something special about that. And I love that you can click on items in the world and read a description. But graphical gripes aside, the original series hasn’t aged too well. Movement, interaction with the environment, and just selecting items just feels outdated.
So when I recently sat down and watched some gameplay from Wasteland 2, I was quite pleased at what I saw. It is Fallout, or what I would want in a new Fallout game. Granted, the game’s in beta, so things can change, but there’s all the character customization options you love, along with being able to import custom character portraits, and a combat system that’s very reminiscent of X Com: Enemy Unknown. But then you also have the world map that brings back that Fallout vibe. There’s set locations and (I imagine) random encounters and locations. Throw in text chat, with the occasional voice-scripted scene and you have me sold. I know Wasteland predates Fallout but damn if this isn’t the sequel to Fallout that I wanted.
Oh, and they have Mark Morgan, who did the music for the first two Fallout games, rocking out the soundtrack for Wasteland 2. From the bits I’ve heard, it reminds me of Firefly meets Fallout. And I dig that.
I’d go out and get the game right now, but for an Early Access title, the price is pretty damn steep ($59.99 USD). I’ve read on the Steam forums that the game’s going to drop at $25.00 USD at launch. Whether or not that’ll be the case is yet to be seen, as I’m burdened with the responsibilities of parenthood, so some restraint is in order. 
Anyhoo, if you’ve read this whole post, I think Wasteland 2 is going to be pretty damn good. I’m definitely looking forward to it. I hope nothing but the best for inXile and this title, as we need more like it. With Brian Fargo, Chris Avelone, Michael Stackpole, and many of the writers who worked on the first Wasteland and original Fallout titles, I think gamers are in for a real treat.
Here’s some solid footage of the beta without any commentary. Just pure gameplay. Color me excited. 
Click here to view the embedded video.
The post Why I’m excited about Wasteland 2 appeared first on sai tyrus.