In recent years, there has been a slow but sure revival of the once popular genre of classic CRPGs. Not so long ago, I told you about the splendid Divinity: Original Sin, many players were completely delighted with the release of the spring Pillars of Eternity, and somewhere on the horizon looms a full continuation of Planescape: Torment. The post-apocalyptic game Wasteland 2 was born last fall, and a year later its updated and largely improved version with the subtitle Director's Cut, about which I would like to tell you today, came out.
Hardly many modern gamers remember the original Wasteland, released in 1988 for computers Apple II, Commodore 64, and also for IBM-compatible PCs. This project was developed by enthusiastic enthusiasts Brian Fargo (Fallout, The Bard's Tale series), Michael Stackpole (The Bard's Tale III, Neuromancer) and Alan Pavlish (Galaxian, Out of this World, Carmageddon). The player found himself in the role of a desert ranger in a nuclear-scorched wasteland of the sample of 2087. The graphics of the game were pretty advanced for their time, but the modern player is not sure that he will laugh at such a visual component. Wasteland quickly acquired an army of fans and became a kind of progenitor of the Fallout franchise.
In 2012, studio inXile Entertainment, founded by Brian Fargo, announced the start of fundraising for the development of the game Wasteland 2 with the help of the Kickstarter kraudfanding site. This news inspired many fans of the original 1988 and the first two Fallout, after all, after the rights to the last series passed into the hands of the publishing house Bethesda, little from the atmosphere of the source is preserved. Bryan Fargo in 2003, bought the rights to Wasteland from the publishing house EA, but the opportunity to develop a continuation at that time he simply was not. During the 42 days of the Kickstarter campaign, it was possible to collect more than $ 3 million, which guaranteed the release of the continuation not only for computers running Windows, but also for users of Mac OS and Linux.
To the development of Wasteland 2, the cult figures of the gaming industry were attracted. In addition to the original development team of the first Wasteland, the designer of the first two Fallout Jason Anderson was specially invited, as well as the creator of Planescape: Torment and the games of such series as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and KOTOR, Christopher Avellon. Music for Wasteland 2 was written by the composer Fallout and Fallout 2 - Mark Morgan. As a graphics engine, a free Unity was chosen, but personally I think that this was the most serious mistake of developers, since it was with the engine that the main drawbacks of the game were eventually connected.
The first version of Wasteland 2 was released in September 2014 and was very warmly received by both critics and players. Gamers are so hunger for classic computer RPG that they were ready to close their eyes to numerous bugs and frankly weak graphics of the level of smartphones. During the first four days of sales, the game brought to the development fund 1.5 million dollars. Already in February 2015, it was announced that inXile Entertainment is working hard on the second version of the game with a subtitle Director's Cut, which is scheduled for release in the coming autumn. What is the difference between the updated Wasteland 2 from the original? Let's figure it out.
Well, firstly, as an inveterate console player, I'm very pleased that the game was released not only for the PC (the owners of the original received the update completely free of charge) but also for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The developers solved the problem with adapting the controls to the gamepad rather as effectively as I can judge. To do this, we used radial context menus, which have recently become very popular in the gaming industry. Of course, an inveterate PC gamer from this model of control will almost certainly have a heart attack, but the console players will quickly master the game. The second important news is that the Unity game engine has been updated from version 4.5 to version 5.0, which led to a global improvement in the graphics component and a more pleasing image of a variety of visual effects.
Another important addition to the game was its expanded voice acting. In addition, more than 8,000 lines of dialogues with actors were recorded. The game was added entirely new character perks, called "Fads". Each of these features of the hero gives him not only advantages, but also certain drawbacks. These are completely unnecessary perks, and you can abandon them initially, but their use is quite capable of changing the feelings of the game. Generally, the creation of a character in such games is almost the most important moment of the gameplay. On how correctly and prudently you distribute skill points and basic parameters, what will be your game in the future depends. Personally, I spent several hours in the character editor, but in the end I still went to the Internet to read detailed manuals about creating a balanced team of characters.
The interface has also been significantly redesigned and brought to mind. For example, now you can choose the font size, optimizing it so that it's comfortable to read from the TV screen. Three-dimensional models of characters have been redrawn from scratch: now they are more like people and are no longer so frightened by smeared textures and low detail. Global rework has also been subjected to gaming locations, this is particularly gratifying to those who have had time to get acquainted with the original. In some places, the game does not directly recognize, and it's great, because the developers listened to the fans' comments and, finally, did it right. In order not to be unfounded, look at the model of one of the characters just below. Left the old version, on the right - updated. Nice work on the bugs, is not it?
One of the most pleasant moments of the re-release was the finalization of a highly controversial game mechanics. If you encountered a closed door on the way, you should have remembered who is hacking in your team, choose this character, go to the door and hack it. Now you just call the radial menu, choose the hacking skill in it and confirm your choice. A character with this skill will run to the door himself and do everything necessary. Doors can not only be hacked, but also checked for traps, and also opened using brute force. But remember that the lower your corresponding skill, the higher the chance that a critical misfire will occur and then the lock may break.
I will not praise employees inXile. Even the updated game is not without its glaring flaws. A lot of questions are caused by a disgusting camera, which behaves so inadequately that it sometimes starts to frankly enrage. If there is a mountain or tree in the space between you and the characters, do not even hope that they will become transparent, as is customary in modern video games (remember the same Divinity: Original Sin). Instead, you will have to look at a mountain or tree that has filled the entire screen. And the camera is constantly twitching, which in time can naturally lead to nervous twitching of the player's eye. And its management is not implemented in the most successful way. As this camera does not twist, and love it in the end will not work.
Still I'm very much annoyed in this game, the discrepancy between avatars, drawn by artists, and three-dimensional models of characters. Why the developers went to this questionable step - I find it difficult to answer, but it's just wild to see when the NPC is completely different from the portrait that appears next to the dialog box. The same problem occurs when creating a team of characters in the character editor. The player is given a choice of several painted portraits and a set of elements for the assembly of the hero. If in the PC-version you could just make a screenshot of the resulting character in the avatar, then both console versions for some reason this feature is completely deprived.
The "evil" mathematics of the original game has not disappeared anywhere. Well, what kind of gate is it, when with the probability of 80% of several shots reaching the enemy, only one of your patrons can reach? Am I so unsuccessful? I doubt it. And such strange calculations, bordering on "pure chance", are simply encountered in every game at every step. Wasteland 2: Director's Cut, as before, is incredibly difficult to pass and requires the player to have a profound knowledge of the interface, skills, management, which inflates the bar of entry to unprecedented heights. You explain only the basic principles of game mechanics. From time to time, you come across the question "how to cure the character?" Or "what is this strange icon above his portrait?", But the developers simply do not want to explain anything to you. And I think this is a huge drawback of the game.
Wasteland 2 is one of the few games in which you have to make really important from the point of view of morality elections, the consequences of which will immediately reflect on the further development of the plot. Literally at the very beginning you have to decide which of the two settlements you will save from certain death. And there is no such option in which you will succeed in saving everyone at once. Above all of their decisions you need to think carefully, because any such choice can eventually lead to serious consequences. You can solve the problems arising on your way in various ways: somewhere to persuade the enemy, to intimidate or deceive him somewhere, and somewhere to apply the "good old ultra-violence". And this nonlinearity is felt really wonderful!
Pros:
- Significantly improved the graphic component.
- The dimensions of the interface can now be customized to fit your requirements.
- Well-adapted control for console gamepads.
- There were almost completely redrawn characters and scenery.
- Your actions really affect the game, changing the development of the plot.
- Developers managed to achieve almost complete absence of bugs.
- For Director's Cut was recorded additional voice acting characters.
- Deep role-playing system, allowing to recoup 100%.
- In the game there is a true legacy of the first two Fallout.
- Added new optional perks - "Fads".
Minuses:
- Extremely confusing and incomprehensible game interface.
- Unclear mathematics spoils the impression of the game.
- The Unity engine is still far from perfect.
- An inexcusably awkward game camera.
- The threshold of entering the game is incredibly high.
After passing the game, which takes you no less than 60-70 hours, you ask only one question: why the developers did not release this version at once? Yes, there is not everything perfect, but there are no billions of bugs that spoiled the impressions of the game of 2014. I can smell that inXile did not have enough time and money, and fans who donated their money to create Wasteland 2 could not wait any longer. Only a year later, the developers were able to implement in the game all those ideas that were planned initially. The quality of it, of course, in places could be much better. But, even in this form Wasteland 2: Director's Cut is one of the best CRPG of recent years. I put the game 8 points out of 10 .
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