Wasteland 2 Gamestar Preview

WorstUsernameEver

WorstUsernameEver

But best title ever!
If you can't read German but still would like to get the salient points of the recent GameStar Wasteland 2 preview, you probably should thank the folks at Wasteland2Guru, since they've transcribed those in English in bullet point form.

Here's a snip:<blockquote>Gameplay:
- The game will have between 40 and 50 "maps" (they're compared to Fallout 2's 23 locations, so it might as well be referring to the overall number of places to visit).
- The main storyline will take 20 hours to complete, without side quests or alternative solutions factored in.
- On the subject of radio signals: the ether will play a prominent role in the game, reacting to the player and providing music.
- CLASSIC is indeed the attribute system, comprising Charisma, Luck, Awareness, Strength, Speed, Intelligence, and Coordination.
- 32 skills will be present in the game.
- Combat skills: Blunt Weapons, Bladed Weapons, Anti-Tank-Weapons, SMG, Shotguns, Energy Weapons, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifle, Handguns
- Scientific skills: Picklock, Safecrack, Alarm Disarm, Toaster Repair, Computer Tech, Synth Tech, Demolitions, Brute Force
- General skills: Silent Move, Salvaging, Hard Ass, B.S. Detector, Outdoorsman, Evasion, Leadership, Folklore, Animal Whisperer, Field Medic, Surgeon, Weapon Smithing, Field Stripping, Perception, Barter
- Like in Wasteland, you can have up to seven characters in your party.
- Energy weapons deal damage proportional to the amount of metal in the opponent's armor. The more, the higher the damage.</blockquote>You can find the full list of tidbits, including several story tidbits (factions, plot hook, etc.) and the target sales for the title at the link.
 
I do wonder about multiple weapon skills.

It seems that Fallout1/2 taught us that it's better to stop trying to separate them, because some of them become extinct later, and yet you wasted points on them (i.e. Small Guns).

It's all pretty much about highest tier weapons skills in the end...

I guess the separation could work if all weapon types remain equally useful until the end, and are "side-grades" rather than signifying an upward progression.
 
Multiple weapon skills are a good thing because you have a big team.
That help to differentiate your rangers.
Also in Fallout 1/2 Small Gun is very good until the end.
I rather hope each weapons type will have his own tactical advantage.
 
shihonage said:
I do wonder about multiple weapon skills.

It seems that Fallout1/2 taught us that it's better to stop trying to separate them, because some of them become extinct later, and yet you wasted points on them (i.e. Small Guns).

It's all pretty much about highest tier weapons skills in the end...

I guess the separation could work if all weapon types remain equally useful until the end, and are "side-grades" rather than signifying an upward progression.
Click to expand...

I don't have the link with me, but they said one of their design goals was to make every kind of fighting style viable until the end of the game. So if you like fighting with two pistols, you can play that way until the end of the game, because you will keep finding powerful pistols and there are inherent advantages with every fighting style that will never be taken over by another fighting style as the game progresses.
 
The target sales of 200k to 300k sounds doable, especially with enough adverts. I am certain that they can hit the numbers, if the game reviews are positive.

The other screenshots linked above do look pretty cool (at least on my phone). Compared to them, I think the train screenshot wasn't the best choice. The one with the canyon might have suited better.
 
shihonage said:
I do wonder about multiple weapon skills.

It seems that Fallout1/2 taught us that it's better to stop trying to separate them, because some of them become extinct later, and yet you wasted points on them (i.e. Small Guns).

It's all pretty much about highest tier weapons skills in the end...

I guess the separation could work if all weapon types remain equally useful until the end, and are "side-grades" rather than signifying an upward progression.
Click to expand...

I don't know, I would say the gauss rifle in Fallout 2 made Small Guns useful up through the end of the game. I equipped a number of my party members with those, and they were just as effective as me with my energy weapons. And regardless, it's not just about the ending build, it's about the skills that help you through parts of the game. Energy weapons and Big Guns were nearly worthless early on, because those weapons were so rare.

Personally, I'm for more skill variety and differentiation, even if some skills are more important than others. It makes things more interesting, and makes character building more strategic.
 
I am in the same boat here, I dont mind if there are some skills that require special circumstances. I see Wasteland in that sense similar to Jagged Alliance, which I guess follow a very similar approach. You had a few stats in Jagged Alliance which have been, rare in their use, but they still had their place. The same for a few items, like a bomb detector.

But you forget, that you can create a party here, so that means there is not really a reason to have for example 2 people beeing professionals in lock picking.

Its simply essential to have a lot of options and skills here to chose from, or everyone can easily become the jack of all trades.

Surf Solar said:
So approximately half of the skills will be useless :D
Click to expand...
toaster repair sounds like serious business to me!
 
Lexx said:
The other screenshots linked above do look pretty cool (at least on my phone). Compared to them, I think the train screenshot wasn't the best choice. The one with the canyon might have suited better.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the screenshots look great in the mag. I recommend buying it. For 3.50 you're basically skipping four beers.
 
I think the game looks damn pretty. I agree with what has been said before, that it's a bit too blurry, but that's hopefully an adjustable graphics option. But I have to say, I'm impressed with the level of detail and quality in the graphics considering the budget.

As for skills and all that, I'd rather find most of it out reading the manual and starting up the game. But I'm glad there will be lots of skills, anything that offers customization for my characters is a huge plus.
 
sea said:
40-50 maps actually doesn't sound like much, if you factor in random encounters, interiors, etc. So the question is, are these unique maps or are they levels that the article is referring to? Yeah Fallout 2 "only" has 23 areas or whatever, but they might have multiple interior areas and multiple overland zones.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I found weird. The preview doesn't really explain what these 40-50 maps refer to. I guess these are locations?
 
I hope altogether it will be longer than 20 hours, more like 50+, Fallout 2 was like 60-80 for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top