Wasteland 3 - Review @ TriangleCity

TriangleCity reviewed Wasteland 3:

Wasteland 3 Review

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Says what most are saying, game is very good but still plagued with bugs. If you put the bugs aside, this is one of the best games of 2020.

Andree Wallin's concept art is best in these games. The rest is a total PoCrap and PoS. But after watching this, to be sure, I'll have to play the bugfree [] version by..dunno, next year?

Originally Posted by porcozaur
Says what most are saying, game is very good but still plagued with bugs. If you put the bugs aside, this is one of the best games of 2020.

Maybe I was just lucky but I don't recall running into a single bug in my play-through. Regardless, it's a great game - one of my favourites of the last year or so.

Can't say that I'm impressed. First contact was to realize they locked the camera control to QWERTY keyboards, without thinking that maybe other layout existed (they just had to add 4 controls to the settings… and apparently they've been asked for a while). Controls overall are a bit counter-intuitive but I suppose that just requires some getting used to.

Then after a few minutes of play, I learnt the hard way that enemy can fire through reinforced concrete bunkers if I'm on the roof and they shouldn't even see me, so there's no real notion of 3D.

When an action cannot be achieved, just a quick flash of text that disappears immediately, very convenient UI ergonomics.

It's just the first impressions, but I'm already wondering if that was not a mistake to buy this. Well, I see there are good parts, but those controls and sight problems are blocking me at the moment.

Well the first thing I said on this very forum on it's launch day was the games UI looks, and feels like it was made for a controller and console. Looks like I was right.

Even adding points when you level up is more complicated then Wasteland 2.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Well the first thing I said on this very forum on it's launch day was the games UI looks, and feels like it was made for a controller and console. Looks like I was right.

Even adding points when you level up is more complicated then Wasteland 2.

Well, that's probably true. I did play it with a controller and it played well with one.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Well the first thing I said on this very forum on it's launch day was the games UI looks, and feels like it was made for a controller and console. Looks like I was right.

Even adding points when you level up is more complicated then Wasteland 2.

that is indeed a big minus.
Yet, i am looking forward to play it

My mini review. I think the story / writing / creative in this game really stands out. I would put ahead of all the recent top major titles (Divinity, Kingmaker, Pillars) in terms of story / writing. Super clever and entertaining. And I personally am more partial to fantasy settings. Whatever the RPG award is for 'best writing' I would nominate this game. And that even takes into consideration the fact that you don't have fully developed/written companions in this game. Wouldn't argue with anyone who wants to wait for it to 'season' a little bit. But def a game I would highly recommending playing. Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

So I've started the game recently and I'm a few hours in.

My biggest problem so far is the lack of an "personal integration" of the player characters into the plot. The orders are to help the patriarch. But imho that's too shallow. I think there should be some kind of personal motivation apart from just following orders. It surely doesn't help that you control a pair of characters and not a single guy.

Originally Posted by Morrandir
So I've started the game recently and I'm a few hours in.

My biggest problem so far is the lack of an "personal integration" of the player characters into the plot. The orders are to help the patriarch. But imho that's too shallow. I think there should be some kind of personal motivation apart from just following orders.

Well your helping the patriarch to get support for the rangers back in Arizona because the future is very bleak after Wasteland 2. There's more but that would be spoilers.

Just remember the game has multiple endings.

It surely doesn't help that you control a pair of characters and not a single guy.

It's the main difference between Fallout and Wasteland. Your not the hero it's a team of rangers. Still I agree with you I'd love a more personal story based on your NPC.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Well your helping the patriarch to get support for the rangers back in Arizona because the future is very bleak after Wasteland 2. There's more but that would be spoilers.

Hm, yes… perhaps I should look up WL2s plot to get attached a little better.

I actually found it quite interesting. I am not aware of any other RPG which is so consistent in "personifying" the player group. You are always addressed as "Team November"

-> Jagged Alliance 2

Originally Posted by HiddenX
-> Jagged Alliance 2

You mean as personified group? Wouldnt say so. In JA2 you are basically a hired manager, asked to do stuff and use your connections to the AIM. Also visualized by the laptop you are using and stuff like that.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
I actually found it quite interesting. I am not aware of any other RPG which is so consistent in "personifying" the player group. You are always addressed as "Team November"

I get what you mean, but for me personally that doesn't do the trick.

Imho it would be better if the single main char was the explicit commander of the team. Could have easily been integrated by adressing the main char as "Commander November" and integrating this naming convention into lore.

Also it doesn't make sense for a military unit not to have defined leader. You have to have a clear chain of command. Or is there some lore in the Wasteland setting that does make the units somehow direct democratic?

So after rereading W2's plot and restarting and creating my main characters differently, it starts being fun.

However I still don't like the concept with the two anonymous "main characters". My companions so far, Kwon, Lucia, and Jodie feel alive having a personality. All good.
But my two main characters feel lifeless and emotionless.

Yeah, I agree. The 2 mandatory custom characters (well, you can select preset ones but apparently they have almost no impact) don't feel very interesting.

And I think that's kind of an issue in general. The game somewhat pushes towards custom characters, more than other games do. Sue Henchmen are also better in DOS2.

However, in Wasteland 3, recruited NPC characters come with a set of issues:
-You never know when you get them, what skills they have and you do get them relatively late. So planning your other characters is a nightmare, as also you need to cover a lot of skills
-The impact on custom characters is less than in DOS2. There are only a hand full situations when they really inject themselves into conversations. Like there is one situation when one character has an additional option on a computer in the palace. But that is super rare.
-Recruited Characters can leave the group. Never had that myself. But if you do some very bad decisions that can happen apparently.

So yeah…it's quite some tradeoff for some "fluff".

And 2 characters always need to be custom, likely because of the multiplayer feature and these 2 characters will never leave you in any case.