Review for Wasteland 3. Game for Linux, PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 28/08/2020
If the post-apocalyptic and semi-nuclear Arizona of the previous chapters begins to get tight and suffocating, the best thing to do is to change the air. And what better place than nearby Colorado to have a nice ski holiday? Too bad that, after the nuclear conflict, things are a little different from what we expect them ...
Wasteland 3, last effort of InXile Entertainment, catapults us into just such a situation, putting us at the helm of the usual Desert Rangers, this time traveling to the neighboring state to close a deal: weapons, ammunition and supplies in exchange for a somewhat special "favor" to the self-proclaimed leader of local communities: help him get rid of his own children !!
Everything okay then? Obviously not. Especially since our armed column is lured into a trap and decimated by a tribe of degenerate cannibals, and only two rangers, our initial characters, manage to escape the massacre by the broken cap. The mission still has to go on ... The plot and setting of Wasteland 3, released on Steam, PlayStation 4 e Xbox One, certainly do not shine with originality, but what really matters is the substance of the game. In addition, given that the title presents itself as a classic old school RPG, this lack of narrative innovation can easily take a back seat.
The really nice thing about the narrative sector of Wasteland 3 is in fact something else, that is the overwhelming black humor that will accompany us from the beginning to the end of our adventure. Macabre jokes and puns on the verge of decency will in fact be a frequent corollary to all the shootings, explosions and various violence we will witness (or take part in!) During our post apocalyptic journey. A good dose of madness is also present in the characterization of the characters and the various factions we will have to deal with, starting with the degenerate hillybillies that have ambushed us in the prologue, to even more crazy things, like a faction which raised the figure of Ronald Reagan to the level of Divinity.
During our adventure, it will obviously be very important to take care of the relations between us and the various factions in the area. Favoring one group rather than another can make the story turn in a more than unpredictable way, and this is certainly a good thing, since it greatly favors the replayability of the title. In addition to the two initials of our own creation, we will also be recruiting many other characters for our party, each one really well made and characterized. The freedom of action we will be able to enjoy is really great: in addition to the exploration of the entire state territory through the Kodjak, a nice tracked handyman that will get us in the way more than once, we will in fact be able to decide our actions in complete autonomy, expeditions and growth of the group and the base that will be entrusted to you. Of course, all this will affect the course of the story.
Technically speaking, Wasteland 3 offers us a very old school graphics and interface, as already mentioned, and therefore not particularly spectacular but which undoubtedly does its duty. Valuable, always taking into account the type of visual rendering we are talking about, the light effects and the various explosions that, we can assure you, in Wasteland 3 are certainly not lacking. The rolistic and gameplay system has remained substantially unchanged compared to the previous chapters, even if there is a significant simplification of some mechanics, starting from the creation of the two initial characters.
However, the most important strengths of Wasteland 3 remain the immersion of the "role-playing game" itself and the great freedom of choice that is given to the player. The combat system also remains substantially identical to that already seen in the other titles of the series, or with turn-based battles and covers in pure X-Com style.
So much meat in the fire therefore for this Wasteland 3, but they are definitely not all roses. In addition to the aforementioned not excellent graphics, the title has, at least in our country, another flaw. It is not localized in Spanish. And for a game where lines of text abound, and an answer given lightly can drastically change the flow of events, this certainly doesn't help.
Removed these two flaws, which after all can also be considered second-rate, Wasteland 3 is a truly enjoyable, huge and extremely engaging title. Absolutely suitable for old school nostalgics, for whom it becomes a real must have!
► Wasteland 3 is an RPG-Strategy-Turn-Based-Adventure game developed and published by InXile Entertainment for Linux, PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game was released on 28/08/2020
