It's almost surreal how much legacy the Wasteland series has behind it while remaining relatively unknown. The original Wasteland was released in 1988 and was incredibly well-received, but plans for sequels kept falling through. It remained a pivotal piece of gaming history, though, and even became the inspiration for 1997's Fallout, which is considered a spiritual successor.
Wasteland 2 would finally release in 2014 and was well-received, though never really lit up the charts. It's blend of real-time combat and isometric controls made the game feel somewhat dated, but it still proved to be an exciting return to a classic format. Wasteland 3 continues that exciting return to form, but its strategic gameplay is still both blessing and curse.
Wasteland 3 picks up right where its predecessor left off. Following the collapse of the Arizona Rangers, the Patriarch of Colorado promises the surviving Rangers any relief necessary in exchange for their assistance. Hoping to restore their numbers, Ranger squad Team November treks up to the snowy remains of Colorado.
Fans of classic Fallout may finally have their fix with this game. Wasteland 3 has a sense of humor, but it doesn't take the almost comical, tongue-in-cheek look at the apocalypse that Fallout does. Wasteland 3 is much darker, opening immediately with your Ranger squad's remaining members falling in combat. This prolonged sequence ends with a foe's head being blown out from behind as you're trying to talk him out of fighting. From there the game escalates as you encounter cannibals, frostbite as an execution method, cat remains and pits of burning bodies, all in the first few hours. This is the thinking man's post-apocalypse game, and the horrors of war and immediacy of survival are front and center.
You won't have to trek the wastes alone, at least. Wasteland 3 preps you for combat with a squad of six: four slots for your team of custom characters, and two slots for visiting NPCs who assist you. Much like the XCOM series, your squads can be customized down to the most minute details. This customization plays into the importance of your team's dynamic. The skill trees are simply too diverse and deep for you to spec one character out in everything and remain effective. You'll need to pay attention and kit your team out to be specialists, relying on each other to survive. Your NPC characters can help you out in a pinch as well, but they may not remain with your squad at all times, meaning you have to prepare for their inevitable departure. Fortunately, the game also supports multiplayer, so you and a friend can join up to trek through the wastes.
The game's overarching plot -- finding the Patriach's children before they can instigate a coup against him -- almost immediately takes a backseat. Though you're given these quests at the start of the game, they'll have to wait for you to take a few levels, as you'll need to reach Level 17 before you can even attempt them. In the meantime, you'll be heading to downtown Colorado Springs, where you'll be met with a corrupt law enforcement agency, a mob-run Vegas send-off that hearkens to the original Wasteland and a community of affluent elites who have grown disenfranchised with...well, everything. You'll explore Colorado on foot, but also in your Kodiak, a powerful armored vehicle. If you run into an encounter you can't avoid on the world map, you'll have the benefit of the Kodiak's fire support as well, thanks an A.I. installed early on.
Wasteland 3's first hours are punishing if you're not paying attention. Combat is a traditional turn-based affair. You'll position your squad and take advantage of cover and the terrain, hoping to get the drop on your enemy before they can get into position to take you out. You'll find yourself relying constantly on cover. Though an early sneak attack before combat is one path to victory, you'll seldom be able to take out an enemy with that one attack. Once the enemy is aware of your presence, your only hope is to get your team into position and hope you're in range for an attack.
There are plenty of options for facing those enemies, though. Ranged snipers, mid-range weapons like assault rifles and small arms, and up-close combat options like heavy melee weapons are just the tip of the iceberg. Your squad can pick up new skills along the way, be it becoming more adept at sneaking around enemies or moving faster to pick up downed comrades. We found a mix of weapons and skills to be the best, though falling into classic gaming tropes definitely did help. One squadmate kitted out for healing had much more luck with an assault rifle, for example, as it gave them the flexibility to stick close to heal and revive while also dealing out damage when needed.
Though the questline is straight forward, just charging into a room with guns blazing will almost certainly get you killed. One relatively early secondary mission, "A Nightmare in the Bizarre," pitted the squad against an underground building full of killer clowns. Though we were the level the game recommended, the encounter was taxing. The Warrens area is a winding maze, and the only hope for resupply is to leave the area entirely. Throughout the Warrens were enemies abound, complemented by traps and "Hot Hogs," pigs strapped with explosives that were sent running at us. More than one encounter led to a crushing defeat, but taking your time is the key to victory. Careful setup, early placement of our characters and judicious use of everyone's skills were the key to survival.
Those looking for more thoughtful, careful gameplay than Fallout's recent run and gun adventures are in luck. While Wasteland 3 may not have Fallout's innate sense of humor or current focus on crafting, it does have a level of strategic challenge that has been sorely missing from Bethesda's RPG series. Though the comparison between the two is obvious, it's also sorely unfair to Wasteland, a series that has become its own powerhouse with two back-to-back releases that wowed gamers new and old. If you're looking for a massive RPG to sink your teeth into and practice your war game, Wasteland 3 is definitely something to take a look at.
Developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver, Wasteland 3 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.