Wasteland 2 is a turn-based role-playing game developed by InXile Entertainment under the watchful guidance of Brian Fargo, the creator of the original game (Wasteland, 1988). Half of the budget for Wasteland 2 (3 million) comes from donations made by players collected through Kickstarter. The project was released on September 19, 2014. The game's publisher in Russia is the company "Buka."
The events of the game take place in the mid-21st century, several decades after the events described in the first Wasteland. The thermonuclear war between the USA and the USSR has long since ended, but the planet still presents a dismal sight. The States have also become a vast Wasteland - a territory where practically nothing grows, and living beings are increasingly represented by mutants and bandits. But someone must control the chaos that has emerged from nothingness, and that "someone" is the ranger, the enforcer of the law. Nothing and no one can escape his vigilant gaze. If a radioactive rabbit starts causing trouble, it will be exterminated. If a robber is caught red-handed, he will be eliminated. Evil will be punished, and justice will prevail.
In spirit, Wasteland 2 is a conceptual continuation of the traditions laid down in the original. The game retains not only lifeless deserts filled with monsters but also the dark humor that players from the 80s generation cherish. Nevertheless, the influence of the first two Fallout games is clearly evident in the creation of InXile Entertainment. The visual style, the abundance of complex puzzles and dialogues, the camera positioning - everything literally screams about it.
As in Wasteland from 1988, players can choose who will be in their squad: a hacker, a ranged fighter, an engineer, a medic, or a charismatic chatterbox capable of engaging even the most reclusive NPC in conversation. The game features dozens of skills and abilities, which allow for the creation of truly unique rangers. There are no restrictions here, it's only limited by the maximum squad size (4 people).
Wasteland 2 evokes a strong sense of nostalgia. Rangers travel across a vast world filled with myriad details, and it's simply interesting to explore. What do the inhabitants of the Wasteland do, where do they get their food, how do they escape radiation - answers to all these questions are provided in full.
Battles are carried out in a classic manner, characteristic of most similar Wasteland role-playing games. Rangers and their opponents take turns performing various actions (movement, reloading, shooting) and spending action points to execute them. During combat, characters can utilize all available weaponry, the arsenal of which only increases over time.