Wasteland 2: Director's Cut

 Xbox One
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 76 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 76
  3. Negative: 18 out of 76
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  1. reviewthis4u
    Jul 15, 2016
    2
    I refused to let this turkey beat me. This game attempted to revive the turn-based RPG story-heavy days. Instead, it failed to meet even the most basic of player expectations. The graphics were mediocre and the combat was rudimentary, which in no way explains why it froze every hour or so, whether loading between areas, walking through open areas, or in the middle of combat. The playerI refused to let this turkey beat me. This game attempted to revive the turn-based RPG story-heavy days. Instead, it failed to meet even the most basic of player expectations. The graphics were mediocre and the combat was rudimentary, which in no way explains why it froze every hour or so, whether loading between areas, walking through open areas, or in the middle of combat. The player customization is frustratingly minimal, from the ugly slate of avatar pictures (not post-apocalypse-ugly, but poor-artistic-talent-ugly), the meaningless attributes and their disconnect from in-game effects, and the skill trees that in no way reflect the game play curve. Do I build up my Combat Initiative or Combat Speed or Skill Point pool or...? Look, none of that matters. With a high Initiative you limit fight lengths by shooting first, but a balanced party will win every fight regardless of who goes first, as health and bullets are plentiful. Combat Speed has very little effect on how often you attack, as most enemies are slow and you will very rarely be outnumbered. Skill Trees do not matter for much of the game, and investing anything over 4 intelligence points only provides a false sense of competence. In the early game, there are opportunities to use skills, with 60-80% success rates that seem to fail far more often than that. For a completionist, you will be reloading about every 20 minutes as your characters with 10 intelligence critically fail on a 91% challenge, repeatedly. Meanwhile, there's almost always a way to walk around or blast your way through a task, to include just walking away as the reward is almost never worth your time. And that's the ultimate coffin nail in this poor overall effort, it just isn't that fun... but more on that later. In the late game, with 50 character levels to grind through, you'll have skill points to burn. Strength? Maybe 3-4 points for health. Charisma? Nope, the 3 persuasion skills (yes, 3) have nothing to do with charisma. Sure, have one PC with 5-6 Charisma points for the Leadership skill boost to the party's Hit %, but that's one PC only. So what DO you need? Action Points. Then just pick a weapon, ANY weapon, and you'll kill everything. Brawl alone can reach 100% critical rate, dealing out hundreds of points of damage. What about the quirks? Only useful if you want to further challenge your patience. Then there's the inventory, which will quickly boil down to everybody carrying their bullet types, some meds, maybe some explosives, and one mule carrying the plot items. Everything else is Junk, useless items that in no way can be reconfigured into something helpful. The combat system starts with an auto-targeting feature that often doesn't work, especially if you have a non-party companion travelling with you. It targets them, not for an assist skill, but to be attacked by your party... why is that even POSSIBLE!? And don't expect assist skills to work either. First, you have to bring up a skill wheel, then select the skill, then toggle among NPCs or Objects or PCs, then use the skill. Sounds simple, until you consider human nature. If I'm standing next to an injured PC, I bring up the wheel and toggle to that PC, then select the desired skill... and then the toggle jumps off that PC to some other default PC. I missed a step, I expected the skill assignment button and PC toggle to be independent of each other as they are in fact completely different buttons. But no, you MUST go step by step. Then there's exploring. If you're standing between 2 different objects or NPCs, expect the targeting toggle to jump about however the game deems appropriate, regardless of what thing you're attempting to interact with. The quest system? Just remember what you have to do (hunting or gathering), because the quest log won't help much and flagging a quest does nothing on the map. Then there's the story, the core of any RPG. It unfolds largely through radio monologues and the occasional cut scene of no better quality than your average Sega Genesis. Oh, the live action sequence at the beginning? Yeah, that was it. Hope you enjoyed all 3 minutes. But, what about that cool scorpion tank on the start up screen? Yeah, expect nothing like that in 99.99% of the game play, from the combat to NPC interactions. But the story's good, right? There's more story in 2 hours of Fallout or Borderlands, than in 15 hours of this game. The NPCs have no depth, which only further serves to paint a static, lifeless environment. The mini bosses and inept end boss, with the motivation and charisma of sawdust, exist in every post-apocalyptic game ever made. There's just nothing original or appealing about grinding through this buggy lip-service to better games. I give it a 2 out of 10, because it did achieve some form of functionality... sometimes.… Expand
  2. hyattsminion
    Oct 13, 2015
    9
    I have played Wasteland 2 on the PC and on the ONE, and it makes the console transition nicely. Some things are simplified with the new skill and combat wheels. No longer do you need to choose a skill with a one character at a time, now the most qualified of your squad will tackle what needs to be done, be it lock picking or trap defusing. You no longer need to select items like the shovelI have played Wasteland 2 on the PC and on the ONE, and it makes the console transition nicely. Some things are simplified with the new skill and combat wheels. No longer do you need to choose a skill with a one character at a time, now the most qualified of your squad will tackle what needs to be done, be it lock picking or trap defusing. You no longer need to select items like the shovel to dig, now whoever holds it will just be sent to dig.

    There is a bit of a learning curve going from PC control to a console controller, however after a few minutes you will get the hang of it. Nothing is left out, anything you could do on the PC short of mods is available on the ONE version. They have added voice work where there was none, and it is sometimes jarring as the voices sound different, Angela Deth is a good example of this. Environments have added details and even areas to explore that contain new loot to find.

    As of this writing there is a lip sync issue with the live action cut scenes, but if that's why you're playing, you're not here for the right reasons.

    The game runs smoothly, is well put together and I personally prefer it over its PC origins. It feels right with controller support.

    If you are starved for a real single player experience and love how RPGs used to be, pick this up. Not only is this still a great homage to Wasteland, Interplay and the genesis of Fallout's universe, it makes for a wonderful stopgap as we all wait for Fallout 4. 9/10    … Expand
  3. Daelus
    Mar 26, 2016
    6
    First-off, I acknowledge I give this game 1 or 2 bonus points simply because it is a true RPG and there are far too few of them out there on consoles. That is the strength of this game and I would recommend it only to those that know that irrespective of how "role" is spelled in RPG, it means "roll". Stats matter i this game.

    That said, if you are not a real fan of the genre, steer    First-off, I acknowledge I give this game 1 or 2 bonus points simply because it is a true RPG and there are far too few of them out there on consoles. That is the strength of this game and I would recommend it only to those that know that irrespective of how "role" is spelled in RPG, it means "roll". Stats matter i this game.

    That said, if you are not a real fan of the genre, steer clear as this is not even a good RPG....still, for every 5 Wastelands, we get a Divinity:OS, so keep making em :)

    Pros:
    True RPG, character customization is deep and meaningful; no one-size-fits-all here. You must specialize and what you have to not pick is gonna hurt :)

    Screen/ controller mechanics, from inventory to tool selection is very well done.

    Level design/ pacing is varied and keeps things interesting.....combat, traps, puzzles, nice variety.

    Story is decent but not memorable.

    Unfortunately, that is about it for the good stuff.

    Cons:
    First and foremost, I am used to top-down isos, but the camera angles in this game are atrocious....horrible sight-lines, visibility. I get that the game was done on a PC budget, but that doesn't mean you have to use tech that is 15+ years old...late 90's average, garbage today.

    No mini-map and only barely visible compass with no ability to set waypoints; makes navigation in this game a tedious chore.

    Turn-based nature of movement cost is broken, sure you can only fire a gun once per turn, but any slug (literally) can cover the entire screen in that same turn......broken.

    Combat is less satisfying than it should be as the percentages are clearly broken....2% chance for a gun to jam that happens a minimum of 1 in 8 shots....minimum...the engine is clearly not relying solely on the stated %, which makes the mechanics opaque and frustrating.

    Level layouts tend to be linear in progression, yet there are few "backdoors" and no fast travel, meaning you are forced to trapse back over the same ground to get back to the main map......80's anyone?

    One of my larger gripes is that the game is intended for a party of 7 and you are penalized for using fewer as xp is at the individual level not the party level (you do not split xp) and all encounters are geared for a 7 member party....so it is simply more difficult with fewer members with no upside other than not having to coordinate an entire football team throughout the game.    … Expand
  4. masterchief247
    Feb 3, 2016
    4
    I am so tired of games for this general having such small font size in menus. WE ARE NOT PLAYING THESE ON A COMPUTER SCREEN!!!!. Divinity Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Witcher 3, Dragon Age Inquisition just to name a few. Graphics aren't everything. I am giving them all low scores because they aren't playable without getting a headache. Font size of 3 on a 50" TV is inexcusable
  5. Troublewalking
    Jun 11, 2016
    7
    I'm finally getting burned out on Fallout 4, and needed a roleplaying fix. I used to play the turn based Shadowrun on Steam and figured a turn based RPG for the XB1 could be fun.

    After playing the game four a couple of hours, and reading the reviews here, I have to say Daelus and Masterchief247 gave solid reviews that match my experience. The game has fantastic RPG potential, and I    I'm finally getting burned out on Fallout 4, and needed a roleplaying fix. I used to play the turn based Shadowrun on Steam and figured a turn based RPG for the XB1 could be fun.

    After playing the game four a couple of hours, and reading the reviews here, I have to say Daelus and Masterchief247 gave solid reviews that match my experience.

    The game has fantastic RPG potential, and I loved the turn based stuff in Shadowrun/Xcom. but the quest tracking, camera angles and small fonts for the text you are reading 90% of the time, just lets the game down. It has options to adjust the font size. You do this, eventually putting it to max. Just to realize it never affects the text you are reading most of the time, but the size of the text on the loading screen (which you don't care about). And when you are reading conversations, quest, and descriptions on that small text which is uncomfortably small on my 52" screen t.v., it starts to test your patience quickly. Then the camera angle is just odd. It lets you see far enough away to know an encounter is coming, but it doesn't give you that strategic angle you want for a turn based combat game. It's map is also disorienting. Often times, I look for an objective. It shows south, so you head south. Then when you click on the map again, you find you have gone the wrong direction. After a bit you adjust, and your fine. But something just seems off about their map.

    Like the Shadowrun games it's math is questionable. You will often find your gun jamming or a critical failure on opening a lock pick. Which makes that lock impossible to open. It also seems to have absurd misses with your guns. Like you are face to face with a guy and miss him 6 times, with a 95% chance to hit. While he has a 2% chance to hit you and hits you every time. But the experience usually outweighs the math annoyances.

    If you can get past the hiccups, this game has solid RPG value, but what I really love about these style games are their replay value. As you can choose many stats, skills, and such, and there are many ways to address each quest, 4 replays is basic. You can often squeeze out more if you want.

    If your into rpg/turn based strategy games, this game is worth buying. Though with the camera and font size, I would wait until it is on sale for $20 bucks or less. For that price, you will love it.    … Expand
  6. silencer
    Nov 3, 2019
    6
    It's like Fallout Tactics reimagined. The story is all right but there are tons of technical issues. And the camera.. Oh boy. You can't zoom out enough so you have to pause and pan the camera around all the time which gets annoying real fast.
    There's a good game in there somewhere but you have to have a lot of patience to find it.
  7. IITheSalt
    Oct 24, 2015
    10
    Excellent oldskool turnbase rpg shooter, tonnes of customisation character/party creation. The story plays out simply, the funs in the exploring and combat. More enjoyable than xcom and that game rocked. Not the mindless hack n slash rpgs we see today, thoroughly enjoying the feels. If you like the genre a must by, didnt even know was on XBL, cheaper thru store as digi download thanExcellent oldskool turnbase rpg shooter, tonnes of customisation character/party creation. The story plays out simply, the funs in the exploring and combat. More enjoyable than xcom and that game rocked. Not the mindless hack n slash rpgs we see today, thoroughly enjoying the feels. If you like the genre a must by, didnt even know was on XBL, cheaper thru store as digi download than retail. Wiki the name Brian Fargo if youre still not convinced, the guy is the father of rpgs pretty much. He developed my first RPG The Bards Tale 30yrs ago and has influenced everything between. Dont wait, just buy, great game… Expand
  8. IamTheBEY
    Oct 20, 2015
    10
    VERY addictive game, i haven't really played many missions but the combat and levelling up system is sweet and i've played a good 20 hours of it. I hope they bring out a Wasteland 3, that would be so good!
  9. jibbyman
    Oct 29, 2015
    10
    Simply put, Wasteland 2 is the best post-apocolypse rpg to come out since Fallout 2. Choices matter, stats matter, great writing, and fun combat that is similar to Xcom. You'll find yourself playing this for hours on end. A must own for any true rpg fan.
  10. Lithus17
    Aug 26, 2020
    8
    Despite its quirks like wonky camera, party management and on and off voice as acting, it's a solid game. I had a ton of fun with this. So far, the negative reviews seem to be from people who never played a real RPG before. Their hands were held in contemporary RPG's like FFXV (what a cluster ****!)
  11. xRAIDER34x
    Oct 28, 2015
    8
    I have put a considerable amount of time into this game. If you like an old school turn based strategy game you cant go wrong. This game is addictive and is fairly easy to get used to. Newcomers shouldnt be overwhelmed too long learning the controls and gameplay. The only reason for the 8 is the fact that this is not going to be on the top of your list in your collection of games. I thinkI have put a considerable amount of time into this game. If you like an old school turn based strategy game you cant go wrong. This game is addictive and is fairly easy to get used to. Newcomers shouldnt be overwhelmed too long learning the controls and gameplay. The only reason for the 8 is the fact that this is not going to be on the top of your list in your collection of games. I think this game is worth getting if you like strategy and turn based games.… Expand
  12. Broyax
    Jun 3, 2021
    2
    Comme souvent avec les projets de clochards financés par les donations et autres aumônes du troupeau neuneu de l’internet, ça débouche sur un pétard mouillé ! et en général, il s’agit de vieux briscards des années 90 qui sont restés bloqués en plein dedans et qui nous resservent du neuf avec du vieux.

    En l’occurrence, ce Wasteland second du nom d’Inxile Entertainment fondé par Brian    Comme souvent avec les projets de clochards financés par les donations et autres aumônes du troupeau neuneu de l’internet, ça débouche sur un pétard mouillé ! et en général, il s’agit de vieux briscards des années 90 qui sont restés bloqués en plein dedans et qui nous resservent du neuf avec du vieux.

    En l’occurrence, ce Wasteland second du nom d’Inxile Entertainment fondé par Brian Fargo, retraité d’Interplay qui avait édité (et même travaillé sur) les premiers Fallout, ce Wasteland 2 est la suite d’un jeu très semblable aux-dits Fallout dans l’esprit mais tellement vieux (1988 !) que tout le monde s’en tamponnait le coquillard comme de l’an 40.

    Qu’à cela ne tienne, Brian va faire la manche sur « Kickstarter » et sort son « truc », puis une version « Director’s Cut » à l’occasion de la sortie de son « truc » sur consoles PS4-Xbox One. J’avais un peu joué au Wasteland 2 « édition normale » sur PC et constaté déjà l’aridité extrême, pour ne pas dire la lourdeur de dingue de ce jeu de rôle à l’ancienne roulé sous les aisselles.

    La « Director’s Cut » s’est vue arrondir les angles sensiblement dans son interface foutraque et son sadisme intrinsèque à piéger la moindre boîte, coffre, serrure ou porte que l’on voudrait ouvrir, sans compter les mines posées à la va-comme-je-te-pousse et les échecs critiques. On reste tout de même dans une aberration assez flagrante puisqu’avec des capacités en informatique maximale (10/10) ou crochetage et al., on n’obtient souvent qu’un 62% de réussite ! va comprendre, Charles.

    Evidemment avec 7 personnages qui ont chacun leur propre inventaire et capacités et munitions… et pétoires… on devient aussi un magasinier à plein temps : il en faut de la rigueur pour organiser tout ce bordel, il en faut du dévouement… pour y passer autant… de temps ! c’est à devenir chèvre.

    Pourtant, l’ambiance post-apo n’est pas désagréable et reprend pas mal de codes des vieux Fallout dont le combat au tour par tour qui s’avère ici contre toute attente très réussi. A cet égard, cela fait penser bien sûr à Fallout Tactics avec cette fois-ci le cas échéant des commandes et une interface (même à la manette !) bien disposées.

    La musique n’est pas mal non plus et même les graphismes malgré le moteur Unity taillé pour les smartphones restitue quelque chose d’à peu près correct mais encore assez moche. Le portage sur console pour sa part n’en reste pas moins assez mauvais avec des temps de chargement importants et de nombreux ralentissements au menu.

    Les bugs sont aussi là (pour nous rappeler la « belle » (?) époque des années 90 avec un ou deux plantages en règle (mais ça reste très rare), la dernière sauvegarde manuelle qui n’apparaît pas et qui oblige à relancer l’étron et enfin le nec plus ultra, à savoir les personnages qui dérivent vers la droite une fois sur trois sans qu’on puisse y faire quoi que ce soit… à part relancer le jeu-étron bien sûr !

    Les bugs concernent aussi pas mal de quêtes dont bon nombre d’entre elles s’annulent parfois toutes seules et en règle générale, las de ne rien trouver du tout, le joueur bute tout le monde et poursuit son chemin. L’aventure consiste en fait à réparer des tours radio et chercher des sacs de litière de chat et de « zéolithe » (sic)… tout en se fritant avec les factions de tarés du coin. Dans ce côté « vieille école », aucun repère n’est présent et la carte (sans aucune version mini) est la pire chose qu’il m’ait été donnée de voir : à chier par terre.

    Les dialogues à part une vulgarité certaine (pour faire adulte ?) n’ont rien de très brillant ni de très inventif et les choix sont rares. La gestion de l’eau sur la grande carte du monde (assez bien faite celle-là) est une bonne idée par contre, abandonnée dans la seconde partie.du périple.

    Alors, est-ce que c’était « mieux avant » pour nous ressortir un vieux pot pareil ? j’ai envie de dire, oui à l’époque, car on n’avait rien d’autre. Mais de nos jours, on s’attend à d’autres standards de qualité et de finition, de mise en scène et de narration. « Wasteland 2 » est une vieille bique de crevards qu’il faut euthanasier au lance-roquettes… seul l’excellent combat est récupérable !    … Expand
  13. jeffbizloc
    Oct 8, 2018
    5
    I played about 10 hours of this before giving in. The turn based combat was exactly what I enjoy, yet the old school traveling and micromanagement was too much for me.

    Pros: - Combat, really enjoyed the turn based tactical combat (thought 7 in a party seems too much) - Theme and characters I liked - The ability to make the text size very large Cons: - After every battle or two    I played about 10 hours of this before giving in. The turn based combat was exactly what I enjoy, yet the old school traveling and micromanagement was too much for me.

    Pros:
    - Combat, really enjoyed the turn based tactical combat (thought 7 in a party seems too much)
    - Theme and characters I liked
    - The ability to make the text size very large

    Cons:
    - After every battle or two it took forever to get ammo and get it to the right people
    - No fast travel made the game too slow    … Expand
  14. guywithbeer
    Dec 23, 2018
    4
    Being a massive fan of the post apocalyptic genre and having recently played Xcom and Mutant Year Zero on Xbox I was really looking forward to playing Wasteland 2. Sadly I found the game disappointing. It feels a bit old fashioned and not necessarily in a good way. More Fallout 2 then the more recent iterations of Xcom. The main problem I experienced was the lack of tutorials whichBeing a massive fan of the post apocalyptic genre and having recently played Xcom and Mutant Year Zero on Xbox I was really looking forward to playing Wasteland 2. Sadly I found the game disappointing. It feels a bit old fashioned and not necessarily in a good way. More Fallout 2 then the more recent iterations of Xcom. The main problem I experienced was the lack of tutorials which particularly for combat made playing the game very frustrating and not fun at all.… Expand
  15. sgtmcbrinn
    May 29, 2020
    8
    Its a great classic, fallout 1&2 style RPG full of content, interesting locations and an enjoyable story and cast of characters but in my experience the games balancing is a bit odd, especially around the start of the game. At the beginning on normal difficulty the game can have the player encounter enemies that are perfect of a level 1 or 2 character, but then you take 5 steps andIts a great classic, fallout 1&2 style RPG full of content, interesting locations and an enjoyable story and cast of characters but in my experience the games balancing is a bit odd, especially around the start of the game. At the beginning on normal difficulty the game can have the player encounter enemies that are perfect of a level 1 or 2 character, but then you take 5 steps and suddenly you're fighting 4 large lizards with 80hp each that can almost 1 shot you and also poison you, in other words you better hope you saved not long before that fight. Later in the game the difficulty evens out.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
60
#60 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
30
#30 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. ICXM
    Jan 8, 2016
    60
    Those feeling truly nostalgic for Wasteland or Fallout 1 or 2 might enjoy themselves here, and those heavily invested in RPGs will assuredly find some features redeeming, but for the general population of gamers Wasteland 2 is an old game with old mechanics attempting to disguise itself as something new. It’s just as bland as the desert future that it foretells.
    Read full review
  2. TrueAchievements
    Dec 16, 2015
    80
    When looking at Wasteland 2 from the outside, it doesn't look like anything special. However, once you get stuck in and persevere through the initial confusion of combat and little direction you are given, there is a gem to be found here.
    Read full review
  3. Gameplanet
    Dec 3, 2015
    85
    InXile's classical RPG translates beautifully to console, and should be picked up by RPG fans – even those neck deep in that other big post-apocalyptic title.
    Read full review
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