Wasteland 3 is an isometric RPG in the same vein as Wasteland 2, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Divinity: Original Sin. It also sits squarely in this echelon of games, based on its writing, mechanics, atmosphere and performance. Wasteland 3 transpires in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality where the Cold War never avoided a nuclear holocaust and survivors eke out a hardscrabble existence among mutants and robots. Character customization is good. Mechanics and game play feel mostly well thought-out. Graphics are mediocre. Voice acting and music are a mixed bag.

The plot vacillates between darkly unforgiving in tone and Borderlands-esque in its tongue and cheek humor. The schizophrenic dichotomy of storytelling often falls flat and serves as to detract from the game. The core game play is disasterously implemented with many boss fights being artificially enhanced for plot purposes. Additionally, many builds will work properly until the game suddenly decides they shouldn't. For example, the after lawn mowing the game on Hard with a friend, I ran into a buzzsaw in the final two battles, where even peons had 3 times my health and all could one-shot me despite having 4x their armor values. It is important to note that the game, even after all this time is a buggy mess, with character interaction glitches, crashes to desktop and graphical malfunctions being regular occurrences.

The game does have a compelling multiplayer cooperative mode and, if for nothing else, playing with a friend and eliciting absurd results is worth the effort. Worth to pick up on a sale and with some friends but don't expect too much.

Worth a look.

7/10.

Wasteland 3 is an isometric RPG in the same vein as Wasteland 2, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Divinity: Original Sin. It also sits squarely in this echelon of games, based on its writing, mechanics, atmosphere and performance. Wasteland 3 transpires in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality where the Cold War never avoided a nuclear holocaust and survivors eke out a hardscrabble existence among mutants and robots. Character customization is good. Mechanics and game play feel mostly well thought-out. Graphics are mediocre. Voice acting and music are a mixed bag. The plot vacillates between darkly unforgiving in tone and Borderlands-esque in its tongue and cheek humor. The schizophrenic dichotomy of storytelling often falls flat and serves as to detract from the game. The core game play is disasterously implemented with many boss fights being artificially enhanced for plot purposes. Additionally, many builds will work properly until the game suddenly decides they shouldn't. For example, the after lawn mowing the game on Hard with a friend, I ran into a buzzsaw in the final two battles, where even peons had 3 times my health and all could one-shot me despite having 4x their armor values. It is important to note that the game, even after all this time is a buggy mess, with character interaction glitches, crashes to desktop and graphical malfunctions being regular occurrences. The game does have a compelling multiplayer cooperative mode and, if for nothing else, playing with a friend and eliciting absurd results is worth the effort. Worth to pick up on a sale and with some friends but don't expect too much. Worth a look. 7/10.