Wasteland 2: Directors Cut

Honest review:
Edited:
There are 2 different wasteland 2. This one states its the directors cut, but it wasn't. There is another one that is the actual directors cut.
You'll know if it is the right one, during character creations where you could pick a flaw in your character. If you don't see that option its not the right one. I know when I bought it, I got 2 of the same games. The 2nd one was the true directors cut. Which is significantly better.
So I am really enjoying the game, I just wanted to let you know even though this one says directors cut, it is actually the original one. That means no perks, and a couple stories short. Now that I'm level 37 though, the game has gotten really easy. I have yet beat the game but I feel that I am getting very close.
Original post around 30 hours
I'm probably only about 50% done with the game atm, and will complete out.
The game is solid. Story line is decent, combat is very good even for 2024, as long as you like turn based strategy. Its a limited open world,
The game is set up for you to play it multiple times, which is pretty cool. I think I'll play it again at a harder setting next time. I do recommend playing it on normal the first round, until you know the mechanics of it. This game is set up for min-maxing if you like that, which I do, for my second round.
Game has many Easter eggs to find.
My biggest negative part of the game is how you have to use your skills. Ugh its painfully slow.
My last negative part is that it combines voice actors and not. I'd rather it pick on or the other so I can get my volume set up the way I prefer.
Last negative, it says it has perks and quirks, I haven't been able to locate either...
Biggest question should you play in 2025?
I'd say yes, especially if its on sale. It has possibly 80 hr of game play per play thru.
If you like honest reviews, hit that like button or roast me in comments.
Have a great day!!!

This game is hella good. It never really feels "unfair" or such.
The story is good, there are lots of both humor and seriousness, without tripping over eachother. It contains great characters, flavourtexts and much more.
I have played through the non-director's cut twice, and am planning on going through the Director's cut in a few years.
Lots of gore. You can punch someone so their head falls off.

If you were one of those dudes trolling No Mutants Allowed forums back in the day, Wasteland 2 & 3 are the closest things we have to an updated isometric Fallout experience. There are a lot of great reviews that speak more to the game as a whole, but there are two things I want to focus on that, in my opinion, represent the highs and lows of Wasteland 2 (and the series).
Party Creation:
It took me a minute to understand, but once I realized that my party of Rangers functions the same as my solo cRPG/Fallout 1 & 2 character, I was fully onboard. Give your Rangers flaws, make them weird, make things goofy, but for the love of God make sure you min/max your party at least a little bit. There are no generalists in the Desert Rangers. Every member of this A-Team should play a specific role and be competent in that specific role. If you do this, the game is a ton of fun right from the beginning. I have grown to absolutely love party creation over a single character and I hope more cRPGs embrace this.
Design Philosophy:
Much of my frustrations with Wasteland 2 was addressed in Wasteland 3, which, I think is the better game. Wasteland 2's major flaws come from certain design philosophies that feel archaic and fail to recognize that most people don't want a better-looking Wasteland 1. They want a modern Wasteland 1, which I believe Wasteland 3 is. The greatest example I can think of are quest objects and keys stored in your inventory. For both item types, you need to have them either queued up in a quickslot or find in the correct item in your inventory and right click to use. For some gamers, especially the die hard No Mutants Allowed crowd, this could be awesome. But for the majority of players it feels very counter-intuitive to have systems in place that sometimes require the player to find the specific item, right-click use it, then highlight over the appropriate door/object, instead of simply right-clicking the door/object and being prompted to use the item in question. Especially because skills tend to work as the latter - very rarely did I have to click on the skill and then click on the item in question. But the few times I did have to do this, I found it frustrating and confusing. In general, whenever this would occur and I had trouble digging through my inventory, I would check to see if it was a bugged quest. Sometimes it was, but more often than not, I had just missed the correct item in my inventory. Is this on me? Yes. But does that make it good game design? I would say no, and I believe that's why they updated it for Wasteland 3.
Overall:
This is a strange series because I would recommend every Wasteland game, but would highly encourage you to start with the Wasteland 3 and work your way back towards 1. Wasteland 3 is super accessible and will help you understand the core mechanics that are present throughout the series, like party creation. Wasteland 2 is big, beautiful, and frustrating. Wasteland 1 is next on my list. I hear great things and also hear it is very unkind.

Funny I did not like this game the first time I played it. I really had to sit down with it a couple years later and figure out how to play. I know that sounds stupid, but there is a bit of a challenge if you play other games that do not have same controls, ect. I feel like it was a well though out game, so far. The missions are tedious though, lots of running around and fetching stuff. I am still in the very beginning so we will see how it develops...

As close to Fallout 1 & 2 as you'll get! Played wasteland 3 as well, the 3rd game is better but both are really great.

Really good take on an old game. Best thing is that it is not over complicated. Not fiddly to play. And a good well written RPG. Really great game.

A fantastic game! Especially if you are a fan of the isometric Fallout games.