Wasteland 2: Directors Cut

Finally starting playing this 5 years after release (and probably 2 years after purchase) and my only regret is not playing it sooner. Very reminiscent of Fallout/Fallout 2 in all the best ways.

Not the Fallout 2 itch I was looking for but was the Fallout Tactics I didn't know I still needed.

Good quarantine game. Lots to explore and decent writing

This game can be easily compared to the early Fallout series (especially because the first Wasteland was basically the predecessor of all modern apocalyptic games, or so they say). Most of the game´s mechanics are quite similar to Fallout 1 & 2. However, some things in this game are better than in Fallout 1 & 2 and other things are worse.
For instance, the battle system in Wasteland 2 has a (very) basic cover system and an overwatch option in combat, which are absent in Fallout 1 & 2. Wasteland 2 has a (also very) basic crafting system, unlike Fallout 1 & 2. One interesting thing in this game is that you build a team of 4 instead of only one character (the chosen one). Hence, you can balance your team composition and each character takes over dialog or the field to use certain skills. You can also have up to 3 allies, directly managing up to 7 characters at the same time. Some characters can go rogue in combat if you do not have enough leadership skills, and some allies are totally useless because of that (though most allies are not very combat effective anyway). In Fallout 1 & 2 the allies system is way poorer.
However, the only way to initiate a combat in Wasteland 2 is to attack someone, whereas you can start a combat mode with more flexibility in Fallout 1 & 2. Hence, ambushing enemies in Wasteland 2 is a pain… The perk system in Wasteland 2 is poorly designed and many, if not most, of the perks are quite useless… I did not even bother to choose all perks to some characters. Moreover, some categories of weapons in Wasteland 2 are completely useless, such as shotguns and pistols (and arguably energy weapons). The worse drawback of Wasteland 2 in comparison to Fallout 1 & 2 is the story. Wasteland 2 is quite linear and on track. There is not much freedom to do things in a different order and it is not an open world, like in Fallout 1 & 2. I also find the plot and the setting of Fallout 1 & 2 way more interesting than in Wasteland 2. Still, the overall setting in Wasteland 2 is nice enough and the game has a lot of references to the first installment, but you can manage without knowing them.
A bizarre thing in this game is that they developed a “water system” that tries to limit your ability to travel on the world map without stopping in an oasis or in a city to refill canteens. Nonetheless, there are plenty oasis and cities to refill and this water system hardly provides a challenge to travel around as much as you want (especially if you have a few ranks in outdoorsman and can avoid combat). Additionally, when you change to the second part of the game, this water system simply disappears and you can wander around the world without any concern for water. So, this water system is completely useless and does not add any value to the game.
Another weird thing in Wasteland 2 is the track of time. Time is completely irrelevant most of the cases, since you need to reach a specific place to trigger certain events. However, some events, after triggered, must be completed within a certain time frame in game (some quite fast) or your quest will fail or will have a non-optimal outcome. Sometimes you have to run faster than a suicidal NPC to avoid getting him killed before the quest´s end or you have to very quickly start combat before one NPC gets shot in order to save him.
All in all, though not as good as the early Fallout series, it is still very enjoyable. I am looking forward to the third installment.

This is a game that you really need to invest your time in if you want the best experience possible. I played this before the directors cut was released, so if you play this version of the game, you have to be aware of some of the differences such as no perks, quirks, and voiceover, graphics, and bugs. If you haven’t played this before, but played some of the old school fallout games, then most of the menu layouts and concepts from those games will be immediately recognizable to you in this game. There really is a lot to explore and uncover in this game, as you won’t see every outcome of a decision you make on your first play through. The gameplay is pretty straight-forward, kind of annoying at first since you will always be weak and low-skilled, but as you progress you become a death squadron and basically destroys anything in sight. I will say that the gameplay and the side quests really make the game shine, but the pacing of the main story is slow, with the second half of the game being much more enjoyable and different from the first half. Overall, it’s a fun experience and definitely something to own if you are into old school rpgs. If you can play the directors cut, but this game is still fine.

This game is an amazing journey, you start off weak but am able to build yourself and your team up into an all star cast.
This game is wasteland, and it is fallout 1 & 2, for any hater who says, "it's not the best thing ever made, it's only a GOOD game, meh", those people are right it's a good game. If people play a game just because they expect it to be the best game ever made, they are diluting themselves and they are setting themselves up to be disappointed.
This game is a hundreds of hours romp through a great CRPG, that will leave you excited to wasteland 3. Hell I need to get back into the directors cut. ;) This game is great, it is fun, it will leave you wanting more. Well done.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The first half is really solid. Engaging combat, fun missions, good narrative structure, etc. But about halfway through, once you get to California, the missions and their solutions become about as convoluted and unintuitive as early-90's Lucasarts point-and-click adventures.
To be fair, while I did end up throwing in the towel without beating it, I did spend about 40+ hours playing it before I lost interest. So still a thumbs-up in my book.
(Side-rant: take note of how many people who gave it a negative review also oddly logged 100+ hours. Playtime is the only real indicator of how good a game is. If it takes you almost a full week's worth of hours to decide you dislike something, your Zen's all outta whack.)