Wasteland 3 is an isometric RPG with turn-based combat. This is not to say that the gameplay here is bad or uninteresting, but a lot of elements have been carefully peeped in other popular projects in recent years. For example, battles from the first minutes will make you remember Divinity: Original Sin and the last parts XCOM with its two types of cover system and ridiculous random hit probability (although, admittedly, there are significantly fewer misses at a 95% success rate). In addition to exploring locations and participating in battles, you have to cover long distances on the global map of the region with the help of Kodiak, a tracked all-terrain vehicle (which, by the way, in some cases can be the seventh member of a squad in armed clashes). During such trips between settlements and points of interest, you will also come across random events: a randomly generated bunker, having searched which you can get hold of equipment of varying degrees of value, a detachment of opponents, a fight with which, if you have the appropriate skill, you can avoid, or just a wandering merchant , which will help to replenish the stock of ammunition and first aid kits without having to return to the nearest settlement.
The role-playing system involves the interaction of three branches of the development of heroes. Character parameters, such as strength, speed, perception, and so on, directly determine aspects such as, for example, how many action points will be available to you in battle, how painful you can hit, or how likely it is to hit the target. Skills are more specific skills that together allow you to form the specialization of a particular squad member. Here is the ability to convince the interlocutor (the options for the manner of communication have been reduced to two in comparison with the previous part), and the ability to handle various types of weapons, and the ability to provide medical assistance, as well as the almost irreplaceable ability of breaking locks and computer equipment. But most importantly, skill checks in dialogues depend on the degree of skill development. However, here they are tough. Has the item been pumped to the required level? The corresponding option for the development of the dialogue will be available without any probability. And skill checks in Wasteland 3 will be encountered literally at every step, so it will not be superfluous to make sure that your squad covers the entire set of skills, since the game is friendly in this regard and will allow you to pump everything you need, provided that you do not gallop along the plot. Well, the third branch of pumping is talents. Everything is simple here. These are either passive perks or active skills that are used in battle. The reputation system is an addition to the personal attributes of the characters. In the world of the game, there are several large factions with which the squad will have to interact in one way or another. The attitude towards you will be formed based on the decisions that you make during the passage of quests that affect the interests of any of the parties, and in the end can have serious consequences. By the way, the echoes of your actions, although they will be traced here and there, but in general, very little change the course of events. Even an important storyline choice at the end of the game will make you think not so much about which side to take, but about which characters will remain in the squad after that, because those whom you have so diligently pumped for more than forty hours can leave.
The technical implementation of the project is highly controversial. First of all, it should be noted that in comparison with the second part, progress is evident. A neat and nice interface (in the inventory, however, everything is piled up in one pile, but oh well), fully voiced dialogues, a kind of cutscenes in dialogues with plot-important characters – in general, Wasteland 3 is trying with all its might to resemble a modern expensive game. But at the same time, sometimes disappointing graphics, a huge number of bugs of varying degrees of criticality, as well as performance problems await you. We have tested versions of the game for Xbox one x and PS4 Pro… On both consoles, noticeable framerate drawdowns were observed with a total limit of 30 frames per second, which is doubly annoying, given the low quality of the visual component, as well as the simply monstrous input lag when controlling the character. Compared to Wasteland 3, even Red dead redemption 2 smokes on the sidelines – such unresponsive controls in the game.
