Game Picks: ‘Wasteland 2’ delivers the retro-future goods

If and when the apocalypse comes – whether by bomb, virus or zombie – I shall be better prepared than any backwoods survivalist. At least, I hope so, since I have sunk countless hours into post-apocalypse RPG video games over the years. I’d hate to think it was all for nothing.

“Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut” is the latest such title to get me into fighting shape for the end of the world. It’s a game with a long history. The original “Wasteland,” released waaaay back in 1988, is often referred to as the spiritual godfather of the massively popular “Fallout” franchise. In fact, the first “Fallout” game was assembled from bits and pieces of unfinished “Wasteland” sequels.

It took 25 years, but it was worth the wait: “Wasteland 2” is an old-school, turn-based RPG in which the player controls a team of survivors in the irradiated ruins of the American southwest. Following the plot of the original game, your four-person company of Desert Rangers attempts to bring law and order to the isolated pockets of civilization left behind after nuclear war has devastated the planet.

Old-school style of play

The PC version of “Wasteland 2,” released last year, was happily gobbled up by retro-gaming fans who presumably knew what they were getting into. This “Director’s Cut,” ported to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 a couple weeks back, adds some modest tweaks. But console gamers should be aware that this really is an old-school endeavor. “Wasteland 2” hearkens back to a style of play that was popular when that other Clinton was gunning for the White House.

With its isometric view and turn-based combat, “Wasteland 2” puts a premium on careful tactical thinking over frantic real-time fighting. Visuals are relatively primitive and time slows to a crawl as you micromanage every aspect of every encounter.

The upside of all this is that, so long as you’re patient, you will be rewarded with a complex and twisty story line gradually revealed through thousands of lines of descriptive text and voiceover dialogue. Your decisions throughout the game trigger events in the outside world with life-or-death consequences.

Early in the game, for instance, you must choose between responding to two different distress signals. Rescue one group of wasteland denizens and the other group perishes at the hands of brutal raiders. Your enemies and allies shift depending on your choices.

Combat is very slow indeed and modeled after tabletop tactical games in which you move a unit x number of squares, use your weapon or take another action, then wait on your opponents. Personally, I love this style of gaming but I have been made aware that younger persons – seventh graders, say – find the pace a bit pokey.

The ‘quirk’ system

The game does offer a few concessions to the modern attention span. You can assemble your party from pre-built characters that will cover the range of skills you’ll need in the wasteland. You can mix and match from familiar stock types like the front-line bruiser, the sneaky sniper, the techie or the combat medic.

But I recommend building your own party from the ground up. The “Director’s Cut” edition adds an entertaining “quirk” system in which each Desert Ranger can be given an oddball character trait. Choose “Manic Depressive” and your attribute points toggle between bonuses and penalties, depending. The “Unlucky” quirk triggers occasional random bolts of lightning that zap anyone in range, friend or foe.

Stick around long enough, and “Wasteland 2” will eventually deposit your team in the ruins of Los Angeles, where you’ll come up against factions of vicious street gangs, insane cyborgs and murderous zealots. It’s a lot of fun.

“Wasteland 2” targets a relatively narrow band of the gaming audience, but it delivers its retro-future goods with solid game mechanics and superior storytelling. At any rate, it should tide you over until “Fallout 4” hits shelves in November.

“Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut” (rated M) is now available on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Game Picks: ‘Wasteland 2’ delivers the retro-future goods."