

Beside helping the characters to fight more efficiently, main attributes sometimes have an impact on activities used outside of combat. The game makes use of the skill system in conjunction with traditional character attributes to achieve goals and get past obstacles. However, Wasteland also introduced an original skill system that has had a significant influence on the genre.

The player can create a whole party of adventurers and/or recruit some of the characters that populate the game's world. Much of the game is played like most other RPGs of its time: the player navigates the party through the top-down world, fights enemies (which appear randomly in hostile areas) in turn-based style on combat screens represented by enemy pictures, acquires information, equipment, and items from NPCs in towns, etc. The player guides band of Desert Rangers from town to town, gradually uncovering a sinister plot that threatens what's left of mankind. RPG fans should play classics of the genre.Wasteland takes place in the future after the nuclear holocaust of World War III.

Wasteland was critically acclaimed upon release and won multiple awards. The game is vast, varied, and challenging. Meaning that whatever you have done in an area stays that way, rather than resetting itself. Another standout feature of Wasteland was the environment continuity. You can use the skills to help with combat (weapon proficiency), but you can also utilize them to solve specific dilemmas in many ways (like opening a locked gate). Your character can also learn skills like climbing, lockpicking, and Medic. These attributes include Strength, Dexterity, Charisma, etc. You can raise your character’s skills and attributes, but they will also affect outside of combat. The feature that made Wasteland stand out was its skill system. There are also towns to visit to acquire party members, items, and information. Combat itself is turn-based, and you can see a little picture of your enemy as you fight them. You travel around on a top-down map with random enemy encounters possible and utilize a point-and-click interface. In the aftermath of World War III, you are the leader of a band of rangers traveling the Wasteland. It was later followed by Wasteland 2 in 2014, with a few failed sequels in between.Ĭlearly, this is a precursor to Interplay’s series Fallout, one of my favorites. Wasteland is a post-apocalyptic RPG developed by Interplay and published by Electronic Arts in 1988 for the Apple II, DOS, and Commodore 64.
