Wasteland 2 comes out today, and the question on many an OG CRPG gamer's mind is: "How does it compare to Fallout?" I'll have a fuller answer to that soon, but there's an elephant in the room that must be addressed first. Come on, Brian Fargo: where is my Ron Perlman?
If you don't understand that reference, then you need to watch this immediately:
Done? Ok. Now you need to watch this:
Only now that you've been properly educated in the majesty of Fallout's legendary intro videos, let's revisit its "spiritual successor's":
It just doesn't measure up, does it? I'd say it was a budgetary constraint on Wasteland 2's part, but the Fallout videos are amazing precisely because they make such clever use of small forces. Granted, they're also the two best intro cinematics ever made (no matter what Kirk says!), so Wasteland 2 wasn't the one to bet on here from the start. But if inXile knew that as well, why did they have to invite so many comparisons. Ron Perlman knocked it out of the park with his narrations of the first two Fallout intros. I don't know who this new raspy bearded man is. But he's no Ron Perlman, I can tell you that much.
I'll have a much more thorough take on Wasteland 2 later today. But before we dive into that game in earnest, let's all just sit back and reflect on how much fun Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 were.
Ah, those were the days.
To contact the author of this post, write to yannick.lejacq@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq.