Wasteland 1: The Original Classic vs Wasteland 2
Wasteland 1: The Original Classic
Wasteland 1: The Original Classic is the father of modern post-apocalyptic RPGs and rightfully so. Set in the year 2087 after an all-out nucler war, the game lays out the precedence for games like the very first Fallout game. In fact, from the game itself, you can see some of the similarities. That said, Wasteland 1 is a lot more old-school than Fallout 1 and hence, there are plenty more undesirable aspects, bugs and glitches that may make anyone albeit a hardcore fan to throw up their hands in despair.Nevertheless, Wasteland 1 is still a classic in many ways. It is possibly among the first games with a consequence-driven reactive world, for instance, and it has a party-based system allowing you to recruit people to help you on your quest to find out what's threatening the very survival of the remnants of humanity aside from the usual roving mutants and raiders.
Despite the novelty, we honestly wouldn't recommend Wasteland 1 to anyone who has not played the game before when it was first released... back when games were still primarily text-based. Instead, if you'd like to experience a much better and advanced version of Wasteland 1, you should get Wasteland 2.
Wasteland 2
Wasteland 2 is the exciting sequel to the legendary Wasteland 1. However, unlike the text-heavy original, this new game provides an incredibly-polished, turn-based strategic gameplay that will bring to mind games like Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics. You'll also get to reprise your role as the enigmatic leader of the Desert Ranger squad and assemble a team that can handle a wide range of weapons and preferably people with personalities which you can work with. Thankfully, it's nice that the game actually lets you customize the personality traits of your squad aside from customizing their looks and their loadouts.Like the previous game, the storyline is heavily based on your decisions and the consequences that came out of these decisions, some of which may even change the lives of the characters in the game. Wasteland is also a bit more tactical than its predecessor, allowing you to tactically maim your enemies to slow them down, for example. You can even kick down or stealthily pick the lock on doors if you don't feel like going on a hunt for the key.
With so many accolades and praises under its belt, Wasteland 2 proved that an age-old franchise can be revived with critical success. inXile Entertainment and their massive Kickstarter community definitely deserved a huge pat in the back for bringing Wasteland back for the younger generation to experience.