I don’t often read reviews of games anymore. I find video reviews and forum threads to be more informative. However I was curious about the latest Wasteland game. The author titled it a “brilliant satire” and I was curious what this game was satirizing.
The author has a decent voice and describes his adventuring in Colorado. He describes all the scenarios he encountered and how much fun he was having. The only direct satire I could find in the article was about of cult of Ronald Reagan. That was it. He apparently put in 55 hours into the game and he just hammered that point about Reagan twice.
Ok.
He continues bloviating about his wonderful experiences in the game. When it came to the actual gameplay he said it’s not as good as XCOM. No description of the combat mechanics, no comparison to WL2, just a general blithe statement.
Ok.
He ends his glowing review with this pearl:
“Wasteland 3 is a no-holds barred teardown of the American Dream, a parody of a nation that is now beyond parody. It is a satire you get to direct, and I heartily recommend doing so.”
Ok.
I know that games journalism is in dire straits, so I shouldn’t be surprised. He doesn’t back up his thesis. He basically says “I love this game because the game is funny and developers are obviously saying ‘Murrica.’ “ It just reinforces his perception of America. There could have been real satire in the game - a skewering of Cold War politics, a look at Rocky Mountain culture, pop culture references, but he doesn’t mention any of it. And again, he doesn’t mention gameplay mechanics at all.
Anyway, here’s the article:
Amusez vous
The author has a decent voice and describes his adventuring in Colorado. He describes all the scenarios he encountered and how much fun he was having. The only direct satire I could find in the article was about of cult of Ronald Reagan. That was it. He apparently put in 55 hours into the game and he just hammered that point about Reagan twice.
Ok.
He continues bloviating about his wonderful experiences in the game. When it came to the actual gameplay he said it’s not as good as XCOM. No description of the combat mechanics, no comparison to WL2, just a general blithe statement.
Ok.
He ends his glowing review with this pearl:
“Wasteland 3 is a no-holds barred teardown of the American Dream, a parody of a nation that is now beyond parody. It is a satire you get to direct, and I heartily recommend doing so.”
Ok.
I know that games journalism is in dire straits, so I shouldn’t be surprised. He doesn’t back up his thesis. He basically says “I love this game because the game is funny and developers are obviously saying ‘Murrica.’ “ It just reinforces his perception of America. There could have been real satire in the game - a skewering of Cold War politics, a look at Rocky Mountain culture, pop culture references, but he doesn’t mention any of it. And again, he doesn’t mention gameplay mechanics at all.
Anyway, here’s the article:
Amusez vous