‘Wasteland 2 Game Of The Year Edition’ Announced For PS4 And Xbox One, Coming This Summer

“Wasteland 2,” the Kickstarter funded sequel of the 1988 RPG classic, is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Gamers can look forward to scouring the post apocalyptic Arizona desert landscape this summer.

The announcement follows developer inXile’s recent decision upgrade the “Wasteland 2” game engine to the recently announced Unity 5 release, changes which will carry over to the new console ports. Line Producer at inXile Entertainment, Eric Schwarz took to the PlayStation Blog to let folks know what to expect.

“For the Game of the Year Edition, we've ported Wasteland 2 to Unity 5, the latest version of this highly versatile game engine, which has let us overhaul the game with some new visual effects, improved character models, upgraded environments, and Unity 5’s physically based shading to get more realistic lighting and shadowing. This is all something we wouldn't have been able to do on the previous generation of tech,” he said.

A new trailer released to coincide with the ID@Xbox announcement has been posted on the official Xbox YouTube channel, and does a great job of showing off the game’s upgraded lighting effects. The “Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition” comes with a new quirks and perks system, a new precision strike system optimised for game controllers, updated character models and new voice-over acting for major characters.

“Wasteland 2” is a hardcore, top-down, turn-based RPG, in which players take control of a group of four Desert Rangers on a mission to bring peace to the post-apocalyptic Arizona desert. Heavily story-driven, the game places special emphasis on presenting players with difficult choices and tracking their consequences.

The “Game of the Year” edition allows increased player customisation, and the aforementioned Precision Strike System adds a new layer of tactical depth, allowing gamer's to cripple and stun foes by targeting specific body parts. As noted by Polygon in its coverage of the story, PC Kickstarter backers and gamer's who've already purchased “Wasteland 2” on other platforms can look forward to a special announcement sometime soon.

“Wasteland 2” was Kickstarted to the tune of over $2.9M in April 2012, and saw release on Windows PC, OSX and Linux PC on Sept. 19 2014. The game was met with critical praise from reviewers and fans alike. PCWorld scored “Wasteland 2” a 4.5/5, citing the game’s writing, dialogue and characters as strong positive, as well as the deep, meaningful scenarios offering plenty of player choice.