Line #74 VideoGame/Wasteland


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wasteland_in_exile_by_barry_e_jackson_4049.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:PLAYER is reduced to a thin red paste.]]
3	->''"Your life has ended in the wasteland."''
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5	''Wasteland'' is a 1988 CRPG that was groundbreaking in its combination of a gritty post-apocalyptic setting with a nonlinear play style. Notably, the designers sacrificed more modern graphics for extended detail in the gameplay and created a rich backstory that appeared in the game's CopyProtection -- a "Paragraph Book" which contained necessary and plot-relevant information, with passages being referenced by number at various points in the game. Woven into the book were numerous RedHerring entries that were never referenced in-game, in order to keep players from skipping to the end of the story.
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7	The game's story takes place in 2087, generations after a global nuclear war in 1998 destroyed most of civilization. In what was once the Southwestern United States, the Desert Rangers -- a [[TheRemnant remnant]] of the US Army Corps of Engineers -- are valiantly trying to keep the peace and enforce some semblance of law and order for the people of Arizona. As the story begins, a small squad of Desert Rangers have been deployed by Ranger HQ to investigate some strange disturbances near the old California/Nevada border. As they scout the area, the Rangers discover evidence of a larger menace threatening to exterminate what is left of humankind...
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9	Celebrated on several sites, most notably at the [[http://wasteland.rockdud.net Ranger HQ Grid,]] which, as well as having info about the game, has some surprisingly good FanFic.
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11	An enhanced version of the original ''Wasteland'' with smoothed out depixelized graphics, optional music, voice-overs and an integrated paragraph book has been released on UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution sites (including UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and [[Website/GogDotCom GOG.com]]) in order to coincide with the release of its 2014 sequel, ''VideoGame/Wasteland2''. A full remastered version with [=3D=] graphics, mouse controls, and illustrated cutscenes[[note]]despite these fancy graphical and UI upgrades, the game plays pretty much identically to the original version; despite being built on an entirely new code base, in gameplay terms it feels very much a ''remaster'' and not a remake[[/note]] was released on February 25, 2020, a few months prior to the third entry in the series, ''VideoGame/Wasteland3''.
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13	See also ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'', the series' SpiritualSuccessor.
14	----
15	!!This game provides examples of:
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17	* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: The top rank Supreme Jerk is promotion number ''183''.
18	* ActionBomb: The Radiation Angels at the Temple of the Mushroom Cloud explode into a pile of glowing blue dust after you defeat them. Why, yes, it ''is'' radioactive.
19	* ActionGirl: Christina, a mercenary and potential party member who has a unique picture. She likes to use full-auto on her weapons, and starts equipped with an UZI submachine gun.
20	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: In ''Wasteland Remastered'', Finster's appearance has been changed to match his paragraph book description of being "a handsome, slender man", looking rather like a young Creator/WalterKoenig in a lab coat. His old "red-skinned, metal-bodied android" appearance is still used for his Mind Maze incarnations.
21	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: In the southeast corner of the agricultural center's farm, there are four foot tall pears. They're pleasingly plump, and perfectly prepared to possibly plummet onto passing pedestrians.
22	* AfterTheEnd: "Somehow, life goes on in the Wasteland."
23	* AIIsACrapshoot: AI research goes pretty badly awry, [[spoiler:and is hinted to have caused the nuclear holocaust in the first place.]] Notably, the game's main villains are a robot army [[spoiler: commanded by an insane Cyborg and an ancient Military AI.]]
24	* AKA47: Some weapons use their real-life names, and the [[AllThereInTheManual manual]] explains that some of the fictional ones are simply future versions of then-contemporary firearms, but many of the game's weapons are still entirely fictional.
25	* AmbiguouslyHuman: The triplets in the courthouse have gray skin; Ugly John has a purple tinge. Growing up in a radioactive wasteland with a thin ozone layer can be harmful...
26	* AntiHero: The player characters can be a group of these depending on the player's style -- going straight into near-VillainProtagonist levels (you can, for example, choose to [[MoralEventHorizon freely butcher the innocent children at a former summer camp]] because [[DisproportionateRetribution some of them made fun of you]]).
27	* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Finster believes that with the nuclear holocaust, humanity has proven to be bad stewards of the earth, so he is wiping them out to start over. The [=PCs=] are just in his way.]]
28	* ApocalypticLog: A number are found and related in the Paragraphs, including actual logbooks from [[spoiler:the Sleeper Base]].
29	* ArtificialStupidity: Recruited Party Members are only under a small amount of control by the player. Often they refuse to take orders, [[LiteralMinded or take them too well]]. They also can't tell between friendly and non-friendly [=NPCs=].
30	--> "[[TriggerHappy Christina]] rips a clip on the rabbit."
31	** VAX and Christina in particular will use full auto (which empties a magazine) as an attack option 90% of the time, wasting precious ammunition. This is especially painful if they're using the rare energy weapons.
32	* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: The promotions you receive from the Ranger Center are very heavily based on the United States Army personnel rank titles. However, one of the promotions you'll eventually receive in the game, 'Commander', is not a legitimately official rank title used in the U.S. Army, but instead is a rank title officially used in the U.S. Navy. Then there are rank titles like 'Argent' which are purely fictional and not based on real life military rank titles.
33	* BaldOfEvil: Ugly John.
34	* {{Backtracking}}: There's a fair amount involved for numerous quests, most notably finding the Real Bloodstaff.
35	* BeefGate: The Guardian Citadel can be approached very early, but the game notes that it will be impossible to defeat the defenders until much later in the game.
36	* BettingMiniGame: The casinos in Vegas as well as the Acapulco Private Gambling House in the eastern part of downtown Needles provide these. Naturally, they generally do nothing but drain your cash, unless you invest in a lot of Gambling skill points.
37	* BloodyHilarious: Due to the graphical limitations of the game, the results of combat were described rather poetically, resulting in enemies being "[[LudicrousGibs turned into chunky meat kibble]]", "reduced to an undertaker's nightmare", or "[[PinkMist blown into a fine red mist]]".
38	** "Player exploded the [enter creature name] like a blood sausage."
39	* BoringButPractical: Assault rifles are, short of rockets and energy weapons, the most practical weapons around.
40	* BoringReturnJourney: Averted according to [[VideoGame/Wasteland2 the sequel]]. [[AllThereInTheManual Vargas' memoirs]] mentions that they were forced to trek back to their base on foot and were constantly harassed by remaining robots, mutants, raiders and other hostiles.
41	* CargoCult: Guardians and their collection of technology they don't even try to understand.
42	* CharacterCustomization: Name, nationality and gender. The first two are entirely cosmetic, the third is important exactly once.
43	* CharacterPortrait: Seen in combat for enemies. They also appear in some dialogues.
44	* CreatorCameo: Faran Brygo is an obvious reference to game designer Brian Fargo.
45	* CriticalExistenceFailure: Dropping below 0 hit points results in a number of progressively serious wounded states, and unless the Medic or Doctor skill is applied, the character is [[{{Permadeath}} gone for good]].
46	* CutAndPasteEnvironments: The graphical limitations of 1988 computers means a lot of reused environments and level designs.
47	* DamageSpongeBoss:
48	** The [[spoiler:Night Terror in Finster's Mind Maze]]. [[SkippableBoss Thankfully, he's avoidable.]] Many late game enemies are grinds unless the party is equipped with energy weapons.
49	** Finster Leviathan, fought at the end of [[spoiler:the Mind Maze]], has considerably more health than any other enemy in the game (except for the Night Terror), and is essentially the game's ClimaxBoss. However, his lack of armor makes him quite beatable, with full auto fire shredding him quite quickly.
50	* DumpStat: Charisma. It affects almost nothing of any value, whereas other stats can be game-changers if balanced correctly.
51	* DungeonBypass: You can use the sewers to move around towns without triggering RandomEncounters. Many buildings have multiple ways through as well, allowing the player to skip through hostile encounters.
52	* DungeonTown: Most major settlements. While the first is empty, the agricultural facility to the west has hostile animals, the town to the north has wandering bandits, etc.
53	* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The Las Vegas sewers, the Sleeper Base, Guardian Citadel, as well as Base Cochise, are all examples of this. While there are several other locations (Waste Pit, the underground ammo depot or part of the Temple of Blood in Needles, as well as Faran Brygo's hideout or the Temple of the Mushroom Cloud in Las Vegas), they don't classify because of their small size or being constructed above ground.
54	* EverythingBreaks: Not really, but the furniture in the abandoned buildings is described as about to fall apart at the lightest touch.
55	* EverythingIsTryingToKillYou: Bunnies, lizards, jerks, and cacti are but a few of the Wasteland's many dangers.
56	* ExpositionBreak: Several appear throughout the game, conveniently broken out into paragraphs provided in the manual. The UpdatedRerelease integrates them as in-game pop-ups with voiced narration.
57	* FailedFutureForecast: Being created in 1988, the game world is an aftermath of USA-Soviet nuclear exchange from 1997, with Cold War getting hot.
58	* FatBastard: Fat Freddy: his name is not a coincidence. His in-game description also recalls the FatSlob trope.
59	* FetchQuest:
60	** Two [=NPCs=] request that the Bloodstaff be found and returned to them. The player can turn it in to the first one for a reward in Needles, and then ask for it back to give it to Charmaine in Vegas.
61	** In Vegas, Fat Freddy asks the Rangers to kill Faran Brygo for his Onyx Ring. If you end up honoring his wishes, however, [[spoiler:he and his gang double-cross you once you report back to him, resulting in another long and messy gunfight]].
62	* TheGambler: Dan Citrine's skills qualify him as one. [[spoiler:You can also discover that he was only captured by Ugly John's gang to retrieve a stash of money.]] The same goes for Mort. You can also be one by adding in points for the Gambling skill.
63	* GangOfBullies: The kids in Highpool who laugh at your troop of hardened soldiers falling on some slippery rocks. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential You can kill them]] if you choose to, although everyone hates you for it and it results in the town becoming deserted.
64	** [[spoiler:Turns out this was the canon path, as the townsfolk in Highpool in ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 2}}'' are ''still'' pissed off at the last group of Rangers who came through town and shot up a bunch of kids. '''15 years later'''.]]
65	%%* GrimyWater: The fish are biting. Ouch!
66	* GuideDangIt:
67	** Much of the game's context, backstory, and even basic features are left unexplained in the game proper. This means that modern players will typically have to hunt down game guides in order to figure out how the game's stat system works, and even what you're supposed to be doing in the first place.
68	** Like an old-school adventure game, advancing in ''Wasteland'' often involves using the correct skill or item on a specific object in the world. Being an RPG, the game gives you much less feedback than an adventure game does, and without a guide you're likely to end up either missing important interactions or trying to use every skill and item in your inventory to figure out the moon logic of the developers.
69	** The end game is nearly impossible without energy weapons. These require your characters have an IQ of 23 to be able to even use them. This means you have to create your characters with as near an IQ to 18 as possible and then constantly raise it when given a chance to get to the minimum requirement.
70	* GunsAreWorthless: During the first half of the game a decent Brawling skill lets you deal way more damage; later the party reaches Las Vegas and finds assault rifles. The Proton Axe is still a valid alternative until the end of the game, though.
71	* ImAHumanitarian: Hobo Dogs, the local fast food restaurant in the western area of downtown Needles, offers a rather... special kind of food to their customers.
72	* ImpassableDesert: In-map desert requires a canteen to pass.
73	* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: Usually averted. You can blow up or knock down virtually any door, including several that have key slots (though those generally require explosives to knock down) and a good number of walls, and there are plenty of fences that can be climbed, too.
74	* InUniverseGameClock: The in-game clock runs at different speeds typically depending on the scale of the current map. This makes resting to recover health a lot faster in some locations than in others.
75	* LateCharacterSyndrome: Mort, Ralf, and other Party Members tend to suffer from this.
76	* LethalJokeItem: Broken toasters. Repairing them will reward you with rare energy weapon ammunition.
77	* LudicrousGibs: Described in loving detail, due to the lack of graphics.
78	* MonstersEverywhere: The whole game tends to be this, but especially [[spoiler: Finster's maze.]]
79	* MoreDakka / TriggerHappy: Christina, one of the [=RPCs=] you can hire, seems to love unloading a full clip of hot lead against any opponent even if it's a wasteful use of spare ammunition and there's only one measly critter. Unless you give her a non-automatic weapon, she will ALWAYS go full auto on her enemies. This makes her a double-edged sword when it comes to combat.
80	* MsFanservice / LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The bathtub girl in Paragraph 1, who exists only to remind players not to cheat by reading through the Paragraphs book. Not heeding her advice gives you a RedHerring storyline about a mission to Mars.
81	* NoSell: Armor with a high AC rating will shrug off attacks from weaker enemies without your character taking damage. Be aware that stronger enemies will be able to [[ArmorPiercingAttack bypass your armor with better weaponry or melee attacks]] unless your armor's AC rating is higher than their damage ratings. Power armor, for example, will laugh off any attempt to scratch it from just about any enemy in the game outside of the robots and defenses at Base Cochise.
82	* NonLethalKO: Most enemy attacks knock you out, and you can get back up later (or even mid-combat).
83	* NotSoDifferentRemark: In the endgame, Matthias eventually asks Team Echo why they've continued to chase him down and oppose him, despite the constant risk to their lives. If they answer that [[JustDoingMyJob it's because he's an enemy of the Rangers,]] he'll invoke this trope.
84	--> '''Matthias:''' Ah, honesty at last. You hound me because I threaten your status as the alpha wolves of Arizona, just as you hound all others who defy you. At least you're honest enough to admit that it has nothing to do with humanity, or morals, or civilization. Your gang hates my gang, and that's that.
85	* OneStatToRuleThemAll: IQ. The higher it is, the more and better skills you get access to. You pretty much want to start everyone with as high an IQ as possible.
86	* OnlySixFaces: Because of used and available technology, each type of enemy has standard portraits attached. Rangers themselves have limited and randomly assigned ones.
87	* OnlySmartPeopleMayPass: [[spoiler:Finster's virtual reality.]]
88	* OptionalSexualEncounter: The three-legged hooker. Naturally, she gives you herpes.
89	* PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo: The ion beamer, meson cannon, and proton ax.
90	* PurelyAestheticGender: It influences exactly one thing: which restroom you can enter without getting weird looks from people.
91	* RailRoading: Beautifully averted. While the car takes you from city to city and there are two locations that [=NPCs=] need to reveal, you are free to explore the whole map otherwise, returning to any earlier location you like and even trying farther ahead ones.
92	* RandomEncounters: Everywhere, [[DungeonTown even in the middle of towns.]] The only exceptions are Highpool and the Guardian Citadel, who are devoid of these annoying occurrences and make it viable for your party to heal up over time.
93	* RedHerring: The manual includes paragraphs not referenced in-game which, if read together, create the impression that the game is really about a war on Mars. This is done to punish players who try to read the paragraphs without being prompted to do so.
94	* RegeneratingHealth: You can get back to full health by waiting. In some versions, when your entire party is unconscious, they may recover after a few minutes. However, if you are sick or became seriously wounded from combat, you must get medical treatment or die unless one of your characters learned the Doctor skill.
95	* RockBeatsLaser: A spear is more powerful than a sizeable chunk of guns and other weapons. It's also listed under AT weapons with LAW launchers and sabot rockets.
96	* RPGsEqualCombat: While most of your experience will come from combat, successfully using noncombat skills can earn experience as well. In at least one place, this can be abused for [[GameBreaker infinite experience]].
97	* SaveScumming: Since the game was on floppy disks, the player had to create copies of the discs to actually play on (as the game discs were read only to prevent someone from permanently wrecking their playthrough). This led to the ability to "regenerate" entire towns, and even Base Cochise, to loot over and over, allowing players to stockpile large armories of weapons that were considered unique. Doing this properly will allow all of the [=PCs=] to wield Meson Cannons and Power Axes while being decked in the finest Power Armor. Unfortunately, the 30 space inventory limit prevented truly epic levels of stockpiling.
98	* SavingTheWorld: Your ultimate goal is to [[spoiler:destroy Base Cochise to stop Finster from exterminating mankind]].
99	* SequenceBreaking: There's a town [[spoiler:(Savage Village)]] you can't get into without a password, but if you know the password from somewhere else, you can arm yourself with assault rifles very early in the game.
100	* StandardPostApocalypticSetting: The game is set in the deserts of the Southwestern U.S., decades after a global nuclear war between the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. The protagonists are TheRemnant of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that survived the cataclysm and reorganized themselves into a paramilitary force dedicated to protecting fellow survivors from the various mutants, monsters, and punk-like raiders prowling the wasteland. By 2087, civilization is slowly rebuilding itself, with functioning settlements found throughout Arizona and Nevada (and California and Colorado in the sequels).
101	* StatGrinding: Some skills, like swimming, can be improved by repeatedly using them. However, you must have at least one point assigned to them during character creation or level-up before they can be increased.
102	* StoryDrivenInvulnerability: There are characters who can be attacked and those who can't. The vast majority, including people you wouldn't want to attack, are the former, but a few (like Spam Shade) are the latter. Some of these change types after a given plot trigger, such as if you complete Fat Freddy's quest.
103	* ThreeQuartersView: The city maps; the main map is TopDownView.
104	* UpdatedReRelease: The digital distribution version of the game, released in 2014 to coincide with the release of ''Wasteland 2'', smooths out the game's original pixelated VGA-era graphics with a higher-res de-pixelated image quality, adds music and voice acting, and incorporates the game's paragraph book into the game itself instead of having to refer to a physical book periodically throughout the game for major plot events. The save system has also been "fixed" to be a more typical modern save system, as opposed to the original DOS game where saving would overwrite the entire disk with the current world state.
105	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential / WouldHurtAChild: It is possible for the player to wipe out the town of Highpool, which is populated almost entirely by children.
106	* VideoGameRemake: ''Wasteland Remastered'', released in early 2020, is a complete overhaul of the game, with more modernized graphics, interface, and presentation, while still maintaining the art style and basic gameplay of the original. It now looks like a high-production value modern Indie game rather than a product of the 1980's. It also adds a new ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}''-style MultipleEndings epilogue that sums up the fate of the various major locations your actions have affected, and ties into ''Wasteland 2''.
107	* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: When your party walks into a spot of hot, barren desert you begin losing HP by dehydration unless you have at least a canteen in your inventory to prevent it.
108	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:If you choose to accept Fat Freddy's offer to kill Faran Brygo, he will initially reward you $1000 to spend on his casino. Once you get into Brygo's hideout and answer the two correct passwords, choosing to attack him will result in a long game of cat-and-mouse while fending off his goons in the process. When you finally get to him, he will attack you for one last stand. Once he's dead, he leaves an Onyx Ring. Showing Fat Freddy the ring will cause him to double-cross you and order his goons to kill you, engaging in yet another long gunfight.]]
109	* {{Zeerust}}: Being written in late 1980s, the setting's technology is largely based on what was available then -- floppy discs, advanced mainframe computers, no desktops on them, and so on.

Context VideoGame / Wasteland