inXile has released the opening cinematic for its upcoming Wasteland 2 and my, oh my, it is something special alright. Like a gravelly mash up of the Mad Max movies and History channel documentary, the movie tells the short version of the post-apocalyptic world in which the game is set.
Wasteland 2 Releases in August, Details Revealed
At some point in a dateless past, the button was pushed and soon after, the world ended. A group of army engineers took up residence in a desert prison, releasing all the prisoners out into the world. But soon, the prisoners came back and hell followed with them. Not ones to sit by and let the prisoners, now leather-clad extras under the guise of Lord Humungus (at least, I would imagine), just ransack the countryside and murder the innocent people, the engineers took up arms and fought them back. For this, they were dubbed Desert Rangers, and they keep watch over this little slice of the end of the world.
The movie is shot live action, which is great. More games need to do this. Hell, let's go back to Gabriel Knight and just make everything live action, to hell with CGI! What makes the use of real places and real people great is that there is this sense of bleakness, emptiness. It's shot in such a way to make you thirst, make you yearn for the creature comforts of today. The world of Wasteland is scorching, dusty and dry and you'll definitely need a drink by the end of the three minute opening trailer.
But what makes it work is the voice. Whoever they hired, someone deserves a medal. The narrator speaks in a worldly, 'seen some shit' tone that is filtered through forty years of cheap whiskey and early mornings. I could listen to him narrate me the apocalypse any day.
Fallout Easter Egg In Wolfenstein
Wasteland 2, after a successful Kickstarter campaign and a few delays, is finally releasing late this August on Steam. If you can't wait that long, you can find the one, the only, the original Wasteland there as well, because haven't you played Fallout: New Vegas enough already?
And be sure to watch the opening movie below. Keep a glass of water handy. You're gonna need it.
