Post apocalyptic classic which took the best bits from Bards Tale, Ultima and the SSI Gold Box games. Another essential C64 RPG.

Yep. Copying those originals to spare floppies, in which you had to use the inbuilt and horribly slow copy program, was terrible. Especially when I was young. But I only ever did it once, because straight away I would load up Fast Hack 'em and make a "Master" set of copies, that I could always use to make copies for another run through.

The game itself is an unforgettable RPG experience, and one which I think I will have to play through again now that I am thinking about it.

Was so excited to try to finally play this game yesterday but had to deal first with the 4-side-copy routine jammer64 mentions (I concur, they should burn). Then, after finishing that, I'm just getting an "I/O Error" message trying to start a game. Argh!!

Whoever came up with the idea of copying all 4 sides to writable disks, should burn in hell :O

Only few original 8bit games receive as much credit as this one these days. I loved the story when I first read about it (29 years ago... ) but never had the time actually playing it. But when I have retired, I will. I am really looking forward to it, you know...

So here's the deal I hadn't even heard of Wasteland until I decided to buy Wasteland 2 on the PS4 less than 24 hours before writing this. So I'm going to play this before I play Wasteland 2. On the bright side I won't have to wait 27 years for the sequel

I think this is one of my top all time favorite games on the C64. I played it through a couple times, though I admit to getting stuck in Finster's mind and having to use some hints to get past it. A great sandbox game! I of course went on to play the Fallout titles and look forward to playing WASTELAND 2... I managed to get in on the kickstarter campaign to support it.

Wasteland 2 is up on Kickstarter! Here's hoping they make the $900, 000 target.

One of the best RPGs I've ever played. Very difficult and you HAVE to do things in the right order. But fully immersive and rewarding.

Man, I would kill to play this now - it was that good. My roommates were solidly hooked: one of them pulled a 48 hour binge and wouldn't go to bed until I threatened to simply shut off the 128. And these were not computer enthusiasts! It's been said before: Best. RPG. Ever.

And so much better than Fallout 3.

I never got the Red Ryder by killing the guy of the same name. The only way seems to be either using a save game editor or the loot bag cheat in the club in Needles (also works on the C64, but getting the super loot bag will crash the system).

Here are all nasty details (and some other info):
wasteland.rockdud.net/underground.html#superlootbags

The great-great-granddaddy of Fallout 3!

*repeatedly murders children to get Red Ryder to how up*

Very good, but very unforgiving. All too easy to die, which meant having to make another character disk, from memory. I'd play the PC version instead. It has less load times, anyway!

I just finished Wasteland again on my full C-64 setup I bought on Ebay last year. It was just like old times! Game is just as fun and engrossing as it was 20 years ago. I think I might have to play it again next year!!

I got into this one quite recently and have enjoyed it so far. Wasteland has so much content and is thoroughly absorbing. The only negative aspect is the disk swapping, but other than this its an A1 rpg.

As engrossingly good as the game itself is, be warned that the suggestion that you "roll" your own characters to replace & create "better" characters than the 4 that are provided as starters will lead you into spending an undue amount of time. Either use the characters provided if you are playing the DOS version or use the editor available if playing the C64 version. The program that "rolls" to "create" new characters has got to be the WORST I have ever seen or used! You will struggle till your brains turn to mush to get "better" characters & they will not be worth it actually. The figures that are generated in the roll are soo consistently bad you will despair of getting what you want.

This game gets my vote for "Best RPG Ever". Exceptional depth, great characters, fairly large world, and wonderful atmosphere made this game a legend. Lay waste to futuristic robots with high-tech weaponry. Run out of ammo? Bash a biker thug's skull in with the butt of your assault rifle! Great fun!

It is not the score that shows a game is great, it's how many make a comment and what they say in that comment. Based on that, this game is obviously in the top 10 of all C64 games despite it's actual score. Any idiot can score it a '1', but to take time to leave a comment is where it's at. And this game want you to tell the world how great it was back in the day and again now!

Quite possibly my favourite game of all time.

The C64 was in it's hay day in my formative years so that may bias my view slightly but this game was incredible.

The graphics sucked even for a C64 game of it's era, but you got over that after you played it for about five minutes. The setting, the mood and feel of it, the way it sucked you into the story like you really felt it was you out there exploding things like blood sausage.

It was extremely challenging, and you were free to do pretty much anything, there were all sorts of side quests you could do. Games these days just focus on "look we got the prettiest 3D models, how great is our game". The industry as a whole should be forced to play this game on a weekend business convention somewhere each year as a refresher course on what really makes a game an experience rather than just a 40 hour timesink.

I'm upgrading my vote to a 10. This game truly stands alone in the realm of RPGs.

I think maybe now it's broken 50 the votes might start coming in... By the way, when they collated the top 150 games of all time this came 9th.

52 votes and a score of only 8. 7?! Either there are not many RPG players on this site or something is wrong with the voting system!

Unbelievable. I've only really registered to post here. 11 out of 10 to be perfectly honest. I've got some very similar stories to many posted here. For those looking for the sequel (I think you found a computer hinting at this in Needles) the previous posts are right. FALLOUT I & II. Both excellent games, unallowed to be named WLII due to legalities but THERE IS NO DOUBT they are sequels and for those who remember the original well you'll get some great laughs out of the many 'in jokes'. 'best mechanic in the world roflmao'

Let's face it. One of the reasons retro is growing so fast and PC gaming is in decline is that all we get nowadays are fantasy RPG's nothing but fantasy. It get's a bit old after a while if that is your only choice. This is a 10/10 game full stop.

Another C64 classic. Immersive and playable. Only RPG I played as good on C64 was Pool of Radiance. 9/10

A fantastic game, only supassed by "Alternate Reality: The Dungeon" as the most absorbingly compulsive RPG on the C64.

BTW, I too have a MINT original copy of this game (in the box, not the sleeve).

Awesome story, good graphics, very well developed. One of the greatest RPGs of all time.

Excellent open-ended RPG. And the good thing (at least to me) was that it wasn't another FANTASY game. Good puzzles, decent animation graphics. Very nice game system.

The bad part is something all these RPGs from this era had: Excessive random encounters. And most game XPs were from combat. Also the map graphics and sound were a bit to be desired... But the game play and story made up for it.

I remember the options to use single shot, burst or full auto when killing enemies. I remember the RPG and going after some big enemies. I remember the last rank everybody got when I solved the game... Technical Sergeant. I don't remember much else, though. I do remember thoroughly enjoying this game, copying it with Copy Q at a friends house.

Greatest game I have ever played. Great memories of being a teenager and playing that game for weeks while taking care of my grandmothers house alone when she died. No cable. A handfull of BETA vcr tapes and rotery dial phone. That game inspired me to create Magic Pipe studios and make my own games. A few years ago, EGM included the full PC version (minus paragraph book). I found and printed the book online. Game errored at the same place it did for me 10 years ago and I didn't have to destroy Darwin to win game. Game has special place with me.

Sorry Vim. ;-)

I got TWO original copys.. I count you out! *gg* A cheers to all the Wasteland FANS out there! Go to Ebay and grab a copy for yourself! THATS AN ORDER!!!

Easily my favourite C64 game. The play is so well pitched. I am the proud owner of an original copy.

Wasteland no. 1
champions of krynn no. 2
space rogue no. 3

ea rules 2/3 best are theirs

How on earth can someone have voted this down?? This is wasteland! It's got a free-form skill use, non-linear storyline, the best post-nuclear world ever, I can only guess someone who hasn't played must have been the wise ass who voted it a one. As for what wasteland was, it was groundbreaking for plotline, charcter development, had hidden solutions to sub quests, and the images of a dark future ... Well those.. The guardian citadel with its mad monks.. 10/10
only reason why someone might not enkoy it as much today it's because the book is missing.. Remember those fake lines about the aliens??
long live wasteland(and to think I pick'it up only for the cover.. )

Wasteland was the first game that caused me to loose sleep. As an 8th grader, I remember playing wasteland until 2 or 3 am - I would dim the TV so my mother wouldn't be able to tell that I was still up! I hope the PC version really happens. I loved fallout, but there's no replacing the original...

YES! Wasteland is coming to the PC!!! It's still at least a year (probably 2-3) away, but it's good news.
This was awesme. I think it was one of the first games I ever beat. I'll never forget the password to get into *someplace*, URAQT! Uzi's, LAW rockets, ahhhhh.

Wasteland is my favourite role playing game of all time! I just finished it on a PC emu the other day and it plays as well as it did back when I owned in on the C=64. The bad news, there is little progress on the sequel if it is even happening now. Brian Fargo dropped off the official unofficial wasteland mailing list a few weeks ago.

My best game is GUNSHIP, but hey, today the sequel for Wasteland is announced by Brian Fargo! 2. 10. 2003 !!! It will come !!!

Great game, very difficult -- set the standard for all non-Tolkeinesque-fantasy RPG's from that time forward. However, the real reason I remember this game is because it was the last one I played on my C64, the game that "broke" my beloved computer. All that disc-switching, save-game corruptions, crashes -- ohh, the tragedy! That cover-art still stresses me out...

My absolute favourite C=64 game. I finished this game, and remember the long hours and sweat needed to do it. It's still my favourite game!

Truckman

This was one of my all-time favourite games for the C64. To this very day I still consider Wasteland to be a masterpiece of gaming excellence. If only RPGs nowadays were this good!

But this game DOES have two sequels (BOTH by Brian Fargo!) they are called Fallout! :-)

I just remember something about a killer bunny in a garden patch. I remember I laughed and cried over how hard that bunny was. Luckily I had the walkthrough guide from a friend, cause this one was tough!

I've always wanted to make love to a Desert Dweller... From their soft chewing lips to their rotting fingertips

The best RPG on the C64 ... Very adult and brutal theme ... Very complex story... Also very dark ... I love it ...
you should definitely give it a try ...
if you like thise one you might also try the 2 Buck Rogers RPGs

We need this game out now! I spent hours playing this, Anyone know how we can get it ? Can you imagine playing it now?? HELP!!!

Man I loved this game and played it for hours and hours. Never finished it since my C64 gave out on me. Hmmm... Maybe I should hop on over to the ol ebay to see what they have listed... Hehe

My brother bought this game when it first came out, and he got me hooked (I was an impressionable 12!) Ever since, I've been into the post-apoc genre with a fervor (games, books, movies, even some music) and while I like Fallout and Road Raider and Roadwar 2000, there's nothing to compare to that wonderful nostalgia of a childhood RPG that was far more deeply involved than bips and squeaks on a screen.

This is quite a great RPG. I used to play this for hours lately and sometimes I feel motivated to play this again and you know I probably will!

I agree with all that this is definitely one of the best RPGs for any system. Interplay used to produce excellent games one after another. Whatever happened to brian fargo, stackpole and the other leaders of interplay of old? Btw, they did make a sequal to wasteland, called 'fountain of dreams', but it was never released to C64. I've been trying for ages to get a fully working copy for PC to no avail.

Yeah, it's pretty cool to make your enemy explode like a blood sausage.

Im stuck between bards tale 1 and this game as my all-time fav rpg. Finished it in about 2 mths and it killed my summer =] You empty your UZI and turn him into a thin red paste ;]

Heres something funny, I ordered it from 2 diff places, 1 place got it 2 me within 2 days, I don't think the other place called me back until I was almost finished.

Great game though and definately worth downloading 10/10

This RPG is too action-oriented for my taste. Ridiculous toughness of Vegas Sewers encourages cheats and exploits (spending days on a chasm rope to heal). Interface is easy to understand, yet cumbersome to use. Combat interface just plain sucks. There are more issues with interface, too numerous to explain here, that do not affect gameplay directly but are annoying nontheless.

Good things: there is definitely a certain charm to Wasteland (comparing it to Fallout is like comparing apples and oranges, Fallout world is totally different), skills system and their use is excellent, although it takes some time to get used to it. Story is not groundbreaking, but very solid. I'd give it 8. 5

IMO the best game ever for the C64. A testament to how much ass it kicks is that the highly popular Fallout series is a de facto remake of it.

By far the best RPG ever made in terms of atmosphere and storyline. I used to spend days on end playing this game... If you're a fan of the fallout series then this is worth checking out.

Wonderful game engine with ideas that were ahead of it's time. My favourite C64 RPG and still in my top 10 games of all time. Although the Fallout games are close, it's a shame a true sequel was never made of this classic groundbreaking game.

I loved this game and spent weeks playing it. I eventually completed it but after all these years I'm going to go back and play it all over again. It's fun to explore and complete the side missions along with your main objective.

When I saw it the first time, I thought it would be as same as Bard's Tale in the future. But after playing several hours, it was completely different. I played it very long, especially after I have recognized, that when I make another play disk, all features are here once again. And so my favourite char was so strong, that he finished off the guardian citadel alone :=)

I love this game! ... I think it puts a lot of modern games with all the complex graphics to shame!
some people will never understand that it takes more than some fancy graphics to capture the imagination
and this game graphicwise wasn't all that great... But it didn't matter!
A huge game with a million different ways to play and as many ways to end... And challenging as hell
Maybe some day they'll find a way to duplicate the richness of this games story and playability!

Do yuo guys remember the smell of your just C?64-bought-game '
?
Wasnt it the "nearly" best smell U ever got?

A worthy "sequel" to the BardsTale-series.
The atmosphere was thick, so immense dense (what a rhyme you just got your first burnout while walking through radioactive areas. You could smell the rotten corps lying around and feel the dryness of the desert.
What a expereience - when U try the that game first time take some weeks for holidays.
Another interplay -hit

This game rules!!!

There was nothing like unloading your UZI clip into some bandit who wanted everything you had.. If you were low on ammo, the burst mode was sufficient! The first post apocolyptic RPG that I ever played and the one I still refer to when I think of this genre.

Unquestionably the best RPG I've ever played. The atmosphere is second to none.

Another stunning EA RPG... They had the knack of creating a game atmosphere that was so immersive, that it was hard to stop playing at times. I remember being hooked on this when I was 18!! Considering the way technology has advanced, you'd still be hard pushed to top this for gameplay and entertainment, even now.

My absolute favourite of all the Commodore 64 games I have ever played (and that's a lot).
Engrossing, quirky and very addictive, it really tapped into my imagination because of the subject matter. The threat of nuclear war seemed much more real back then and I played this game with a feeling of sickened fascination while I imagined walking through endless radioactive deserts.
It is true that the Fallout series had much less charm, but I loved both these games too.

Best RPG I ever played!

I have to agree with both of you. Compelling RPG with an excellent plot. Fallout (PC much later) didn't quite recapture this game's sense of danger.

I must concur!

Best game ever!