Free GOTY update for all Wasteland 2 owners

Inxile Entertainment have announced Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition, that will comes as a free update for all existing owners of the game.

"We wanted to re-affirm our gratitude to our backers and our dedication to RPG fans, as we have been most fortunate to return to our roots," says Brian Fargo, CEO. "We plan to continue our proud tradition with Bard's Tale IV, which we'll crowdfund later this year."

Chris Keenan, project lead had this to say about the improvements in a mail to all Wasteland 2 backers on Kickstarter:

"Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition will include a huge set of improvements on the original game. Wasteland 2 will be making the jump to Unity 5, the latest version of the Unity game engine, and benefits from updated environment textures, completely redone character models, and Physically Based Rendering for more impressive lighting. We've added a ton of new voice-over to enrich the game's cast of characters, for example adding voices to the companions.

The Game of the Year Edition also provides major updates to gameplay.

One feature we're very proud of is our new Perks & Quirks system, which we've teased a little bit previously with Eurogamer. In the GOTY Edition, you'll be able to customize your squad of Desert Rangers with over 80 Perks & 20 Quirks, which let you fine-tune your characters throughout the game with unique bonuses and trade-offs. For instance, with Way of the Squeezins you'll become a little bit dependent on that special sauce, but gain some short-lived combat bonuses; Raised in the Circus will make you more nimble in combat, but you can bet there's a downside or two to looking like a clown.

Our fans have also pointed out that one feature they loved in previous RPGs is the ability to do more finely targeted attacks. Well, we've been hard at work on that too. Our new Precision Strike system lets Rangers target individual body parts on enemies to gain the edge in combat.

Wasteland 2's Precision strikes will tend towards less random and more reliable. With Precision Strikes, you'll be able to inflict debilitating status effects on your enemies to turn the tactical tide. For example, aiming for an enemy's torso will reduce their armor value, letting you hit them harder with your other squadmates, and firing on their head (or CPU, as the case may be) has a chance to stun or even send them into a psychotic state where they won't be able to tell friend from foe. With Precision Strikes the battlefield becomes much more dynamic and chaotic.

Finally, to improve on the gameplay experience and ensure the above features are fitted in seamlessly, we're also overhauling game balance, item drops, and reworking the majority of combat encounters throughout the game. You'll need all your training and smarts to master the new dangers of the Arizona wastes."