Fallout

The Good
Let's look back to the year 1997. I was in college, and a year earlier me and my bud Paul started up an underground magazine called "Nerdgasm." I wrote reviews and managed a column called "The Whiny Movie-goer." The magazine spread around the campus and got a cult following. One morning I woke up with Paul standing over me, holding the box for Fallout. He told me I had to review it. When he told me it was an RPG, I said 'No.' I wasn't too big on RPGs. He literally began poking me with a stick, and two days later I finally gave in to his stick poking and installed the game. Long story short: I fell in love with the game, and it won Game of the Year in our mag. The next year Fallout 2 would win, although as a gag I said that it tied with Fallout 1. It would become a running joke all the way until the magazines death that at each Game of the Year ceremony, I attempt to shoehorn in Fallout as game of the year again or say its the "real" game of the year but I was stick poked into picking a game actually from that year.

12 years later, and the game is still the greatest RPG ever, and already a nominee for Game of the Year 2009, right up with "Prototype."

Lets say that during the height of the cold war crisis, the nuclear bombs actually fell. Lets say that the Chinese attacked America. Lets say that the future is a post apocalyptic hellhole where raiders and slavers menace poor civilians and mutants wait outside peoples homes expecting a nice meal of human flesh. That's the idea behind Fallout. The story itself has you taking upon the role of a Vault dweller from Vault 13. The Vaults are numerous underground Fallout shelters that were made to protect humanity from the bombs. Vault 13 hasn't opened since the war, and generations have bred there, all living and dying in the vault. Yet recently Vault 13 has a little problem... The machine that gives you water is busted, and there's no way to replace it without getting another one from another vault. Vault 13 is opened for the first time in thousands of years, and you walk out into the frightening world of The Wasteland. As you quest for a spare waterchip, you will encounter many strange denizens, mutants, and learn that the world outside the Vault ain't exactly heaven. The games second act takes a dark yet brilliant turn, but my reviews are certified spoiler free. The story is great, and the world is immersive and unique, exploring it is a treat and hunting down the many unique denizens proves rewarding, especially when you run into HAROLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :B I really like Harold. He's the funniest game character ever. Although his level of hilarity isn't as epic as it is in Fallout 2, he's still the funniest mutant ever to not menace society. He's also one of the few mutants you WONT want to shoot. On the topic of humour, Fallout has a great sense of humour. The sense of humour in Fallout is brilliantly dark, sadistic, and perverted, yet even those who usually cringe at jokes about death, disease, mutation, sex, and sex with diseased undead mutants are likely to laugh at something in Fallout. The games 50's "Duck and Cover" style aesthetics and charm really help lighten the horror of the post apocalypse. The massive contrasts are surprisingly balanced. The opening cutscenes alone set both tones and get you in the mood for something scary and something funny.

The combat system is great, and has been unmatched in the realm of CRPG games. The game is turn based, but rather than just repeating the process of "Select move, select monster, watch what move does, reselect move again, select monster again, watch what move does" every friggen' time you fight something. Instead, Fallout requires you to pay more attention and rely on your wits. When you enter combat, whether you're fighting one monster alone or a group of baddies with some squad mates, you will enter a grid based combat scenario and are given "Action Points." How many action points you have is based on the games S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute system. Each item and move costs action points. If you have a few extra action points to spare, you can target a specific body part of your foe, which can really help the outcome of battle. Action points will run down during your turn, and will restore when it is your turn again. Bad guys and team mates use the same system, so the game never feels unbalanced, although naturally beefier enemies will have their own unique attributes and of course all the foes/team mates in the game will have different skill sets based on their race/faction.

On the topic of factions, Fallout has the freedom of choosing who you ally with or don't. Who will you ally with? The vicious raiders that murder and steal? How about the ever mysterious Brotherhood of Steel, a group of modern knights bent on keeping the peace and preserving our technology and history. Many other factions await, and regardless of their moral beliefs, you can make the choice to join their ranks. The game has a karma system, which takes into account your good and evil actions. You are given a great amount of freedom, and whether you will save the world, burn it greater, or leave no impact at all through neutrality, its all up to you.

Fallout has a relative difficulty curve, but once you get the swing of things, the games intuitive interface will become second nature. Some parts can be frustrating, but you will be compelled to overcome your weaknesses and build your strengths. The SPECIAL attribute system and a system of "Perks" and a large skill tree all offer an expansive character building system.

The graphics may not "Wow" in 2009, but when I'm looking at older games, I always look at the graphics from the eyes of someone living in the year it was released, and rate it based on that. I remember the games looks in 1997, and they looked great. The sprites are large and pixelation free, and the various gruesome death animations, characters and "talking heads" looked great. The sound is great too, sound effects all match up, and the eerie atmospheric score puts you in the mood. The game has great production values. The only complaint I had then that I still have now, is that I wish there were more full vocals and talking head graphics.

The game is so engrossing and fun, its hard to put down at all, if ever. Everything is great.

The Bad
Uhm... Uhh.... Poor compatability on modern computers?

Well, that's not an actual problem with the game, just for modern computers...

Uhm.. Radioactive scorpions are scary? No, that's not a complaint either since they're supposed to be scary....

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Harold is the funniest character ever! Wait.. no, that's another praise...

Uhh...... You know what? This game is perfect. The only true negative is that it ends. :'(

The Bottom Line
I still love this game, I love Fallout 2, and although it can't compare with the first two games euphoric feeling, Fallout 3 is a great successor to the series. Fallout Tactics is a great spin off as well. I may review Fo3 on here, but my review of Fallout 2 wouldn't be any different than this review. It would get 5 perfect stars. This is the greatest RPG of all time, if not the greatest game of all time. If you like RPGs, buy this. If you like strategy games, buy this. If you don't like RPGs, buy this. If you don't like strategy games, buy this. It has something for everyone, and if you haven't played it you are missing out. The complete collection - save for Fallout 3 (Although it can be bought from here as well) - is available DRM free on Steam for only 20 bucks for the whole set. It's also available on GameTap and Good Old Games. If you have it, or even if you don't and are missing your discs, buy this incredible game.