Fallout
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Adventure Hall of Fame
(1999) -
Baldur's Gate (Edition spéciale incluant Fallout)
(1998) -
Fallout / Fallout 2
(2000) -
Fallout Legacy
(2019) -
Fallout Legacy (Relaunch)
(2022) -
Fallout Tactics: Postnuklearna Gra Taktyczna
(2001) -
Fallout: Anthology
(2015) - Fallout: S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Anthology (2024)
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Fallout: Trilogy
(2008) -
Gold Games 4
(1999) -
Interplay: 15th Anniversary
(1999) -
Saga Fallout: Unikalna Edycja DVD
(2004)
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Fallout
(1991 on
DOS)
Description official descriptions
A devastating nuclear war had wiped out almost the entire population of the Earth. The civilization, as we know it, has been destroyed. The Earth has become a huge wasteland populated by mutated creatures. Only small number of humans survived and they formed communities living on the surface, where they mostly scavenge what remains from the pre-war civilization. Some lucky people managed to reach safety of the Vaults, huge underground dwellings, during the war. Recently, the water purification controller chip in Vault 13 broke. Without clean water, the people of the Vault cannot survive. One person is sent to find a replacement chip and ventures outside to face a dangerous world, hoping to return within a hundred and fifty days.
Fallout is a role-playing game that utilizes a character development system called S.P.E.C.I.A.L., an acronym formed from the first letters of the game's basic character attributes: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck. In addition to having these attributes, the protagonist can also learn and improve skills, as well as acquire traits and perks.
Skill points are awarded when the player character levels up; traits are assigned during character creation, while perks are obtained every three character levels. There are eighteen different skills in the game, divided into combat, active, and passive categories. Combat skills include weapon proficiencies (e.g. small and big guns, melee, etc.); active skills are used for support or interacting with the environment (doctor, lockpick, science, steal, and others); passive skills are mainly dedicated to social interaction (barter, speech, gambling, and so on). Traits bestow various benefits upon the character while also imposing penalties; in contrast, perks are purely beneficial. By developing and customizing attributes, skills, traits and perks, the player is granted a considerable freedom in shaping the protagonist in his combat-related and social behavior.
The game has an open world which can be freely explored from the onset. Only a few quests are required to complete in order to advance the main plot; a vast amount of side quests is available. Thanks to the game's emphasis on social interaction, many problems can be solved in a non-violent way; in fact, it is possible to complete the game without engaging in battles at all, running away from enemy encounters and concluding the final confrontation in a relatively peaceful fashion. Conversely, the player can opt for a destructive path, killing everyone in sight. A Karma system is used to track the player's moral decisions during the game.
Combat in Fallout is turn-based. Participants have a limited amount of action points (AP) per turn; each action (including movement) depletes a certain number of AP, eventually ending a character's turn. The player can target specific body parts of enemies during battles. Characters may join the protagonist, traveling together and participating in combat as a party. Though the player may assign general commands to the companions, their actions are controlled by the AI, and they cannot be customized.
Spellings
- 異塵餘生 - Traditional Chinese spelling
- 辐射 - Simplified Chinese spelling
Groups +
- Fallout games
- Game feature: Hexagonal map
- Gameplay feature: Auto-mapping
- Gameplay feature: Character development - Skill distribution
- Gameplay feature: Day / night cycle
- Gameplay feature: Drug addiction
- Gameplay feature: Gambling
- Gameplay feature: Karma meter
- Gameplay feature: Multiple endings
- Gameplay feature: Radiation / radioactive poisoning
- Gameplay feature: Targeting system
- Protagonist: Female (option)
- Weapon: Minigun/Chaingun
Screenshots
Promos
Credits (DOS version)
154 People (140 developers, 14 thanks) · View all
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| Assistant Producer | |
| Division Director | |
| Asst. Division Director | |
| Original Producer | |
| Production Assistant | |
| Monkey Boy |
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| Mac Assistance | |
| Art Director | |
| Lead Artists | |
| Artists | |
| Additional Art By | |
| [ full credits ] | |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 88% (based on 43 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 577 ratings with 22 reviews)
A CRPG as enjoyable as it is buggy (and it's really, really buggy...)
The Good
It looks great, it sounds great, it plays great, and it doesn't have character classes. As far as I am concerned, computer games need not (and quite possibly can not) advance beyond the level of excellence this game offers. All things considered, this is one of the most involved (involving? whatever...) computer RPG/adventure games ever, as it actually enables the player to play any kind of character he wants. I mean, real people don't go around with "I'm a Mage, please stab me" tattooed on their foreheads (I hope), and they still manage to do their own stuff and whatnot and you know what I mean.
[Added later:]
One thing I forgot to mention when originally writing this review is the excellent presentation. Right from the loading screen through the magnificent intro sequence to the [REMOVED] end (oops, almost slipped a spoiler) you get sucked into the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout. It's also very re-playable, as I found out when I recently purchased Fallout 2 and it came with the original. Depending on the PC you create and how you actually play the game, you're always finding out new stuff. (The truth apparently is out there.)
The Bad
This game is buggy. Bugs all over the shop. Ugly ones, to boot. Also, once your PC is strong enough, you can do stuff that screw some of the responses up, although I guess that really counts as a bug, too.
[Added later]
All right, I now have a more recent version, and some of the more annoying bugs seem to have vanished, but you still sometimes have to try some things several times in slightly different ways to trigger the correct reactions. Of course, if I hadn't played Fallout before, I wouldn't have noticed the problems.
The Bottom Line
If you liked Baldur's Gate, you'll love this game (you never even have to change the CD). It has one of the best plots, settings, and overall feels I've ever come across in a computer game, and it's not too easy, either.
Get it.
[Added later] Hey, you don't actually have to like Baldur's Gate to love Fallout!
Windows · by Late (77) · 2001
Alas, Wasteland is now #2 on my all-time favorites list...
The Good
If all RPGs were like this one, there would be peace on earth (because everyone would be home playing). The character development is amazingly detailed -- skill-based, not class-based. You can play a heavy-handed bruiser, a light-footed thief, or a slick con-man. Heck, you can play a heavy-handed thief, a slick bruiser, or a light-footed con-man... you choose.
Graphics are amazingly detailed, especially for such small figures (whichever weapon/armor you're using actually shows up on your character). The sound effects are quite realistic and perfectly timed to in-game events, and the background music is hauntingly subtle.
And playability. Oh, my.
Gameplay is almost completely non-linear, though the tougher quests do tend to show up later on. You can play as a "good guy" or "bad guy", and the world will change based on the choices you make. In fact, it's impossible to finish ALL the quests, since completing one may remove another from the game. You can play this one through several times, and have a different experience each time. The endgame sequence will change, too, depending on which quests you've completed within the game.
The Bad
Biggest complaint seems to be buggy code, though the 1.1 patch seems to have fixed a lot of these minor annoyances. I find it annoying that NPCs who join you can't wear armor or gain levels -- practically ensuring that they'll get shredded by a gatling laser cannon later on in the game. And while on the topic of NPC management, you have to use your "Steal" skill to transfer items back and forth between your NPCs... which gets old if they refuse to stand still. BUT, sometimes they do stand still... in a doorway... that you want to go through... and you have to wait... until they move... which is a pain.
The final scene from the game is horribly sad... almost brings a tear to the eye.
The Bottom Line
This game is available in a bundle with Fallout 2 for about US$10. If you own a computer, there should be NO reason that you do not purchase this game and play it until your spouse threatens to do hurtful things to you if you don't give it a break.
Windows · by Mirrorshades2k (274) · 2001
The Good
The joy of a role playing game is that you (the player) gets to take on the persona of your character. Very few computer rpg's understand this, but Fallout gets this completely right. Your character in Fallout is more that a stack of numbers, he or she is an everyday person with some skills and some deficiencies. The environment is a post-apocalyptic but maintains a sense of wonder. The characters are developed, you'll meet good people in evil towns, sympathetic monsters, and monstrous humans. You will see man's inhumanity to man and hope in a hopeless situation. Best of all, your character develops as he or she struggles to survive, from everyday person to hero, anti-hero, or villian.
The Bad
The time constraints placed on the quest adds a sense of urgency but doesn't allow for that much exploration early on. A patch does correct this. More character models would have been appropriate for the player character or maybe a body type that changes according to character stats. Turn based combat might not work for some.
The Bottom Line
Hmmm... me against three mutants. Do I shoot two of them or go for a head shot against the big one? Good thing I brought the minigun.
Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2005
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| I guess I'm a bit annoyed by open-endedness. | chirinea (47495) | Jun 23, 2015 |
| Again a Fallout (Jewel Case) cover | bubbleman1987 | Sep 5, 2012 |
| Countries where have been sold the Fallout games | bubbleman1987 | Sep 1, 2012 |
| Unknown Cover | bubbleman1987 | Sep 1, 2012 |
| GOG.com giveaway | Cavalary (11445) | Apr 5, 2012 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Fallout appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
AI
The artificial "intelligence" makes the characters do some pretty amazing (amazingly stupid, anyway) things. Twice I have had _all_ friendly NPCs in combat repeatedly picking up a lit flare I'd dropped and throwing it at the enemy. An AI routine that makes people with firearms try to whack their opponents with flares deserves mention, in my opinion.
Alternative credits
Hold down shift key and click on the Credits button to see some alternative credits.
Bugs
Fallout shipped with a number of blatantly obvious bugs that almost inevitably seriously screwed up the game. One of the most amusing bugs caused Ian (one of the NPCs that can join your party) to suffer from "Agent Smith Syndrome", multiplying rapidly until there were 100s of him running around the game world killing everybody.
Besides screwing up the game world, this would also cause your game to slow to a crawl because whenever combat started, you'd have to wait for every single Ian to take their turn before control is returned to you.
Concept Art
As of 2002 people who worked on the Fallout games are employed by Black Isle or Troika Games, and have released a number of pre-production drawings and sketches. Thanks to "fallout.scifi.pl" website, you can see them in one place. Sketches - posters - un-used GURPS Vaultboy art
Fallout Bible
The best source of Fallout design and production memoirs, world history, and rare interviews would be "Fallout Bible", found on both official Black Isle website, and on "Duck and Cover" fan-site.
Goodies
Original release includes a "Goodies" folder that includes a Windows screensaver as well as the prototype version of the game developed in 1994, which consists of a knight walking around an isometric landscape and which would eventually evolve into the Fallout engine (requires dos4gw to run).
GOG release
In December 2013, Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics were given away for free on the download distribution platform GOG. This was the last month Interplay had the distribution rights for the games before they went to Bethesda. The games were pulled from GOG on January 01, 2014. They were readded to the catalogue with Bethesda as publisher on August 26, 2015.
Inconsistencies
The Fallout manual says the thickness of Vault's blast door is '4 yards of steel'. 1 yard is almost 1 meter, which means the door's thickness is more than twice your height. That's 12 feet! In comparison, NORAD's 25 ton door is mere 3.5 feet thick.
Low intelligence
If you create your own character, you need to have an intelligence of at least 4. Any lower than that, and you will find it very hard to complete the game because you can't converse with anyone -- your only dialogue options are various grunts or other gutteral noises. I'd recommend trying it once, as it's rather amusing.
An interesting aside is that the dialogue with the cook in Shady Sands doesn't seem to be affected... a character with the lowest possible intelligence can still proclaim, "That smells great! I bet it tastes terrific!" Must be some good food, indeed.
Maybe
The song that plays during the introduction and closing credits is Maybe by the Ink Spots, a black vocal quartet from the 1930s-1940s. As of 2001 most of their work has been re-released and can be bought for $10 - $12 per CD.
Recipes
Fallout's manual comes with a "survival recipes" appendix, which has actual recipes!
References
- The game includes all sorts of odd references - you may stumble onto a UFO which has a sign reading, 'Property of Area 51. Please return if found' and an alien corpse with a ray gun and a picture of Elvis.
- There is a way cool reference to the 1960's era blue UK Police Box that gives you a motion scanner. Doctor Who fans will pick up on that one. The TV which appears in the Introduction Movie is a Radiation King. In The Simpsons*, Homer once said that he spent hours as a child watching tv in the old Radiation King.
- Set your Windows to use large icons and have a look at the Fallout icon or shortcut. This is probably a face of one of game's creators.
- If you search the log files in the computer in the upper level of the Military Base, you will see that two of the names in the actually are developers of the game: Boyarsky and Anderson. Try to download those log files and you will get an "unexpected end of line" error message.
- At one point you'll have the opportunity to chat with a member of the Brotherhood of Steel who says the line "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. I'm all out of gum". This is a play on the memorable "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum." from the movie They Live which is also referenced in Duke Nukem 3D.
- There are references to Mad Max in the game. Dogmeat is the first reference, as Max has a dog in Mad Max 2. In addition, when the description of the previous owner of Dogmeat is given, it describes a person with a shotgun and wearing a leather jacket. This is basically what Max wears in Mad Max 2. The shotgun is his weapon in the movie as well. The other reference is in the ending cinematic. The player has a single barrel shotgun on his hip, same as Max, the player wears what appears a shoulder section of the football pads on his left shoulder, so does Max. There is a bit a limp in player's walk, Max limps because of his injured knee. Finally player is heading in to the wasteland just like Max did at the end of his movies.
References to Wasteland
There are several references to the original Wasteland in the game: * Far Go Traders: Brian Fargo was one of the lead developers of the original Wasteland game. * Tycho: Talk to him a bit, and you find out that he's been through "Ranger Training". In Wasteland, the Desert Rangers were the "heroes" of the game. * The Red Ryder BB gun: Red Ryder showed up in the small town of Highpool in Wasteland (eerily similar to Shady Sands in Fallout). In Fallout, the Red Ryder LE BB Gun is one of the more powerful non-energy weapons you can find, if you're lucky. * Dugan, the Blades' Nuka-Cola addict, is probably named after Bill Dugan, who was part of the Wasteland team
RPG System
During early stages of development, Fallout was designed using G.U.R.P.S. roleplaying system. However, when Steve Jackson Games (owners of G.U.R.P.S. license) pressured the development team to cut down on violence, a decision was made to switch to S.P.E.C.I.A.L., home-brewn rules-light GURPS clone, and abandon G.U.R.P.S. altogether.
Secrets
During your travels from city to city, you may come across a GIANT footprint in the ground with a bloody mess in the middle of it. Search the mess and you will find a Stealth Boy.
I guess the Stealth Boy works really well, since the thing that stepped on the guy carrying the (active) Stealth Boy never saw him. :-)
Text to speech
The Macintosh version of the game supported a system extension called "Text-to-Speech" which enabled text on screen to be read out by a computer generated voice. The game's PipBoy could be used with the extension which "spoke" all replies this PDA like device gave the user. For example, when the player used the alarm clock to rest the PipBoy would speak a long-stretched wake-up call: "waaake uuup!".
The option for "PipBoy speech" could be toggled in the options menu.
Time limit
The original release of the game had a 500 days time limit in which to complete the game (400 if you hired the water merchants). This was because the mutant army was constantly looking for your vault, which they eventually find and invade once the limit expires. The limit was removed on the subsequent patches, but you can still see the cutscene that played when the limit expired if you select to willingly join the army and reveal the vault's location to the master.
Although you no longer get an automatic "game over" after 500 days after installing the patches, taking too long to finish the game still has consequences. The mutant army is still on the march, and even if they no longer can seize your vault, they will still gradually conquer the various towns as time progresses. This has no in-game effect (the mutants don't actually show up in the towns), but during the game's ending you'll get a bad "we got smooshed" ending for places like the Necropolis, Hub, or Followers if you took too long to stop the mutants.
Violence
In the game's options, you can adjust the game's violence level: * US Release - 4 violence levels available - no cuts * UK Release - 3 violence levels available - the most brutal setting is blocked * German Release - 2 violence levels available - the two most brutal settings are missing...
In both the UK and German release all children are missing.
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- March 1998 (Issue #164) – Role-Playing Game of the Year
- June 2000 (Issue #191) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
- GameStar (Germany)
- Issue 12/1999 - #51 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
- PC Gamer
- April 2000 - #18 in the "Readers' All-Time Top 50 Games" Poll
- October 2001 - #4 in the "Top 50 Games of All Time" list (together with Fallout 2)
- April 2005 - #10 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
- Power Play
- Issue 02/1998 – Best RPG in 1997
Information also provided by Adam Baratz, Ajan, Alan Chan, Alexander Schaefer, ApTyp, Entorphane, Fire Convoy, glidefan, Heikki Sairanen, Kabushi, Late, MirrorshadesUK, n-n, PCGamer77, Trixter, Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe, ZombieDepot, Zovni and Evolyzer
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Related Sites +
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DOSBox Wiki
The encyclopaedic page of the DOSBox project. -
DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS
Compatibility information page about the original game and its DOSBox versions. -
Duck and Cover
One of the most well-known Fallout fan sites. -
Fallout Wastelands - The Vault Dweller's Survival Guide
An excellent unofficial fan site for the Fallout series. -
IMDb, the Internet Movie Database
Game database entry: reviews, trailers, ratings. -
Interplay's archived site
Copy of Interplay's Fallout official page at Internet Archive -
Macintosh Garden, an abandonware games archive
For Macintosh: reviews; game packaging; downloadable releases; manual; screenshots; additional material. -
Macintosh Garden, an abandonware games archive (Classic Mac OS)
For Classic Mac OS: reviews; game packaging; downloadable releases; manual; screenshots; additional material. -
Matt Chat 66
Video interview with Tim Cain about the development and reception of Fallout (part 1/2) -
Metacritic (PC)
For PC: reviews; ratings; critics; trailers; additional material. -
Movie-Censorship.com
Comparison between the uncensored US version and the censored European version. -
No Mutants Allowed
Real Fallout fans never die - they just get a little radioactive after a while! NMA is the most comprehensive unofficial Fallout series site on the internet. -
RPG Classics - Fallout Shrine
Fan made shrine for Fallout includes a walkthrough, weapon/armor information, and a list of easter eggs found in the game. -
Replacementdocs (PC, Manual)
Documentation for DOS/Windows. -
Replacementdocs (PC, Quick Reference Card)
Documentation for DOS/Windows. -
The Vault
Wiki based encyclopedia about all things Fallout.
Identifiers +
Contribute
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Droog.
OnLive added by firefang9212. Linux added by Evolyzer. Macintosh added by LepricahnsGold. DOS added by Spartan_234. Windows Apps added by Koterminus.
Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Apogee IV, Kabushi, Vaelor, Pseudo_Intellectual, jlebel, Solid Flamingo, Luchsen, Paulus18950, Tatar_Khan, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack, ZeTomes, Evolyzer.
Game added August 17, 1999. Last modified April 18, 2024.