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Fallout 2


Sam P

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At the recommendation of a coworker, I recently purchased a pre-owned copy of Fallout 2 - for the grand sum of $3.50 CDN. Though I had heard a thing or two about the series in the past, the opportunity to experience them for myself had come and gone without so much as a second look from me. After all, how much fun could a post-apocalyptic 2D RPG be? I didn't want to go around hacking and slashing at mutated snails and two headed cows.

 

Turns out it's a hell of a lot of fun.

 

Not because of the two headed cows or giant geckos. But because the game's got so much depth. Everything from the character selection to the library of skills to the NPC interactions, the game smothers you with a seemingly endless arrary of options.

 

I'm playing as a level-headed, intelligent, and highly charismatic bloke, while my brother is playing as a "smash first, ask questions later" grunt - and our interactions with the game are vastly different. We get vastly different options for handling the same situation. For example, my character can pursuade the enemy out of a fight, while his has no choice but to smash it to a pulp - or die trying.

 

Sweetness.

 

I'll admit that I am a green horn as far as RPGs go. My experience doesn't go much further than things like Diablo, the Final Fantasy series and the like. I know this game is who-knows-how-old, but it's refreshing for me and I love it.

 

If I'm just stating the obvious (and many years late at that), then forgive me for my banality. I have no idea whether it was well-received at all. But right here, right now, my first time through the game - it's a bit of a revelation.

 

Thoughts?

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The Fallout games are among my very favorites. I played them in sequence (I never finished Fallout Tactics, but it's not really a Fallout game in the pure sense) so the story is even deeper.

 

The series has a great sense of humor, an incredible number of options (which equals enormous replayability) and an engaging story.

 

I got lucky and got Fallout with my copy of Fallout 2 (both manuals combined makes for a small novel) so I had a nice time working through them both.

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I've played alot of the older PC RPG's and when it comes down to it, IMO, the 2 Fallout rpg's are among the very best. These games had style, wit, great stories, replayability, and an excellent turn based combat system.

 

Unfortunately, you are probably now spoiled, as there are few better RPG's to be had. I personally dislike the trend of going to real time combat like the Baldur's Gate series and Icewind Dale II did, even though I did think they were very good games. After all, pen and paper D&D is turn based, why on earth would you change that on the pc (side note, Temple of Elemental Evil that is coming out this month is turn based, yes!). But enough of the negativity, if you are itching for another RPG and don't mind playing an older game, you may want to check out Planescape:Torment. A most excellent game that can be found quite cheap. :)

 

Oh yea, Fallout:Brotherhood of Steel comes out for PS2 and Xbox later this year. It's more of a hack and slash pseudo RPG (like Diablo) using the new Baldur's Gate 2 engine. Played an early build of the Xbox version, it kept alot of the grittiness and humor, and was quite fun.

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(side note, Temple of Elemental Evil that is coming out this month is turn based, yes!).

 

...and developed by a majority of the folks that worked on Fallout and Fallout 2. Can we say Oh hell yeah? :)

 

you are probably now spoiled, as there are few better RPG's to be had

 

I have to say, I see things a tad differently. Fallout certainly holds its place among the top echelon of CRPG's but recent years have seen the release of fantastic games like Arx Fatalis or Morrowind which took interactivity and open ended gameplay to a whole new level. Even later titles such as Planescape which IMHO is every bit the game Fallout is with a storyline that has yet to be topped in any RPG I've played as of yet. Of course this is a purely subjective thing we're discussing and I'm just throwing my 2 cents worth in.

 

My only problem with the CRPG of today is it usually has MMO before it. :? Mind you this is coming from a fan of the MMO genre as I've played just about every last one out there but Temple of Elemental Evil is just going to be a huge breath of fresh air (much like Lionheart, which has its problems, but is still quite enjoyable).

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I'm one of the few people who actually doesn't care for the game very much. I gave hours of time to both Fallout and Fallout 2, but it never clicked with me. I'm not a fan of the hexfield combat I guess. Which is weird because older titles like Ultima 6 never bug me and they have square fields.

 

Anyway, glad that you like it Sam, but I wanted to chime in on this...

 

if you are itching for another RPG and don't mind playing an older game, you may want to check out Planescape:Torment.

 

Buy buy buy buy! You can get this for dirt cheap and it's an amazing game. Absolutely amazing and my second fave RPG after FF4. I cannot recommend enough that people give this game a try.

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Huge, huge fan.

 

Did you know the first Fallout was meant to employ a licensed version of Steve Jackson's GURPS role-playing system?

 

Jackson had a disagreement over the violence potrayed in the game and pulled his support. So they had to cook up their own approach.

 

Part of the reason I enjoyed Fallout 1 and 2 (besides the story, voice acting, character system and humor) is the non-standard fantasy setting. Another reasoin why I enjoyed Arcanum, too.

 

-j

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