Fallout 2

"A Great RPG, definitely worth your money."

First off, I will let anyone reading this know that I am not normally the type that plays RPGs. I have a habit of sticking with games focused more on tactics than on leveling and working my way up a boring scheme of progressively harder enemies over the course of hundreds of hours.

Then, I met Fallout 2.

Fallout 2 is an RPG that focuses on tactics. Lots and lots of tactics. As in, if you do not have at least some basic tactical skill, you will completely fail at this game. In short, if you know how to position a guy so that he will shoot the bad guy instead of positioning him so he shoots his friend in the back, you will be fine. Now, onto the review itself.

Story: Fallout 2 takes place quite some time(I think around 80 years or so) after the original Fallout, long after the infamous Vault Dweller was cast out by his people after saving them from the evil Master. In this new quest, featuring a, (Thankfully) new hero, Fallout 2 is all about the small village of Arroyo's champion, The Chosen One. The Chosen One is supposed to find a GECK, an item that will turn the withering village into a strong city. Over the course of his adventures, The Chosen One finds many people that remember his/her ancestor, and will gradually learn about the original game, if the player did not already know. This really helps people like me, who didn't have the chance to play the original. As it turns out, there is much more to what is left of California than meets the eye. The player will get involved with mafia families, evil government troops, and various other interesting friends and foes as the game goes on.

Controls: There is not much to be said about the controls, as the mouse can do everything. The manual, and the game itself, explain everything that one needs to know about the controls. Sure, there may be a few controls that confuse the player at first, but that's just part of learning a new game. Those that have played the original Fallout will have no problem with this new system, as the controls are almost identical.

Graphics: Well, these are not the best graphics in the world, but they aren't exactly the worst, either. They are a blend of 3D-ish and 2D textures that blend pretty well. You can tell what something is by looking at it most of the time. And, you can tell when something or someone is dead, because they will have a nice pool of blood and gore around them. Right. This game is not for the faint of heart, hence its M rating. It is full of bloody battles that sometimes end with at least one creature getting half of its torso blown off, or with some grand explosion that causes the enemy to turn into tiny chunks of flesh.

Sound: Not much to say here. The music is dark and foreboding, lending to the game's dark atmosphere. The weapons sound good, and you can easily tell the almighty minigun from the weak pipe rifle. Some characters have voices, while most do not. The few characters that do have voices are very important to the story, in most cases.

Gameplay: The big one itself. This game runs on the SPECIAL system, which bases skill checks on various stats, including Steal, Lockpick, Sneak, and Doctor. There are a variety of "Perks" that can be acquired throughout the game. Perks are enhancements to your character that allow him/her to do various things, or get various stat boosts, or, in one case, even get a mysterious ally in times of trouble. Combat is controlled with the mouse, on a hexagonal grid. You do not see the grid, but the spaces are clearly defined when the mouse passes over them. Every character has AP, Action Points, that determine how many actions the character can take during the current turn. Actions include stealing, shooting, punching, and movement. Weapons, of course, need ammunition to effectively put your enemy in a body bag, and there is no short supply of ammo in this game. You are likely to find ammunition in lockers, crates, and of course, on people carrying guns. Just be careful not to get caught stealing, as that usually leads to your character having his face handed to him via a shot from a rifle or pistol. There is manual targeting of shots in this isometric game. You can aim at the Head, Eyes, Left Arm, Left Leg, Right Arm, Right Leg, or the Groin, on humanoids, and other creatures have different parts to aim at, although many creatures share the same parts. It must be noted that there are several glitches in the unpatched version of this game. With the proper patches, this game can be turned into what it was supposed to be from the beginning. DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME WITHOUT AT LEAST THE OFFICIAL PATCH. If you do, you may, and probably will, encounter some very horrific game-ruining glitches.

Matrurity: This game is not, I repeat, NOT, for young children. There is a TON of gore in this game, and the post-apocalyptic setting, including various elements of drug abuse, slavery, and child-killing, along with a large amount of sexual content and language, make this one of the most child-unfriendly games around, even more than the Grand Theft Auto series at times, mainly due to the fact that you can kill children in this game. In European releases of this game, due to censorship issues, the children were removed from the game, but not in the way you think. In the European releases of this game, the children were made "invincible," and had their sprites and the ability to interact with them removed. Unfortunately, as can be seen in some parts of the game, this leads to some quests being unsolvable, and to some strange situations, where you may have something stolen by one of these children. And, since you can't interact with, or even see, the children, you cannot ever get your item back. This can be VERY annoying, especially if the item stolen was of importance to a major quest. Once again, DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN PLAY, OR EVEN SEE, THIS GAME.

Overview:Other than the numerous glitches in the unpatched version, this game is nearly flawless, although some may be turned away by the mature plot at times. With a fun combat system that will have gore-hounds cheering even when their character dies, and an intricate plot full of twists and turns, one cannot get better than Fallout 2 in terms of isometric tactical RPGs.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/08

Game Release: Fallout 2 (US, 09/30/98)