Fallout 2

"When I have a child,I will name it "Fallout 2""

The night air is stagnant,and probably filled with at least a few rads.Wasteland life after Apocalypse certianly sucks.I tightened my hold on the magnum I had been wielding the last few months of my adventure,and now I was in New Reno.God,how did I get here?And how come the two pin-striped suit wearing men dont take my word when I swear ill come back and pay later.A few bullets whiz by me,causing me to start,and dive behind a counter.Those Tommy Guns theyre using certianly dont look worn out after the war at all,do they?My wrist mounted computer,the PIP-Boy,beeps irritatingly,reminding me that I should drink my daily bottle of Nuka Cola.Stupid addictions.I find my spot,and I pop up,my magnum's bullets screaming out of the barrel,and tearing a nice sized hole in each of the men,causing them to slump to the floor in a puddle of blood.Looks like this next game is on the house.

Cool,huh?Well,that's what I came up with for only a portion of the game.One battle.And I havent played Fallout 2 in months.THAT is how stuck in my mind this masterpiece is.I've yet to experiance an RPG more engrossing and fun.Nor a sequel better than the first.Welcome to Fallout 2.

RPG SCORING SYSTEM

Gameplay (10/10)

Flawless.This is how every game should go.Seriously.Let me try to explain this.Hm..well,the majority of your actions are done inside the various towns across the wasteland,getting missions,finding various people to buy and sell items and others to befriend and get to join your quest.There's always a small bar at the bottom of the screen,and you use it to access your inventory,start and end combat as well as save and quit.It's very handy and easy to operate. Character creation is wonderful, with three pre-made charries to choose from ,or an option to make your own.And gender matters in the world of Fallout. Yes! Women will generally have an easier time, as most men are looking to...erm..score,and you'll have a chance to get out of a few situations because of it.Men are generally kinder to women as well,though other women can be a bit on the harsh side.Choose carefully.At the begining, you can also pick a number of skills to be proficient in,ranging from Small Guns, Outdoorsman and all the way down to Gambling.You also get the choice of a few ''Perks'' that will give you additional abilities.These might aid you in gaining extra stat points, the ability to carry more or even gain a level right then and there. You can also pick another perk every three levels.Aside from that,you also get to distribute stat points, which heavily affect your characters growth, as your major stats NEVER change.Upon gaining levels, you always raise your minor stats, ie; your skills in weapons,melee combat,medical and the like.Combat in Fallout 2 is a breeze to handle. You can reload or fire your weapons from the menu,and going in your inventory,you can just click and drag a new weapon into one of your two ''hand'' slots, if you so choose.During combat, you move and attack with AP (Action Points),which are hard to come by.They never go up,save with certian perks.It only costs one AP to move a space, but about five to fire a gun and three for melee weapons so use your turns wisely. Combat can also be set to various degrees of difficulty, and violence (amount of blood and gore) to your taste.Towns are no longer safe havens,either.Anger someone and they're perfectly willing to come after you,even if you try to take some of thier stuff.Your actions always add or subtract to your ''Karma'',a feature that judges how everyone reacts to you.High Karma makes you a good guy,and low Karma makes you a villan.Too low,and bounty hunters will start coming after you.If that's not enough, it's also possible to snipe people, use burst modes on weapons, and throw grenades.Some of the most important NPC's will also talk to you in little movie type sequences, where the voice acting is superb.I could prattle on endlessly about the size of some of the larger towns,the choices when speaking to NPC's,the huge amount of weaponry or the extreme replayability,but I figure I had better leave some suprises for you.Moving on.

Plot/Characters (10/10)

Wonderful.The plot is this; Years ago,your ancestor known as the ''Vault Dweller'' saved the world from the demonic desires of one known as ''The Master'' and returned to find that his people had forsaken him and kicked him out of his home.He starts a tribe of people who live off the wasteland in a post-nuclear world,and he is your ancestor.Your tribe is now dying,and you need to proove yourself worthy of your quest before going off to seek out a Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) to save the tribe.With plot twists abound,and your actions affecting every town you come across,the world of Fallout 2 is engrossing indeed.A couple characters return from the first game (and they are OLD,it's about 80 years later) and the rest of them have a certian..charm to them.They might be friend or they might be foe,but they'll always keep you interested.

Graphics/Sound/Music (10/10)

Perfect.I couldnt ask for much more.Heck,your PC doesnt even have to be that good to run Fallout and Fallout 2, and you still get nice,crisp graphics to go with it,as well as some nice FMV's.The sounds are excellent,from barking dogs to gunshots,they all sound realistic.Towns are well done and each has it's own music track that goes well with your surroundings.One of the best tracks even comes with the intro,a classic song called ''A kiss to build a dream on'' is one that you'll remember for a long while.

Best quote from a cow: ''Moo I say.Moo!''

Snack consumption while playing: High

Soda consumption while playing: High

Chances of not liking Fallout 2: Low

Reviewers Score: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/01, Updated 10/26/01