Fallout 2

"Magawd! Probably the best game ever created... ever."

Well, to start things off, let me get one thing straight. If I could rate this game above 10, I would definitely do it. Oh, by the way, I am reviewing this game in 2002 that's what? A bijillion years after the release? That's how good it still is. Now that that is over with, let's get to the meat of the review.

Fallout 2 is (duh, captain obvious) the sequel to Fallout a Post Nuclear Apocalyptic RPG.

GRAPHICS: 6/10 - Well, considering this game is several years old, it ain't the prettiest thing on the market. I suppose even way back when it wasn't the prettiest thing on the market. But, if you put aside the fact that the graphics are majorly outdated, they're actually quite nice. The richly designed people and objects that fill the post-apocalyptic wasteland are each beautifully crafted with care. (Although, the same models are reused many many times.)

SOUND: 10/10 - Wow, this is the area I usually ignore. But with a game like this, you just can't ignore it. From the clicks of your Pip-Boy® to the sound of your mini gun pumping holes into some poor sucker's body to the sound of a raider's death wail as you slit his throat with a wakizashi. It's all beautiful. Then we have the music... There is just nothing I can say to describe the perfection of the music. It just brings it all together.

CONTROLS: 10/10 - This game has such an easy control system, everything is done with the left mouse button. That's it. You just control things like your inventory through menus or your character's movement by clicking where you want him/her to go. Very easy and very fun. It feels like second nature.

PLOT: 10/10 - Well, this game is considered an RPG, so you would expect the plot to be good. It's great. It's amazing. Here it is.

The end of the world happened just like people said it would. Nuclear war. Basically in the not too distant future, the US and PRC get into a little scuffle over some oil. ...considering it's the last oil on the planet. Anyway, their little scuffle is more like umm... destroying the world? Alas, those crafty little scientist types had a bunch of people stored in anti-radiation vaults in order to bring human kind back in case of nuclear war. Good thing too. 80 years ago a single person left Vault number 13, located in SoCal, because the vault's water chip broke and they needed a new one. This poor sap didn't realize it at first, but they were about to save the world. After saving the world, hehe I just love it, the Vault Dweller, as he was now called, was shut out by the others from the vault. They were ungrateful little... arggg... anyway. In fulfilling the quest to get a new water chip and then inadvertantly save the world, the hero had changed. The Vault Dweller was an outcast so they founded the small village of Arroyo. This is the village of your birth. The Grandchild of the Vault Dweller, and the Chosen One.
So here you find yourself in your village, right? Your village elder summons you and informs you of your status as Chosen One. She tells you that your village is dieing (is that spelled right? I could never figure that out). The crops are withering and livestock is dying, there's only one thing that can save it. The wonderful Vault-Tec© ''Garden of Eden Creation Kit®'' or G.E.C.K. (Just add water). Thus you set out on your grand quest to find it and restore your village. Of course, just as you think your quest is over, bam, plot twist smacks you right in the face. Just as your ancestor, the Vault Dweller, before you; you must save the world. From what? From who? You have to find that out for yourself. Come on, did you really think I'd give it away that easily?

Anyway, the plot is really great and serves to enrich the game so much. In addition to the main quest, there are several sub plots for different post war cities, each having their own sub quests. This game is just... ahh.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10 - My god, the game play is awesome. It is the perfect system. I find no flaws. Basically for battle everything is turn based and you have a certain number of Action Points (AP) which you use doing certain things. For example, moving 1 space may cost one AP and kicking someone in the balls (yes, you can specifically do that) may cost 4 AP. Therefor to move 2 spaces and kick someone in the family jewels twice, you'd need 10 AP. Get it? That's really all there is to it. It's so easy, so smooth, so perfect.

HUMOR: 10/10 - While the plot and sub plots of this game focus on the darkening of humanity after the war, first time players will be pleasantly suprised at how much humor is in the game. Special random encounters with Monty Python characters to Ghouls (kinda like zombies only intelligent like humans and probably the nicest folk ever) with trees growing on their heads. There are some VERY VERY good jokes in here. Some stuff you will never see if you don't explore every single bit.

REPLAYABILITY: 10/10 - This game must be played over, not only to do quests differently and try new characters, but to see all the humor you may have missed out on the first go around. Considering all the different ways you can do things, this game has practically unlimited replayability.

REVIEWER'S TILT: 14/10 - I had to give this a 14 so that I could cancel out the 6 I gave it in graphics. This is my favorite game ever. This is probably the best game created ever.

OVERALL SCORE 10/10 - Hey a perfect score. Big suprise. This game is the best. When all is said and done, this will still be the best game after the bomb.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/02, Updated 08/21/02