Fallout 2

"Linear Gaming that would make Morrowind blush."

Perhaps I've got a bit of a bias towards Interplay, seeing as how they make the most first person flyer/shooter in the world in my opinion, Descent. But I think this game is quite nearly as good as some of the things I've seen come out of Squaresoft. I'd recommend, by the way, not to e-mail me about this stuff. It's a bottomless pit of spam. So if you want to flame me, use my AIM screen name.

This game is terrific. I mean seriously, utterly, awesome. The sheer power of the storyline is great. The fact that you can actually SELL your FRIENDS is amazing. And the endgame is truly magnificent. This is one of the greatest Post Apocalyptic games I know of. Some of the stuff they throw at you is so out from left field that it's ridiculous. Truly an awesome game, which I recommend utterly.

Graphics: 8/10 Not terrific, but the monster design is truly unique, and some of the special encounters are terrific. I nearly screamed when I saw Harold. Some of the ways you can make your opponents die are incredible. ( Psst. Take bloody mess, and get one of the pulse rifles, and kill some raiders. It's one of my favorite death sequences in the game.)

Sound: NA/10 I rarely listen to the music of a game, since in PC games, it's usually just ambient sort've stuff. I've been told that it's quite good though, some very scary stuff.

Gameplay: 10/10 This is incredible. The sheer amount of weaponry you can experiment with is incredible. I've never met another game that let's you use both a minigun, a cattle prod, and more than 3 kinds of grenades in a single encounter.

Story: 11/10 This is easily the strong point. Some of the parts of the story are TERRIFIC. Some of the directions the plot twists come from are incredible. I'm not allowed to spoil anything, but no matter what course you take, you're a serious anarchist.

Replayability: 10/10 With all the choices possible, this game will eat your time like the avenger eats ammo, and human/critter/mutant flesh.

Buy or Rent? Buy. Or rent, and keep forever. I'd recommend buying the entire two cd thing, Fallout 1 and 2. I think that the gags alone is entirely worth it. To learn about them, check out NMA-fallout.com, which should help you learn about the various interesting things you can find. Look for a possible Chrono Trigger review soon.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/16/02, Updated 12/16/02