Fallout

"Radiation made fun"

Fallout is your typical PC Rpg, but it at the same time very much isn’t. It has some of the most original ideas I’ve seen in a game in quite awhile and is a lot of fun too. It was released in 97’ and continues to be an awesome game that is definitely still worth checking out.

Story: Fallout’s storyline takes place post World War 3. Due to the results of the nuclear warfare, people now live in underground vaults to keep them safe from the radiation and other dangers in the outside world. The game starts of with you in your home vault, whose water supply has run low. You must go out into the world and find a way to fix this. The story builds from there and becomes very interesting.

Gameplay: In some PC Rpgs like Diablo, a lot of the game is fighting, and in others a lot is exploring and story driven quests. Fallout is divided down the middle. About half is fighting and half everything else, which I find to be good. The game flows well and never gets boring. At the beginning of the game you can either start with one of three pre-made characters or create your own. By creating your own you have control over many aspects of the character – statistics, how good they are with certain weapons, appearance, and so on. One thing I really loved about the game is the choice of weapons you have. They range from sniper rifles, to plasma pistols, to grenades, and to your classic knife. It is a lot of fun checking out the different weapons and how they affect your enemies. The world is fairly big, though not as big as the worlds in many other games. I thought the environments were really cool and added a lot to the atmosphere of the game. For example there is a town named junk town and there is a fence of old cars piled up around the town. Also, you pretty much have complete freedom in this game. You can be hated by the world and go around destroying everything in sight, or you could be the good guy and help out a friend in need. It’s totally up to you.

Graphics/Sound: The graphics are nothing special, but nothing that will hurt your eyes either. The sound fits the situation well. When you are in caves and what not the music tends to be more ambient which gives you a feeling of really being there.

Replay Value: The game is pretty short for an Rpg. You will probably get between 10-15 hours out of it. Also, once you beat the game you are free to explore, and considering the price these days, which is $10 for Fallout 1 and 2, it’s no big deal if the game doesn’t last you a super long time.

Bottom Line: If you have an extra $10 to spare and are looking for a good time, I’d say go for it and buy this, especially if you are already into similar games of the genre.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/04