Fallout 2
When the original Fallout shipped, it was hailed by many to be the savoir of computer RPGs. With its gritty story, compelling art design, and brilliant mix of old school statistical based combat and an interface easy enough for a beginner to use, the game not only pleased the hard core niche market, but also introduced the joys of role-playing to a whole new generation. Now all the company had to do was to make another one that would make everyone just as happy. With Fallout 2, the company has done just that. Despite the loss of crucial team members, economic difficulties within the company and an irritable consumer base, the development team at Black Isle Studios, Interplay's internal role-playing division, has put together a game that is everything the original was and perhaps, a bit more.
Let's bring you up to date. You are the descendant of the original Vault-Dweller who wandered the plains in search of a water chip. As the game starts, you are asked to run a gauntlet that will prove you to be the Chosen One, the one worthy to wear the suit of the Vault-Dweller. Once you complete this relatively easy task, you find out what's really going down. Your village is dying. In a last ditch attempt to save the town, the elder is sending you out into the real world to find a device that has been whispered of in legends called the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (or G.E.C.K.). Sent away from the only home you've ever known, armed only with a spear you must wander into a world filled with mutants, ghouls and raiders in order to save your people.
Okay, so the basic story line is very similar to the first. You are an outsider wandering from town to town trying to find an old piece of post-war equipment. In each town there's usually a whole bunch of wrongs that need righting (or wrongs that need doing, depending on how you want to play the game) and you earn experience and knowledge that brings you closer to your goal by jumping in with both feet. What is different here is the number and depth of the quests and sub-quests. There's so many different things that you can be doing at any given time that it's almost guaranteed that every player (who's not following a cheat guide or their friend's advice) will find a much different way of finishing the game. The writers have done a fantastic job with extending and realistically aging the world created by the Fallout team in a way that will really please fans of the old title. Specifically, you'll get to see towns that have grown up quite a bit since the last time you saw them (Shady Sands is a lot different these days) hear what happened to characters you came across in the original, and basically see the way that society has formed itself around the events that unfolded in the first game.
One thing that should be mentioned about the story line is that it's a lot harsher this time around. I mean a lot harsher. As you travel through the game, you'll meet (and perhaps purchase the services of) prostitutes, drug dealers, slaves, and cannibals. There is an unbelievable amount of profanity and abusive language in the game, and while it seems that most of our generation is pretty much inured to it, enough violence to turn heads. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that all of this is in the game (especially since it all fits very well within the story), but people who are thinking about buying this title for anyone under the age of 18 should probably think again. This game is… well, it's harsh.
System Requirements:
Required
Windows (R)r 95/98 CD-ROM
Pentium (TM) 90 or faster
30 MB available hard drive space
Direct X certified SCGA card
Direct X certified sound card
4X or faster CD-ROM drive
Windows (R) 95/98/NT SP3 Only
100% Microsoft-compatible mouse
Recommended
Pentium (tm) 120 or faster
32 MB RAM
700 MB hard disk space
Overall, a MUST HAVE rpg, even if you've never played the first game. By the way, you don't need to have played the first game to enjoy this one, although the original is available here! should you want it. :)
Just get this game! :D
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Related Releases
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Fallout 1: A Post Nuclear Adventure (PC Games) -
Fallout 3 (2008) (PC Games) -
Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage (2009) (PC Games)
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Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (PC Games)
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