Posted September 11, 2008
Fallout 1 and 2 are not much different, so I'll just post my edited review on Fallout 1 and look at differences between F1 and 2 below review:
Yes! It's THAT simple! You have no excuse for NOT buying this game! Well, unless you already have it and that's a good one, I admit. I'll have to think about that... You have ALMOST no excuse, anyway. Well, what to say about Fallout? It's THE RPG (and I love using capital letters): RPG, from whitch could nowadays RPG's learn, it's like a big "How to?" book, which, sadly, noone ever reads. This game is exactly what RPG stands for: Roleplay game. You can be almost everything you want in fallout's universe, you can do everything you want and become anything you dreamed of! I really hope noone of you ever dreamed of becoming office worm or, as if it wasn't bad enough, just worm. You won't become first in Fallout and I really hope there is no way of becoming second, although Fallout is so full of possibilities I wouldn't be surprised. That much. So, you want to become a hero, defending defenceless, giving to the poor, and standing against violence? So be it! Or slaughter defenceless, taking from the poor, and standing behind all that violence? Well, why not? I have brought up two extremes, but you can become anything between, or create your own path! Fallout never forces you to do anything (except for the first main quest), and, in game limitations (you can't jump in top-down RPG, now can you?), you are limitless.
Game takes you to postapocalyptic future, where cities were reduced to dust and surface is a radioactive wasteland. People survived in underground bunkers called vaults... Years and years back, one of them met your ancestors and helped them found your village, Arroyo. Your tribe has prospered for many years, but now, crops are dying, and someone needs to find legendary GECK, device, which can make dead land live again...
Gameplay: Turn-based combat. Real-time everything else. That's for basics. Game is controlled by mouse with keyboyard shortcuts and interface is great so you'll get used to it quickly.
Now, non-technical part of this ... part: You walk around the almost-lifeless wasteland created by nuclear war, using map for travelling from one distant location to another (you have a slight chance for random encounter: it actually means random fight most of time), there is not much else to do here. And so, you get somewhere and view switches to local one: that's the one you're going to fight in, talk in, and make love in! Oh, and steal. And stuff.
Talking interface allows you to choose different answers, which are affected by your stats. More intelligent and charismatic character with skill points in Speech will have more to say and will be much more persuative than strong brute (Try to play as stupid character sometime :D ). Anyway, taking different skills can totally change your game experience: replayability is another name for Fallout.
Leveling up and creating character: You can take one of predefined characters and play with it (I don't really recommend that), or create a new one from a scratch. You can choose your name, age, gender (but gender choice is not so rich as choosing gender here, in GOG :D), stats - strengh, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility and luck: SPECIAL system in short - your skills, which will be your favourite, that means faster improvements of those skills when you level up, and special traits, abilities, which affect your character during whole game, one way or the other.
That's for character creation. Leveling is based on standard experience system: you kill, you got exp, you complete quest, you got exp, you have enough exp, you level up and gain skill points. How many? That depends on your intelligence. Oh, and every three levels, you can choose perks - abilities like faster leveling, higher damage in meele combat and so on.
Combat: So, you're runnig around desert and you've met radscorpion! What can you do now? It's simple: shitch to turn based mode! Yay! Not much to explain here, really. You have your action points, given to you accordingly to your agility and perks, enemy has his AP's, any action cost you some, and... Let's get down to combat! You can click your enemy to attack him (if you are in range of your weapon - anyway, I've discovered clicking is not as innocent as some may think), you can take aimed shot, which costs you more AP, but you can choose where to hit your opponent - yeah, groin is pretty nasty - with various effects if you succes in critical hit, like breaking some limbs.
Atmosphere: This is sound, graphics, and wonderful characters and storytelling combined. You actually feel you are in a wasteland, brutal, non-forgiving, but sometimes kind and funny too. You can't really know what it feels like to play Fallout until you play it. It can't be described. You must try it.
What can you deduce from statements above? That graphics are atmosferic. As well as music and sound. There's not much that can be improved. It's Fallout.
Yes, It's Fallout. Legendary game, that I can play again and again and it won't be the same experience. Game, that brings entertainment as well as enlightement. Clever game. Perfect game.
Soo, what about promised differences then?
- Fallout 2 is bigger, bigger and ... Bigger
You have more choices in F2, more places to visit, more people to talk to... And more perks to choose.
- Improved interface
You can finally take more than 999 intems at once and there finally is 'take all' button in all containers. Also, small improvements, like possibility to push people out of the way.
- New storyline
... of course. But I don't like it, really: It's pretty much the same as Fallout 1, only key items and chracters are renamend...
In comparison, Fallout 1 is my personal favourite. I think it has much better atmosphere, and small improvements are something I can live without... But fact is I've played Fallout 2 more that F1: It's much more replayable, since game world is bigger.
Yes! It's THAT simple! You have no excuse for NOT buying this game! Well, unless you already have it and that's a good one, I admit. I'll have to think about that... You have ALMOST no excuse, anyway. Well, what to say about Fallout? It's THE RPG (and I love using capital letters): RPG, from whitch could nowadays RPG's learn, it's like a big "How to?" book, which, sadly, noone ever reads. This game is exactly what RPG stands for: Roleplay game. You can be almost everything you want in fallout's universe, you can do everything you want and become anything you dreamed of! I really hope noone of you ever dreamed of becoming office worm or, as if it wasn't bad enough, just worm. You won't become first in Fallout and I really hope there is no way of becoming second, although Fallout is so full of possibilities I wouldn't be surprised. That much. So, you want to become a hero, defending defenceless, giving to the poor, and standing against violence? So be it! Or slaughter defenceless, taking from the poor, and standing behind all that violence? Well, why not? I have brought up two extremes, but you can become anything between, or create your own path! Fallout never forces you to do anything (except for the first main quest), and, in game limitations (you can't jump in top-down RPG, now can you?), you are limitless.
Game takes you to postapocalyptic future, where cities were reduced to dust and surface is a radioactive wasteland. People survived in underground bunkers called vaults... Years and years back, one of them met your ancestors and helped them found your village, Arroyo. Your tribe has prospered for many years, but now, crops are dying, and someone needs to find legendary GECK, device, which can make dead land live again...
Gameplay: Turn-based combat. Real-time everything else. That's for basics. Game is controlled by mouse with keyboyard shortcuts and interface is great so you'll get used to it quickly.
Now, non-technical part of this ... part: You walk around the almost-lifeless wasteland created by nuclear war, using map for travelling from one distant location to another (you have a slight chance for random encounter: it actually means random fight most of time), there is not much else to do here. And so, you get somewhere and view switches to local one: that's the one you're going to fight in, talk in, and make love in! Oh, and steal. And stuff.
Talking interface allows you to choose different answers, which are affected by your stats. More intelligent and charismatic character with skill points in Speech will have more to say and will be much more persuative than strong brute (Try to play as stupid character sometime :D ). Anyway, taking different skills can totally change your game experience: replayability is another name for Fallout.
Leveling up and creating character: You can take one of predefined characters and play with it (I don't really recommend that), or create a new one from a scratch. You can choose your name, age, gender (but gender choice is not so rich as choosing gender here, in GOG :D), stats - strengh, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility and luck: SPECIAL system in short - your skills, which will be your favourite, that means faster improvements of those skills when you level up, and special traits, abilities, which affect your character during whole game, one way or the other.
That's for character creation. Leveling is based on standard experience system: you kill, you got exp, you complete quest, you got exp, you have enough exp, you level up and gain skill points. How many? That depends on your intelligence. Oh, and every three levels, you can choose perks - abilities like faster leveling, higher damage in meele combat and so on.
Combat: So, you're runnig around desert and you've met radscorpion! What can you do now? It's simple: shitch to turn based mode! Yay! Not much to explain here, really. You have your action points, given to you accordingly to your agility and perks, enemy has his AP's, any action cost you some, and... Let's get down to combat! You can click your enemy to attack him (if you are in range of your weapon - anyway, I've discovered clicking is not as innocent as some may think), you can take aimed shot, which costs you more AP, but you can choose where to hit your opponent - yeah, groin is pretty nasty - with various effects if you succes in critical hit, like breaking some limbs.
Atmosphere: This is sound, graphics, and wonderful characters and storytelling combined. You actually feel you are in a wasteland, brutal, non-forgiving, but sometimes kind and funny too. You can't really know what it feels like to play Fallout until you play it. It can't be described. You must try it.
What can you deduce from statements above? That graphics are atmosferic. As well as music and sound. There's not much that can be improved. It's Fallout.
Yes, It's Fallout. Legendary game, that I can play again and again and it won't be the same experience. Game, that brings entertainment as well as enlightement. Clever game. Perfect game.
Soo, what about promised differences then?
- Fallout 2 is bigger, bigger and ... Bigger
You have more choices in F2, more places to visit, more people to talk to... And more perks to choose.
- Improved interface
You can finally take more than 999 intems at once and there finally is 'take all' button in all containers. Also, small improvements, like possibility to push people out of the way.
- New storyline
... of course. But I don't like it, really: It's pretty much the same as Fallout 1, only key items and chracters are renamend...
In comparison, Fallout 1 is my personal favourite. I think it has much better atmosphere, and small improvements are something I can live without... But fact is I've played Fallout 2 more that F1: It's much more replayable, since game world is bigger.