Rating: 
Summary: FALLOUT ONE: CALIFORNIA GOES POST-NUKE
Review: The first Fallout is arguably the best computerzed role playing game ever made. This is for a reason that this is both, a non-linear game (that is a game in which you can go anywhere and do anything), and because it has a definite push - a series of objectives with a deadline and condiitons, that will alter what happens later on in the game. This is so much more advanced than most of the typical sword and sorcery RPG's, where you essentially fight a progressive series of stronger and stronger villains that lead up a trail of crumbs to your nemesis, that the game is usually referred to dergoatorily as "linear" and the only resemblence to a role playing game is in character development. Because of that quality alone, that there is an open world to explore, that there are objectives and deadlines with long term consequences, the Fallout One gets its accolade as the best computerized RPG.
Unlike Wasteland, its predecessor (See my review Aftermath! Ascendant for a comprehensive pre-history of this game genre), this is not the computerized paper and pencil game, Fallout uses the role playing game rules (you don't shoot an object on the screen and the game does not take place in real time. You fie at an object, the computer generates a random number and compares it with your odds of hitting that target), but the game is told entirely on computer via text and graphics. The game is totally driven by the point and click environment using a vriety of cursors and sub-menus to deliver an incredible interface that lets you fight, explore and play the game set in the fascinating world of post nukewar california. The story is told through its graphics, short films, the written documents that the player recovers and studies, and through interaction with other characters, captured from real life actors and animated by computer. Perhaps the only weakness of the game is that it's dialogue interface is open ended and operates on keywords, which does not allow you to role play much with your character, but can really explore and meet the natives of this hostile wasteland!
The skill and sophistication of the artists and the writers who created the game clearly shines through. The place is apparently North America, but it's not quite the place that we know. From the opening film we see US annexing Canada in the months preceding the fatal nuclear exchange. The game is set in an alternative universe where the cold war and the bomb has apparently run amok. Unlike the rest of the games of this type,it draws heavily on the culture of The Bomb and it subtly satirizes the 'Fifties. The creators of this game had done their research and thre in the vestiges of the Soviet, as well as our own cold-war era Sci-Fi that contributes greatly to this "Something is weird not quite right with this palce" other worldly feel that this game world possesses. The artists who designed this game did a great job syncretising the California culture through the nuclear apocalypse. The depth and complexity of this world is incredible. In the twisted mirror of the game you see reflections of Mc Carthyism,street punk of Haight and Ashbury, the latest migration trends, new age philosophy goen radioactive and the urban guerrillas of the sixties. The context in which this role playing game takes place is incredible. The more you know about the world and society, the more you will get out of this game. All of this is translated beautifully into the game terms. The underground shelter of a utopian society in which you live has lost its ability to purify water (there we go with this California business again: water is an issue!). You, the Vault Dweller will be the first in decades to venture into the world Out There, with only a sketchy information about a sister fallout shelter a few days journey to the east. Good luck as the heavy door slams behind you! No wonder they got the Game of the Year award in 1997!
For my take on Fallout TWO see FalloutTWO: Biblical Wanderings.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Games ever made Period.
Review: Do you like to walk around with a big minigun and shot everything in your way? Buy these game!
Rating:
Summary: Wow what a game
Review: I finally decided to play Fallout 4+ years after it's original release and couldn't be more happy with the game as a whole.Considering the age of the game there's no need to go into detail about it, the original Fallout is clever, gritty, non-linear, and gives you quite a bit of freedom in character building and quest completions. The Bioware engine is still as charming as ever, with great cut scenes, voice acting, style and polish. And that's not mentioning the fantastic combat system. Fallout 1&2 are true classics, and are a ton of fun. For this price, I don't know that there is a better gaming value than getting both of these excellent games together. PCGamer rated it in their top 5 of all-time 50 greatest PC games in 2001 as well. I couldn't recommend a series more highly than Fallout 1&2.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible deal
Review: This is a ridiculous deal. The games are fantastic. I really loved the series (I hear a third is on the way). The story could be better, but overall gameplay, roleplaying elements, and combat systems definetely make these classic RPG's.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful graphic and excellent fighting system
Review: Fallout 2 is the best RPG game I ever played. It has a long story and lots of branch missions. Most of them are very funny. If you like various of guns and weapons, don' miss it! I especially love the lots of funny missions it includes. It reflects some recent American political events. When you play this game, don't miss the "Disks" inside the game the role picked up. It includes extremely funny storys about one of our pressident and heads of other countries.
Rating:
Summary: A steal
Review: Any RPG fan who doesn't buy this set is missing out on a fantastic deal. I couldn't believe the price when I bought it in the stores, and the games provided hours and hours of fun - even for a girl who normally prefers fantasy to apocolyptic settings.
Rating:
Summary: Booyah!
Review: This package deal is a very good one. The price is absolutely excellent for two awesome games. These are among the most fun games I have ever played. Fallout 1 is a good, fun, exciting RPG that takes you into the depths of a post nuclear holocaust in southern California. Fallout 2 takes place 70 years after the original, and the main character is a decendant of the original character from #1. It's mostly in northern CA, but there are many of the same characters, and a few of the same places. It's by far more graphic when it comes to sexual content and violence, but all in all, still an excellent game.
Rating:
Summary: GET! JUST GET!
Review: Even with the dated sketchy graphics, these games are fun as hell.
Windows NT/2000 users: Fallout 1 does NOT work on NT-based OS's. Only Fallout 2 does. But get this package anyway, since at the price, a 10 year old babysitter could afford it and still have money left over for a cheeseburger. Five buck apiece for two of the greatest RPG's ever made.
Rating:
Summary: a lot of fun
Review: You can tell Fallout 2 is going to be a great game from the opening movie, while Louis Armstrong croons A Kiss To Build A Dream On over a campy, 50's style PSA about nuclear fallout. (Supposedly the movie for F1 is better). The game that follows is almost an interactive film of sorts. I'm more of a turn-based wargamer than RPGer, but still think this is a lot of fun. Two warnings:
1. The jewelbox presumably lacks a manual, which could be a pain becuase the manual is very good.
2. Don't save too often. Of course you want to save a lot, but many players seem to try to re-do every scene until the outcome is perfect. This spoils the game. You must allow some bad results to affect your character, otherwise you lose any sense of tension or drama.
Rating:
Summary: Best RPG Ever? Maybe....
Review: This game is so much fun. There's so much to do, and you can never do it all. Good, Evil, you decide which you are!
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