Fallout

Rating:
Summary: War never changes....
Review: Eighty years after WW3 the landscape is still recovering from the nuclear blasts that rocked the world. Few people survived, among them those of your home, Vault 13, one of a series of underground sanctuaries that were built in preparation for the nuclear devastation. But there's a problem. Your Vault's water chip is dying, and with it's demise the people of the Vault cannot survive. Your task is to head to the post-apocalyptic surface and find another water chip.

That's Fallout in a nutshell. Your task is to essentially rescue your Vault's populace from dying. There's a particular kind of gratification that comes from exploring California in such a setting, like visiting someplace you know but don't know at the same time. There's vagrants, raiders, innocent farmers, and a slew of mutated baddies waiting for you to just stumble across them. From the word "Go" you can super-customize your character to reflect your own ideology, from being a super sharpshooting badboy to a sweet talker, able to work your way around and through problems just by conversing. You can have a super powerful character who has the IQ of a cinderblock, or an agile character that can deftly pickpocket potential opponents, while at the same time unable to take too many hits in combat. The flexibility is unlike anything I've ever seen in an RPG, including Baldur's Gate.

A good plot and rock solid design are good enough, but Interplay didn't stop there. The style of the game itself is a triumph of game design and ideas, using 1950's paraphenalia as a major source of inspiration; Case in point the in-game illustrations and graphics are heavily drawn from 1950's America at it's peak. The only thing missing is Eisenhower!

Depending on what "Traits" you pick up at the beginning (these are initial characteristics for your character that usually give something really good with a major tradeoff, like "Fast Shot" which will let you shoot weapons faster, at the loss of aiming ability. "Gifted" gives you a bunch of extra stats, at the loss of skill abilities, etc), every 3 levels you get a Perk, a permanent asset to your character. With choices ranging from "Sharpshooter", which makes it easier to hit stuff at a distance, to "Night Vision" making it much easier to kill things at night, to "Mutate!", which lets you transform (ala the Incredible Hulk) into a powerful beast in the thick of combat...well, the possibilities for customizing your character are almost endless.

The plot progresses over the course of the game from simply finding a water chip to saving mankind as you know it. Something wants to take over the Wastes, and ultimately it's up to you to stop it. You can pick up NPC's along the way using dialogue or techniques to lure them into your group which helps in the long run but sometimes feels like a hindrance. "Dangit Tycho, get out of the way!"

The first time you hold a Turbocharged Plasma Rifle in your hands is a memorable event, considering you started out at level 1 with a knife. Likewise the first time you don Brotherhood of Steel Power Armor, you think back to the humble origins of your simple Vault Suit. And after customizing your character to death with the Perks and Skill enhancements of your choice it really dawns on you what a true RPG this game is and how well it really does work on the average person.

The most unbelievable thing of all is that they followed this game up with an even better sequel! Interplay definately had thier act together with this game, the perfect representation of it's genre. And nary an Elf or Dragon awaits you! An amazing game with even more amazing replayability and unequalled depth and storytelling, and a healthy dose of addiction!

A perfect game!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing post-apocolyptic RPG
Review: Fallout is an AMAZING game with rich atmospheres and a DEEP plot. Very alike Blizzard's "Diablo" except Fallout has a more fair Turn-Based combat, which saves those who have slow computers from being Radscorpian food. The only thing missing is a multiplayer enviroment, but the storyline keeps you occupied for a while- I havn't slept in days, thanks to this game.

Rating:
Summary: snake squeezins
Review: Fallout is the official/unofficial sequel to the classic RPG Wasteland. I'm not finished with it yet, but I am having an absolute blast playing it. The action is non-linear, you can do just about anything you want.

Rating:
Summary: It revitalised the RPG Industry, but it still has problems
Review: For me, the two true greatest RPGs of all time will always be Ultima VII (it came in two parts). The problem was that we didn't really seeany RPGs after this until Fallout. There were many failed ones that not many people played, they were all busy playing Wolfenstein and Commander Keen (both great games).
Fallout, I think, captured the public eye again because it was simple. The character creation is simple, but it is actually quite complex in the way it affects the game. The story was somewhat complex, though not overly, and the game itself was fun to play, from the dialogue to the fighting.
In 2077 World War III occured, fought over the few resources left to humanity. The world was almost entirely depopulated. A few managed to hide out in underground bunkers known as Vaults.
You play as a person from Vault 13, whose people haven't emerged for eighty years. The chip that purifies the water from the Vault is broken, and you must find a new one or your people will die. So you, an inexperienced person from a technology based peaceful community, are sent out onto the surface of a wasteland were the people from other Vaults that opened earlier than your own struggle to surface among mutants and radiation.
The game has a killer intro, and is a clever mixture of '40s polish over the futuristic harshness. Probably the best part of the game is the character progression, which is well managed and even fun.
The things that drag the game down are few, but significant. Firstly, the game is far too short. It can easily be played in a non-linear fashion, but there are just too few locations and quests to warrant this. Second, the fighting is well managed, except for 'sequencing'. For some reason, the designers wanted something to decide whose turn it was in combat, rather than just go around the circle in order. This means that sometimes your enemy can get to goes and taking you out before you even draw your weapon.
Thirdly and finally, the game is somewhat disorganised. Of course, I'm using Ultima VII as my benchmark, but the sidequests often don't feel right, and I wasn't sure whether I'd finished them or not. Basically, the quest interface was a little crude.
Fallout's shortcomings are the reasons why Fallout 2 is so much longer, so much more open ended, and so much more complex. I get the feeling that Fallout was really just a test for Fallout 2. But those of you who are thinking 'Great, I'll jump straight to number 2' don't, the story of Fallout 1 isn't something you want to miss out on.

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Classic
Review: I can't envision a time in the future when I will not enjoy playing this game. Even though a few years old, the compelling storyline and characters will keep you interested.

Loosely based on the classic game "Wasteland", this game presents a bleak future in which a nuclear disaster has struck the earth. Character development is fantastic allowing all kinds of routes to take to the finish. After playing, go back and read through hint/walkthrough pages and you will be blown away by the different means used to accomplish things. Most NPCs are fairly flat with a few exceptions. Dogmeat only has competition from Glottis as the most beloved sidekick of all time.

After you play this game you will understand why it has such a strong following to this very day.

Rating:
Summary: Best computer RPG ever. Period.
Review: I like this game so much I've played it from start to finish about 5 times (and didn't even play it for the first time until 2003!). Fallout is about 8 years old at this point and it still ranks as the best computer RPG of all time. The atmosphere, storyline, and music are all excellent, and the graphics still look good to me. It's a crying shame there aren't more games like this. Forget fantasy and sci-fi RPGs -- let's see some more post-apocalypse scenarios. Fallout is far superior to anything else I've ever played, new or old. I'm glad I found it.

Rating:
Summary: A realistic look into our future
Review: I love this game and I always will. The plot was great, and the reason: because It can happen. I also liked the rule setup and the turn based stragety. The enemys are well made; mutants, humans, dogs, giant scorpions, ect. The weapons kick serious ... too; shotguns, flamethrowers, pistols, rifles, ect. The music was done well too, It sets a creepy mood for this barren world. I recomend this game to all Post Apocaliptic freaks out there.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the dungeons!
Review: I'd seen Fallout on the shelves ages ago, but at that time I was still pretty entrenched in the sword-wielding, dragon-slaying, quasi-Medieval fantasies that abound in this genre and the post-apocalyptic concept didn't intrigue me. I only play RPGs and refuse to pay megabucks for brand new titles, so years later my search for something to fill the gap left by solving Baldur's Gate/TSC finally led me the bargain table at my local games store, where in desperation I picked up the nicely priced Fallout 2, boxed as a "Gamer's Collection". Knowing that sequels also usually stand alone, and fascinated by the blurb on the box, I handed over my bucks. On navigating through the double layer of shrink wrap, I found "Gamer's Collection" meant I had also purchased the original Fallout. So now Fallout 2 is waiting patiently for my character to find the water chip; I'm addicted.

When World War III broke out 80 years previously, your family sought refuge in the the nuclear fallout shelter known as Vault 13. Eventually the chip used to produce fresh water fails, leaving only 150 days' supply. Your character draws the short straw and, with extremely limited resources and experience, is sent out into the radiation-soaked, mutant infested world to find a replacement.

Although Fallout is far from perfect, most flaws are compensated for by the great gameplay. However, the game looses a star from me in that you have very little control over NPCs in your party. Why give us party members if we can't control them? Ian and Tycho are great for carrying things (they seem to have endless capacities - great for trading), and in the early part, Ian saves your butt since he's more skilled than your character, but in battle they seem to do nothing but get in your way. You spend far too many APs just getting out of their way or positioning yourself so that your submachine gun's burst doesn't take them (and Dogmeat) out, too. Save often so you can restore after you've accidently killed your party. You cannot get them to wear better armour, and their idea of their "best weapon" may not match yours. (I understand this has been changed in Fallout 2.)

Half a star is gained back for the excellent spiral bound "Vault Dweller's Survival Guide". I've broken the backs of other manuals, because the damned things won't stay open, but the spiral binding solves that problem. I haven't tried any of the survival recipes, though.

The other half star is gained back for the excellent 50's "Reds under the bed" style of the interface and the manual, the wonderful introduction movie and the voice cast. This is the first RPG where I have actually heard of some of the actors credited in the voice cast (Richard Dean Anderson, Tony Shalub, Ron Perlman, Richard Moll, Ken Mars). It's quite strange hearing McGyver's voice in Junktown!

Anyway, stop reading this right now, buy Fallout and start playing immediately.

Rating:
Summary: addictive!
Review: I've never really played many RPGs, but a friend gave me this after he had spent many hours playing. It sat around awhile, then one day I was exceedingly bored so I gave it a try. It was amazing! It was complex, but not obnoxiously. Very playable, interesting to go through and play several times, with different characters and different choices. I've been trying to find an RPG this cool and the only one is Fallout 2! Soooo cool.

Rating:
Summary: Great game with an outstanding plot
Review: In my opinion i think this game is a very great game. What drawed me toward it at first was the realistic future storyline. The game itself is outstanding. I especially love the character creation which is very complex.The game is sort of like those old "chose your own adventure" books because you make the desions in here. You pick what lives or dies. If someones is talking trash and you don't like it then you don't have to take it.With multi-endings this game should keep you busy for a while. Is a great game for RPG fans as well as other gamers. The game maybe quite old but all the more reason to buy for a nice cheap price.