War. War Never Changes. With this sweeping comment on the history of human conflicts Fallout hopes to exact the same kind of experience consistent with the theme prevalent in all of the humanity's darkest times. Perhaps I am looking too much into what this game has meant for me, but this is only but a small testament to how it has affected gamers' perception of what PC RPG as a genre can potentially be, and ever since has been the benchmark against which every RPG that purports to offer non-linear gameplay with solid character creation system is measured (including Fallout 2). The passage of time has not been very kind to the game's graphics over the years, but the post-apocalyptic atmosphere with undeniably appealing aesthetics that authenticate every grimy, delapidated building to the stylish interfaces (Pip Boy) and to the unsurpassed talking heads. One needs little encouragement to be taken in by the game's visuals, and immersed by them. However, the animation in general is rather stilted, and remains my biggest gripe, more so than the limited body sizes (no children and no mutant female to speak of), and general lack of detail coherent with character equipment and inventory (does not distinguish between weapons of the same class as far as its graphic on the player character). Sound production could be largely divided into two in my impression: ambient sound, and the voice work. The game does not feature a sountrack to speak of (aside from Ink Spot's 'Maybe'), and most of the game takes place accompanied by little to no ambient sound, much less any dynamic musical sample (ones that kick in based on different situations) that would have added some flair of excitement to combat. The voice work is very good. The cast of characters that lend their talents to flesh out many of the diverse NPCs in the game do a really admirable job. Weapons sound rather timid, but they serve the purpose of translating the force of whipping up a minigun and making swiss cheese out of enemy with hundreds of rounds. Fallout's character creation system is very intuitive, and one of the most well organized and balanced ever seen in any PC RPG since. It uses a GURPS system (adopted from a board game), in which a character base stats are organized into Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck (SPECIAL). Each of the stats have some bearing on the range of PC's interactions with the environment. The possible builds are innumerable, but more impressive is that the game can accommodate almost all of diverse playing styles adopted by the builds. Be as diplomatic as you would want, or just opt for brute force with impunity, or any weird combination in between, the game adapts to provide multiple solutions appropriate for almost any kind of PC. Adding further to the depth of gameplay beyond the initial base stats are perks, which are sort of innate ability emphasizing some sort of compromise (agility vs. strength, etc.) that stays constant through the course of the game, and a set of skills that can be improved upon. What does this all mean? Different gameplay experience every time with different builds of PC, discovering what new experiences the game has to offer. The overall plot of the game, which is very important, is not significant compared to the sidequests that make the world of Fallout come alive. They are varied enough to allow one to take advantage of the PC's skills. And a unique twist to the plot is that the central quest is limited by a time counter, building up tension and necessitating a need to become proficient with game's basic mechanics. The plot makes few references to pop culture and renders the world of what would have been the post-apocalyptic culture of possible 50's paranoid nuclear era with both dark brand of humour and insightful and thought provoking themes. Combat is turn-based, based on the allotted action points, each action such as shooting and moving costing certain amount of points in the PC's turn. The NPCs are controlled by computer and barring some weird situations where they become immovable obstacles in narrow corridors and the like, are rather useful. Not betraying its board game roots(?), the game takes place on octagonal grid, and the pace is controlled and strategizing is often rewarded, although some limited aspects of the combat can be exploited. Fallout is not perfect by any means, the interactions between NPCs leave a lot to be desired, as are their intelligence and their pathological tendency to lending a new dimension to the term 'Friendy Fire'. Some of the locales that PC visits during the game seem rather stereotypical, like a microcosm of only one aspect of the diverse culture that would have teemed in the 50's rich American landscape. Even after the limitations of graphics that lead to a bevy of one floor buildings, and some stability issues, Fallout is one unique game that really took the PC RPG genre to a new level. Its setting was refreshing, its gameplay elements well polished and balanced, and there is no doubt the 'fallout' from the game has contributed greatly to the advancement of the genre overall. Unfortunately while Black Isle is not with us, here's hoping Bethesda will inherit the good qualities of the game and make a similar type of leap in the genre with Fallout 3.
I know that by todays standards people would rather be playing Neverwinter Nights or some "newer" RPG game but Fallout does everything perfectly. The game is limitless trust me on that I've been playing since release and... Read Full Review
This is one of my all-time favorite games. It is a very unique game with a story similar only to the game "Wasteland". At first I was a little skeptical on how this game would be, the graphics (nowadays) ar... Read Full Review
