Fallout

The plot is icredibly good, deep, interesting, engaging and actually fun, and the setting is already legendary. It's also a great example of interactive storytelling and in how to create a competent role playing experience. Nevertheless, is too clunky and too obtuse at times, probably signs of the time it was made, to be an actual masterpiece. Its system is dated, to put it nicely. You make this exact game at this moment with modern standards and a little more time in the oven, without compromising its greatness, and it'll be a contender for the best game ever, if that isn't the case already.

Planet earth is in bad shape right now; we are consuming natural recourses much faster than they can be replaced, deforestation for grazing cattle is causing rainforests (along with millions of species of plants and animals housed in them) to disappear, pollution and man-made chemicals are causing changes to our environment and bodies in ways we don't yet understand fully, and chemical waste dumping is acidifying our ocean to the point that species are dying off at an alarming rate. There are entire islands of garbage floating in our oceans at this very moment...just let that sink in. Considering all of this, along with the fact that nuclear arms manufacturing and testing is still occurring today, it is not terribly difficult to imagine that the fate of our own real life world might one day mirror the fate that befell the world of Fallout, assuming that we continue down the path we're on at present. Perhaps it is a bit farfetched to imagine the real world overrun with irradiated mutant humans who resemble the Hulk, radscorpions, whatever the hell Deathclaws are, and ghouls, but Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role Playing Game makes this kind of world a load of fun to be part of. The game starts you out (after the awesome opening cut-scene with narration provided by Ron Pearlman) with a character selection screen; you can choose to play as one of three pre-made characters, but I strongly recommend building your own. Making your own character means that you get to control their stats, and by way of old-school RPG number management/distribution, you can create a character with totally unique abilities. Depending on how you choose to parcel out your "Skill Points", "Character Points" and "Tagged Skills", you can make a character that will have unique methods of playing through the game; will your character be skilled in sneaking by the dangers of the waste, a smooth-talking thief who talks his or her way out of confrontations, a gun-toting weapon expert who makes peace (or conversely, conflict) by neutralizing threats? These are just a few examples of the many ways that the game can be played, and it is to the developers' credit that they had enough talent to create a game that actually allows players to complete challenges in a variety of ways. Your character will almost certainly be skilled in a few things, mediocre in others, and pretty bad in yet other aspects, and this means that completely unique story and gameplay experiences are possible every time a new game is started. It is possible to be so charismatic and intelligent that you can talk your way through several major battles, and by contrast, you are also able to make a character that is so unintelligent that they won't be able to form sentences at all (I'm completely serious) which does make for some laugh out loud hilarious moments. Fallout, along with it's sequel, are true, pure role playing games in the most literal sense imaginable, which is something that is absolutely lacking in a lot of modern games. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the new Fallout games to varying degrees, but I feel that the first two games have a few things that the newer ones lack. There's a special magic in Fallouts 1 and 2 that I am completely enamored by...or maybe I'm suffering from radiation sickness, who knows? I hope we can find a way to alter the way we're draining our planet's recourses, stop killing/polluting literally all life on it, and avoid nuclear war; fighting irradiated beasts and humans is all well and good fun in Fallout, but being mauled to death by a Deathclaw in real life would probably suck.

Simply one of the Best RPGs ever. Period. It Was so crazy back then what one could pull of in the combat system. (beeing lucky and Grab the gatling in the very beginning. :-p)

Extremely solid game that needs a bit of time getting used to it, played for the first time in 2015 when I was like 16 and still remember how impressed I was with the depth of the gameplay. Wish I could play this game for the first time again. By far the best fallout, not even fallout 2 could match the feel of this masterpiece

This game's story telling is surprisingly charming and expressive. Fine antagonists, cool interactions, and an aesthetic yet to be topped, most likely since it really captured an entire aesthetic the sequels never aimed towards. Combat has some low points but is overall satisfying, I especially liked the ability to go wherever and do whatever as long as you either acknowledge the water chip's time limit or prioritize it. I never felt like the game prevented me from doing whatever I wanted exploration wise, despite the fact I was almost always under-equipped. The game isn't without problems however, it seems like if unpatched, the GOG version of the game has no option to save certain factions because of their dependencies on cut content, which is a critical blow to any professional review of this version. I am aware the game is censored, and I do not endorse censorship on any level (especially not the petty kind this version engages in), but I feel like the negative reviews are blowing it out of proportions. This isn't even comparable to the more notable cases in other games and literally has no effect on any of your playthroughs, as it removes children NPCs, none of which are crucial to the game or its story. Now that you're aware of the cut content's consequences seeping into a game without it, and the censorship of the version, I feel you are freer to make up your mind in regard to a purchase, just know that the voice acting, setting, and freedom of exploration are phenomenal and more than make up for it even when unpatched. 10/10