Fallout 2

I highly recommend downloading the offline version for 2 reasons. 1. The one I played with GOG Galaxy was very laggy for some reason and I have an Intel Core i5 with a GTX 1650, more than enough to play a game from 1998. 2. The GOG Galaxy version isn't compatible with the Fallout 2 Restoration Project, a must have mod even for a first time playthrough. Other than that I had an amazing experience with this game.

For me the best sci-fi rpg ever made. Have modded it a lot over the years, but came into a hard-coded wall when encountered the damage/armor penetration formula (which was broken). Anyways, no amount of flaws can dissuade me from ingesting the flavor this game radiates (pun intended). This was all way before bethesda influence (and before the bioware/black isle moral disintegration).

The original Fallout was a good game that I found fell short of some its more positive aspects. The world and atmosphere were great, but not as fleshed out as they could have been. Fallout 2 comes and fixes all of that! The settlements are diverse and filled with details. Each one has its own history, culture, economy, and relationships with others. Most importantly, there are many interesting NPCs that have something to say in all of them. Indeed, characters were very one-dimensional in its predecessor, but Fallout 2 turns around and remedies that, most importantly in the companions department. John Cassidy, the gun-toting bartender with a heart condition. Sulik, the melee expert of a vision-ridden tribal. Marcus, the eloquent, polite, badass super mutant. The writing is also a lot more colorful and consistent in my opinion. Some have criticised FO2 for its frequent breaking of the fourth wall and outdated references, but I personally like it more for them. The original took itself very seriously and it made its comedic moments feel out of place. FO2 instead makes as much fun of the misery of the wasteland as it can, all the while making you consider the implications of society there are there. It feels a lot more balanced to me and the serious moments still have weight behind them, yet being evil does not feel as cartoony as it previously. The side quests and main storyline are fantastic, even if the final boss could have been written a little better. Unlike the previous game, there is proper set up here to all the events that transpire. I genuinely found the main antagonists to be terrifying. One major flaw to me is still the combat. While you can change the AI patterns of your companions, it only helps so much. The pace is the worst aspect, ruined further by the increased amount of enemies that tend to be present. Waiting for each and every single being on the map to move is not the most fun to have. All in all, I loved the game. Once it got going, I was hooked.

The short answer...probably not. Just finished it again (8th time in my life i guess...?) and all the clunky aspects would probably be too much for most. If you're clever and do your research (plus download the resoration patch and a walkthrough) you'll find it far more enjoyable and less frustrating. However, most will not be willing to put such effort into such an antiquated game. It needs a remake imho. It does have wonderful worldbuilding and story (especially with vault city, New Reno, and NCR politics being intertwined in very interesting ways. I'm not sure it's enough for new people sadly. Just patient and willing to learn if you buy it for the first time. It's around 40-60 hours long. Oh, and get a walkthrough.

Personally for me FO2 was way more enjoyable than FO1! I think the game have improved almost in every aspect from the first game. Most location that you visit are way more engaging, side quests are much more interesting. Places often have small story arcs related to something bigger which makes them memorable (the main quest is still quite simple very much like in FO1). The writing in general is very very good. Companions were also much better having better control over them. There are new options to interact with them. There are many new gameplay improvements! The balance of the game was relatevely good - you can feel the progression while leveling when it comes to equipment and enemies but I can't say the same for the skills. For example I was relatively early not even mid game when I started needing 70-80 for lockpicking which felt high at the time. I had to keep unused skills points all the time just in case I needed them for any other skill. Skills in general were more useful in this game - not just lockpicking and speech like in FO1 but also repair, science, doctor and even the unarmed have quite a few unique uses. I managed to reach lvl 24 just before the last 1-2 zone(s) after exploring everything so keep that in mind if you want to get the best perks (they come at 24). I was a bit disappointed with the perks - nothing really new worth getting. I had like 90% the same build as in FO1.. A small recommendation at the end! You should update the sfall mod that comes with the game to the latest version, read everything it does and use it (even after you've started playing)!! This mod has so many options to make your game experience better - for example animations for combat and trade screens can be made almost instant (this one was my fav), highlighting lootable corpses and containers, more saves slots, skip weapon unequip animation when doing stuff and many more. FO2tweaks is another very useful mod! And while I was writing this GOG updated sfall!