Fallout 2

In the beginning, I felt like even a pebble could crush me... if only I had a gun, maybe then I would stand a chance in this harsh world. I met a guy, not a nice guy but not terribly bad either, he had a gun. I started justifying murder in my head, thinking that it's OK to take a life if that would lead to me saving many other. So after a lot of hesitation I did it. But now, doubt and guilt were the only things in my head. This how Fallout 2 is. *Editors' Choice*x2 Pros: amazing atmosphere, lots of stories, decisions and possibilities.. Cons: misses some quality of life improvements. Rating: two fresh Nuka-Cola... and now I'm addicted. http://pixelloot.com

This review is from someone who played over a hundred hours of Fallout: New Vegas and 3 and loved both. I also just finished Fallout 1 before this game and wrote a mixed review on it. From the beginning I could tell this game was special in a way Fallout 1 wasn't. The story, characters, side quests, and companions were so much more interesting and nearly every town had cool stuff to do. The UI is improved (thankfully I can see my action points a bit better now), the animations are a little better and the game seems to run a bit smoother. But, as I was having a blast I also had lots of things holding me back from having as good an experience as I wanted to. Just like Fallout 1, this was a wiki game for me. I was frequently checking it to see: who do I talk to about this, where can I find this item, is it possible to open this locker if I have less than 20% in lockpick? I did this because I just don't have fun wandering around for hours looking for what I'm supposed to do next to solve a quest or find an important location. I still had to backtrack like crazy, encounter glitches, and get bombarded by far too many random encounters. One general problem I had was that there are just too many NPCs across the board. In combat, instead of fighting three or four enemies like FO1, I'm fighting ten or twelve. And even with max combat speed there's way too much downtime for a single player RPG while I watch each individual enemy move and attack. Then when it is my turn maybe I miss, maybe I hit, but it's unlikely I one-shot an enemy. So combat takes forever. Also, in towns there are so many NPCs to talk to and they all look the same so it can be hard trying to find the important ones. Some characters you can talk to have nothing interesting to say or just repeat the same stuff over and over. The game takes just as long to get going as FO1, but I recommend you play that first because this game builds on it. These games are old, but they sure are fascinating.

Pros: The Story, the freedom, the possibility´s, the world building, the dialogues, the characters are absolutely marvelous! One of the best games ever!!! Contra: To say it nice, the graphics are... nostalgic. It never was a problem for me, especially cause the assets are beautifully detailed designed, but its a "isometric" pixel goulash anyway. The Interface and the systems are some kind of dated. But absolutely playable as well.

The UI and graphics may hurt nowadays, but in terms of RPG mechanics and story Fallout 2 is unbeaten imo. Never have I laughed so much in a somewhat serious game, there are so many unique story lines with lots of randomness sprinkled in you can play this game over and over. I am a casual gamer, but this puppy I played through in every conceivable way (well screw 100% pacifist, I got a gattling laser and I am gonna use it). If you can accept the click fest that is the ui, the slow pace and have the patience to read the story lines you will enjoy this one for sure. This quote sums it up for me: Let me enlighten you, grasshopper. Fallout 2 is cool because it's a nonlinear, nonclassbased kickass postnuclear computer roleplaying game with a high replayabillity value. Fallout 2 allows you to play your character the way you want. If you want to play a goodie-two-shoes, you can. If you want to play an evil bastard, you can (Yes, you really can hit children in the groin with a sledgehammer). If you want to play a moron who can hardly talk because of his low intelligence, you can. --Shadowman P.S.: Dont hit children, it is wrong and the game will punish you...but when that brat steals your newly acquired hunting rifle you will be tempted.

one of my all time favorite games of all time