Fallout Tactics

Many forget to mention that this Fallout game is more about BOS - The Brotherhood of Steel. It’s not like Fallout 1 or 2 (which i played, but so long ago, i don’t t even remember). Of course it’s linear, because you are a member of BOS and you follow orders. Looking for technology in very dangerous wasteland. Dealing with raiders, beasts, beast masters, deadclaws, supermutants, brahmin, the wasteland and post apocalyptic world will overwhelm you. Remember, good perception is best for this game. You can shoot and hit from longer distances. You need to focus group members for their role, when you build them bad, it can get ugly. Have 2-3 shooters, doctor, stealth and steal is good too, lockpicker, grenadier, heavy gunner, barter, traps to disarm traps… the SPECIAL system is so far the best I’ve ever seen in game. After so many years, i still have this game, in any new computer I get, I always install Fallout BOS. I would really like to see a graphical remake of this awesome underrated game.

The tactical offspring of Fallout 2. Original Fallout games had great combat mechanics with potential for tactical variety... but fights in these games were shootouts, mostly fought indoors or as random encounters where both parties start in open 20 meters apart. Combat in Fallout 1 and 2 was all about trading volumes of fire at close range to kill enemies before they overwhelm players AI-controlled allies. Tactics is a squad-level game that makes full use of this wasted potential. Player controls the whole squad and is able to develop its abilities (with player character being the leader, rather than micromanaged 20m ranged DPS powerhouse of RPGs). Fights take place in varied, open areas, letting player make use of terrain, engage enemies on ones own terms, and experiment with weapons that were useless in RPGs (long range in particular). Fights are won less by awesome builds of character(s) and more by ability to concentrate fire of whole squad from safe position. Back when released, this game received a lot of criticism and comparison with Fallout 2 (which was what Fallout fans wanted more of). The fact that RPG veterans like me tried to play it the way they knew (turn squad of six into six 20 meters DPS powerhouses then micromanage them) didn't help, either. When played as its own thing, it's a fun tactical game with great weapon variety and soldier customisation options. (Back in the day this game has also received lots of flak for its specific portrayal of Fallout universe. But this was before Beshenda Fallout, which made it look good in comparison).

The interesting thing with Fallout series is that whatever game people play first, it's usually their favourite. I love Fallout Tactics. I can understand that those who played the original or Fallout 2 first, may have different feelings but for me, it was hours, days and weeks of amazing experience. I actually got properly addicted to it. When I played it the second or third time (it was around 20 years ago) I got to the point that I had to break the DVD to stop myself. In its own kind (which is not the same as any other Fallout) this game is close to perfect. I tried Desperados after and I hated it. It wasn't even close. I'm not aware of any other game offering a similar experience. If anyone knows, please tell me as I really like it. Now I'm gonna play it again so may need a therapist soon. Try it! It may not be your thing but if you get into it you will never regret it.

After playing through isometric Fallouts first time in 2020 I must shyly say this was maybe my favorite. While I enjoyed world and story of F1 and was impressed by huge scale and complexity of F2, there always were some gameplay or technical quirks that annoyed me. For FT I had no expectations but decided to try it as well and don't regret. It's for Fallout sort of what Icewind Dale is for Baldur's Gate (only with even less roleplaying) which for me isn't bad thing at all. RPG aspect in FT is shrunk to minimum and pretty much limited to character development which is the same as in previous games. Only here we can develop up to 6 characters which is one of the best things about it. Firstly, as they're fully controllable, there's no dealing with idiotic AI like in F1/2 which finally makes the battles actually enjoyable. Secondly, our main character doesn't need to be jack of all trades as important skills can be distributed among the whole squad. Combat system is similar and different as before at the same time. Difference makes possibility to switch between real time and turn based mode instantly at any time which makes game faster and more dynamic but still with chance to slow down when things get too hot. Mission design is above average I'd say with different goals and basically no typically frustrating moments such as time limited objectives, infinite enemies spawn or defending npc's. Maps are really quite big and missions are long with lots of fighting which might be tedious at times. Designers did what they could to make maps as diverse as FO universe allows. Outside of typical deserts and junktowns there are underground labs and caves, futuristic structures and even snowy landscapes. There's a lot of weapons and equipment to use, mostly taken from F2, but with few additions as well as usable vehicles. For tactical game it'd be neat to have destructible environment and if our troops mobility wasn't so limited to predefined paths but it's still enjoyable enough.

Fallout Tactics, the grey sheep of the series: not quite the black sheep of Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, but it's just a matter of shades. I tried to like this game: I uninstalled it, then reinstalled it twice before ultimately dropping it. I think it remains obscure for a reason. There is not one big flaw I can point at. It's a cavalcade of minor issues that get in the way of enjoying the game. I can usually brush those aside - I've quite the tolerance for old game awkwardness, but there is just so much of it. The game runs in real time by default, but without a pause button, it's hard to do any precise work like VATS shots. In truth, everything's running on the same skeleton as the first two Fallout games, and there ARE two turn-based modes... but the game wasn't designed around using those either. It slows everything to a crawl, and on some levels, you'll be sitting for half a minute as unalerted enemies go about their turns... oh, and the UI for figuring out your movement costs is a pain. Regardless of mode, sightlines are important, more so than in the older games because of the new stance system, but you're getting no preview or display, so you'll just have to guess and hope for the best. And when the fighting is done and it's time to loot? The Fallout inventory system was designed for one hero with maybe some helpers, not squads of up to six. Have fun fighting with the range restrictions when you're trying to transfer gear, and then, once you get back to base, moving all your gear to the one squadmate with Barter so you can get a reasonable amount of scrip for your trouble. There is so much more. The pathfinding in general is messy, melee sucks, some skills are nigh-useless... It's all too much for the six or so hours I ended up spending on the game. And, yeah, that's the game. It's combat missions strung together by a basic plot. If you don't like that gameplay, you don't have a reason to play, and I didn't, so I won't. Maybe you will?