To be honest I found Fallout 2 a bit harder to get into, indeed, having played the original, I was almost shocked by what I felt was an amateurish, almost clumsy, introduction. However I am glad I persevered because, had I not, I would have missed out on one of gaming's greatest experiences.
Now, and let's be honest, whilst some of the games mechanics have been improved, the overall core of the game is similar to Fallout. Yes it is a different story with different characters and quests and whilst the endings still administer levels of pathos a Greek tragedy would kill to achieve, it is still Fallout in another dress and so loses some points on this level of originality. It gets only 4.75 out of 5 in my book.