Fallout

This is the 1.2 UK (censored) windows only version, but it's still an amazing game. It runs perfectly on macOS using Wineskin.

It would be a big stretch to say that Fallout has aged well. While its mechanics are smart on paper (the S.P.E.C.I.A.L system stuck around for a reason), in practice it's quite janky. It has bugs, the skills vary widely in utility, the interface and controls can be clunky, the companions are more a hindrance than an asset, and it's easy to get in unnecessary trouble or screw up quests if you take the wrong course of action - which happens easily. The combat is slow and sloppy: it's either ridiculously easy or stupidly punishing, with both allies and foes consistently making dumb decisions. Generally speaking, a lot of the balance and mechanics we've come to expect from CRPGs... just aren't there. It's a wonky game, arguably even for its era: Baldur's Gate, for example, was released the next year and has aged a lot better. Yet, for all its approximations, FO1 has undeniable appeal. There is a beautiful simplicity to it, to the way it completely refuses to hold your hand, vaguely points you in a direction instead of telling you what to do next, lets you get in trouble, and rewards you for figuring out a way out of it. And for what it's worth, it's quite short, and easier than FO2. Mostly it oozes with a style, a charm and an atmosphere that only this era could have produced. The writing is good, and may be the best reason to revisit it; the presentation still rules thanks to solid isometric visuals and surprisingly excellent music and voice acting. It absolutely nails its portrayal of the bizarre and cruel wasteland that has since become one of the most iconic worlds in video games. In the end, the OG Fallout is a proof of concept that shows its age and somewhat lacks in refinement... And also a fascinating romp full of great ideas, even if the execution isn't quite there. I would only recommend it to those willing to deal with outdated design - though of course, mods exist to help enhance your experience, fix some glaring issues, and restore censored elements.

Full disclosure: I've loved Fallout for years. I've loved science fiction literature for as long as I remember and I've loved video games almost as long as that. I can't put it down here in adequate words, but don't be alarmed if I gush. Fallout (I) is the greatest sci-fi RPG ever, ever made, in the history of video games and even extending into the future, across multiple parallel dimensions and alternate histories including the one crafted within its comparatively small landscape. This game is the essence of quality over quantity. Even as a low graphics, 2D hex-grid essentially turn based game, Fallout provides still today a genuinely enjoyable open-world experience with character development, story arcs, a beautiful visual/audio experience and writing which just doesn't age. Yes, the game is small and turn based, but turn-based tactics shouldn't be dismissed, and the pleasure of completing a great game in different ways is unfortunately nowadays overlooked in favour of "hours of gameplay content". The main reason I love Fallout is that it reminds me of reading a good sci-fi book. Everything is strange, new, yet resonant. You meet tiny, minor characters and find yourself giving them help out of the goodness of your heart. Everything is believable. I remember running home from school to play this game, and my imagination being completely captured by it. In fact, the world painted in Fallout is so rich that, many games and platforms later, almost nothing of substance has changed in the style or content of the series. Fallout 2 is more of the same (and well worth playing), Fallout 3 is Fallout 3D, etc. etc. but the vision, the real vision, was with this game. And that's where the joy and essence of the franchise remains, and that's why this is one of the greatest video games ever created.

Bit the game yesterday, to give you the feeling how I much liked it, I have not slept night to complete it. Have to start all over again to build character right. May be a bit scaring for nowadays players who got used to games leading them around by the hand. That totally not the case with Fallout. Read conversations with NPC carefully, try to memorize possibly important info, since you'll not even have brief extracts in your log book with useful hints and directions. You won't have compass pointers or points on you map for character to talk to or stuff to get. Only todos like first main one "find the water chip". But after you get yourself used to that it starts to make perfect sense. The lack of all this modern stuff makes you hold all that in your head and plunge much deeper into the game. The setting, atmosphere, specific humor, different approaches to the same situation with different outcomes. I've bought Fallout 2 immediately after completing first one, and sure that I'm going to come back to this masterpiece not once nor twice.

Between 1997 and about 2003, there was quite a lot of innovation in PC games. This time period was pretty much the high water mark for video games published traditionally on physical media. It was a transitory time between where video game development was a soft artistic discipline for hobbyists and video game development became a hard business for consumers. The premise is that you lived your whole life in a Vault. There is an issue with your society's water supply, and you are sent out into the harsh wasteland to go solve this crisis. You are given a general idea of where to go and who to speak with, but it's mostly up to you how you go about this. This general lack of direction and focus of the main plot is something that was taken for granted at the time, but now is now rare. Also a rarity by today's standards is how the game trusts character creation upon you. Nowadays, you are not expected to read any sort of manual. You mostly get RPG builds off of assorted forums posts and Youtube videos. The Vault Dweller's Survival Guide is a very amusing work of art unto its own, and gives excellent guidance on how to approach the game. Different skills peak at different stages of the game, and it's mostly all outlined in the guidebook. Check it out. Your combat style changes the difficulty of the game. The skills you choose to focus in developing also effect the difficulty. Dialog can play out differently and can absolutely be failed if you're not paying attention. Thievery is completely viable. The game's reactivity is only truly apparent until multiple playthroughs. The story is one of the all time greats. The main issue of the game is inventory management. The graphics haven't aged the best either, but I think they're iconic. Of note for newer fans is that the 1950's Retro-Futurism is rather muted. Fallout is also actually Post-Post-Apocalyptic, in that people have rebuilt. These details have gotten lost in future installments. All in all, 5/5. Amazing.