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.
