Fallout 2

Possibly my favorite game of all time. Definitely in the top 5. Fallout 2 is messy, imperfect, and just a little bit frustrating, but is one of the biggest, most challenging and lovable games ever made. It expands what was already a masterpiece and makes some mistakes along the way, the tone wavers a little too far in the goofy territory, pop culture references get a little out of control, and the central story isn't as strong as the first. But what Fallout 2 does well, better than any other game I know is making every settlement in the game varied and interesting. Fallout 2 is an incredibly long journey as you hop from settlement to settlement on your journey to reclaim the G.E.C.K and save your village. But that quest is a bit of a wild goose chase and it takes around 50 hours before you even find out what's really been going on the whole time. It's a mystery that naturally allows the player tons of freedom and optional missions as they explore and question each town. From the rough urban ghetto of The Den, to the classically western Redding and even to the wild and crazy Gecko. Fallout 2 is in no shortage of interesting locations. Every settlement is brimming with interesting side quests and colorful characters to interact with. You'll go from becoming a champion boxer one moment to solving a dark and complex murder mystery the next. The side quests are where this game really shines. Every quest in the game has long-reaching and meaningful consequences and will shape the game's numerous endings. Each town in the game has it's own separate ending slide and it will get VERY specific down the choices you made. Some of them will break your heart, some of them will make you feel like you really helped a settlement stake it's claim in the wasteland. I love this game, like too much. I've played it more times than I can count and I am still learning new things about it every time I play it. It's one of the most varied and well written RPG's of all time.

As far as I care, there's no beating Fallout 2. I must have played through it about 100 times myself. If you're a fan of the new games in the series, do yourself a favor - get through the first hour of this (which can admittedly be a bit boring) and see what fallout once was. Anyway, to answer someone below complaining about the OS X version etc. (Note that this is speculation), while this is indeed the same game you bought, it has been repackaged by Bethesda. About a year ago, the original version was pulled from GOG (They started offering it for free just before they lost the rights) and it took a bit of time until they made a deal to get it back. Bethesda wanted to make some more money on the thing (Which is apparently becoming a trend with stuff like HOMAM 3 HD), so they repackaged it and put it on Steam. Apparently that didn't create enough profit, so it's back on GOG, but the original Fallout 2 is now labeled in your library as Fallout 2 classic, whereas this is just Fallout 2. Likely 100% the same game, only Bethesda doesn't do Wine ports and DosBox, so that's left up to you. As far as the GOG backend can tell, they are 2 different games.

For whatever reason there are two versions of this game and this is the censored version as opposed to the original that I have in my library as Fallout 2 Classic. This really needs to be made clearer to potential buyers. For the differences check out the thread in Gog's forums.

Name almost anything from the Fallout 1, and Fallout 2 has done it better. Weapons and other equipment? Expanded upon. Settlements and sidequests? Far more of both, settlements themselves are larger and more expansive, there are more well-written NPCs to talk to, and is far more interconnected throughout the entire game world. While this gives the game more of a frontier-type atmosphere than a true apocalypse like Fallout 1 (or later 3) would provide, it would be foolish to dismiss it on those grounds, as its still just as immersive as both of those games. Companions? Great personalities for all of them, and you now have a very in-depth means of controlling their combat behavior, their weapons, AND armor this time, meaning they won't become useless the second you encounter enemies with heavy weapons. Music? Just look up "All-Clear Signal" for an example of the treat your ears are in for. RPG elements? Perks are more balanced and the level cap is thankfully completely gone. As great as the game is, it has a few problems, though most are nitpicks. First, the AI. It's improved, but not nearly as much as it should have. NPCs still block your way in narrow hallways or doors at times, people will still moronically fire machine gun bursts right into the backs of their allies at point-blank range. If you have five companions with you, they can and frequently will kill each other with poorly-aimed burst shots. Second, go in with the expectation that the beginning of the game is going to be a grind, as the tutorial level is needlessly long and tedious. But I promise, slog through first four or so hours with stride, and you're in for a top tier RPG experience.