Fallout 2

This review is from someone who played over a hundred hours of Fallout: New Vegas and 3 and loved both. I also just finished Fallout 1 before this game and wrote a mixed review on it. From the beginning I could tell this game was special in a way Fallout 1 wasn't. The story, characters, side quests, and companions were so much more interesting and nearly every town had cool stuff to do. The UI is improved (thankfully I can see my action points a bit better now), the animations are a little better and the game seems to run a bit smoother. But, as I was having a blast I also had lots of things holding me back from having as good an experience as I wanted to. Just like Fallout 1, this was a wiki game for me. I was frequently checking it to see: who do I talk to about this, where can I find this item, is it possible to open this locker if I have less than 20% in lockpick? I did this because I just don't have fun wandering around for hours looking for what I'm supposed to do next to solve a quest or find an important location. I still had to backtrack like crazy, encounter glitches, and get bombarded by far too many random encounters. One general problem I had was that there are just too many NPCs across the board. In combat, instead of fighting three or four enemies like FO1, I'm fighting ten or twelve. And even with max combat speed there's way too much downtime for a single player RPG while I watch each individual enemy move and attack. Then when it is my turn maybe I miss, maybe I hit, but it's unlikely I one-shot an enemy. So combat takes forever. Also, in towns there are so many NPCs to talk to and they all look the same so it can be hard trying to find the important ones. Some characters you can talk to have nothing interesting to say or just repeat the same stuff over and over. The game takes just as long to get going as FO1, but I recommend you play that first because this game builds on it. These games are old, but they sure are fascinating.

Fallout 2 is a great game with some minor flaws. It's not quite as good as the original Fallout, the humor in this game hurts it more than helps (where the original Fallout found the perfect balance). Still, this is an outstanding Fallout experience in almost every way!

If you're having issues where the game gets stuck on the intro video then just restart. That fixed it for me. Also Windows 7 compatability mode fixed my audio crackling. I'm on Windows 11. I think the issue has to do with Sfall.

one of my all time favorite games of all time

Fallout 1 was a strong introduction to the post apocalyptic world of the Fallout series, but Fallout 2 takes everything that made its predecessor great and builds upon it, creating a game that's even more immersive, intricate, and morally complex. World building is one of its greatest strengths. The wasteland feels alive and interconnected, with factions evolving since the first game: the NCR grows into a government with its own currency, super mutants change after the Master's death, and the Brotherhood fades into the background. This sense of progression makes the setting feel alive. Another element is how the game embraces moral grayness. Choices rarely have a clear right or wrong answer, sometimes you're punished simply for delaying too long, as quests can fail or NPCs die while you're busy elsewhere. You can even choose to be an a**hole, become a slaver, or kill innocents, and the game reacts accordingly. Unlike many modern RPGs, morality isn't reduced to simple good or evil factions. Gameplay builds on the first game with improvements. Companions are more useful, with better inventory and combat options, and random encounters are more varied. Towns and settlements feel distinct, each with its own identity and conflicts. Quests offer multiple solutions, encouraging replayability and experimentation, every run can reveal new dialogue, choices, or endings. But Fallout 2 isn't flawless. The rushed development shows in unfinished areas, messy scripts, and occasional bugs, sometimes preventing quest rewards or certain endings even if you met the requirements. Frequent saving is essential. If you can show patience and a willingness to embrace its imperfections, this is a must play for you. At least, I had great fun with it.