Fallout 2

The game engine feels refined over the first Fallout rather than an evolution. This isn't such a bad thing, but like that game it can still feel clunky at times. Inventory management continues to be a bit of a bear especially in the later stages of the game. Having said that, dealing with merchants is greatly improved over the first game. The skill system is still mostly the same, but this time around it seems that some skills from before that were worthless could have a use this time around. The perk system is likewise expanded a bit as well. Charisma is actually a useful stat this time around as well as it determines how many companions you can recruit. Speaking of the companions, there are quite a bit more this time around and interacting with their inventory is vastly better than in the first game. You can also modify their behavior, though sometimes that can be a bit wonky in practice. Unlike the first game, there isn't a rush to finish the main quest. In fact, you could take quite a few years to get around to completing it if you wish. There's still a limit technically, but chances of you hitting that 15 year mark are somewhere between slim and none. The world seems quite a bit larger with a ton of sidequests available. The highwayman makes traversing this larger world much easier. Due to the greater number of sidequests with conflicting factions, the replayability of this game is quite high. This game has quite a few mods that further expand this replayability. All in all, this is a great improvement over the first Fallout and well worth your time.

Or at least, the best cRPG. There is no review that will make justice, just buy it and play it. Only stay away if you are really dislike RPGs...

Fallout 2 requires Intelligence, indeed one of the best game in game history

I've played this game back in the day, but never finished it - unlike Fallout 1, which I've completed several times. Now, I thought it's the perfect time to give it another go (watching the series right now), and it's still a top-notch postapocalyptic RPG! With the unofficial patch, it's totally playable on current hardware, and I didn't run into any bugs or glitches until now (I remember the original version was buggy AF). The game is VERY hard, you'll see the "game over" screen very often, giving you the feeling you're just a puny human on the harsh wasteland. On the other hand, this makes the game kinda linear: while you can free roam on a kinda big map, you're so week that actually you can go in one direction only, and can do very limited things. My other issue is that the quest log is almost non-existent: it makes very limited notes, and often not even making a note of a quest/mission, until you actually do the first step of the given quest, so you either remember what you need to get/do at which place, or you make notes. Nevertheless, it's a superb game even in 2024!

Old and ugly but none the less enjoyable. Both Fallout and Fallout 2 still succeed at being complex, funny, engaging games framed around a rich world containing well written characters. It's aged look and older design can be a barrier to entry the patience and time investment pays off. The world of Fallout and Fallout 2 is impressively realized, horrific and funny and offers a considerable challenge. I've written a more detailed spoiler free review here: http://theboilingpot.net/fallout-and-fallout-2/