+3kk!
12-05-2005, 07:57 AM
The Fallout Series
Some History
Years ago, in the RPG boom of the early and mid 1980s, came a multitude of RPGs that still bring fond thoughts to memories of older gamers - The Ultimas, Might and Magics, the Bards Tales, the Wizardries. Nevertheless, if you wanted to get right down to it, they were all fundamentally similar - magic, swords, fantastic creatures, and mythical worlds.
It took an RPG that wasn't part of a series to make the gaming community sit up and notice. The characters didn't use swords and bows; they used machine guns and laser rifles. They didn't level up, they were promoted. There were no character classes or archetypes - just varying categories of skills. Instead of fighting orcs, goblins, dragons, they fought gang members, mutated vermin, and robots. Instead of being turned to stone, the characters had to beware of radiation poisoning, toxic waste, and even sexually transmitted diseases. And death, as it came, was permanent.
That game, still a classic and highly regarded, is the venerable Wasteland.
Years later, there was no true sequel - for over a decade, it appeared that Wasteland would be one of those anomalies, a successful game not spawning a series. Remembering the true classics, Interplay decided to update the game, and released Fallout in 1997 - the 'spiritual descendant' of Wasteland. It wasn't perfect, but it brought the entertainment of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and a cautionary tale to a new generation of gamers. In a year of lackluster PC RPGs, Fallout was regarded as a breath of fresh air to the stagnant genre. No stranger to a success, Interplay gathered many of the complaints centered on the original, expanded the game world, and released Fallout 2
taken from rpg fan's review of fallout 2
The Story
"war, war never changes"
in the first fallout, you play as the vault dweller sent out to find a water purification chip for his vault. fallout 2 happens 80 years after the original fallout, you play as the chosen one a descendant of the original vault dweller. you've been sent out to find the holy G.E.C.K and save your tribe.
though it might sound very,very simple. the actual story is superb and the sub-quests are also very intresting. though i wouldnt want to spoil it for people who havent played the game by going more into it.
Gameplay
Few rpg's can be compared to fallout in terms of gameplay. fallout offered something that almost all rpg's failed, a world where everything is possible.
You can sell your friends as slaves, be a junkie, hire prostitutes, kill children......whatever you can imagine.
the actions you do in falllout will also determine your character. this is through krama ( reputation) , kill innocent children and you get called a child killer. some cities might hate you for your previous actions in the game. this game is what fable tried to be and failed
The gameplay is soo open that you can play a same situation with a diffrent approach. you can talk your way out of most combat situations, steal enemies stuff so that they will be unarmed when you fight them, get a boost of items from killing store owners. this game can be played twice but it'll always be diffrent.
Combat was very unique for its time. turn based and uses action points to determine your moving ability. there is such depth in the combat that it'll put most rpg's to shame, you can target specific locations on your enemy. let say you want to blind someone? hit their eyes and they lose half their shooting skills. want to cripple someone? hit their hands or legs. this is the only rpg where its fun crippling your enemies and watch them struggle to fight. and of course, which fallout fan would forget the bloody mess traid where your enemies die the worst way possible.
The game balances monster killing and NPC interactions very well, which is a rare gem in most rpg's. the NPC's are actually believable unlike some rpgs (ie: morrowind). although its not as complex as the baldurs gate series , its still very good
character creation is also superb. you can have almost any kind of character, a weapons expert, a smooth talker, a melee expert, a thief. this game's replay value is high partically due to this alone. you can reply almost every situation diffrently, smooth talk your way out of a situation, steal...etc..e.t.c. and this issnt effected by class. you can be a weapons expert and you can still try to use other methods ( though not as sucessful).
Graphics
The graphics for both games are similar, though outdated from todays stand
ards it doesnt stop the game from being good.
Atmosphere
this is where the fallout games really shine, no one has ever made an rpg with such a thick atmosphere. the despreate post-nuclear world is superbly set. everything is made to the smallest detail ( even with limited graphics ) and the violent world of fallout is very very realistic that you might even believe that a world like fallout will actually happen.
Additional stuff
-fallout 3 is presumed to be in the making by the people who created morrowind
End Game
although the fallout series will never get the following like diablo or final fantasy. it is one of the best rpg series ever on PC.
Some History
Years ago, in the RPG boom of the early and mid 1980s, came a multitude of RPGs that still bring fond thoughts to memories of older gamers - The Ultimas, Might and Magics, the Bards Tales, the Wizardries. Nevertheless, if you wanted to get right down to it, they were all fundamentally similar - magic, swords, fantastic creatures, and mythical worlds.
It took an RPG that wasn't part of a series to make the gaming community sit up and notice. The characters didn't use swords and bows; they used machine guns and laser rifles. They didn't level up, they were promoted. There were no character classes or archetypes - just varying categories of skills. Instead of fighting orcs, goblins, dragons, they fought gang members, mutated vermin, and robots. Instead of being turned to stone, the characters had to beware of radiation poisoning, toxic waste, and even sexually transmitted diseases. And death, as it came, was permanent.
That game, still a classic and highly regarded, is the venerable Wasteland.
Years later, there was no true sequel - for over a decade, it appeared that Wasteland would be one of those anomalies, a successful game not spawning a series. Remembering the true classics, Interplay decided to update the game, and released Fallout in 1997 - the 'spiritual descendant' of Wasteland. It wasn't perfect, but it brought the entertainment of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and a cautionary tale to a new generation of gamers. In a year of lackluster PC RPGs, Fallout was regarded as a breath of fresh air to the stagnant genre. No stranger to a success, Interplay gathered many of the complaints centered on the original, expanded the game world, and released Fallout 2
taken from rpg fan's review of fallout 2
The Story
"war, war never changes"
in the first fallout, you play as the vault dweller sent out to find a water purification chip for his vault. fallout 2 happens 80 years after the original fallout, you play as the chosen one a descendant of the original vault dweller. you've been sent out to find the holy G.E.C.K and save your tribe.
though it might sound very,very simple. the actual story is superb and the sub-quests are also very intresting. though i wouldnt want to spoil it for people who havent played the game by going more into it.
Gameplay
Few rpg's can be compared to fallout in terms of gameplay. fallout offered something that almost all rpg's failed, a world where everything is possible.
You can sell your friends as slaves, be a junkie, hire prostitutes, kill children......whatever you can imagine.
the actions you do in falllout will also determine your character. this is through krama ( reputation) , kill innocent children and you get called a child killer. some cities might hate you for your previous actions in the game. this game is what fable tried to be and failed
The gameplay is soo open that you can play a same situation with a diffrent approach. you can talk your way out of most combat situations, steal enemies stuff so that they will be unarmed when you fight them, get a boost of items from killing store owners. this game can be played twice but it'll always be diffrent.
Combat was very unique for its time. turn based and uses action points to determine your moving ability. there is such depth in the combat that it'll put most rpg's to shame, you can target specific locations on your enemy. let say you want to blind someone? hit their eyes and they lose half their shooting skills. want to cripple someone? hit their hands or legs. this is the only rpg where its fun crippling your enemies and watch them struggle to fight. and of course, which fallout fan would forget the bloody mess traid where your enemies die the worst way possible.
The game balances monster killing and NPC interactions very well, which is a rare gem in most rpg's. the NPC's are actually believable unlike some rpgs (ie: morrowind). although its not as complex as the baldurs gate series , its still very good
character creation is also superb. you can have almost any kind of character, a weapons expert, a smooth talker, a melee expert, a thief. this game's replay value is high partically due to this alone. you can reply almost every situation diffrently, smooth talk your way out of a situation, steal...etc..e.t.c. and this issnt effected by class. you can be a weapons expert and you can still try to use other methods ( though not as sucessful).
Graphics
The graphics for both games are similar, though outdated from todays stand
ards it doesnt stop the game from being good.
Atmosphere
this is where the fallout games really shine, no one has ever made an rpg with such a thick atmosphere. the despreate post-nuclear world is superbly set. everything is made to the smallest detail ( even with limited graphics ) and the violent world of fallout is very very realistic that you might even believe that a world like fallout will actually happen.
Additional stuff
-fallout 3 is presumed to be in the making by the people who created morrowind
End Game
although the fallout series will never get the following like diablo or final fantasy. it is one of the best rpg series ever on PC.