The original Fallout games are two of the most highly acclaimed and beloved RPG games ever made. In older RPG fan circles in particular, these games are revered. As a classic RPG fan myself, I couldn't possibly dissent. But arguably, those games are perhaps somewhat more important to me than they are to most for an additional reason. You see, the original Fallout game is what turned me into an RPG fan. At the time I was still a relative newcomer to the PC gaming world. Used to playing games like Doom or Warcraft, when I stumbled upon the original Fallout's demo. I tried it out and was immediately captivated. I quickly bought the first game and was absolutely engrossed in it. By the time the second game was released I was already an RPG fan and naturally, I was ecstatic to get my hands on a sequel.

Fallout 2 did not disappoint. Indeed it heavily reinforced my burgeoning fascination with the genre. The two games were extremely similar. They were released only a year apart. They used effectively the same engine, with only minor tweaks. They played virtually the same way, had almost the same model pool and many of the same weapons/items. Yet, they were also very different. Whereas the original focused on delivering a tight story, with a clearly defined progression and a relatively serious tone, the sequel was a rather chaotic pastiche of the original with a much looser progression, a less serious, though still quite adult, tone and a much more overt, darkly satirical side. Truly some of the snappiest, most snarky lines in gaming have been written for Fallout 2. After experiencing the bleakness of the original, a sequel that offered much more of the same great gameplay, but at the same time didn't hesitate to twist and poke fun at its dark world, was just what I needed.

You start on the fringes of post-apocalyptic California, as a member of a primitive tribe that is in dire straits due to a drought. After being tested in a much-maligned, obligatory tutorial level, you are named the chosen one of your tribe and tasked with travelling to the more civilized places of the world in search of technology that will save your people. Of course to the rest of the world that now is opening up before you, your title or the justness of your cause mean nothing. To them, you are just a filthy tribal barely worth a second look, unless, of course, you can be of use to them somehow. This allows the game to poke fun at the chosen one trope, while still playing it mostly straight. Mostly. This meta approach, coupled with lots of leaning on, if not outright breaking, the fourth wall is an integral part of the game's DNA.

It has been pointed out that the main story itself is not particularly strong, especially compared to the first game. Indeed, after you are given your mission and start exploring the wasteland, it is difficult to maintain focus. At best, the main story provides a general direction to follow early on, but after a point even that disappears. This is further reinforced by the lack of any hard time limit. The most flawed part is arguably the final section. It appears to be very rushed and it's one of the few areas where the attempt to follow the example set by the first game falls flat. I'm referring of course to the diplomatic response to the main villain's plans. In the first game, employing diplomacy to resolve the final conflict was gradually built and convincing, indeed it was stellarly executed. Here, it seems like having it as an option was a tick on some checklist. Half-baked, if not outright nonsensical. And only partly effective anyway.

Nevertheless, the main story is hardly at the center of what makes Fallout 2 great. The true highlight of the game is the world that it invites you to explore. The locations that you can visit are very diverse, perhaps even thematically inconsistent, but always compelling. They all showcase the different ways that people have coped with the apocalypse. How they interact with one another. How they are following different government types. From anarchy, to liberal democracy, all the way to technofascism. This allows the game to engage in quite some social commentary. The apartheid state of Vault City being a great example. An important aspect is that the game doesn't usually force you to pick a side, this is something of a lost art these days. The game doesn't force an opinion on what it's showing you. Even when it skewers some ideology with sarcasm, it still leaves it to the player to draw conclusions.

The world is fairly reactive, offering lots of feedback to player choice via its many interesting and well-written subplots. They range from simpler sublots like the Ghost Farm, to more complex ones like the Gecko Power Plant, all the way to a sublot complex enough that it could easily supplant the main plot. Indeed, many a game would wish they had a main plot this good. It is a 3-way power struggle between the leading political entities of the region over trade. The game goes to lengths to explore the realities of each with flair. It allows the player to engage with all three powers but whether they will choose to take a side, or even if they will be given the chance to do so, it's all entirely optional and often a reaction to previous choice.

When Fallout 2 launched, it was really buggy. There was also lots of cut content, much of it described in design documents but not in the game. Certainly a result of how quickly the game was developed. None of this deterred me at the time of course, but I am certainly happy for the numerous patches that followed. Unfortunately, so numerous were those issues that by the time the developer went out of business, though in a much better shape there was still lots to be done. Enter the fans. Thankfully, Fallout 2 has a dedicated community that has given us unofficial patches and even a mod that restores cut content. I recommend checking all that out. Particularly since Bethesda, in their supreme laziness, have done nothing for this game, other than bundling it with some mods and selling it.

Fallout 2 is probably my favourite game of all time. For many years, I would do a full run of the game at least once a year, as sort of a ritual. After a point, always with the Restoration Project installed. Work and the vagaries of adult life haven't allowed me to maintain that in recent years, but I will still do a full run from time to time and it always feels fresh. For fans of old-school RPGs that somehow haven't played this, I can't recommend it enough. For newer players, I'd recommend trying the first Fallout and then this one, emulating my journey with this series. Either way, this is indeed one of the crown jewels of the video game medium and is worth experiencing one way or another.

The original Fallout games are two of the most highly acclaimed and beloved RPG games ever made. In older RPG fan circles in particular, these games are revered. As a classic RPG fan myself, I couldn't possibly dissent. But arguably, those games are perhaps somewhat more important to me than they are to most for an additional reason. You see, the original Fallout game is what turned me into an RPG fan. At the time I was still a relative newcomer to the PC gaming world. Used to playing games like Doom or Warcraft, when I stumbled upon the original Fallout's demo. I tried it out and was immediately captivated. I quickly bought the first game and was absolutely engrossed in it. By the time the second game was released I was already an RPG fan and naturally, I was ecstatic to get my hands on a sequel. Fallout 2 did not disappoint. Indeed it heavily reinforced my burgeoning fascination with the genre. The two games were extremely similar. They were released only a year apart. They used effectively the same engine, with only minor tweaks. They played virtually the same way, had almost the same model pool and many of the same weapons/items. Yet, they were also very different. Whereas the original focused on delivering a tight story, with a clearly defined progression and a relatively serious tone, the sequel was a rather chaotic pastiche of the original with a much looser progression, a less serious, though still quite adult, tone and a much more overt, darkly satirical side. Truly some of the snappiest, most snarky lines in gaming have been written for Fallout 2. After experiencing the bleakness of the original, a sequel that offered much more of the same great gameplay, but at the same time didn't hesitate to twist and poke fun at its dark world, was just what I needed. You start on the fringes of post-apocalyptic California, as a member of a primitive tribe that is in dire straits due to a drought. After being tested in a much-maligned, obligatory tutorial level, you are named the chosen one of your tribe and tasked with travelling to the more civilized places of the world in search of technology that will save your people. Of course to the rest of the world that now is opening up before you, your title or the justness of your cause mean nothing. To them, you are just a filthy tribal barely worth a second look, unless, of course, you can be of use to them somehow. This allows the game to poke fun at the chosen one trope, while still playing it mostly straight. Mostly. This meta approach, coupled with lots of leaning on, if not outright breaking, the fourth wall is an integral part of the game's DNA. It has been pointed out that the main story itself is not particularly strong, especially compared to the first game. Indeed, after you are given your mission and start exploring the wasteland, it is difficult to maintain focus. At best, the main story provides a general direction to follow early on, but after a point even that disappears. This is further reinforced by the lack of any hard time limit. The most flawed part is arguably the final section. It appears to be very rushed and it's one of the few areas where the attempt to follow the example set by the first game falls flat. I'm referring of course to the diplomatic response to the main villain's plans. In the first game, employing diplomacy to resolve the final conflict was gradually built and convincing, indeed it was stellarly executed. Here, it seems like having it as an option was a tick on some checklist. Half-baked, if not outright nonsensical. And only partly effective anyway. Nevertheless, the main story is hardly at the center of what makes Fallout 2 great. The true highlight of the game is the world that it invites you to explore. The locations that you can visit are very diverse, perhaps even thematically inconsistent, but always compelling. They all showcase the different ways that people have coped with the apocalypse. How they interact with one another. How they are following different government types. From anarchy, to liberal democracy, all the way to technofascism. This allows the game to engage in quite some social commentary. The apartheid state of Vault City being a great example. An important aspect is that the game doesn't usually force you to pick a side, this is something of a lost art these days. The game doesn't force an opinion on what it's showing you. Even when it skewers some ideology with sarcasm, it still leaves it to the player to draw conclusions. The world is fairly reactive, offering lots of feedback to player choice via its many interesting and well-written subplots. They range from simpler sublots like the Ghost Farm, to more complex ones like the Gecko Power Plant, all the way to a sublot complex enough that it could easily supplant the main plot. Indeed, many a game would wish they had a main plot this good. It is a 3-way power struggle between the leading political entities of the region over trade. The game goes to lengths to explore the realities of each with flair. It allows the player to engage with all three powers but whether they will choose to take a side, or even if they will be given the chance to do so, it's all entirely optional and often a reaction to previous choice. When Fallout 2 launched, it was really buggy. There was also lots of cut content, much of it described in design documents but not in the game. Certainly a result of how quickly the game was developed. None of this deterred me at the time of course, but I am certainly happy for the numerous patches that followed. Unfortunately, so numerous were those issues that by the time the developer went out of business, though in a much better shape there was still lots to be done. Enter the fans. Thankfully, Fallout 2 has a dedicated community that has given us unofficial patches and even a mod that restores cut content. I recommend checking all that out. Particularly since Bethesda, in their supreme laziness, have done nothing for this game, other than bundling it with some mods and selling it. Fallout 2 is probably my favourite game of all time. For many years, I would do a full run of the game at least once a year, as sort of a ritual. After a point, always with the Restoration Project installed. Work and the vagaries of adult life haven't allowed me to maintain that in recent years, but I will still do a full run from time to time and it always feels fresh. For fans of old-school RPGs that somehow haven't played this, I can't recommend it enough. For newer players, I'd recommend trying the first Fallout and then this one, emulating my journey with this series. Either way, this is indeed one of the crown jewels of the video game medium and is worth experiencing one way or another.