Zomgie
18-04-2006, 12:52 PM
Fallout 2 is the continuation of the post-nuclear rpg story that was Fallout 1.
The overall story goes as thus: Nuclear war has wiped out the majority of life on the planet. A few survived, buried deep down in underground bomb shelders, known as "Vaults".
In Fallout 2 you are a descendant of a hero who came from Vault 13. With only his original standard-issue blue jump suit, you have to set out and find the mysterious lost Vault 13. Your mission is to retreive from it the Garden Of Eden Kit (GECK), which is needed to save your dying villages crops.
Graphics:
Fallout 2 uses the same engine as Fallout 1, which was released in 1997. So you wont be needing your SLI cards to run it. However, I find the lack of high quality graphics fit the overall old, depalidated wasteland that is the setting of the fallout worlds.
Controls:
Isometric and turn based, Fallout 2 is a very logical and easy game to play. Your standard combination of left and right clicks get to where you need to go, and will bring up all your apropriate menus. The only time you ever need to use the keyboard is entering in currency while bartering.
Occasionaly an NPC can get in the way and block you when in tight areas, which can be frustrating. Fortunately they tacked on a "push" feature by clicking on the NPC, and they eventually get the hint and bugger off.
Sound/Music:
The background music fits in perfectly with its landscape. Sparce and barren in deserts, seedy and corrupt in slums.
The voice acting, although sparce, is very good.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/9/6/5/6/fallout21_thumb.jpg (http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=17577&c=209)
The Gecko nuclear reactor. You can fix it, or blow it up. Either way will make you friends and enemies.
(Re)Playability
Where the Fallout series really shines is the gameplay, and replayability. A key part of this is the character creation system.
You have 7 stats: Strength, Perception, Stamina, Charm, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.
Furthermore there is 18 skills, which include fighting skills (unarmed, hand weapons, small guns, big guns, lasers) , social skills (bartering, speach), thief type skills (sneaking, pick locks, stealing, traps) and more.
You can also pick an additional (optional) two "traits", which further alters your character. For example, if you want to be a real heavy thug maybe you would pick the 'Bruiser' trait - you lose 2 action points per turn, however you get a permanent +2 bonus to strength.
Your unique combination of stats, skills and traits will determine what you can and cant do in the Fallout world, as well as what 'Perks' you can get. (Every 3 levels you will get a bonus ability, which will depend on what your stats are. For example, if you have 6+ agility you can get the Quickpockets perk, which means it will only take you 2 action points to access your inventory, instead of the normal 4.
The fallout world is designed to take advantage of the various character designs that are available to you. For example, in the initial 'test' that your villagers give you to prove you are ready to face the outside world, the final trial is you have to beat another villager in unarmed combat.
Now, if you have selected unarmed as one of your skills, you can belt the snot out of him. Or, if you arnt a very good at melee, however you have a ton of agility, you can take a swipe, and run to a safe distance, thus 'dancing' around him like Muhammad Ali.
Maybe your not a fighter, more of a diplomat. If you have sufficient intelligent and speach abillity, you can persuad him its in the villages intest to let you pass.
Or for the thief types, you can try to steal the key he has in his possesion and not fight him at all. Alternatively you can try to picklock the door.
All this options mean that long after you beat the game, you can replay it again trying a different character. It continues to surprise time and time again.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/9/6/5/6/fallout204_thumb.jpg (http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=17578&c=209)
You can free Sulik and he will join your quest. Alternatively, you can sell him to slavers =).
Summary:
A combination of great setting, story, humor, music, character design and replayability make Fallout 2 one of, if not the best RPG to ever grace the PC. If you love RPG, you really have to get your hot little claws on this baby.
My overall score: 11/10. A true classic.
The overall story goes as thus: Nuclear war has wiped out the majority of life on the planet. A few survived, buried deep down in underground bomb shelders, known as "Vaults".
In Fallout 2 you are a descendant of a hero who came from Vault 13. With only his original standard-issue blue jump suit, you have to set out and find the mysterious lost Vault 13. Your mission is to retreive from it the Garden Of Eden Kit (GECK), which is needed to save your dying villages crops.
Graphics:
Fallout 2 uses the same engine as Fallout 1, which was released in 1997. So you wont be needing your SLI cards to run it. However, I find the lack of high quality graphics fit the overall old, depalidated wasteland that is the setting of the fallout worlds.
Controls:
Isometric and turn based, Fallout 2 is a very logical and easy game to play. Your standard combination of left and right clicks get to where you need to go, and will bring up all your apropriate menus. The only time you ever need to use the keyboard is entering in currency while bartering.
Occasionaly an NPC can get in the way and block you when in tight areas, which can be frustrating. Fortunately they tacked on a "push" feature by clicking on the NPC, and they eventually get the hint and bugger off.
Sound/Music:
The background music fits in perfectly with its landscape. Sparce and barren in deserts, seedy and corrupt in slums.
The voice acting, although sparce, is very good.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/9/6/5/6/fallout21_thumb.jpg (http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=17577&c=209)
The Gecko nuclear reactor. You can fix it, or blow it up. Either way will make you friends and enemies.
(Re)Playability
Where the Fallout series really shines is the gameplay, and replayability. A key part of this is the character creation system.
You have 7 stats: Strength, Perception, Stamina, Charm, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.
Furthermore there is 18 skills, which include fighting skills (unarmed, hand weapons, small guns, big guns, lasers) , social skills (bartering, speach), thief type skills (sneaking, pick locks, stealing, traps) and more.
You can also pick an additional (optional) two "traits", which further alters your character. For example, if you want to be a real heavy thug maybe you would pick the 'Bruiser' trait - you lose 2 action points per turn, however you get a permanent +2 bonus to strength.
Your unique combination of stats, skills and traits will determine what you can and cant do in the Fallout world, as well as what 'Perks' you can get. (Every 3 levels you will get a bonus ability, which will depend on what your stats are. For example, if you have 6+ agility you can get the Quickpockets perk, which means it will only take you 2 action points to access your inventory, instead of the normal 4.
The fallout world is designed to take advantage of the various character designs that are available to you. For example, in the initial 'test' that your villagers give you to prove you are ready to face the outside world, the final trial is you have to beat another villager in unarmed combat.
Now, if you have selected unarmed as one of your skills, you can belt the snot out of him. Or, if you arnt a very good at melee, however you have a ton of agility, you can take a swipe, and run to a safe distance, thus 'dancing' around him like Muhammad Ali.
Maybe your not a fighter, more of a diplomat. If you have sufficient intelligent and speach abillity, you can persuad him its in the villages intest to let you pass.
Or for the thief types, you can try to steal the key he has in his possesion and not fight him at all. Alternatively you can try to picklock the door.
All this options mean that long after you beat the game, you can replay it again trying a different character. It continues to surprise time and time again.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/9/6/5/6/fallout204_thumb.jpg (http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=17578&c=209)
You can free Sulik and he will join your quest. Alternatively, you can sell him to slavers =).
Summary:
A combination of great setting, story, humor, music, character design and replayability make Fallout 2 one of, if not the best RPG to ever grace the PC. If you love RPG, you really have to get your hot little claws on this baby.
My overall score: 11/10. A true classic.