Fallout 2 | a Review
originally published on 14/08/2020;
Hello everyone, I am the stricken by radiation poisoning G.E.M.Simov, a descendant of the Vault Dweller, and I’m going to tell you about Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game (dubbed simply Fallout 2 from this point onwards).
Simple review details - I rank games on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it. Also, I am a gameplay designer and a writer so I got the credentials to talk shit.
GAMEPLAY
Fallout 2 is the successor to Fallout, and is the direct sequel to that game. In addition to that it was released a single year after the original, meaning that there was little opportunity for innovation, be it technological or otherwise, and thus it possesses the same engine. It plays the same way, with a few minor exceptions. It plays through the use of the mouse, through utilization of skills (via the mouse), and through the making of dialogue choices (via the mouse or keyboard).
The game has not changed, but not by a lot much. The combat is still the same, tedious and drab, featuring interesting deaths that serve as additional reward on top of the loot one might receive. The fact remains that it is a little repetitive, after a certain point.
What few changes are present are more or less quality of life additions, small improvements to it. An example would be the ability to buy a car, which makes traveling much quicker.
The only substantial change that is present is the addition of a semblance of control over allies/followers. As you might remember, ladies and gentlemen, in Fallout 1, sometimes the player would end up getting through by their companions, as the AI was quite ‘intricately’ designed. Now, a change has been attempted. I dare say that the AI has been improved by a bit, overall, and then, with the addition of directions that the player can give to their allies, examples being “stay close” or “stay away”, the option of being shot through somewhat disappears.
Overall, Fallout 2 is the same game, from a gameplay standpoint, and, as such, it receives the same scoring, as it does still have some problems. 2/3
PRESENTATION
Similarly to the gameplay of the game, Fallout 2 has not managed to differentiate itself from Fallout 1’s presentation. The use of the same engine, and many recycled assets, is what allowed the company behind the games to release both of them in successive years, but some might say that is not a good way of dealing with the issue at hand, which is, apparently, the lack of innovation and change.
However, one must realize that in a roleplaying game, gameplay needs to be passable. Of course, it would not hurt anybody if the gameplay was spectacular, but what matters, truly, in a game such as Fallout, is the story. But how does one make the story that much more interesting, in a game, no less? By making the game look a certain way, by giving it the option to impose a certain feeling unto the player, so that it is easier to immerse oneself in the world.
Fallout 1 did this in a spectacular fashion. The story was aided by the presentation in such a symbiotic way that it was simply awe inspiring. Everything fit together to create this masterpiece of gaming. Yet some people felt as if it had not been enough… Just a year later?
The visuals of Fallout 2 are amazing. Even though many assets have been reused, there are even more additions, making the game look familiar, yet new at the same time, which is exactly what it should be, as it is Fallout, but the second part. A sequel should look similar to its predecessor, should it not?
The “Talking Heads” return, this time stronger than ever, stealing the spotlight with enchanting animation and well-done voice acting. And the kicker? There’s one who’s so incredibly awesome it’s as if there were 10 more of them.
The sound effects are, like before, strangely fitting. The music is, much like the rest of the game, reused and expanded upon. There are a few extra tracks, and Mark Morgan’s previous work still sounds as wonderfully haunting as ever…
However, I fear there’s something I must make clear. Fallout 2 does not truly feel like Fallout 1. In fact, it feels much more alien, when compared to it, and much more familiar, when compared to the real world. Instead of using bottle caps as a currency, the currency is actual money. There are different factions, far more than in the previous game, and it feels as if things are a tad more political. On top of that, some sections of the game do not even look like they are taking place in a world that has been ravaged by an apocalyptic nuclear war.
The feeling of Fallout 2 is off. The presentation and the story, when performing their symbiosis, have ended up creating something that feels less impressive, but, nevertheless, is still great. 3/3
STORY
The story in Fallout 2, as mentioned, picks up after the story in Fallout 1… A good many years after the Vault Dweller has died from natural causes, has had a daughter, and said daughter also has had a child. The main character is a direct descendant of the Vault Dweller, being the child of their daughter, and is chosen to set off to save the village, founded by their predecessor.
The village is experiencing a famine, owed up to a horrible drought, the children being born are sickly - a great calamity is upon the community. The Chosen One, that being the main character, must venture forth into the world outside to find a way to save these people. The story is strikingly similar to what it was in Fallout 1, at least, plot wise.
Then the player meets the world, and it is strikingly similar, yet somewhat not, to what Fallout 1 was. It looks the same, for a while, but then the cracks begin to show. There is a republic, somewhere in there. The United States still exist, and the government has plans. There are gangs in a city based around gambling and debauchery, and these gangs are vying for power.
There is an homage to Scientology, and there is a spaceship being built. There is also an operational tanker, there are advanced helicopters and working power plants, there are cities that look quaint and idyllic...
It’s Fallout, alright, but it has progressed. A long time has passed, evidently, and what the player was shown in Fallout 1, that being a bunch of people struggling to find themselves a way to survive in the wastelands, has become something else. These struggling people have FOUND the way to survive, and are now thriving.
Actual money is being used, rather than bottle caps. There are governments in place, doing what governments supposedly do. There are sports, there are casinos, there is religion - there’s a bit of everything, and it appears so similar to what life is currently, in real life, (not quite due to a virus) that it’s almost uncanny. Strange.
The setting has changed vastly, yet it still retains its ominous charm. The story, on the other hand, has taken a different direction. The conflict is more driven by greed and a lust for power. There is no grand question about good that gets asked. There are questions that are asked of humanity, about the meaning of being human, about what a human is. Questions are asked of whether or not a sentient creature, other than a human, deserves the rights of humans.
It appears as if racism was something that was on the mind of the writers. There are many instances of one group of people doing things to another, based off of the fact that they are different. The manner in which the player deals with these issues is left up to the player’s discretion. When was the last time a game allowed the player to be responsible for the death of entire communities of marginalized minorities? That is not, inherently, a good thing, but it is something that could happen in a situation like what Fallout 2 presents the player with.
Although I tried liking the story, the main plot was simply unable to match the glory of what was uncovered in the first game. The consequences of the actions taken by the Vault Dweller still affect the world, to this day, almost a hundred years later. The actions taken by the Chosen One will also go on to affect the world, but it won’t ever be seen by the players, courtesy of Bethesda, it seems.
The side stories that were littered throughout are interesting. They have their own charm, which bolsters the overall story, but it just did not have what it would have taken. 2/3
LEGENDARY POINT
Does this game get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? Even though I may have been disappointed by some things in Fallout 2, I can not say that I did not remember it fondly.
The reasons, perhaps, I cannot share entirely with the reader, but, know this - a game such as Fallout 2, which has the gall to allow the player the freedoms to star in adult films, to have the opportunity to get married and then help a woman cheat on her husband, all the while their own wife or husband watches without saying a word, the opportunity to punch Tom Cruise in his Scientologist face, the opportunity to become the boxing champion of the post apocalypse, the opportunity to help out a shut in with his issues - this game is wonderful. Truly, truly wonderful.
Yes, Fallout 2 gets the legendary point. 1/1
CONCLUSION
8/10. Fallout 2 is a great game, highly above average. It is a game of exquisite quality, and I would say that anyone who is even remotely interested in RPGs or making games should have played it. If you have not played it, I advise that you do experience it, before computers become so stupid they can no longer understand what the code for it means.
I tuck it under my belt, yet another shining achievement that I proudly display. It has a few imperfections here and there, but I can live with it.