Fallout (The Games)

[Sythe]

So between now and the Mercs 2 release i find myself bored with my current games. Now because Fallout 3 is getting ready to release soon i figured i'd give the first ones a try, but what i wanna know first is will i be able to tolerate them? What i mean is i'm the kind of person who has a hard time playing FFVII cause its so god awful looking now. I know these games are based more on story tho so maybe that'll help. Anyway, what say you BG. Is it worth looking at ugly pixels for the over all Fallout experience?

p.s. Feel free to use this to talk about fallout in general i guess

[Krandor]

Fallout 1 and 2 are fucking awesome beyond belief. The graphics are 2d so it's not really an issue with them being dated. The gib effects are still absolutely beautiful however, especially when you get to blow people in half with a shotgun or the melting effect from lasers.

They're both great. Unless you specifically want to play both games (I know they used to sell both games for like 20 bucks), I would recommend just going for Fallout 2, the usual "more stuff/bigger experience" thing.

[Khamsin]

I'd say that whatever difficulty anyone may have in enjoying a fallout game, it'd be whether or not you can handle having no manditory plot advancement or clear direction. There's plenty to do, and no particular way to do it, and unless you look for it, the plot isn't going to jump out at you. So, at times, it can feel as if the game is just crawling along without going anywhere.

As far as the graphics go, they aren't bad. The cutscenes and inventory item art are still good by today's standards, and the majority of the game has decent color depth and detail... it's not like you're playing an NES Final Fantasy compared to FFXII. It's more like FFVII versus FFXII. Plus, you're zoomed out to an overhead view of a grid so there doesn't need to be fine detail except when looking at your inventory, of which there's plenty of detail.

The biggest difference between Fallout 3 and the older ones is the perspective. There's free movement in Fallout 3, as opposed to a grid layout, as far as I understand. So you'll be more up-close and part of the scenery, hence the need for more detail in Fallout 3.

[Sythe]

Wont be missing out on any story stuff from the 1st I'm guessing?

[Khamsin]

There's references, and elements of the fallout universe that you'd remember from the first, but nothing that's required to understand or continue the plot in the second.

The second one does indeed have plenty more to do, and is even more open ended than the first. I'd almost recommend playing the first one first if you think you might get overwhelmed and lose interest by having too many sidequests and plot lines going at once. Especially if you are OCD and want to get the most out of everything on the first playthrough, lol.

In order to do everything and complete all the quests and get the most rewards in Fallout 2, especially once you reach New Reno and beyond, you'll spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do, when, how, etc. so as not to prevent completion of other quests. In Fallout 1, it isn't so bad.

But if you're not OCD, and just want to play through without caring if you are able to complete all the quests and get all the loot, then Fallout 2 does have more freedom and things to explore (and time to explore it).

[Isiolia]

The first one at least does have a time limit to abide by. It's more than enough time, but still, present.

Story-wise, I think each of them more or less stand alone as it's typical Western RPG in that you can play things as you like. You do have common elements, but Fallout games can pretty much be summarized as your protagonist being shoved out of their community in order to go search for something said community requires.

Graphics... if you can play Starcraft or Diablo II without a fuss, then Fallout should suit you fine.

I recall buying the jewel-case bundle of both games for $10, so buying them both shouldn't be a big deal. If I recall, Fallout 1 kind of gets you into the game a little smoother, whereas 2 seemed to be harder off the bat.

I'd say start with the first one. While it's simpler, that's not a bad thing per se.

[Sythe]

So i'm playing fallout 2. I can't believe this but i'm actually stuck inside the 1st cave lol It seems my lockpicking at 48% isnt enough?

Edit: Scratch that. I didnt know you couldnt just pick Lockpicking from the list. I right clicked and got it >_< lol

[Demosthenes]

I love Fallout one and two, but I enjoy the game no one plays the most. The original Fallout Tactics on the PC.

[Suburbanelite]

In my opinion, Fallout 1 was the best. After you're done with 2, go back and play 1. I played them in this order and my god it was awesome. It's even better when you realize who some of the people are that you meet in your adventures in 1 and how they come into play in 2.

Just make sure you play both. They are both awesome.

[Khamsin]

And Fallout 1 has MacGuyver!

[The Blackrose]

The first one at least does have a time limit to abide by. It's more than enough time, but still, present.

The time limit of the second half of the story was removed in later patches.

I'd say start with the first one. While it's simpler, that's not a bad thing per se.

Agreed.

[guartz]

And Fallout 1 has MacGuyver!

And the bridge keeper.


I hope he knows how to answer the three questions

[Norellicus]

I enjoyed Fallout 1 right up to where the difficulty shot up at the very end of the story; there weren't enough medkits in the world to handle the kind of damage you were taking, and you couldn't kill them fast enough with just the weapons you can buy at a merchant.

Supposedly it's ezmode if you manage to find the crashed UFO and take their laser, but that happens less than 1% of the time...

I couldn't play 2 on my PC, for whatever reason

[Zosi]

Fallout 1 and 2 are two of my favorite RPGs, they have a unique style and particularly sense of humor that many games have unsuccessfully tried to rip off. It's a shame that anyone thinks that the graphics on old games like that are "bad", 2D stuff really does age well, and there's been very few games released in the 3D era that even come close to that kind of gameplay quality.

I'm eagerly awaiting Fallout 3, but at the same time, I'm very worried about Bethesda's involvement. I loved Oblivion (and have been playing BethSoft RPGs since original Daggerfall), but they kinda have a rep for making overly ambitious, buggy-as-shit games, and a sequel like Fallout 3 is *really* something you have to just absolutely nail. They might pull it off, and if they do, Fallout 3 is going to be the gold standard for PC RPGs for years. If they don't... well, I'll be sad.

[Khamsin]

I enjoyed Fallout 1 right up to where the difficulty shot up at the very end of the story; there weren't enough medkits in the world to handle the kind of damage you were taking, and you couldn't kill them fast enough with just the weapons you can buy at a merchant.

Supposedly it's ezmode if you manage to find the crashed UFO and take their laser, but that happens less than 1% of the time...

I couldn't play 2 on my PC, for whatever reason

I just blasted everything with a modified plasma rifle, while wearing my modified power armor, and max AP.

[Isiolia]

I enjoyed Fallout 1 right up to where the difficulty shot up at the very end of the story; there weren't enough medkits in the world to handle the kind of damage you were taking, and you couldn't kill them fast enough with just the weapons you can buy at a merchant.

I didn't have many problems, but then, I built towards using a sniper rifle. A lot of the time, I would initiate combat before the enemies would aggro, aim for their eyes, and blow the back of their heads out.

[Elesirdur]

I love Fallout one and two, but I enjoy the game no one plays the most. The original Fallout Tactics on the PC.

I actually really loved Fallout Tactics, it was a lot like Jagged Alliance, but with more of the Fallout dystopia. Although I did love the nutty personalities of the mercs in the Jagged Alliance games.

I to am very much looking forward to Fallout 3, probably even more so than Spore right now.

I'm presuming people can find Fallout 1/2 on torrent sites or downloand them on steam or something?

[Correction]

The combo of fallout 1/2 should not cost more than 10 bucks and are probably on the shelf at Fry's or Best Buy right now. I think I picked up my copies back in 2004. For maybe five bucks. At that price point it's actually more expensive to pirate them.

Of course you should act now before those copies all run out and they re-issue them as a 'battlechest' edition for thirty bucks.