Feature: Fallout 2

"War. War never changes."* - The famous words every self-respecting RPG gamer knows!

With those words the epic franchise known as the "Fallout" started and those words are forever burned into my memory, along with the husky tone of Ron Perlman's narration. True the Fallout franchise has somewhat digressed from it's original form established by the first two games but that's neither here nor there. Today we are taking a look back to the one of the best RPGs of all time Fallout 2. So join me after the cut for a trip through the wastes.

Let's start with a complete intro into the game. The game's narrations were performed by Ron Perlman. The game's prologue featured one of the foremost iconic catch phrases of the game series: "War. War never changes", also used in the first Fallout and every subsequent game. Ron Perlman was re-invited to, and narrated every game in the series.

Ok, the basics, for whom it may concern: Fallout 2 is a sequel to 1997 game of the year - Fallout, it's a Single Player Role Playing Game with  Turn Based Combat developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay in 1998. The game features a lot of adult themes, such as alcohol consumption, drug usage and sex, with complex plots, high violence level and every swear word in the book. Organized crime, prostitution and slavery are also major elements of the setting. Fallout 2 was nominated for Computer Role Playing Game of the Year by Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences but has lost the title to Baldur's Gate which is also a great RPG. An inspiration for the Fallout series is a game titled "Wasteland" published by EA Games in 1988. The game designers deny that Fallout series take place in the same universe as Wasteland but there are references to the events and the style of Wasteland in the Fallout series, which is why Fallout is sometimes regarded as the successor to Wasteland.

Fallout 2 map

The game world is West Coast of United States with a decent amount of towns and other locales and a fair number of random encounter locations which makes for a pretty impressive sized game world, especially considering the game fits on a 650MB format CD-Rom.
The story of Fallout 2 starts 80 years after it's predecessor in a village named Arroyo founded by Vault Dweller, a hero from the first Fallout game. During 2241 Arroyo suffered the worst drought on record and the village elders asked the direct descendant of the Vault Dweller (you - the player character), referred to as the Chosen One, to perform the quest of retrieving a Garden of Eden Creation Kit. G.E.C.K. is a device which, although it strangely resembles a suitcase used in the old movies to detonate a nuclear device, apparently is able to create prosperous communities even in the barren environment of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. You, as a Chosen One, are given only the Vault Dweller's jumpsuit, a RobCo PIPBoy 2000 handheld device, a Vault 13 water flask, a spear and some cash. Of course only after fighting your way through The Temple of Trials are you given the said items and after are sent of on your quest.
The story, artwork and overall theme of the Fallout universe is retrofuturistic and is greatly influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s America, and its combination of hope for the promises of technology and lurking fear of nuclear annihilation.

Speaking of random encounters I must mention that, as it's predecessor, Fallout 2 contains numerous Easter Eggs many of which can be found in random encounters. An example would be one of the first available armors which is a one-sleeved leather jacket that resembles the jacket worn by Mel Gibson in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. The player can also get a dog, named Dogmeat after Mad Max’s dog. Below is a picture of another example of an Easter Egg from a popular SF universe specifically found in a random encounter while traversing the wastes.

Easter Egg - Star Trek

Character creation in Fallout 2 is based on SPECIAL (an acronym for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck) role-playing system designed specifically for Fallout. Aside from letting you distribute points in the 7 said attributes the system allows you to pick 3 tag skills which will get a starting bonus and will progress at an increased rate as you invest points. You also get to choose 2 optional traits all of which have it's benefits and also drawbacks. Also depending on your character creation you get to choose a perk every 3 or 4 levels, perks are similar to traits but they usually have no drawbacks. Below is an example of a Kamikaze trait and Awareness perk

Character Creation Screen - Perks and Traits

Combat is turn-based with action point system where each turn multiple actions may be performed until all points in the pool have been expended. Different actions consume different numbers of points, and the maximum number of points that can be spent may be affected by things such as drugs or perks. Players may equip two weapons and can quickly switch between them by clicking on the red "switch weapon" button. The Perception attribute determines order of turns in combat; characters with a higher statistic in this attribute will be placed at an earlier position in the sequence of turns.

Fallout 2  is a great experience that you will keep coming back to. I have played the game and finished it numerous times and I still have not found out all the easter eggs, random encounters, weapons, story posibilities and even characters and companions. Of course you could refer to some guides or walkthroughs but where would be the fun in that.

- One thing that should be mentioned about the story line is that it's a lot harsher this time around. I mean a lot harsher. As you travel through the game, you'll meet (and perhaps purchase the services of) prostitutes, drug dealers, slaves, and cannibals. There is an unbelievable amount of profanity and abusive language in the game, and while it seems that most of our generation is pretty much inured to it, enough violence to turn heads. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that all of this is in the game (especially since it all fits very well within the story), but people who are thinking about buying this title for anyone under the age of 18 should probably think again. This game is... well, it's harsh. - Trent C. Ward - IGN.com

For more screenshots click here, for more info on Fallout series refer to official site. Reviews at Gamespot and IGN.

*War, war never changes. The end of the world occurred pretty much as we had predicted: too many humans, not enough space or resources to go around. The details are trivial and pointless, the reasons, as always, purely human ones.
The earth was nearly wiped clean of life, a great cleansing. An atomic spark struck by human hands, quickly raged out of control. Spears of nuclear fire rained from the skies. Continents were swallowed in flames, and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Humanity was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation that blanketed the earth. A quiet darkness fell across the planet, lasting many years. Few survived the devastation; some were lucky enough to reach safety, taking shelter in great underground vaults. When the great darkness passed these vaults opened and the inhabitants emerged to begin their lives again. One of the northern tribes say they were decedents from one such vault: they say that their founder and ancestor, one known as the Vault Dweller, once saved the world from a great evil. This evil arose in the far south; it corrupted all it touched, twisting men inside, turning them in to beasts. Only through his bravery was the evil destroyed, but when he returned to the home he fought so hard to protect he was cast out. Exiled. Confronting that which they feared he had became something else in their eyes and no longer their champion. He strode far to the north 'til he came to the great canyons.
There he founded a small village, Arroyo. It is now home, your home. But the scars from the war have not yet healed, and the earth has not forgotten.