Fallout

I think this game is such a great introduction to the franchise. It explores so much of its lore and you can find so much story hidden in various conversations and terminals. The gameplay feels extremely old if you play it now but it has a certain appeal. The music is decent, the visuals are decent for the time and the gameplay is just fine. What sets this game apart is its incredible lore and story. And by story, mostly its ending. There is little "story" throughout but the ending is incredible. The RPG system is also great. This game brought so much to video games in general with such great concepts, lore and story that I think it deserves a special mention for it.

I must say that I was never big into RPG games, but I must say that this was great. Like with no-other game, you pick the storyline, if you want to be a bad guy and kill innocent people, blackmail them, and rob them. You can be also a good guy, and kill bad guys for fun or/and money. A vast selection of weapons, ranging from a Air Gun to a Gatling Gun or a Rocket Launcher. Bartering with people for goods (or rob them) is a good feature. Also, like with the sequel, and Kingpin: Life Of Crime, you can get NPC's (Non-Playing-Characters) to join you to clean up the deserts of South California. The plot goes as follows; you have 150 days to get a new water chip for you underground vault, and you go around wandering the radioactive deserts of California in the 22nd century. However, the isometric view can be quite dull, but you get used to it eventually.

Overall, a 9.5 out of 10 for this excellent game.

With maybe the exception for the sequel. The awesome environments, the freedom to do stuff your way (being evil works, and its fun!), the natural language (f*** and c*** are used, and it sounds good too (in other words not put in there just to be there))

Also it has a wonderful sense of humor.. I can't wait for Fallout 3 (tactics wasn't that great) and Arcanum, I'm hoping they can still keep the same wonderful feeling.

this is one those games that you can finish 10 times and still play again and again and always find something new. you can be a good guy you can be a bad guy . the story even changes according to your character's gender or attractiveness. it is set in a "retrofuture" post apocalyptic world with lots of references to 50's cold war mentality. one of the bes things is the haunting sound track which you will remember even in your sleep. this game is a perfect example of a game that does not have to be a 3d effects extravaganza to be a classic. too bad a sequel other than fallout 2 which is also excellent has not been made. if you enjoy intelligent rpg's this is one for you.

I wouldn't say this game is objectively poor. I think, if the player trying it out is a big fan of old-school point/click adventure type games, they may actually find a lot of enjoyment out of this one. Especially if they enjoy grinding through menial tasks for the sake of a higher level of realism.

However, for fans of more modern RPGs, this won't have the same impact. The beginning is dreadfully slow and poorly designed. Not only is the combat (melee specifically) absolutely dreadful, but the enemies are also in high volume within all the starting areas. Sitting through the combat is almost tortuous, and that's coming from someone who loved the KOTOR series (not all that different in its gameplay niche).

Normally, I can put up with sub-standard gameplay (although typically far, far better than the quality here) for an RPG's story and immersive world, but in this case, I found the world a torture to experience as well. The only credit I can give the exploration is the soundtrack, which might be the only element of this game that stands the test of time. Otherwise, it is every bit as dreadful as the combat. Exploration feels like traversing a lifeless, colorless void. I love the newer fallouts, but their feeling of traversing the waste, while still dark, is a positive sort of isolated wonder, danger, and feeling of dread. This game's version of that is more what I'd call ugly and uniform without much of an atmosphere beyond the soundtrack. Not an immersive element, just another chore to put up with. Even the towns feel dead and utterly lack immersive quality.

Overall, there are some positives to the story, but not enough to outweigh the fact that the main gameplay cycle (exploration and combat) is an absolute pain for me to experience. I understand this game has its niche fanbase that drives the "classic label", but I'm not in it, and I think the fans of it need to at least acknowledge some of the drawbacks in game design rather than just going everywhere touting this as the best RPG ever (often while directing hate towards newer RPGs). There is definitely a difference in taste between me and them that explains the contrasting opinions, but also some very, very rose-tinted glasses.