Fallout 2 claimed the title of my favorite computer RPG back in the olden days of its release, and hasn't lost it yet. The only game that comes close is Baldur's Gate II. What makes this game so good? Read on.

What I liked:

The best thing by far about Fallout 2 was the character creation and development. This game still has the best character creation system in the industry. Character generation in Fallout 2 means picking various traits and perks for your character to have, that affect not only your stats but how the game plays out. And example is fast metabolism, which raises your healing rate, or finesse, which ups critical hit chances but lowers overall damage. Fallout 2 also has the standard stats like strength and endurance. Skills in the game work much the same as skills in other games, where you apply percentage points to improve them. Examples are small guns, pickpocket, etc.

Where the game beats othe games is in the character development. In the AD&D based games like Baldur's Gate 2, character development is very slow, and you don't get to make any choices. In Fallout 2, every few levels you get to choose new perks, stats, and skills, and the levels come quickly. It's great to be able to change the style of your character over the course of the game, in any way you wish.

Another interesting thing about Fallout 2 characters is reputations. I remember once I was jumped by theives in town. I shot at one with my rifle, but he dodged. The bullet kept going up the street and struck a street orphan just walking out of an alley. From then on I was known as a "childkiller" and nobody in town liked me very much at all. It was bad, but awesome at the same time.

The second exceptional about Fallout 2 is the setting. The post-apocalyptic environment works perfectly for an RPG. In the game you will do most of your fighting with guns or other ranged weapons (unless you specialize in unarmed combat), yet the system used works seamlessly and is in fact a lot more fun than a melee based game. You can fire in burst or regular mode, the bullets continue if you miss and may strike something else (as in the orphan case), and the animations look great. The maps have good graphics for their time, and are still up to par nowadays. The character portraits are also excellent. Important NPC portraits are rendered in full screen high detail glory when you talk to them, and look as if they are done by a master artist.

Keep in mind the combat in the game is turn based. Though many people dislike this feature, I find it adds depth to thr gameplay by allowing much more strategy. Of course, Baldur's Gate II applied the concept in a much better way, but Fallout 2 was good for its time.

What I didn't like:

The load times. Keep in mind that I played the game on a P266 with 64mb of RAM and a 6.4gb HD, but the load times were WAY too long. In fact, dying hurt in this game more than any other game, because I would have to wait about 7 or 8 minutes to try again. Other than that, the game was great.

Related note: Arcanum

You may have heard of a new game created by people who worked on Fallout 2: Arcanum. Arcanum is indeed made by some people responsible for Fallout who made their own company, but it just doesn't live up to the Fallout Legacy. The designers took everything that was good about Fallout 2 and cut it out: the detailed character creation and development, the cool environment (Steam/Magic is good in concept but done poorly in the game), the amazing NPC portraits, the graphics, and the combat. Arcanum is to Fallout 2 what a Geo Metro is to a classis Porsche: It may be newer, with up to date technology and the latest gimmicks, but just can't compare in looks, style and fun to the best of the past.

Thanks for reading my review,
Jason Thorsness
tof_piercer@hotmail.com