Fallout 2 Review

Written by: Ice Cold Tabasco

Fallout 2 is one of the greatest title I have ever played

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Originally released in 1998, I never really had the chance to play Fallout 2, mostly due to the fact I was too busy being born. Having gotten wrapped up into the Fallout 3 hype train, I became rather enthralled in the franchise itself. So, several years later, I picked it up and…

...in an attempt to not color my already vibrant opinion of the nearly twenty year old title to nothing but what can be considered fellatio, let me just be a bit hypercritical about the game. The most glaring “problem” is what Fallout: New Vegas suffers from, by basically being the same game twice, effectively Fallout 3 2.0. While it didn’t work to the determent of the more modern entries, it hurts the overall visual experience of Fallout 2 with sprites being rather noticeably polarized. Most are ripped straight from the original, built by pixels and with limited frame to frame animation. Then you have the newer 3D rendered sprites with smoother animation, creating an immersion breaking experience. 

Thankfully, these sprites don’t really appear in the same cell often, but when they do it is noticeably. Another problem they never fixed was the FUCKING INVENTORY UI! It's clumsy and finicky at best, with the mouse cursor deciding the change sensitivity like a pregnant women. You will work around it eventually, but it just infuriates me how this aspect was never fixed. Its horrid but manages to get the job done.

Sorting was to much to ask...

Getting down on my knees, everything else is, the world, leveling system, characters, weapon variety and quest are, to put it broadly, FUCKING FANTASTIC. While the characters are a tad uninspired and two dimensional, and the story uncreative, Fallout 2 is possibly one of the best Western RPGs ever made. The leveling system grants satisfaction, managing to maintain this by having “Perks”(effectively permanent stat or combat boosts) that you receive every other level. You can’t help but wanting to progress with the prospect of nearly sawing men in half with not much but as dainty slap.

The world can be summarized as a sour salted candy advertised as extremely so, its daunting at first and WILL kick you ass once you pop it in you gob, but will eventually become remarkable sweet. Southern California is huge, being exceptionally difficult during the early game but incredibly rewarding later down the line. The only problem I have with the world is the lack of variety, but I feel the questing can make up for this. 

Ripe for the plunder!

I feel developers can live or die by the hand holding die. Choosing to do so makes the game a breeze, and choosing not to has the potential to make progress come to a screeching halt. Fallout 2 gives you just enough information to get on with the quest without some patronizing arrow pointing out where to go. And can even have you thinking about solutions for the rare puzzle here and there. Quest are satisfying and varied to an insane degree.

Fallout 2 might possibly be one of the few games in which you likely won’t see every weapon or outcome. If you fuck up, you fucked up and there is no turning back, with some things being consequently cut off. Prompting actual thought and replay-ability, I love this idea. The weapons on the
other hand, are insanely variant. Its not the fact that a quest outcome closes them off from you, its the fact there are so fucking many that you're unlikely to even find them all. Whether this works for the games prosperity or detriment.

Regardless, with its negatives and positives in check, Fallout 2 is one of the greatest title I have ever played. Even with its missteps, no matter how small, they pale to what the game does right. Of fantastic value, Fallout 2 is a must buy title, no matter its age.

Verdict

9.5/10

Fantastic