Fallout Review

This is it. The beginning of the Fallout franchise. And what a beginning it was.

Fallout (along with its sequel, Fallout 2, and the spinoff Fallout Tactics to an extent) is an isometric, turn-based cRPG. The main premise of Fallout is surviving in a heavily destroyed post-apocalyptic world ravaged by nuclear warfare. The post-apocalyptic setting of Fallout is influenced greatly by other forefathers of the post-apocalyptic genre in fiction, most notably the Mad Max films and Wasteland, the video game. Interestingly enough, Fallout established itself as an immense influence in the genre not long after the game's release, becoming an iconic flagship of the setting for years to come.

The game uses a top-down perspective, and characters can move in six directions within a hexagonal grid. Combat in the game is based on using this grid-based movement system to move your character around the battlefield, and attack and do other actions using action points. Each character is granted a limited number of action points (AP) per turn, and when their AP runs out, the turn ends, and the enemy party is allowed to act. Fallout's combat system places a large emphasis on planning and forethought, and also on smart and informed character building. Fallout is apparently well-known for its difficulty, and although I disagree with it being a particularly hard game, it may still be difficult for new players to get into because of the depth of the gameplay mechanics, and how relatively badly they're documented within the game itself. While I by no means want to imply that Fallout is cryptic, there are still plenty of things within this game that are tougher for new players to grasp. The game has no real tutorial, and some of the menus are chaotic to navigate, resulting in the game taking quite a while to learn how to play fluently.

Albeit the combat of the game is relatively simple, (you can move, open menus/your inventory, attack, and do aimed attacks) the combat system is extremely good, and also incredibly satisfying, especially when it goes your way. Probably one of the best I've ever experienced in a cRPG, in fact. The combat does exactly what it is supposed to do and does it very well, and can even be exploited by players that were careful with their character's build to get great benefits, like being able to get immense criticals by aiming at specific enemy body parts ("Rat was critically hit in the eyes for 600 hit points, blinding the unlucky creature. Rat was killed.") or being able to attack more times per turn by stacking AP properly. Fallout encourages power-gaming heavily, and greatly rewards players that are experienced in the game and genre-savvy.

Fallout's combat is not without its flaws, however. There is at times a frustratingly heavy emphasis on RNG, the best example of which being how the player's chance to hit is always capped at 95%, regardless of their skill in the weapon/other factors. This leaves a window for the player to be able to miss, no matter how ridiculous the circumstances. There is also a rather obscure critical failure mechanic, where if your skill in something is too low (or even if it's high enough) you'll mess up on that specific action so hard that you'll break what you're trying to do. Sometimes in combat you'll lose a turn or even break your weapon. While this mechanic was probably meant to make the gameplay more dynamic, it only truly results in making it more frustrating for players, and usually leads to players saving excessively often to pad themselves against the game's inherent unpredictability.

The game is relatively short by RPG standards, usually lasting around 20-30 hours for most (non-completionist) players, but has an enormous amount of content. While a skilled and dedicated player can beat the game in under an hour if they wish to, there is nothing stopping you from tackling on Fallout's great many side-quests and encounters. There is a heavy emphasis in this game on quality over quality, and it shows, as every event in the game is unique and there is pretty much no copy-pasted filler content.

All in all, Fallout is an iconic computer RPG, in great part shaping both the genres of modern post-apocalyptic fiction, and that of role-playing games, and is heavily befitting of being called a true classic. If you consider yourself a fan of role-playing games and haven't played this, you seriously need to. If you consider yourself a fan of Fallout games and haven't played this, you seriously need to get out.

"The darkness of the afterlife is all that awaits you now. May you find more peace in that world than you found in this one..."