Fallout

Overview

Fallout is an old school RPG, maybe you've heard of it? It came out in 1997, and was highly influential. While the graphics might not be up to today's standards, they were awesome in 1997. Fallout is a relatively large game, and one that will take a while to master. Fallout is an immersive, isometric action/adventure RPG, and really you will get out of it what you put into it. In other words, it's not about trying to race to the end. You can do that, sure, but you may find that the experience is more rewarding if you slow down a bit and enjoy it. The developers put a lot of work into the details, and it pays to notice them. Personally, I love the retro-futurism throughout the game, and the spoof-y treatment of '50's era nuclear scare propaganda.

The game's mechanics are well thought-out, and based on old school pencils-and-dice RPGs. You have a character, with stats and skills and all the actions in the game are basically calculated from your stats and virtual dice rolls that happen behind the scenes, so you don't have to worry about those. I am given to understand that originally, the game's engine was intended to be based on GURPS rules, but due to some falling out, the a new engine was developed.

The Manual

I suppose it should go without saying that you should read the manual for any game, if you want to know how to play it. However, Fallout was made in a time when manufacturers paid a lot more attention to details like the box art and game manuals. The Fallout manual is actually very cool, purporting itself to be the manual for the vault itself, and to that end, the game is simply a "simulation" designed to train people how to survive outside of the vault. In fact, the manual spends a great deal of time explaining the rigors of Vault Life, and the progressive levels of fallout exposure. The PDF is floating around the internet, a little googling will allow you to find it without issue, and if you are going to play the game, it will definitely help set the mood for your suspension of disbelief.

The Guide

There is a very old, but well-maintained pseudo-walkthrough here. Actually, it's less a walkthrough and more of a strategy guide, as it is possible to have a completely different experience of the game, depending on how you choose to go through it, which is why the game has held up relatively well over the years. If you get stuck, or just want more information than the game provides, I would make this site one of your first stops. Just be aware that the page looks very old because, well, it is.

The Patches

Ok, there are actually a bunch of different patches you can get for Fallout. Probably by far the easiest thing to do is just get the Fixt patch, which has most, if not all, of them incorperated into it. Yes, this does include a high-res fix. You can grab it here, but it is still in alpha as far as I know. Otherwise, you may want to check out this post in the Steam forums for Fallout.


My Thoughts

What did I like about this game? Most of it, actually! There were a few things that bothered me, but they are nitpicks, and probably have more to do with my own personal tastes than anything actually wrong with the game itself. For example, the first time I played the game, it was unpatched, fresh off of a vintage CDROM install, and on vintage hardware. The game felt like it progressed a little slow for me, which is a problem I usually have with games like Fallout. Let me be clear, it is not a fault of the game. I am simply the kind of person who played a lot of fighting games, and then a lot of run-n-gun FPSs so sometimes more cerebral games like Fallout feel like they move a little slow to me. Also, in it's original glory, the games' pallette uses a lot of earth-tones, particularly brown. While there is nothing wrong with this, and it makes perfect sense, given the nature of the games' content, for some reason games that use a lot of browns makes me sleepy, and I get bored easily. Again, that is a me thing, not a Fallout thing. Just mentioning it in case anyone else out there suffers from this strange condition like me.

Conclusion

Fallout is about to turn twenty years old next year. It's an amazing game, and a piece of gaming history. If you are a gamer, and have not yet at least made some attempt to play this game you really should. You owe it to yourself. You can get it on Steam and GOG for about ten dollars, and sometimes you can find original install discs at places like yard sales and Goodwill stores. So there really is no excuse. Seriously, though, Fallout is an excellent game, and definitely worth the money.

Links

Buy Fallout on Good Old Games
Buy Fallout on Steam
Manual
Guide
Fixt Patch
Steam Patches
Fallout on Wikipedia