allout and I go way back. My first experience with this game was second-hand from my cousin. "You're born in a vault and then you leave and explore a destroyed apocalypse." My imagination ran wild. It was a different time when I often didn't have access to games outside of images and magazines; building up the hype, crafting what these games were in my mind, often for years before I eventually had the chance to play them. World of Warcraft, Warhammer (tabletop) and Fallout 3 all fit that category. I was also coming off the PS2 eras, where open-world RPGs were still a foreign concept to me. At the time I didn't have access to an Xbox 360 or good PC, but that didn't stop me from trying. I downloaded Fallout through a not so legal means. But it was not what I expected. Yes you started in a vault and left into the wastes, but it was an isometric CRPG. When I showed it to my cousin he said "Yes, this has all the trappings of Fallout but its not first person". I would later realise that I was playing a leaked version of the cancelled Fallout 3, "Project Van Buren". Eventually I was able to hire a copy and play it on my brothers Xbox 360 and then finally got the GOTY edition on my PS3. I immediately fell in love and was obsessed. However over a decade later and two sequels, I can still consider my first Fallout experience to be the classic formula, even if I didn't delve too deep. I've tried to go back to Fallout 1 and 2 but I was unable adjust. The lure of exploring the wasteland in first person with complete freedom, was a hard contrast against the dated graphics, harsh wasteland, unintuitive SPECIAL system, isometric gameplay with only one controllable character and an overworld map replacing the open-world I was used to. But after watching the Fallout series like many others I decided to give it another go, and I fell in love all over again.
I can see why this was charming to so many for its time. I've grown to love this style of sprite art and few games did it as well as Fallout. Command & Conquer and Stronghold are chief among them, but not many others. From the very intro the Fallout universe is born, and the theme hasn't changed much. The stark reality of a dying world onset by war, where a steel US soldier stands over a Canadian and executes him, in the name of annexing Canada for solidarity. It's a tone for the wasteland, but this is offset by the humour, the pip-boy and the cartoons. The 50s style fashion, technology and music is all here from the very start. The Ink Spots will be carried through the entire series and they start strong with "Maybe" in the intro. I Don't Want to Set The World Set on Fire also gets a brief reference in a bar later on. The items, characters, creatures and towns feel unique and well written. The wasteland as it has been in all iterations is the most important character. The story is as follows; Vault 13 water chip has broken and you have 150 days to fix it. Your first encounter is the infamous cave of rats, which many a dweller did not pass. Then you set off with nothing but a pistol. The first civilisation you ever come across is the surprisingly friendly Shady Sands, a charming town that is often harassed and needs your help. After dealing with their scorpion problem and striking south you find Junktown and the Hub. As the name suggests its here you'll travel East and find Necropolis, full of Ghouls and mutants. You'll help them repair their water system, or doom them and take their water chip with disregard. To the south is Boneyard, the remnants of LA full of gangs and other nutjobs. Most importantly is the Brotherhood of Steel, where you'll find your very own power armour. The combat feels very satisfying with all the hallmarks of a good CRPG, choosing the right build and weapons to flesh out your character feels satisfying when the end result has you feeling like a badass. This is the first Fallout I remember playing where items actually feel scarce, traders have little to trade and often don't have enough caps to by the minigun or plasma rifle, requiring bartering for other items instead (which they sell at a desperate mark up). It makes the wasteland feel barren and desperate, as it should. Something I wish the later games didn't lose. The economy feels far more alive, certain traders will pay more for certain items and sell others for less. A gun store will sell ammo cheaper than a doctor, and vice versa. Everyone carries items which you can barter for. All these add to the immersion and make the world feel more alive, something I wish the games held onto. After ditching the 10mm I was rolling around with a desert eagle and 10mm SMG most the game, which I found hilarious. The 10mm SMG with the bloody mess perk was an absolute maniacal treat. Often tearing people apart in a visceral meat chunk animation and sound effect as I cackled with joy. In a similar fashion I moved on from my Vault 13 jump suit, to some leather armour and eventually combat armour in full road warrior style. After I joined the Brotherhood and donned my Power Armour, Plasma Rifle (exact copy of the caster in FNV) and Plasma pistol, I felt like an absolute iron monster. I went to a fight for survival to attacks barely hurting me outside of critical hits and I had enough agility at that point to fire three shots, liquifying any foes in another satisfying animation that reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
So much of the what made the series iconic started here and has been maintained; the perks, the weapons and armour, the fashion and style. It feels especially similar to FNV down to the feeling of the criss-crossed streets in the Hub and the Brotherhood of Steel with it's metal vents and circular doors, almost feeling 1:1. You might say, "well of course its made by the same people". Well yes, but not to this degree, and typically not over sequels. The consistency here is awesome and makes the entire legacy of games all the more impressive. The enemies are another surprise. radscorpians, radroaches, robobrains, super mutants, ghouls, deathclaws, they all started here.
You can see how some of the future games iterated, as this game isn't perfect. Certain skills aren't as useful as others. I'm not sure what's the point of Doctor, as I don't think I ever got crippled. Medicine made it obsolete as I pumped myself with stims. Speech clearly had an effect in some conversations as you saw the character pause and wait, computing your speech skill against their insight, before giving a response. But its applicability seemed very sparse and they don't show you when it will take effect. Perhaps they were going for immersion, it "effects all speech", but it did not work. On the other hand I love how some of the stats had an effect on how you can approach the world. If you're intelligence is less than three you straight up can't join the brotherhood. Many quests can't be progressed because you're too dumb to figure out. While less creative then Fallout New Vegas I do love the commitment. I like how intelligence effects speech and your ability to make a rational argument.
Finally is the story. First off the pacing is perfect. It starts with a basic, you must save Vault 13 by finding a water chip. The perfect story in an open-world game; "we need something, go figure it out", leaving to explore the wasteland at your own pace. Bethesda should take notes, something I've said the masters of explorations, who are terrible at main stories and plots should instead do. Let the world be the story, before letting a larger story unfold if you so choose. After you meet various factions and restore the water chip, you're told there's a new threat. Mutants are multiplying at a unnatural rate and the overseer fears someone is creating them. I already new this because I was captured by them, which I had to reload because the base is only beatable at higher levels. Not sure why they made it so you could be captured at lower levels, just kill me and get it over with. But it is cool if your sneak is high enough you could blow the base up at like level 3. Before you meet Brotherhood or enter Boneyard. Finally you find the source, under the creepy cult cathedral in Boneyard is a new vault. Here the denizens all merged into a super computer refereed to as Master. Master believes in unity through mutations, and anyone in the way must perish. Evolving beyond the human race and radiated wasteland, while removing warring factions in one fell swoop. Classic AI move. In the encounter Master blinds you with his psychic powers, reducing perception to 1, so I had to reload and go find a nullifier. In the end I didn't have to face off against the overseer's dual gating guns as I convinced him the mutants were sterile! "What do you mean?" "I just asked my doctors and they assure me everything is perfectly normal". Have you asked any of the females? "No... hold on. Oh god you're right...". Absolutely amazing. I'm sorry Mass Effect I was wrong, you weren't in fact the first to have an end boss die via silver tongue. No wonder this boss is so hyped up, from the presentation to his motives and the multiple ways to end him, he's such an interesting concept in 2024 let alone the 90s. Finally you return to your people, only to be turned away from the Overseer. He sees you as a threat whom his people will follow into the wasteland. To my surprise the Vault Dweller turned him into pulp as he turned his back. I googled why and it turns out this happens if you have bad or neutral karma, or the blood mess perk. So that's funny. Implying I'm some kind of psychopath or have a bad temper. I always heard Fallout 2 was the GOAT and 1 was dated, but I'm not so sure that holds up. The pacing is absolutely perfect here in a tight 20 hour adventure. Reading online it seems people look more fondly back on this one, with a more cohesive story and less pop-culture references. I can't wait to play, Fallout 1 is going to be hard to top.
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