Fallout: Roam the Wastes at Your Own Pace

If I loved EarthBound because of its charming quirkiness and parodic nature, then I loved Fallout for its grittiness and depth. It is no secret that I am biased toward PC RPGs; I just feel that the PC variety has traditionally provided more opportunity to role play and focused less on a linear plot (though both sub-genres do have their merits). In Fallout, the focus was more on interacting with the game world -- and what a world it was.

Admittedly, I got in on Fallout about a year and a half after it was released; even then, I played Fallout 2 first. I saw the game's box and read the back and, after having already heard some buzz about this “gritty post-apocalyptic RPG,” I decided to purchase it. Though the game engine was refined in its sequel, fixing things like a clunky inventory interface and iffy relations with NPCs in the party, the original Fallout did a better job of presenting a truly believable pulp-styled post-apocalyptic setting. (Also, the amount of in-jokes was kept to a minimum, instead of the “heap 'em on because we can” mentality of Fallout 2.) The sheer playability of Fallout, though, amazed me then and continues to amaze me.

Though much is made of the SPECIAL chracter creation system, all of the praise is really warranted: the system was truly original and, more importantly, effective. If I wanted to create a small, highly-intelligent weakling, then I was free to do so; likewise, if I wanted to create an ogre of a character that could barely speak in complete sentences, I also had that option. What made it even better, though, was that the type of character that I created actually had an impact on how I could get along in the world. A highly charismatic and intelligent character could talk his way out of pretty much anything, whereas a stupid brute would end up having to fight his way out of a lot more situations. Every situation was solvable by any kind of character, for the most part.


That freedom extended to the game world in many ways, and is perhaps the best thing about Fallout from a design standpoint. I could really do anything that I wanted to, whether it be saving Shady Sands from raiders or stealing from an old woman. I could be a hero if I wanted to, but I didn't have to be. That freedom was really unrivaled until Grand Theft Auto III came along four years later; in many ways, it still is unrivaled in terms of how very well-implemented it was. If a role-playing game is supposed to be about actually playing a role, then Fallout succeeds on many levels: not only does it allow you to actually choose your role, but it provides ample opportunity to play it however you see fit.

Of course, the grittiness and violence of the game did appeal to me as well, but it just seemed like a natural extension of the game's setting: in a world gone to hell, only the strongest will survive. It just seemed fitting that I could take a semi-automatic gun and, in meticulous turn-based fashion, unleash a spray of lead into my opponent's head and cause it to burst messily. Of course, the guy would scream in agony as I inflicted much more damage than he could handle... and when plasma weapons got thrown into the mix later in the game, melted foes were plentiful.

The combat system is still my favorite of all-time in any RPG, period. I don't care what publishers or the current gaming public have to say on the issue: turn-based combat is vastly superior to real-time. Maybe it's my background in D&D that leads me to love turn-based combat systems, but there is just something really appealing and, well, tactical about being able to make my move and prepare for my next turn, watching each move unfold on my screen. It makes combat involved and actually interesting, as opposed to other games such as SSI's Ravenloft games (speaking of D&D), Might and Magic VI, or (shudder) Oblivion, where combat consists of “approach enemy, click mouse until dead, repeat.” Even the wildly popular Black Isle D&D role-playing games--Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, etc.--suffered from this drawback. Yes, there were some definite flaws to Fallout's system, but it was far and away the best approximation of combat that I have ever had the joy of experiencing in a video game. (Also, who didn't giggle with juvenile glee the first time they figured out you could target an enemy's groin?)

Atmosphere, gameplay, and above all else, freedom to play however I want. There are a scant few games that can readily claim that they have all of these things in abundance, but Fallout is part of that echelon of games. For that, it is just as important to me as EarthBound on the scale of video game greatness.

Check out my MobyGames review of Fallout here.