Customer Reviews

Fallout 1 / Fallout 2 Bundle (Jewel Case)

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I just finished both games, and I highly recommend this bundle set to anyone who likes (1) RPG games, (2) Post-apocalyptic themed anythings, (3) games that don't make you do anything or (4) science fiction in general. The basic premise of both games, as recounted by numerous previous reviews, is that you have to make it in a world defined by the typical nuclear fallout (ahem) disaster. However, there are so many ways to make it, and they're all such fun, that these games should appeal to most people. Fallout 1 is a shorter game but in many ways is more elegant; if you play it conscientiously you'll have a feeling of satisfaction at the end for having seen and done most of it. Fallout 2 is much larger in scope and in time commitment, and unfortunately suffers a bit from it.. there are more bugs, more 'dead' items and quests that were intended to have some purpose in the game but never did, and so on. Some could argue this, in fact, merely adds to the gritty reality of a game where everything doesn't end up in a neat little package at the end, and there aren't answers to all the questions. Or maybe the programming staff was just overworked. In any event, the games are addictive and reward curiosity. High points:

1) Emphasis on character development. A karma counter keeps track of your overall good/badness, and as you progress you are offered various 'Perks' that enhance or define your character, such as Salesman or Demolition Expert or Kama Sutra Master. Others you earn through gameplay itself. Multiple avenues of play exist for any type of character..while your first character in both games is probably going to emphasize gunplay and high Agility, later on you can try a diplomatic or manipulative or pure thieving character as you see fit, and play what amounts to an almost completely different game.

2) So many explosions. These games have lots of fighting, on a turn-based system allowing for micromanagement of both yourself and your 'friendly' NPCs. Use burst fire to take out packs of charging wolves, aim your scoped hunting rifle at someone's leg to keep them from chasing you, send a rocket down a corridor into a pack of unsuspecting guards. It's all there..and the death animations are not for the faint of heart.

A few negatives:

1) As is typical in RPGs, making 'bad' or 'evil' decisions or dialogue choices tends to screw you. If you want, just pretend your evil character secretly enjoys the hypocrisy of agreeing to rescue someone's orphaned kitten with a boo-boo on its paw; it would be nice someday if RPGs rewarded evil characters for doing evil things.

2) Armor. Basically the goal of both games is to get your first suit of Power Armor. This transforms both games from a grueling, constantly-reloading ordeal of random accidental deaths and burst-fire horrors to a breeze. This, of course, makes perfect sense...once you're a walking tank, most things bounce off. However (although Fallout 2 handles this a bit better) there is very little middle ground..even with Combat Armor II (the next step down) you get mauled a lot.

3) Uncontrolled NPCs. Sure, by definition you shouldn't be able to control an NPC, but it can get truly annoying when one of your NPCs blasts something, and then moves 1 space directly in front of your other NPC for no reason, and then that second NPC, naturally, fires a machine gun directly into his head. It makes you wonder if 'friendly fire accidents' are really accidents. Depending on your party size, you can spend a lot of time watching your allies gun each other down like post apocalyptic three stooges.

Those aside, the games are very detailed and can be played as quickly or as slowly as one wishes, with numerous subplots branching off the main plot. The first game does have a timer for the completion of the main task, but that can be extended during the game, and in fact the game goes on (sans timer) once that task is completed. Fallout 2 does away with that completely, allowing you effectively all the time you want to explore. So if you always wondered if how Mad Max would have done if he'd had more ammo for his shotgun and access to the occasional flamethrower, pick them up.

Fallout, originally released in 1997 by Interplay, shook the world of computer roleplaying games. Quite simply, it redefined the structure of the computer RPG. Most CRPGs followed simple linear scripts: King Groo needs the Sword of Spork. So you go to the Cave of Fear to get it... et cetera, et cetera.

Fallout shattered all preconceptions about story progression. In Fallout, you can go where you want, do what you choose. Unlike other CRPGs, you don't spend your time playing "delivery boy" for other characters. There is a guiding storyline- an extremely good one- but how you accomplish your goals is entirely up to you. The plot will change and adapt based on your actions in-game- it's like a new story every time you play it.

Every obstacle in the game has numerous possible ways to surmount it. Need a nice gun from a local arms dealer, but can't afford it? Do the gun merchant a favor and he might let you have it. Sweet-talk him into giving you a discount. Or steal it when he's not looking. If all else fails, blow him away and take the loot from his steaming corpse. Fallout really IS that open-ended.

The possibilities for character creation are extremely broad also- instead of a rigid "race/class" system, you can create your character from an incredible range of Skills, Traits, and Perks. Want to talk your way out of problems? Give yourself a high Charisma and the "Good Natured" trait. Prefer more direct solutions? Put extra skill points in Big Guns, and pick the "Fast Shot" trait for extra stopping power. Or create "combination" characters- like a friendly doctor who just happens to be a crack shot with his .44 pistol.

While Fallout 2 doesn't break any really new ground, it is almost three times as long as the first Fallout and takes place in a much larger game world. It's more of the same, but better. Getting BOTH of these excellent games for one super-low price is an incredible bargain. If you like science fiction, or you like RPGs, buy this software. You absolutely will not regret it.

Fallout is one of the few games that is worthy of being made into a full scale movie, simply because it has the few ingredients that most other games lack, namely a realistic, utterly immersive setting, a powerful storyline and, more so than anything, pure class. Fallout is rather irritatingly addictive simply because the world is so vast, so varied and with so much to do. The game has character you can taste, it has a personality that is strong and only gets better as the bold storyline, which takes risks that most other games would never dare take, progresses. Fallout FEELS real, the characters in the game, as far as you are concerned, are real people, the world acts and REacts to you. I ask you... Give me a game that left you breathless at the end, sad to see it end, yet proud, amazed at what you have seen. Give me a game that, in its every niche and pore, shows just how moch love and soul its creators poured into it. Give me a game that YOU feel, should be made into a movie and spawn countless sequels NOT because you want more of the same, but because there is far too much potential NOT to explore the possibilities in a world as rich and tangible as this. Give me a game that you think about, reminisce and dream about years after you last played it. When you do, I will die happy, but for now, I give you Fallout. Full stop.

The fallout series of games is the best computer role playing game I have ever had the pleasure of playing. One the greatist things about the game is it's setting. If your tired of fighting orcs and exploring castles let this game take you away from that. How about a tour of secert millity bases and burned out cities? Fallout does a wonderful job of taking role playing and setting it in a post nuclear-world. the fallout games really gives the player the feeling of advancing in power and maybe more importently of discovery. One of the things that kept me hooked was uncovering old secerts and visting long lost places. You really get the feeling of exploring and uncovering a wonderfully created world full of detail. The game also provides lots of quests and options. You can play how ever you like. A hero or a villain with out getting locked out of places because of your choices. The game also plays very well. the fire fights you get into are fun. You have a lot of control over how you want to fight. For example you can even chose to fire your weapon in diffrent ways depending on what it is. All in all this is a great game for anyone who enjoys computer roleplaying and would love to explore a post-nucler world filled with mutants, lasers and power armor

Only**** for 2 excellent games. Fallout won Role-Playing game of the year back in 1997. With fantastic graphics, a good story, and good game play, this was very enjoyable to play. In this game, you learn about the Vaults that were built when nuclear war became imminent. Years after the war, you are sent out as many others were to find a water chip as your supply depleting. You have a time limit to find the water chip, but when that task is done, the game is not. There is much to do in the Fallout world where you will find friends to help you out and will have many weapons at your disposal. Fallout2 take place 80 years after the first. You are the Chosen one. A descendent of the original character from the first game, you are sent on a mission to find the Garden of Eden Creation Kit which will restore the land in your village. This is a very large game. More area to cover, more missions to accomplish, more weapons, and more enemies to thrash. The gameplay and graphics are slightly better than the first, but this is also a very enjoyable game. Both games are turn based when fighting and you can create your own character. There is lotsa blood and very graphic when killing an enemy and there is plenty of adult themes and adult language, but you can tone it down with the adjuster. Overall, you will not find a better value and will be hard pressed to find games that are much better than these.

The Fallout games rank among the top few computer RPGs ever created. When the genre was in a slump, Fallout breathed fresh life into it. Fallout's originality, gritty post-apocalyptic environment, brilliant plot, and open-ended non-linear gameplay left an indelible mark upon the face of role playing.

Fallout has an isometric three-quarters view and features turn-based combat.

Fallout 1 began the great saga. When nuclear fired rained from the heavens, incinerating most of humanity, a lucky few reached the safety of underground bunkers. You were born and raised in the womblike Vault 13, and its sterile walls encase the only world you have ever known. Fifty years after the war, the vault's water chip malfunctions, and you are sent outside to find a replacement. The door locks shut behind you, and as you exit the cave you are blinded by your first sight of the sun. You are alone in the blasted wasteland of California, a world teeming with danger: mutant beasts feed off of unwary travelers; the few decent farmers who plow the barren soil are murdered by barbaric raiders; criminals overpower lawmen; and a greater threat lurks over the horizon. You, the Vault Dweller, must adapt quickly if you wish to survive.

Fallout 2 takes place 80 years after Fallout 1 and 130 years after the nuclear war that nearly exterminated the human race. The heroic Vault Dweller founded a primitive tribal village in Northern California, and taught the tribe to live in peaceful seclusion, before wandering into the wasteland once more. You are the Vault Dweller's descendant, the Chosen One. You must quest for a Garden of Eden Creation Kit that may save your dying village. You depart alone into the hostile wasteland, where corrupt societies tempered by constant warfare will challenge your naïve upbringing.

In a CRPG market dominated by fantasy archetypes of elves and wizards, the Fallout setting is radically distinct. It revitalizes tired fantasy conventions: the fallen, legendary kingdom is America; dark undead-infested dungeons are replaced by crumbling mutant-infested sewer systems; there is an unconventional stronghold of armored Paladins and Knights; and ancient buried scrolls are supplanted by scientific holo-disks.

The Fallout world is highly stylized, blending many influences into a unique package. It melds futuristic and retro styles, reflecting a futuristic post-apocalyptic world as imagined by 50's-era Americans, complete with vacuum tubes, blasters, giant mutants, and war propaganda. Fallout also drew inspiration from westerns, Mad Max, cheesy sci-fi movies, Monty Python and Douglas Adams.

The unique character creation system does not involve classes or races, and focuses instead on attributes, traits, skills, and perks. It is simple to use and allows endless customization: a perceptive sniper can target a Radscorpion's eye across the screen, a skillful thief can creep past guards and rob merchants blind, a martial artist can kick highwaymen in the groin, and a diplomat can end conflicts without violence. Any combination is possible. The game's non-linear plot rewards unique characters by allowing multiple solutions to each quest.

Players have unprecedented freedom to shape their destiny without being herded along by a forced plot. Actions bestow a positive or negative reputation, and people react accordingly. Become a champion of justice or an enemy of decency. Free the slaves or join the slavers. Secure an alliance between two towns or set them at each others' throats. Nearly anyone can be killed, but prepare for the consequences. Become a sheriff or a porn star, or both. Also, play at least once with minimum intelligence - this limits conversational choices to grunts and causes people to treat the character as an idiot.

Fallout's low-resolution graphics were obsolete when it was first released, and may disappoint gamers who have been spoiled by modern graphics. There are few character models; towns seem to be populated by clones. Fortunately, the technical shortcomings are overcome by the brilliant art design. The original environments are visually compelling and the visceral death animations enliven combat.

The moody music helps create an immersive environment. The superb voice actors include Richard Dean Anderson (TV's MacGyver). The sound effects are also great.

The NPC allies in Fallout 1 are notoriously unreliable. They shoot the player in the back and block doorways at every opportunity. They cannot wear armor and do not gain levels. Fallout 2 improved them, allowing the player to change their combat behaviors, push them out of doorways, upgrade their armor, and watch them grow stronger. However, even Fallout 2 NPC allies should not be trusted with miniguns.

The game manuals (which are probably not included in the bundled product) are wire-bound, thick, well-detailed, humorous, and illustrated. Game companies no longer produce manuals of this quality.

The games contain graphic violence, sex, and language. Some adult content can be removed through the control panel.

There exists a debate as to whether Fallout 1 or Fallout 2 is superior, and consensus will never be reached. Fallout 2 has much greater scope, with more towns, quests, NPCs, and guns. It has a much improved party control system. Fallout 1 is more cohesive thematically, while the sequel went overboard on non-thematic elements such as pop-culture references, Easter Eggs, mobsters, and yakuza. Fallout 2 suffers from a boring opening area, the Temple of Trials, which is especially dull when replaying the game for the fourth time.

While the settings for both games are fascinating, Fallout 1 proves more loyal to classic survival themes. Fallout 1 takes place soon after the nuclear war: resources are limited, shanty towns contain warring factions, little communication and trade passes between towns, and barter systems are rudimentary. Fallout 2 takes place much later: unified city states control advanced technology and uniformed armies, regular trade passes between strongly allied governments, and gold currency is widely accepted.

Both games are amazing and should be played in their proper order, as the sequel continues the plot to a great conclusion. Fallout 1 and 2 are perfect games for anyone who likes creative RPGs, post-apocalyptic themes, and imaginative stories.

-Zach Zelmar

All right, here we have two legendary RPGs for 10 bucks? What have you got to lose? Unless you utterly despise the genre, you should have bought this a long time ago.

I cashed in on this amazing value despite the fact that I had no idea what Fallout was- other than another CRPG. At first I was a bit put off by the graphics and turn-based system, having played a bit too much Baldur's Gate and the likes. However, these games are amazingly addictive, and I ended up playing through them both several times. The setting is unique and interesting, and you really have a sense of urgency about accomplishing your main missions. The graphics are also not so bad once you get into it. I especially like the occasional pulverization that gives the game its 'mature' rating.

If you're an RPG fan, get this now! If you aren't, maybe Fallout will make you one. Try it out anyway.

If you are into role-playing games, then you MUST own the fallout series! I played Fallout 1 and was captivated, but when I played Fallout 2, I was truly impressed and addicted. No other rpg even comes close to the fallout series. It is so realistic becuase you truly make all of the decisions on your own. The game doesn't lead you to what you should do or what to say; you have tons of various paths that you can take and people to befriend or make enemies of. There are no rules: whatever goes! It has everything that the real world has, except for mutants and monsters. You can be a villian and do drugs, sell slaves, have sex, and kill innocent people or be a hero and help everyone out and help clean out the various locations. This is the one game that you can actually play over and over and still experience different reactions and events and never get tired of it. It is truly captivating and highly recommended. The price that they have put on not only one, but both incredible games, is a deal that will be found nowhere else! If you pass this offer by, you will be truly regretful.

Fallout 1 and two are the best computer role playing games ever made. The only dissapointment in them is that their is not a third yet. Fallout 1 has a great storyline and about a thousand things you can do, each in a thousand different ways. You play in a war ravaged norther california wasteland. Your mission is to find a water chip before the people in your vault (bassically a huge, self-contained bomb shelter) run out of water and die. Along the way you will find other missions, both side quests and world-altering epic journyes to attempt, such as stopping a mutant take-over. Fallout 2 is even better. You are a desendand of the character from the first game. Your tribal village needs a garden of eden creation kit (geck for short) to survive. Your journy takes you to california, only south of where the first game took place. You can do more in this one. Want to become a boxing champ? Try it. Want to become a mobster? You can do that, too. A pornstar? Sure enough! There are many new weapons in this one, as well as the chance to get a car. One of the neatest things is that in fallout 2, you will meet some people and get some references from the first game. So if you play the first one first, it will be a much more enjoyable experience. You can also continue playing after you beat it, unlike the first one. So you can complete the quests you missed and gain more levels. No adult computer game role player should be without these games!

First a little warning, this game is not for children, it uses adult themes and language. I played the first title of this saga years ago, at the time I bought it because the title won "RPG of the year" award by popular PC magazines. It was merely out of curiosity that I stumbled on the game that has changed my view of RPG standards. These games can justly be called the "mother of all RPGs" its creators have made the titles of Bauldur's gate, Archanum, Torment and many other games (it is sad that they cannot get along long enough to make a third Fallout). Till now, whenever I play an RPG title, I think back to Fallout and compare it. To be honest, I have yet to see one that can match it. Let me explain:

The secret of the success of both titles was not in the graphics, game play or the fighting sequences, the secret to its success was mainly due to the rich storyline. This game played very much like a movie or a novel except you are in the driver seat. There is nothing linear about this game, it does not play like a normal RPG where doing certain missions propel you forward. This game engulfs the player in its quests and provides an endless spider web of opportunities to change the story. It was essentially the only game I have ever played that possessed a true "open ended" game engine. You can, literally, become a sharif, a drug dealer, a slaver, a ranger, a mob made-man fighting against other mob families, a prostitute, a porn star, a mercenary, a thief, a person with a bounty on their heads, a child murderer, a bandit, a cattle driver and even lead a small army... Every city you enter provides you with endless opportunities and jobs. It will take 40-50 hours each game and you will appreciate every minute of it.

The storyline of the first fallout is that you are chosen among the vault dwellers (humans cooped up in Vaults for long periods of time to escape the nuclear holocaust) to search for a new "water chip" essential for the survival of the vault. You spend some time searching for it in the begining but the story does not end there. The second game involves the descendants of the original vault dweller (hero of the first game) 80 years later and their quest to find the "Holy GECK" which is a device that turns the scorched wasteland into the Garden of Eden. The game designers have very cleverly linked both games together in away that it makes you feel you are playing one single game. Characters from Fallout 1 are old and crusting on Fallout 2 and will happily tell you the tale of the original vault dweller in which you are his/her descendant. A wonderful aspect about this game is that the designers are a crowd of dorks, who happen to be big fans of movies like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "Star Trek", there is a bit of subtle humor hidden in the game in the form of "special encounters" which are randomized events occurring while you travel. Their purpose is to make you smile and even laugh at the imagination of the Fallout designers in their quest to pay homage to their favorite shows, something I miss dearly from new RPGs.

The system used for character development is the same as the system used for other RPG with 'perks' thrown in every few levels that give the character extra abilities. You can choose the direction of your character from the beginning but there is no limitation as you can change it later on in the game unlike most other RPG engines. You can choose to have companions (depending on your charisma rating) which is one of the interesting aspect about this game is that they are totally independent in their actions and sometimes even fight among each other, dialogue can be very funny. The combat sequences can be melee or gun power, energy weapons and rocket launchers are my favorite. It is turn-based which means that you have to use a bit of brain with your tactics, unlike hack and slash RPGs.

Bottom line, buy this game and you will find yourself to be one of many who have joined in a cult-like admiration for these titles. How many RPGs do you know of that have Fan-based fiction writing sites lasting for years? Many fans are even making their own storylines based on Fallout Tactics engine now like Fallout Awaken. You will feel sad after beating it once and you will play it again and again as I have. It is simply the best, the king of all RPG's and none who played it can contest that statement.