Over the past few months, I have been following my co-workers’ reviews. The one game that consistently catches my eye is Fallout 3 . Each and every review rants and raves about how awesome of an experience it is. Naturally, this piques my interest. What makes this game so special that I need to play for myself? More important, what makes this series so well-liked? While I do not own a computer potent enough to play the current Fallout game, I decided to go for the next best thing. I have been playing the original Fallout , and it is a highly intriguing game.
Fallout takes place in an alternate universe in which the atomic bombs have been dropped. Mankind in America escaped this fate by hiding in fallout shelters buried deep in the Earth. These vaults allowed them to continue living in a utopian-like setting. In fact, as I read the manual, I noticed the overly friendly voice and how it explained the universe. Each vault is supposedly complete with “state of the art weaponry.” It is even complete with 1950 inspired propaganda posters, something my parents might even recognize. (Really. Is hiding under your desk going to protect you from harm?) I wonder (and continue to wonder) if the company (Vault-Tec) who built the vaults did so to exploit the people and then live the rest of their lives on easy street.
Yeah. It stinks to be them as the world is nothing more than a vast desert. The old economy system is toast (so much for Wall Street’s worries) and is replaced with the tried and true battering system. Cows mutated into two-headed beasts known as “brahmin.” Crops have a difficult time growing for various reasons. Water is scarce and the remnants, of the previous “high-tech” civilization is seen or built right on top of it. This is where your avatar steps in: Your avatar’s vault (Vault 13) has a water problem. The problem is simple and should just be a simple visitation mission. Go to Vault 15, ask to see their water chip and replicate it. Unfortunately, the Vault’s massive iron door is set aside and full of the local mutated animals. And no water chip. So where is there a water chip to help your vault survive? And more important, what has so much power to destroy a vault?
Graphically, the game is a bit mixed. On one hand, it is an amazingly detailed world. The desert is desolate and littered with old bones. Cars, gas stations, beds, roofs ... you name it. If it’s from our time, it is practically guaranteed to be there in with a rusted or destroyed feel to it. Surprisingly, the game feels organic. This is something that could happen. On the other hand, the game shows its age. Fallout is based on a hexagonal system. Facial movements, while done well, are not as realistic as something done with current software. It is almost cartoonish. But you have to give the artists props for doing well with what they had.
Gameplay wise, Fallout is about as classic as it can get. Character creation is simple: Add the stats where you want them, choose a few traits (which can have both positive and negative effects, so choose carefully), and then “major” (known as “tagging”) in up to three skills. They can be anything you want. Certain combinations make your character’s life easier at certain segments of the game, while not tagging others can make it more difficult. As your avatar gains levels, YOU decide where you want the skill points to be. After so many levels, you also gain perks that help define how you want to play. Sound like a certain game that lets you play your hero however you like?
Anyway, you point and click in the direction you want to go. You click on things that are of interest to you, and it is how you direct your attacks. The mouse is, for all intents and purposes, all you need. There are keyboard shortcuts, and they are there to help make your life easier. The inventory works in the same manor: Click and drag the item to the requisite spot. You can even reload your fire arms in this screen. The downside is that it when you “look” at items, it doesn’t give much history or information about the item. The game is as difficult as it is bleak. Ultimately though, once you understand how it works, it is a highly intuitive system.
Combat is rather simple. You have two different types of fighting: melee (fisticuffs and weapons like knives and hammers) and guns (which include small, large and electrical). Each action takes up so many action points. The higher the agility, the more things you can do during your turn. If you want to fire your gun, it takes five AP to perform the action. Movement costs one AP per hexagon. And remember the VATS aspect that lets the player aim? Here is its origin: You can target the specific body parts of an enemy. Eyes, limbs, head, even the groin are fair game and can cause massive damage.
Musically, the game is sparse, industrial, ethereal and downright creepy. Electric guitars are heard during combat. Another song has strings arranged in a horridly ethereal manner that it makes it sound like danger is around the corner. Wind chimes are also heard in a disturbing manner. As I listened to the soundtrack at home, my imagination took flight, and I could almost swear monsters (or ghosts of the past) were wandering around the house. Sound design is also just as top notch as monsters have their own movement sounds; gunfire is heard, along with punches. But by far what takes the cake is the voice acting. There may not be much as it only focuses on major characters, but it is done well. The narrator opens the game explaining your mission. The mayor of the first town perfectly creates a concerned mayor, voiced by Tony Shaloub. This all comes together to create a believable world.
When everything comes together, Fallout becomes a warning. On the surface, it is about the dangers of the atomic bomb. It is about keeping governments in check so everyone can enjoy their lives. But it is much more. It is emotional, a warning about the crazy things people do for acceptance. We can stay in the womb-like vaults for all eternity and never grow. Or we can wander around the hazardous wasteland, filling our lives with impurities — and possibly experiencing emotional fallouts. Thus, when we return, we can never truly go back to where we once stood. In truth, we must navigate between the two worlds, taking care of ourselves so we can take care of others.
And in my mind, that is what makes Fallout worthwhile. It has a wonderful sense of style, downright disturbing, and is still playable by today’s standards. Even if it is easy to be completely lost and not know what to do. Today’s role-playing games owe a lot to Fallout . They take the ideas presented in this game and refine them even further. You can download this game from Good Old Games for $6 and get various extras (wallpaper, soundtrack and the Fallout Bible ). If you missed out the first time it came out, go check out this game. It is worth exploring a post-apocalyptic world and learning why many gamers give it such high accolades.
