Feature - Late to the Party: Fallout


Feature - Late to the Party: Fallout
Late to the Party is a segment where we play a classic video game title that we missed by a decade or two, giving our two cents on how it has aged and how it compares to more recent titles.





Starting out, Fallout allows the player to choose from one of three different basic character builds, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Alternatively, players can customize their own character, choosing stat points, passive traits and specialized skills that will provide the player with more plot options. Because of this character building system, which has continued largely unchanged in later games, Fallout can be replayed many times over and still provide a unique experience each time.

Though the player’s combat potential is controlled through the same stat system as their skill in talking to others or their ability to pick locks, Fallout can be completed with practically no combat whatsoever. Alternatively, it can also be completed with a character whose intelligence is so low that they have little choice but to bash their way through a world that sees them as only slightly more important than a bug.

It’s easy to see why so many of the artistic choices such as sound effects, interface style and environments have carried through the Fallout series up until today, as they manage to capture a very unique retro aesthetic that fits perfectly with Fallout’s alternate timeline of Earth. From the organization of the vaults to the founding history of the New California Republic, Fallout lays out the game universe in a detailed and precise manner that made a solid foundation for further titles in the series.

Just as
Fallout’s aesthetics have endured almost unaltered up to the latest game in the series, Fallout: New Vegas, so has its grim and dystopian atmosphere. As a game that doesn’t pull any punches, Fallout addresses issues like racism, genetic engineering, slavery, prostitution, drug abuse, sentience and murder in a very matter-of-fact way that emphasizes the chaos that comes with the collapse of civilization. Furthermore, Fallout makes a point of showing that, while a lack of civilization can be harsh and unfair, the forging of a civilization can be just as dirty.

Definitely one of the greatest RPGs of its time,
Fallout still makes for a gameplay experience that is worth the effort of stepping back to 1997.

Feature - Late to the Party: Fallout on ClickOnline.com