"Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel" is the first "Fallout" game not to require the player to fight in a turn-based mode, and the first to allow the player to customize the skills, perks, and combat actions of the rest of the party. "Fallout Tactics" focuses on tactical combat rather than role-playing; the new combat system included different modes, stances, and modifiers, but the player had no dialogue options. Most of the criticisms of the game came from its incompatibility with the story of the original two games, not from its gameplay. "Fallout Tactics" includes a multiplayer mode that allows players to compete against squads of other characters controlled by other players. Unlike the previous two games, which are based in California, "Fallout Tactics" takes place in the Midwestern United States. The game was released in early 2001 to generally favorable reviews.