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This page is about the game itself. For an overview of Fallout 2-related articles, see Portal:Fallout 2. For season 2 of the Fallout TV series, see Fallout TV series season 2. |
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Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game is the sequel to the original Fallout. Released in the fall of 1998,Note exclusively for PC, it was developed by Black Isle Studios which, before the release of Fallout 2, had become a full-fledged developer division of publisher Interplay Entertainment.
The story is set roughly 80 years after the original Fallout in 2241. A resident of the tribal village of Arroyo known as the Chosen One, the grandchild of the protagonist from the first game, has been tasked to find a G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit). The G.E.C.K. is a device believed to be able to fight back against the village's starvation and drought.
Gameplay[]
Fallout 2's gameplay is similar to the original Fallout. It is a CRPG or computer role-playing game with turn-based combat and a pseudo-isometric view.
Character creation and advancement[]
The player character has primary stats, traits, skills and perks - all numerical values which determine actions' chances of success according to mathematical formulas, as well as derived statistics such as Hit Points. Beginning stats are chosen during initial character creation.
Experience Points are awarded for successful completion of actions. Acquiring enough experience points causes the player character to level up, upon which skill points are distributed by the player and an additional perk is chosen.
Character attributes[]
Fallout 2 uses a character creation system called SPECIAL. S.P.E.C.I.A.L is an acronym and initialism of Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. These are the seven basic primary attributes of every character in the game. They are used to determine the skills and perks of the given character.
Skills[]
There are 18 different skills in the game. They are ranged from 0% to 300%. The starting values for those skills at level one is determined by the character's tag skills and seven basic primary attributes, but most of those skills would fall between 0% and 50%. Every time a level is gained, the player will be awarded skill points to be used to improve their character's skills, equal to five points plus twice their Intelligence. The player may choose to "tag" three of the 18 skills (though a fourth skill may later be tagged via the Tag! perk). A tagged skill will improve at twice the normal rate. Some non-player characters can also improve skills via special one-time training sessions with certain non-player characters.
There are:
- Six combat skills: Small Guns, Big Guns, Energy Weapons, Unarmed, Melee Weapons, Throwing
- Eight active skills: First Aid, Doctor, Sneak, Lockpick, Steal, Traps, Science, Repair
- Four passive skills: Speech, Barter, Gambling, Outdoorsman
Combat skills improve accuracy and (generally) damage with weapons which correspond to that combat skill. For example, the effectiveness of a minigun would be governed by the Big Guns skill, while the effectiveness of a 10mm pistol would be governed by the Small Guns skill.
Active skills may be selected and used on the player, non-player characters, and the environment to accomplish tasks. For example, a player may use First Aid to heal themselves and allies or use Repair to fix a generator. Active skills can also contribute to the in-game dialogue. For example, someone with a high Science skill could talk to a scientist and get a better response out of them than if they had a low Science skill.
Passive skills also contribute to the in-game dialogue, along with various other things throughout the game. However, they can't ever be selected and used as active skills can.
Books[]
Books found throughout the game world can improve Small Guns, First Aid, Science, Repair, and Outdoorsman skills, up to a maximum of 91% skill value; using a skill book after that will do nothing to raise the skill any further. Books are scarce early in the game, and the max cap can make books less useful later on. Vault City and San Francisco are good sources of books.
Tools and lockpicks[]
Lockpicks can make it easier to open locks; note however that not all doors have the code script required for all lockpick types, and the bonus may vary. Normally +20-40%, it can range from +10-50%. Some skills can also be improved while having certain items equipped. (e.g. equipping a lock pick set will improve lockpicking skills.) Stimulants can also temporarily boost a player's skills; however, they often have adverse effects such as addiction and withdrawal. As skills grow higher in rating, they increasingly begin to cost more Skill Points to raise after reaching certain thresholds.
Traits and perks[]
At character creation, the player may choose two optional traits. Traits are special character attributes, such as Skilled (which drastically increases the player's skills but adds an extra level before the player may choose each perk), or Jinxed (enemies have a greater chance of critical attack failures, but so does the player and all other characters). A trait normally contains one beneficial effect and one detrimental effect and are listed below the perks section in the character sheet. Once a trait is chosen, it is impossible to change, except by using the Mutate! perk which allows the player to change one trait, but only once.
Perks are special elements of the leveling system. Every three levels (or every four if the player chose the Skilled trait), the player is granted a perk of their choosing. Perks grant special effects, most of which are not obtainable via normal play in the game, such as letting the player take more actions per round. Unlike traits, most perks are purely beneficial—they are usually offset only by the infrequency of acquiring them.
Changes from Fallout[]
Fallout 2 features a much wider array of items, weapons, and armor than Fallout. Most of the items from Fallout returned, but had alternate and upgraded forms: the minigun, for example, is now joined by the Avenger and Vindicator miniguns. Item prices were also increased at stores, making scavenging for items more important. In addition to old, upgraded weapons, several new weapons were introduced for all branches of combat, thus making no combat skill the best, and allowing the player to be powerful with any weapon. The range of enemies was also increased to a wider diversity. The result is a much more complex combat environment.
Skills start off at a lower rate than in the first game, and the various skills are also more important. Previously, skills such as Unarmed, Doctor, and Traps were used sparingly, but now, all skills are useful to a degree. The maximum level of a skill was increased from 200% to 300%. Another notable change is that a skill, after reaching 100%, requires more than one skill point to increase, up to six skill points per 1% (2% if the skill is tagged) increase after 200%. The Unarmed skill, in particular, was made much more sophisticated by adding different types of punches and kicks depending on the player's Attributes and skill level. Several new Perks were added while most others were retained, allowing a greater degree of customization. The Friendly Foe perk of Fallout is now a default feature in Fallout 2.
Karma is accompanied by Reputation, and while Karma affects the player as a whole, Reputation affects how the player is received in a single town. While Karma is achieved by doing good things and killing villainous characters, Reputation grows based on how the player helps the city, usually by completing side quests. By nature, Reputation and Karma tend to grow parallel to each other. As in Fallout, good and evil characters react differently to players with different levels of Karma. The player may also acquire certain titles (Gigolo, Made Man, Slaver) based on their actions that also affect the game and how others react to them.
Recruitable non-player characters, known as companions, were very simplistic in the first game, and the only control the player had over them was to designate a specific weapon for the companion to use and how far or close to the player character they should stand. In Fallout 2, companion control became much more sophisticated, with non-player characters being able to gain levels, equip armor and be issued orders before and during combat, ranging from when to run away to when to heal themselves, as well as ordering them to holster their weapons. The non-player characters also possess more distinct personalities and characteristics, unlike in Fallout where the companions did not have any larger backstories and primarily served to aid the player in combat for the first half of the game. The recruiting process has also been made more complex, with some companions refusing to join the player if they have negative Karma or before a certain quest has been completed. Finally, there is a limit to the number of companions a player can recruit (depending on the character's Charisma), as well as a larger number to recruit (over a dozen).
In the original Fallout, side quests in the various towns and cities were usually solved within that settlement, with only a few side quests requiring the player to travel. The settlements, largely isolated except for caravans, were primarily concerned with their own problems. In Fallout 2, however, the settlements have a great deal of contact with each other with a large web of politics tying them together, and with the sole exception of Klamath, actions in one city will affect the state of another, and side quests will often require the player to go back and forth from location to location to complete objectives.
The game's overall subject matter was generally more mature, with drugs and prostitution becoming major elements of the setting. The use of strong language remains uncensored, with an optional dialogue filter. In the game, players can join the mafia, become a Porn Star, get married and subsequently divorced, and sexual intercourse is a strong recurring theme. Slavery also becomes an important subplot, and players can either side with the slavers (such as the Slaver's Guild) or join their opponents (such as the low-profile New California Rangers) who try to stamp slavery out. Companions can also be sold as slaves to various characters for a profit.
Speedrunning is much more difficult than in Fallout. In Fallout, players could go straight to the Military Base, destroy it, then travel to the Cathedral and do the same. In Fallout 2, the final areas cannot be accessed until a computer part from Vault 13 is found, and Vault 13, in turn, cannot be found until one of two quests have been completed, thus requiring a great deal of fighting that requires a higher-level character to survive. Also, while the player can recruit allies for the final encounter, there is no way to completely avoid the final boss battle in Fallout 2 — again, encouraging combat and making a speedrun difficult. In spite of these factors, players manage to beat the game in 10 minutes and less.
Story[]
At the end of the original Fallout, the hero, the Vault Dweller, was exiled by the Vault 13 overseer for prolonged exposure to the outside world, convinced that he had been changed by the wasteland and would be unable to reintegrate into vault society, fearing that his experiences and adventures would cause other residents to leave in search of their own escapades. Unable to return home, the Vault Dweller, with a group of willing companions, traveled north. In the late 2170s, the group started their own tribal village known as Arroyo in northern New California. Decades have passed since the original Fallout, and the Vault Dweller eventually started a family, marrying another former vault dweller known as Pat and having a child with her who would eventually become the village elder. The Vault Dweller left Arroyo in 2208 after writing his memoirs.
In the time since the Vault Dweller's exile, a new government known as the New California Republic (abbreviated as NCR) has begun to unify the southern human settlements into an organized civilization reminiscent of the pre-war United States of America and is spreading to the north. A mysterious new organization known as the Enclave has emerged with the most sophisticated technology in the wastes, even surpassing the Brotherhood of Steel. An isolated high-tech settlement made up of genetically pure humans known as Vault City has begun trading with other settlements while remaining aggressive to outsiders. A city of vice ruled by various warring crime families known as New Reno has begun to involve itself in the affairs of other human settlements by manipulating politics and weakening resistance by distributing a new highly addictive and profitable drug known as Jet.
The village elder sends the player, the Chosen One, to find the GECK.
In 2241, roughly 80 years after the events of Fallout, Arroyo suffered the worst drought on record. Faced with this hardship, the village elder asked the direct descendant of the Vault Dweller, referred to as the Chosen One, to undertake a quest and perform the task of retrieving a Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K) for Arroyo. The GECK is a device that can create thriving communities out of the post-apocalyptic wasteland and is said to be housed within Vault 13 (known to the villagers of Arroyo as the Vault of the Holy Thirteen), the ancestral home of the Vault Dweller's lineage. The player, assuming the role of the Chosen One, is given nothing more than the Vault Dweller's jumpsuit, a RobCo Pip-Boy 2000 handheld wrist computer, a Vault 13 water flask, a spear, and some cash to start this quest on July 25, 2241.
After a long and arduous journey, the player eventually finds Vault 13 devoid of the majority of its former human inhabitants. The Chosen One returns to Arroyo only to find their village captured by the Enclave, a mysterious group that is later revealed to be the remnants of a pre-War United States government deep state. The Chosen One travels to San Francisco to activate an oil tanker and its autopilot, thus allowing them to reach the Enclave's main headquarters on the Poseidon Oil Rig 175 miles off the coast of California.
It is revealed that the dwellers of Vault 13 were captured as well, to be used as test subjects for FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus), alongside Arroyo tribesmen and women. Vault 13 was supposed to be closed for 200 years as part of a Vault-Tec vault experiment; this makes them perfect test subjects. The Enclave modified the Forced Evolutionary Virus from the Mariposa Military Base strain into an airborne disease known as FEV Curling-13, designed to attack any living creatures with mutated DNA. With all genetic impurities removed, the Enclave (who remains protected from radiation) could take over the United States mainland and begin to rebuild the pre-war civilization of the United States of America. The Chosen One frees both their village and the Vault 13 dwellers from Enclave control and destroys the Enclave's oil rig.
Endings[]
No matter the ending, the inhabitants of Vault 13 and Arroyo will always create a new prosperous community together with the help of the GECK. Despite this, there is some variation on the fates of other people and locations.
Music[]
The official game soundtrack for Fallout 2 was composed by Mark Morgan, who also created the soundtrack of the first Fallout.
Development[]
- See also: Fallout 2 press pack and Interplay Product Presentation 1999
Fallout 2 began development before the first Fallout released.[1] Early in the game's development, three of the creative leads from the first game, Timothy Cain, Jason D. Anderson, and Leonard Boyarsky, left the Fallout 2 project. Cain felt that Fallout did not need a sequel as he intended the first to be a standalone product and was not enthusiastic about the idea as he had already spent years creating Fallout, preferring to work on something different. Regardless, he still contributed some story ideas that would be expanded upon by other developers.
Tim Cain was unhappy with the direction the game's design was going in, such as a mandated decision that the Temple of Trials be unskippable, even on repeat playthroughs. Other sources of Cain's dissatisfaction included a short deadline for the game to be released which would result in crunch, and Brian Fargo reduced his bonus pay due to Cain not wanting to expose who was responsible for accidentally creating a memory overwrite bug from the first Fallout. He also felt that other employees at Interplay created a hostile environment towards gay people. Tim had been in the closet during this time.[2] After Cain resigned, Anderson and Boyarsky followed.[3]
Because the three leads of Fallout left, this meant that the developers of Fallout 2 had more creative free reign. The game was made in a time limit of nine months, although half a year of early development had already begun.[4] To help the game's development, developers of Planescape: Torment also worked on the project. Some of the development of Fallout 2 was challenging; the developers faced crunch and because the goal was to create a world that felt 50% bigger than the original, addition map designers were hired for the project.
Developer Scott Everts later commented, "I suppose I preferred Fallout because it was something new and different. They were both stressful projects, but I enjoyed working on Fallout more. Fallout 2 became a death match near the end. We had so much content, and we had to get it all done."[5]
Reception[]
Fallout 2 received positive reviews. It has a lower Metacritic critic score than Fallout at 86 instead of 89,[6] although it has a higher user score rating. GameSpot gave it a 8.8, praising the game for having a "significantly larger gaming world" than the original; the first game's main story has a HowLongToBeat.com length of around 16 hours, while the main story of Fallout 2 is listed at 30 and a half hours, almost double the length. They also complimented the improvements to the NPC companion system.
Fallout 2 received criticism for bugs, with GameSpot mentioning that it seems Fallout 2 was released before it was thoroughly play-tested and debugged. They also criticized the inventory screen for being "somewhat awkward, as it requires you to page down a relatively narrow display in order to view everything you're carrying."
The game's frequent pop culture references to media (made 1998 and before) are not appreciated by some players who feel they are cheesy and make the game feel dated. For example, the player can obtain Cheezy Poofs and there is a computer called Skynet, a reference to The Terminator series.
Behind the scenes[]
- ^ Note Sources differ on when Fallout 2 was released in 1998. A GameSpot article from October 1998 says it "should show up on retailers' shelves nationwide on Thursday, October 29,"[7] and this is reflected in some online databases.[8] Other contemporary articles have said it released on September 30, 1998,[9] and designer Chris Avellone has celebrated the anniversary of its release on September 30.[10]
- Fallout 2 is considered one of the earliest video games to allow same-sex marriage,[11] and began the introduction of LGBT+ characters into the Fallout series, particularly Davin, Miria and Leslie Anne Bishop.
- Despite this, the representation has been criticized since its comedic framing may be perceived as ridiculing the player for having a shotgun gay marriage, rather than it being portrayed as something to be celebrated.
- The Rainbow Confederation is a negative portrayal of gay people that was cut from the game.
- Speedrunning is much more difficult than in Fallout. In Fallout, players could go straight to the Military Base, destroy it, then travel to the Cathedral and do the same. In Fallout 2, the final areas cannot be accessed until a computer part from Vault 13 is found, and Vault 13, in turn, cannot be found until one of two quests have been completed, thus requiring a great deal of fighting that requires a higher-level character to survive. Also, while the player can recruit allies for the final encounter, there is no way to completely avoid the final boss battle in Fallout 2 —again, encouraging combat and making a speedrun difficult. In spite of these factors, players manage to beat the game in 10 minutes and less.
- Chris Avellone, one of the game's developers, abhors and regrets the idea of intelligent talking deathclaws, feeling they do not belong in Fallout. One of them re-appeared later as the Wise Deathclaw from the Chinese game Fallout Shelter Online.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
See also[]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ PC Gamer: The complete history of Fallout
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzThxv1t84I&t=1115s
- ↑ https://youtu.be/UGfaCXEu0tE
- ↑ PCGamesN: How Fallout 2’s wild wasteland came to define a series
- ↑ Shack News: World on Fire: The Oral History of Fallout and Fallout 2
- ↑ Metacritic - Fallout 2 PC
- ↑ Fallout 2 Ships (archived)
- ↑ Fallout 2 MobyGames
- ↑ Remembering Fallout 2 as it turns 20
- ↑ Chris Avellone on Twitter
- ↑ LGBT themes in video games on Wikipedia