Fallout 2

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Fallout 2
Developer(s)	Black Isle Studios
Publisher(s)	Interplay Entertainment
Designer(s)	Feargus Urquhart Matt Norton
Series	Fallout series
Engine	Fallout engine
Version	Win English US: 1.02d (1999-01-29) Win English UK: 1.02e (2002-05-18) Win German: 1.02d (2002-05-18) Win French: 1.02d (2002-05-18) Mac: 1.02a (2002-10-07)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Macintosh
Release date(s)	September 30, 1998
Genre(s)	Post-apocalyptic RPG
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 15+ ESRB: M (Mature) OFLC: M15+ USK: 16+
Media	1 CD-ROM
System requirements	Win:[1] Pentium 90 MHz, 16 MB RAM, 600 MB available hard disk space, DirectX compatible SVGA card, 4X CD-ROM drive, Windows-compatible mouse, Windows 95 Mac:[2] PowerPC G3 233 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 600 MB available hard disk space, Mac OS X v10.1.4
Input methods	Keyboard, mouse

Fallout 2 is a computer role-playing game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay in 1998. The game's story takes place in the year of 2241, 80 years after the events of Fallout.^[3] It tells the story of the original hero's descendant and his or her quest to save their primitive tribe from starvation by finding an ancient environmental restoration machine known as the "Garden of Eden Creation Kit", or GECK.^[4] Although featuring an almost completely new game world, stories, and adventures that are several times larger than its predecessor, the game mechanics from Fallout remain mostly unchanged, with the majority of changes to fix interface issues.

Plot

Setting

At the end of the original Fallout, the hero Vault Dweller was exiled by the Vault Overseer for his prolonged exposure to the outside world. Unable to return home, the Vault Dweller and a group of willing companions travelled far north. Eventually they founded a tribal village called Arroyo in what is present-day Oregon and lived there for the rest of their lives. 80 years have passed since the original Fallout.

In the time since the Vault Dweller's exile, a new government known as the New California Republic (abbreviated NCR) has begun to unify the towns in Southern California and is spreading to the north. A mysterious new organization known as the Enclave has emerged with the most sophisticated technology in the wastes, surpassing even the Brotherhood of Steel. Finally, a new drug, Jet, has become a cancer on many towns with nearly a 100% addiction rate, forcing many to rely on the town of New Reno to keep them supplied.

Story

A screenshot of the GECK

During 2241, Arroyo suffered the worst drought on record. Faced with the calamity, the village elders asked the direct descendant of the Vault Dweller, referred to as the Chosen One, to perform the quest 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.^[4]

The player, assuming the role of the Chosen One, is given nothing more than the Vault Dweller's jumpsuit, a RobCo PIPBoy 2000 handheld device, a Vault 13 water flask, and some cash to start on his mission.

The player eventually finds Vault 13 (the first place possible to obtain a GECK) devoid of the majority of its former human inhabitants. The Chosen One returns to find his village captured by the remnants of the United States government known as "The Enclave". The Enclave often terrorizes the inhabitants of continental United States with their supreme arsenal of advanced technology. The player, through various means, activates an ancient oil tanker and engages its autopilot, thus allowing him to reach the Enclave's main base on an offshore oil rig.

It is revealed that the dwellers of Vault 13 were captured as well, to be used as test subjects for F.E.V. (Forced Evolutionary Virus). Vault 13 was supposed to be closed for 200 years as part of a government experiment,^[3] making them perfect test subjects. The Enclave modified the Forced Evolutionary Virus into an airborne disease, designed to attack any living creatures with mutated DNA. With all genetic impurities removed, the Enclave (who remain protected from radiation) could take over.

The player frees both his fellow villagers from Arroyo and the Vault 13 dwellers from Enclave control and subsequently destroys the Enclave's oil rig, killing the Enclave and United States President Richardson as well as a genetically-modified secret service enforcer known as Frank Horrigan (the game's creators described him as "a munchkin's worst nightmare: a supermutant in power armor").^{[citation needed]} In the end, the inhabitants of Vault 13 and the Arroyo villagers create a new prosperous community with the help of the GECK.

Recruitable characters

Like the original Fallout, there are numerous NPCs (non-player characters) in Fallout 2 that the player can recruit to assist in his or her quest. Unlike the original Fallout, these characters are more customizable in combat AI and equipment. The characters can level up as the player gains more experience. Additionally, the NPCs have skills, such as repair and doctoring, which would come into play if the player is lacking in such skills. The appearance of the recruitable NPCs (except for their weapons) are at their default in-game visuals despite being issued different suits of armor and instructed to wear them.

The number of party members the player can recruit is based on the player character's charisma skill. Most recruits also have personal preferences or qualifications for the player. The majority of the recruits require the player to have a good karma standing and to have not committed atrocious acts such as becoming a slaver or having killed children.

Gameplay

Character attributes

Attributes

Fallout uses a character creation system called SPECIAL. SPECIAL is an acronym and initialism of Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. These are the seven basic attributes of every character in the game. They influence the abilities of the given character.

Skills

There are 18 different skills in the game. They are ranked from 0% to 300%. The starting values for those skills at Level 1 are determined by the player's 7 basic attributes, but most of those skills would fall between 0% and 50%. Every time the player gains a level, he will be awarded skill points to be used to improve his skills, equal to 5 points + twice his Intelligence. The player may choose to "Tag" 3 of the 18 skills. A tagged skill will improve at twice the normal rate.

• 6 combat skills: Small Guns, Big Guns, Energy Weapons, Unarmed, Melee Weapons, Throwing.
• 8 active skills: First Aid, Doctor, Sneak, Lockpick, Steal, Traps, Science, Repair.
• 4 passive skills: Speech, Barter, Gambling, Outdoorsman.

Books found throughout the game world can also improve some of those skills permanently, although books are scarce early in the game. However, after a skill reaches a certain level, books no longer have any impact. Some NPCs can also improve skills via training. How high a skill can be developed is affected by the character's attributes – a character with a low Intelligence will not be able to boost their Science rating as high as a character with high Intelligence, for example.

Some skills can also be improved while having certain items equipped. (E.g. equipping a lock pick would improve lock picking skills.) Stimulants can also temporarily boost player's skills, but often have adverse effects like addiction and withdrawal. As skills grow higher in rating, they begin to cost more skill points to increase.

Traits and Perks

At character creation, the player may choose 2 optional traits for his character. Traits are special character qualities. A trait normally contains one beneficial effect and one detrimental effect. An exception is the "Bloody Mess" trait, whose effects (a higher frequency of especially gory deaths for enemies) are purely cosmetic. They are listed under perks in the character sheet. Once a Trait is chosen, it is impossible to change, except by using the "Mutate" Perk that lets the player change a single Trait once.

Perks in the game are special elements of the level up system. Every 3 levels (or every 4 if the player chose the "Skilled" Trait), the player is granted a perk of his or her choosing. Perks grant special effects, most of which are not obtainable via normal level up in the game, for example:

• Awareness: instead of a general "Unhurt", "Seriously Wounded", etc. information upon examining an enemy, the exact HP and weaponry will be revealed.
• Silent Running: the player can sneak and run at the same time.
• Sniper: gives a % chance of (Luck*10) for scoring critical hits ((Luck*10)+15% if More Criticals perk is present). For example, a character with a Luck of 9 has 90% chance to score critical hits. With a high-powered weapon (such as a Gauss Rifle) and this perk, a skilled player can often score multiple kills in one round.
• Slayer: similar to Sniper, this causes every hit to become a critical hit in melee combat.

Unlike traits, perks are purely beneficial – they are usually offset only by the infrequency of acquiring them.

Changes from Fallout

Fallout 2 featured 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 mini-guns. Laser and plasma weaponry are now complimented with Pulse pistols and rifles which have short range and low ammo capacity, but deal massive electrical damage. Item prices were also increased at stores, making scavenging for items more important. Also it is now impossible to scavenge armor from corpses, making the total scavenging yield per kill lower. In addition to old, upgraded weapons, several new weapons were introduced for all branches of combat, thus making no one combat skill the best, and allowing the player to be powerful with any firearm. The range of enemies was also increased to a wider diversity. The end result is a much more complex combat environment.

Skills start off at a lower rate than the first game, and the various skills are also more important. Previously, skills like 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. 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. Additionally, skills become more expensive to improve at higher levels. Several new Perks were added while most others were retained, allowing a greater degree of customization.

Karma is accompanied by Reputation, and while Karma affects the player on a whole, Reputation affects how the player is received in a single town. While Karma is achieved by doing good things and killing monsters, Reputation grows based on how the player helps the city, usually by completing sub-quests. By nature, Reputation and Karma tend to grow parallel to each other. As in Fallout, good/evil characters react differently to players with different Karma. Also, the player can acquire certain titles (Gigolo, Made Man, Slaver) based on their actions that also affect the game and how others react to them.

Recruitable NPCs were very simplistic in the first game, and the only extent of control the player had over them was controlling what weapons they used and telling them to stay at a certain distance. In Fallout 2, team NPC control is much more sophisticated, with the NPCs being able to level up, equip armor and be issued orders before combat ranging from when to run away to when to heal themselves. The NPCs also possess distinct personalities and characteristics, similar to previous games. The recruiting process is also more complex, with NPCs refusing to join the player if he has negative Karma or before a certain quest has been completed. Finally, there is a limit to the number of NPCs a player can recruit.

In the original Fallout, sub-quests in the towns and cities were usually solved within that city, with only a few sub-quests requiring the player to travel. The cities, fairly isolated except for caravans, were concerned with their own problems. In Fallout 2, however, the cities have a great deal of contact with each other, and with the sole exception of Klamath, actions in one city may affect the state of another, and sub-quests will often require the player to go back and forth from location to location to kill enemies and deliver messages and items. To assist this, the makers of Fallout 2 added a vehicle, The Chrysalis Motors Highwayman which reduces map travel time significantly. It can be upgraded several times in various missions, and it runs on the same nuclear cells as certain weapons in the game.

The game's overall theme matter is more adult, with drugs and prostitution becoming major elements of the setting and the drug "Jet" as one of the major subplots. Profanities are also encountered more often. During the course of the game, players can join the Mafia, become a porn star, and engage in adultery. Slavery also becomes an important subplot, and players can either side with the Slavers or join their opponents that try to stamp slavery out. NPCs can be bought and sold as slaves during the course of the game.

International versions and censorship

^{[citation needed]}

Some non-US versions of the game were censored due to local regulations on violence or the portrayal of children in computer games. In particular, the UK and German versions both had children removed from the game and had some violence options disabled. This affected the gameplay for certain missions in game. This was particularly noticeable in Modoc where the mission to rescue Jonny from the wishing well was crippled. Since the original release of the game, fan made patches have made it possible for owners of European versions of the game to play the game as originally intended. Despite these patches being available, the US version is arguably more desirable for collectors.

Reception

Fallout 2 received generally positive reviews from critics. Online review aggregator Metacritic gave it a score of 86 out of 100 based on fifteen reviews.^[9] Positive reviewers praised the gameplay, storyline, and worthiness as a successor to the original Fallout, while detractors criticized frequent bugs and lack of improvement over the first game. Daniel Morris of GamePro gave it five out of five stars, praising the mix of action and character interaction as well as the non-linear gameplay.^[10] Commenting on the lack of change from the original, IGN applauded the developers for "not fixing something that wasn't broken," and praised the sizable game world and the writing.^[11] Chris Harding of Adrenaline Vault, on the other hand, found it distracting that problems in the original were not addressed in the sequel.^[12]

Bugs and Unofficial Patches

Fallout 2 was released with hundreds of bugs. Many still remain after the latest (and likely last) version 1.02. However, a community of Fallout enthusiasts have created unofficial patches. The most extensive was released by Killap, and fixes over 1000 bugs.^[13]

See also

• Fallout
• Fallout 3

References

External links

• The Vault - A Fallout wiki
• Fallout 2 at MobyGames
• Cultural references in Fallout 2