The “Fallout” game series franchise belongs in the role-playing and action-role-playing genre and has been around since 1997 with several titles published since then.
In this article we are presenting the four main titles in the series and also four other spin-off options of the same franchise.
Let’s see the Fallout Games in order of chronological release below:
#1. Fallout (1997)
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The first game in the Fallout Series, Fallout (1997), was designed and created as the spiritual successor of the innovative role-playing game Wasteland that released in 1988.
Chris Taylor’s original mission statement defines the development of Fallout and the entire Fallout universe: “This is the Wasteland. Life is cheap, and violence is all there is.”
The inherent violence in the game did not sit down well with GURPS creator Steve Jackson. This resulted in Interplay pulling out of a deal to use GURPS in the creation of Fallout and the creation of the SPECIAL system (acronym for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck).
At the surface, SPECIAL is another copy of GURPS as game players had to assign points to the various characters, including perception, strength, charisma, agility, intelligence, and luck.
However, SPECIAL’s unique use of the character’s attributes makes the system stand out. Fallout took all characteristics into account and used all the attributes to help you develop a character you can win your battles with, thereby implementing impressive organic choice making.
Importantly, the game has a captivating story. Set in post-apocalyptic Southern California in 2161, you are tasked with the mission to recover a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the one used in Vault 13, your underground Vault. At the same time, you must prevent the Master’s plan to fulfill your mission.
#2. Fallout 2 (1998)
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Continuing the theme of a post-nuclear apocalyptic future, you play the role of a descendant of an ancient hero who was later exiled.
Fallout 2 takes place 80 years after Fallout, and the game centers around the decedents of Vault Dwellers.
You play as the Chosen One and mission is to leave your tribe/ village of Arroyo in search of the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) to save your village from drought and famine.
In search of the GECK, the Chosen One eventually find the Vault 13 devoid of the majority its inhabitants.
Returning to his village, he must fight the Enclave, the remnants of pre-war U.S.A government to save his village, and the Vault 13 remnants.
Fallout 2 features an improved engine, increased pop culture jokes, and parodies, ability to set the non-player character attitude.
In this role-playing open world, the player has 18 different skills (4 passive skills, 6 combat skills, and 8 active skills), with each skill ranked from 0% to 300%.
The starting skill levels typically range from 0% to 50%, depending on the primary attributes of the character. With each level gained, the player is awarded skill points that you use to improve your character.
#3. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
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Keeping to the theme of futuristic, Sci-fi, post-apocalyptic earth, you play as a new initiate of the Brotherhood of Steel.
However, unlike the previous two games, the game is set in the Midwestern United States of America. As the new initiate, you are tasked with taking on different missions in an attempt to protect a spawning civilization from a wide variety of mutated species.
Another point of divergence from the other two games, Brotherhood of Steel, emphasizes strategizing and tactical combat with less emphasis on role-playing.
The character system for this game has been designed to give players and enhanced ability to customize the player’s perks and skills.
And while the main character has to be human, you can recruit or have characters in the multiplayer matches from Humans, Ghouls, Super Mutants, Deathclaws, Dogs, and Humanoid Robots. Your recruits must be from the brotherhood.
The game was also the first game not require player turn-based modes of fighting. The combat system had different stances, modifiers, and modes. You should also note that players do not have dialog options.
#4. Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
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Developed and released by Interplay Entertainment, the Brotherhood of Steel (2004) was the first game in the Fallout series to be made for video game consoles – Play Station 2 and Xbox.
The game follows the adventure of a Brotherhood of Steel imitate as you seek to find some Brotherhood Paladins lost in Carbon.
Your mission is to find your lost colleagues take you first to a nearby town filled with armed thugs in the first chapter. The storyline continues to chapter 3, where along the way, you have to battle mutated and radioactive scorpions, the raiders and bandits, kamikaze ghouls, and super mutants.
On the gameplay front, the Brotherhood of Steel uses the SPECIAL attribute assignment system that determines the character’s attribution of strength, endurance, perception, intelligence, luck, agility, and charisma.
The 7 attributes are given numeric values and determine the interactions in the game, much like other releases in the Fallout series. However, the values are constant and non-customizable, unlike the other fallout games.
#5. Fallout 3 (2008)
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Fallout 3 was the first Fallout game developed and released by Bethesda Game Studios after they purchase the rights to the game.
The game was available on Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The play chronicles a member of Vault 101 in Capital Wasteland as he emerges from their Vault.
Having been raised by his watchful father and under the right rule of the Overseer, the protagonist does not know anything about the Wasteland.
On his 19th birthday, his father unexpectedly leaves the Vault, and his mission is to find his father, James – a scientist and a doctor.
In the post-apocalyptic 2277, which is 200 years after the Great War, the Lone Wanderer has to track James, learning of his past along the way, before freeing him Vault 112.
After freeing James, the Lone Wanderer learns of James’ plan to seek the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. This device will help them restart Project Purity, whereby a giant purify is installed in Jefferson Memorial to clean Potomac River.
This marks the beginning of a rollercoaster of event, including the Lone Wanderer being captured by the Enclave, a remnant of the pre-war government.
#6. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
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In Fallout: New Vegas, the scene is set in a post-apocalyptic Vegas that was ravaged by nuclear war after conflict U.S. and China went to war over resources in 2077.
New Vegas is a city surrounding the old Las Vegas. The sprawling city of gambling appears untouched by the effects of nuclear devastation.
However, there is a war brewing between the New California Republic (NCR) and the tribes, including Caesar’s Legionnaires and Great Khans.
NRC as hell-bent on bringing order to Wasteland at all costs. The player’s role is to deliver packages, using the Courier to deliver packages across the Mojave Wasteland to the owner of New Vegas, Mr. House.
However, the Courier is ambushed by thugs, robbed, shot, buried, and left to die but survives the ordeal.
After that, the Courier sets out to find their attacker and recover the package, a journey that will see him/her make new friends and enemies in equal measure, and ultimately get entangled in a war of control over Mojave Wasteland and New Vegas.
Generally, after setting the base traits, character’s sex, stats, and appearance, the game progress in a non-linear manner.
The player levels-up with experience, and as such, you might opt to take up side-quests from various NPCs and later on pursue the main quest.
#7. Fallout 4 (2015)
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Bethesda Game Studio released fallout 4 as the fourth main game in the Fallout universe. The game is set in 2288, 210 years after the Great War, and 10 years after Fallout 3.
In the game, the player controls Sole Survivor, who has been in a long-term cryogenic stasis in an underground nuclear shelter – Vault 111. Sole Survivor witnesses the kidnapping of their son and the murder of their spouse.
In search of their son, the Sole Survivor sets out to the Commonwealth, which takes them through dilapidated lands.
During the journey, you complete various quests, which helps you accumulate experience points and level up your abilities. Throughout the game, you will battle Feral Ghouls, Deathclaws, Raiders, Super Mutants, and Mole rats.
The game uses the SPECIAL character system, which helps you choose your perks and develop your player’s character to suit your playstyle.
Moreover, the use of the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS) enables you to attack at your own pace.
The improvement made in this game over Fallout 3 is having a dialog system with over 111,000 lines, a crafting system that creates the lootable objects, base-building, and layered armor system.
#8. Fallout 76 (2018)
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Fallout 76 is the latest release in the Fallout series developed and released by Bethesda Game Studio. This iteration of the post-apocalyptic survival battle is the first online multiplayer Fallout game.
The expansive open game world – Appalachia – makes for a thrilling experience for up to three players.
As the latest development of the Fallout series, the games feature a revised SPECIAL character progression system, and initially, it had no human non-player characters.
Instead, the game uses a combination of collectible holotapes, robots, and environmental storytelling to guide players piece together the information they need to progress. The first human NPCs are slated to be introduced in 2020.
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