Fallout (PC, 1997)
A classic CRPG that really shows its age. Stick it out for the great lore if you're a die hard fan of the series.
Nostalgia Factor: Low. I’m a big Bethesda Fallout fan, but this is very different.
Difficulty: Hard. This game does not hold your hand. Expect classic CRPG difficulty.
First, some apologies to any hardcore fans of Fallout 1. I struggled with this game. It was difficult for me to even settle on a 6.5 out of 10. For some, this game was their first introduction to the Fallout universe, and the nostalgia runs deep. My first Fallout experience was Bethesda’s Fallout 3, which continues to be one of my all-time favorite games. The modern Fallout games owe much of their success to the foundation set by these classic Fallout games, but as I played Fallout 1, I couldn’t help but feel like I was just playing a “rough draft” of what Bethesda would later capitalize on and deliver. Frankly, it’s very difficult to go backwards from the modern era of FO to the classic era without a heaping dose of nostalgia.
The differences between FO1 and FO3 are vast. FO1 utilizes an isometric perspective, turn-based combat, and point and click movement. From the get-go, this game is quite difficult. It’s difficult to learn, and you will probably die, a lot. In classic CRPG fashion, there’s no in-game tutorial and no hand holding. Once you leave the vault, you’re on your own. Good luck. If you want to be prepared, you can do some light reading in the 124 page “Vault-Tec Survival Guide.” Wow, that’s a huge manual. It does have some delightful lore dumps for those with the patience to read through it. Alternatively, you can watch a guide on YouTube or just try to figure things out with trial, error, and Google. Thankfully, you can save the game at any time. Smart players will save copiously, using all available slots. You’ll need them.
On my first playthrough, I clicked on Vault 15 on the world map, and on my way I randomly encountered a gang of five raiders that killed me in seconds. Nice. FO1 can be very punishing. Such is the reality of the wastes, I guess. I then got hopelessly lost, with no idea where to go or what to do, so started over.
I decided to follow a walkthrough, which told me to “kill all 20 rats in this first cave, you need the XP.” This repetitive grind did not leave a good first impression, but perhaps things will get more interesting in the next big combat area. Oh OK, it’s time to kill all 54 rats, pig rats, and mole rats in Vault 15. We need the XP so we can survive getting ganked by Raiders! Great. I’m not opposed to old school CRPG gameplay, but FO1’s turn-based combat feels particularly slow and did not engage me. The game remains difficult to the end. Even after you get some decent weapons, armor, and stats, you can still get one-shot by an enemy’s lucky critical (which ignores armor). Companions do help some, but they die easily and can become a liability (always stay out of their line of fire).
Unfortunately, there are no built in cheat codes to help you if you’re finding the game’s difficulty to be a barrier. If you’re just wanting to get through the game to experience the story, you could try this cheat mod or this hacked new character profile (maxed out stats and skills).
Perhaps it’s unfair to complain so much about a classic game from 1997, but alas, the biggest hurdle for me with FO1 was adjusting to the many game design relics from this bygone era. The inventory and menus are so clunky and confusing. You have to click these tiny red buttons which are easy to miss when you’re trying to be quick about things (keyboard shortcuts can help). In combat, you miss a lot until you grind your skills up. You’ll notice that some of the character sprites are reused often. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is who. At one point, my character looked exactly like the cops in the Hub, pixel for pixel.
It’s so easy to get lost. In some locations, it can be hard to find anything. The Pip-Boy’s map is almost useless. Interactions with ladders and doors can be so cumbersome. At times it would take me half a dozen clicks just to climb a ladder right in front of me. Necropolis is infuriating. It’s so dark, it’s nearly impossible to see anything. On some locked doors, you’re supposed to use lockpicks in your item slot. Other times, you’re supposed to use the “lockpick” skill from your skills index. It’s not clearly indicated which is needed in which situation. There are many skills and perks you might invest in that end up being almost useless (some might say this about the modern Fallout games as well).
The visuals are not particularly good, especially when compared to some of the groundbreaking 3D games that had hit the shelves around this time (Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Quake, FF7, Goldeneye 007, Turok). Even back then, the isometric perspective was starting to feel like old news. There are some nice sprites in the game, but many of the environments seem a bit copy-paste. StarCraft (1998) and Diablo (1997) showcased much better looking isometric environments.
The story and world building is really what carried me through FO1. All of the amazing lore that we’ve come to know and love in the modern FO games owes a massive debt to FO1. I see why Bethesda wanted to snatch up this IP. While I greatly prefer Bethesda’s 3D open-world take on the Fallout universe, you have to give credit to the original team that created this universe. It all started here — the iconic power armor, the retrofuturism, Corvega, Mr. Handy, Vault-Tec, Vault Boy, stimpacks, VATS, perks, skills, raiders, ghouls, mutants, Deathclaws, Dogmeat the companion, the Brotherhood of Steel, the quirky mix of humor and bleak post-apocalyptic themes, the multiple factions, the multiple endings, and so much more. So much of what I love about the Fallout universe started here in FO1.
Other than a few standout tracks, Mark Morgan’s game score wasn’t particularly noteworthy for me. The ambient horror tracks are plenty effective, though the stressful dissonance can be fatiguing. I much prefer the balance that Inon Zur strikes in Fallout 4’s fantastic soundtrack. Morgan focuses more on mood and environment than on melody. Interestingly, “Metallic Monks” was reused in Fallout: New Vegas. I also liked “Traders Life” and of course “Maybe” from the Ink Spots. They wanted to use the now iconic “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire,” also from the Ink Spots, but they weren’t able to secure the licensing. Bethesda was eventually able to secure this track for Fallout 3’s intro.
FO1’s age is really showing now, but die hard fans of the Fallout universe may still get some enjoyment from seeing where this series first began. I struggled to make my way to the end, but I don’t regret sticking it out for the lore. Now, onto Fallout 2.