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          <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">- <a href="../index.html">Contents</a><br>
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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 26</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0022A8"><b><a target="" href="../../reviews/index.html"><font size="-1">Off 
          the Shelf</font></a><font size="-1">:</font></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8"><br>
          Fallout/2</font></p>
        <p align="right"><font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          Jason &quot;<a href="mailto:jason@loonygames.com">loonyboi</a>&quot; 
          Bergman</font></b></font></p>
        <p>&nbsp;</p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you’ve never seen the 
          game at all, the whole thing is done from an isometric perspective, 
          where walls will disappear if you walk behind them (a smart move on 
          the developers’ part, as this happens all over the game). I’m not a 
          fan of isometric engines, and it was definitely a challenge for me to 
          get by <b>Fallout</b>’s reliance on it. What do I have against games 
          that use this perspective? Well, to be honest…the little people hurt 
          my eyes. I’m serious! Little people means little text when they talk 
          (in <b>Fallout</b>, people either talk in a separate screen that lets 
          you choose responses, or in text that appears over their heads) and 
          after a while, my eyes start to really hurt from squinting at the screen. 
          I used to blame this on my crappy 15-inch monitor, but since I’m using 
          a nice beefy 19-incher now, that explanation has gone the way of the 
          dodo. I guess my eyes just don’t dig little people (although, I never 
          had this problem with <b>Warcraft</b> or <b>Total Annihilation</b>…just 
          <b>Fallout</b>, <b>Diablo</b>, and other isometric RPG games). </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This prevents me from playing 
          the <b>Fallout</b> games for too long in one sitting, although believe 
          me…it’s tough to pull myself away. If my eyes weren’t totally burning, 
          I’m sure I would have been able to go much longer. Expect to put in 
          about 40 hours (at least!) for each <b>Fallout</b> game. While the original 

          title has quite a few side-quests for your gaming enjoyment, the sequel 
          goes completely over the top, and offers more side quests than you’re 
          likely ever to want to take on all at once. This was an odd experience 
          for me, since in most RPGs, any time someone asks you to do something, 
          you pretty much drop everything to do it, since there really aren’t 
          many optional things to do. In the <b>Fallout</b> games, you’ll need 
          to <i>prioritize</i> your quests. Is it really worth helping some punks 
          kill some other punks for some extra cash, or should you get on with 
          your main quest? Fun decisions like this can have a major effect on 
          how much you enjoy <b>Fallout</b>.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It’s also a relief to be 
          playing a character who isn’t a goodie two shoes. I love the <b>Ultima</b> 
          series to death and all, but jeez…sometimes you just get sick and tired 
          of being so damn virtuous all the time (well…at least I did…but hey…I 
          rooted for the Emperor in <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, so what do I know). 
          In <b>Fallout</b>, you can be nice and snotty, if you want, and tell 
          some of those annoying NPCs where they can stick their damn bottlecaps 
          (the currency in this post-apocalyptic land is good old-fashioned bottlecaps.).</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Your character’s creation 
          is very significant in <b>Fallout</b>, like it is in any computer RPG, 
          and while it’s not as complex a system as the one used in <b>Baldur’s 
          Gate</b>, it is a nicely complex system that deserves a close study. 
          When creating a character, you define the usual stuff like strength, 
          endurance, and agility, but you also can choose two character traits 
          which make for some fun changes in gameplay. You can choose useful traits 
          like, &quot;heavy handed&quot; which makes you do more damage in melee 
          combat, or…less useful ones like, &quot;bloody mess&quot; which means 
          you’ll always die in the goriest way possible (if you’re not sure of 
          which traits to choose, I’d suggest this…it can be quite amusing). Other 
          skills include, &quot;sex appeal&quot; (only present in <b>Fallout 2</b>) 
          which makes you more attractive to the opposite sex (although members 
          of your own sex will get jealous) and, &quot;finesse&quot; which increases 
          your chances of doing a critical hit at the expense of the total amount 
          of damage you do.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Like any major RPG, the <b>Fallouts</b> 
          are not without their flaws, and many of them (in my opinion, of course) 
          stem from the fighting system. <b>Fallout</b> is a turn based fighting 
          game (I can already hear some readers groaning) but it is a much more 
          pure turn based system than other games I’ve played. Enemies will not 
          simply attack you, but instead they’ll take their time and plot out 
          their method of attack. As combat happens exactly where you’re standing, 
          your character’s position on screen is extremely important. An enemy 
          might keep moving, making it very frustrating to get a critical hit 
          in. You can determine how likely you are to hit your target by moving 
          your cursor over him, and a little number shows up displaying the likelihood 
          of a successful attack. Where all of this gets a bit clumsy is in its 
          system for determining turns. Each character has a number of &quot;action 
          points.&quot; When you’ve used up all your points, you have to end your 
          turn. Points range from one point per hexagonal mark, to six points 
          for a targeted attack. What can be annoying is when your current weapon 
          uses up a large chunk of your action points, but doesn’t leave you enough 
          to reload. The next turn you’ll reload (which will take away two action 
          points if you’ve got the ammo handy…if you need to change weapons, it’ll 
          be 4 just to open your inventory) which may or may not leave you with 
          enough points to do anything else in that particular round. Also irritating, 
          is that sometimes you’ll hit a button by accident, and cost yourself 
          a turn. As I mentioned, opening your inventory screen will suck away 
          4 action points, and if you don’t get what you need, you’ll have to 
          wait until the next turn before you can do that. Fortunately all of 
          this becomes a moot point as the game progresses…but it can be a major 
          hurdle to pass over at first. And considering that the first game in 
          particular makes it <i>very</i> hard at first to gain experience points…this 
          can be a big issue indeed for new players. The second game doesn’t have 
          the same problem (at least not to the same extent) but I still grew 
          tired of worrying about how many &quot;points&quot; I had during a particularly 
          intense encounter.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Regardless of their flaws, 
          both games are <i>highly</i> recommended for anyone interested in PC 
          role playing games, especially if you’re tired of fantasy-themed games 
          and looking for a nice change of pace. With <b>Fallout</b> and its sequel, 
          you’ll get a great sci-fi story with a twisted sense of humor, and a 
          target age that’s not afraid to aim high. So the question arises…is 
          it worth picking up the first <b>Fallout</b>, or should you go straight 
          into the sequel? I’d suggest starting with the first one. It might have 
          its problems, but it is definitely a solid game, and considering that 
          it’s selling below $30 in most places these days, it’s a great bargain 
          as well. If you’re <i>really</i> lucky, you’ll find a place that’s selling 
          both games in a &quot;buy one get one&quot; offer. That’s a <i>lot</i> 
          of game for your buck…over 100 hours of gameplay, and even if you don’t 
          find that, they’re both worth picking up individually. </font></p>
        <p align="right">&nbsp; </p>
        <p align="RIGHT"><i><font size="-1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- 
          Jason &quot;loonyboi&quot; Bergman is the editor-in-chief here at <b>loonygames</b>. 
          He's scared of zombies. Yeah, zombies. That a problem?</font></i></p>
        <p align="RIGHT">&nbsp;</p>
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    <td><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
      Bargain Bin logo illustrated and is &copy; 1999 Dan Zalkus. This edition 
      of Top Shelf is &copy; 1999 Jason Bergman. All other content is &copy; 1998 
      <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi productions</a>. 
      Unauthorized reproduction is a majorly hostile gesture.</font></i></td>
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