Since 1997, Fallout hasn’t lost its popularity, it has kept gamers waiting with bated breath for the next release of the game. The founder of the game is Bethesda Softworks, the game takes place after World War II, around the 1950s. The game is almost established on the Mad Max film series and sometimes, people think of it as a follow-up to Wasteland.
Until now, the company has launched different titles, each of them performing greater than the last one. Since games and Fallout have changed a lot, it’s a good idea to look back and see what Fallout has done and what it might do next.
Let’s look closer to Fallout Games in Order.
Fallout Games in Order
– Fallout
Release Date: October 1997
Background: Fallout was created as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, an RPG from 1988.
Developer: Chris Taylor
Setting: Southern California in the year 2161, in a post-apocalyptic Wasteland.
Gameplay Objective:
- Find a water chip to replace the broken one in Vault 13.
- Stop the Master’s plan.
Gameplay System:
- Uses the SPECIAL system for character attributes.
- Offers a unique story and organic choices.
Initial Issues:
- Interplay, a creator, pulled out due to concerns about the game’s violence.
Atmosphere:
- Recreates a post-WWII America feel with nuclear war paranoia.
Significance:
- Set the stage for a successful franchise with its distinct atmosphere and gameplay.
– Fallout 2
Release Date: October 1998
Improvements Over First Game:
- New and improved game engine
- Ability to set NPC attitudes and push people blocking doorways
- More pop culture jokes and parodies
- Better game mechanics
Setting: 80 years after the first Fallout
Main Character: The Chosen One, a descendant of the Vault Dweller
Objective:
- Save the village of Arroyo from famine and drought
- Find the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK)
- Fight the Enclave (remnants of the pre-war USA government)
Gameplay:
- 18 skills total: 4 passive, 6 combat, 8 active
- Skills are ranked from 0% to 300%
- Skills start at 0% to 50%, depending on character attributes
- Gain skill points with each level-up to improve character skills
– Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Release Date: Early 2001
Setting: Midwestern United States in a post-apocalyptic future
Main Character: New initiate of the Brotherhood of Steel
Objective:
- Protect the civilization from mutated species
Gameplay Changes:
- Focus on strategy and tactical combat rather than role-playing
- No dialogue options for players
Character System:
- Improve and customize perks and skills
- Recruit characters in multiplayer matches (humans, dogs, super mutants, humanoid robots, or Deathclaws)
- Recruits must be from the Brotherhood
Combat System:
- No turn-based mode
- New combat system with different modifiers, modes, and stances
– Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Release Date: 2004
Platforms: PlayStation 2 and Xbox
Developer: Interplay Entertainment (last Fallout game developed by them)
Setting:
- The storyline involves finding lost Brotherhood Paladins in Carbon
- Locations include towns with armed thugs, kamikaze ghouls, super mutants, radioactive scorpions, bandits, and raiders
Gameplay Focus:
- Combat and strategizing
- Uses the SPECIAL attribute system (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck)
- Attributes are fixed and non-customizable
Storyline:
- Features a brotherhood initiate on a dangerous mission
Canon Status:
- Not considered canon due to conflicting storylines with Fallout and Fallout 2
– Fallout 3
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Setting:
- 30 years after Fallout 2
- Over 200 years after the nuclear war
- Takes place in the Capital Wasteland around Washington D.C.
Main Character:
- Vault 101 dweller
- Becomes a Lone Wanderer searching for his father
Storyline:
- Flee from Vault 101 after father leaves
- Find and rescue father from Vault 112
- Discover father’s plan involving the Garden of Eden Creation Kit
- Player gets captured by the Enclave
Gameplay Changes:
- Utilizes 3D graphics
- Features free-roam world and real-time combat
- Previous games used 2D graphics and turn-based combat
Awards:
- IGN 2008 Overall Game of the Year
- Xbox 360 Game of the Year
- Best Use of Sound
- Best RPG
- Best of the Show
- Best Role Playing Game
– Fallout: New Vegas
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Setting:
- Four years after Fallout 3
- Mojave Wasteland, around New Vegas (old Las Vegas)
Main Character: Courier who is shot and robbed at the start
Objective:
- Find the attacker and recover the stolen package
Gameplay:
- No direct characters from Fallout 3
- Experience-based leveling system
- Complete side quests and main quests to gain points
World:
- Post-apocalyptic, with New Vegas as a city surrounded by old Las Vegas
- City is filled with gamblers and appears relatively untouched by nuclear effects
Storyline:
- Get involved in a conflict to control the Mojave Wasteland and New Vegas
- Meet new friends and enemies along the way
– Fallout 4
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Setting: 2288, over 200 years after the nuclear war and 10 years after Fallout 3
Main Character: Sole Survivor
- In cryogenic stasis in Vault 111
- Witnesses spouse’s murder and son’s kidnapping
Objective:
- Search for the kidnapped son
- Explore the Commonwealth (desolate lands)
Gameplay:
- Complete various quests
- Improve skills and abilities
- Fight enemies like Deathclaws, Raiders, Mole rats, Feral Ghouls, and Super Mutants
Character System:
- Uses the SPECIAL system
- Choose perks and develop character based on playstyle
Release Date: November 14, 2018
– Fallout 76
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Multiplayer: First multiplayer Fallout game, supports up to three players
Setting: Appalachia, West Virginia
Storyline:
- Focuses on Vault 76, one of 17 control vaults
- Enemies and monsters based on regional folklore
Character System:
- Revised SPECIAL progression system
Initial Features:
- No non-player NPCs or character dialogue at launch
Updates:
- “Wastelanders” update added NPCs and character dialogue
- Robots and environmental storytelling provide game information
Future Potential: Possible addition of human NPCs in the future
Conclusion
Besides the main Fallout games and spin-offs, there are tabletop games like Fallout 2d20 and Fallout: Warfare. Each offers a different story and short gaming sessions. The Fallout universe seems to be continuing strong with a loyal fan base. Unlike many games, Fallout has generally improved with each new release.
