I just recently wrapped up playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In general, I liked it a lot, but couldn't help being greatly disappointed by its story and writing at nearly every turn. An otherwise great game is consistently marred by wooden dialogue, shallow characters, contrived plotting, and--perhaps most importantly--the illusion of choice.
After completing Odyssey I found myself wanting a quality writing experience to cleanse myself of some of the pitfalls of the game. I've already played and replayed the Mass Effect series and the Witcher series ad nauseam, so I decided to jump into a genre of game I have only marginal experience in: The classic cRPG.
I already own (but had yet to play) both Baldur's Gates and each of the first three Fallouts (1, 2, and Tactics), so I decided to start at the earliest release of the bunch: Fallout.
I fully prepared myself for a dated experience, as many of the game's fans caution that it has aged extremely poorly. And that is certainly true. The interface is obtuse and nearly unusable if you don't have the patience to constantly grapple with it. The graphics are obviously as dated as one would expect from a game from 1997. Friendly AI and the combat system, which resembles more a tactical RPG than what I expected from a classic cRPG, are all a far cry from modern gaming. That isn't to say that combat isn't fun at times, but it is quite shallow. I was surprised to see that the recent Shadowrun revival games seemed to draw strong influence from Fallout, though those games are quite a bit deeper than this one is.
Despite these negatives and the wear of age, Fallout is also unexpectedly modern--And even better than a lot of modern games--in other ways. The character building (which you'll be familiar with if you've played Fallout 3 or New Vegas) is superb, featuring deep perks and skills that allow you to affect the world in great ways. It reminded how solid the character building in the more recent Fallout 3 and New Vegas were, and how disappointed I was with the stripped-down system in Fallout 4. The roleplaying is also excellent, providing for different dialogue options that you aren't even aware of until you play the game with a different character build. Following this are the meaningful choices you're given throughout the game, something that even modern game writers are still struggling with implementing. I was shocked to see how refined and modern the roleplaying aspects of this game were, considering how badly its other aspects had aged, and after playing Fallout I was convinced that its fans are not just clouded by nostalgia, or living in the past, but completely correct that some of these cRPGs are truly the high-water mark of roleplaying video games. Fallout has left me excited for what's to come. I'll be playing its sequel, Fallout 2, in addition to Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, and Planescape: Torment. I'll try and write reviews for each game.
In conclusion, the original Fallout makes it clear just how far video games have come as a medium. They're a far more polished experience, way more user-friendly, with most having easier-to-use combat that requires less imagination to become immersed, with flashier visuals, and far better user interfaces. However playing through this game has also highlighted how much games have not changed from the late '90s, and how much work they have to go to reach the writing quality of television or feature film. There are many games released only in the past five years whose writing doesn't even come close to the quality of Fallout's in terms of dialogue and/or plotting--Even other RPGs are seldom this credible in these aspects--a great example being BioWare's most recent Mass Effect Andromeda, which, although made by a company with a history of classic, great RPGs such as Baldur's Gate, suffered from the same poor characterization, contrived plotting, poor character building, and awful dialogue that I lambasted Assassin's Creed Odyssey--a game made by an action/open world studio--for having.
RPGs seldom feature this kind of quality writing and worldbuilding, so I'd recommend this to anyone reading if you have a strong interest in roleplaying games. It's a worthwhile roleplaying experience, with solid plotting and great character building. However if you have trouble playing dated games and have found in the past that you can't get into them, then this game will certainly not be your bread-and-butter, as its UI is obtuse, its combat AI is abysmal, and its visuals are greatly dated.
I already own (but had yet to play) both Baldur's Gates and each of the first three Fallouts (1, 2, and Tactics), so I decided to start at the earliest release of the bunch: Fallout.
I fully prepared myself for a dated experience, as many of the game's fans caution that it has aged extremely poorly. And that is certainly true. The interface is obtuse and nearly unusable if you don't have the patience to constantly grapple with it. The graphics are obviously as dated as one would expect from a game from 1997. Friendly AI and the combat system, which resembles more a tactical RPG than what I expected from a classic cRPG, are all a far cry from modern gaming. That isn't to say that combat isn't fun at times, but it is quite shallow. I was surprised to see that the recent Shadowrun revival games seemed to draw strong influence from Fallout, though those games are quite a bit deeper than this one is.
Despite these negatives and the wear of age, Fallout is also unexpectedly modern--And even better than a lot of modern games--in other ways. The character building (which you'll be familiar with if you've played Fallout 3 or New Vegas) is superb, featuring deep perks and skills that allow you to affect the world in great ways. It reminded how solid the character building in the more recent Fallout 3 and New Vegas were, and how disappointed I was with the stripped-down system in Fallout 4. The roleplaying is also excellent, providing for different dialogue options that you aren't even aware of until you play the game with a different character build. Following this are the meaningful choices you're given throughout the game, something that even modern game writers are still struggling with implementing. I was shocked to see how refined and modern the roleplaying aspects of this game were, considering how badly its other aspects had aged, and after playing Fallout I was convinced that its fans are not just clouded by nostalgia, or living in the past, but completely correct that some of these cRPGs are truly the high-water mark of roleplaying video games. Fallout has left me excited for what's to come. I'll be playing its sequel, Fallout 2, in addition to Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, and Planescape: Torment. I'll try and write reviews for each game.
In conclusion, the original Fallout makes it clear just how far video games have come as a medium. They're a far more polished experience, way more user-friendly, with most having easier-to-use combat that requires less imagination to become immersed, with flashier visuals, and far better user interfaces. However playing through this game has also highlighted how much games have not changed from the late '90s, and how much work they have to go to reach the writing quality of television or feature film. There are many games released only in the past five years whose writing doesn't even come close to the quality of Fallout's in terms of dialogue and/or plotting--Even other RPGs are seldom this credible in these aspects--a great example being BioWare's most recent Mass Effect Andromeda, which, although made by a company with a history of classic, great RPGs such as Baldur's Gate, suffered from the same poor characterization, contrived plotting, poor character building, and awful dialogue that I lambasted Assassin's Creed Odyssey--a game made by an action/open world studio--for having.
RPGs seldom feature this kind of quality writing and worldbuilding, so I'd recommend this to anyone reading if you have a strong interest in roleplaying games. It's a worthwhile roleplaying experience, with solid plotting and great character building. However if you have trouble playing dated games and have found in the past that you can't get into them, then this game will certainly not be your bread-and-butter, as its UI is obtuse, its combat AI is abysmal, and its visuals are greatly dated.
⭐⭐⭐
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