Can't decide which is better: Fallout 1 or Fallout 2. (2024)

Fallout 1: The mood and setting and pacing of the story was very enjoyable. All of the notable characters were very memorable. The combat was balanced well enough for most of the game and the ending was a pleasant surprise for me. I truly felt like I was in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Only downsides were the fact it was so short and the Power Armor/ Turbo plasma rifle were a bit overpowered.

Fallout 2: More of Fallout 1, more to explore, more story, the background of the vaults being revealed was interesting. Combat was more challenging, the places I could explore were more fleshed out than Fallout 1, and the impact on the world that the Vault Dweller had was interesting to see. Downsides were some of the ridiculous references to other media (the Monty Python references felt extremely out of place) which conflicted with the feeling of a developing wasteland, the fact that the main story seemed more linear (last boss is sorta random and forced), and less memorable characters. FO2 seemed to take itself less seriously than Fallout 1.

FO1 is quality, FO2 is quantity.

I voted FO2, because of the amount of content and for being my entry in the series . I played the sequel much before I got to play the first one, so the lulziness and pop culture references didn't annoy me.

it's a really tough choice, but I say that Fallout 2 is a better game.

The main story may be weaker, but not only there are more side-quests, the lore of the wasteland is HUGE and compeling. Also, it offers way more replays than F1, even the weirdest characters can still beat the game and uncover new things.

And Enclave is a good nemesis, I find humans as enemies much more amusing.

Fallout 1 is a neat, 8oz fillet cut of steak cooked to perfection.

Fallout 2 is a 14oz monster rib-eye steak with a few fatty bits to either carefully avoid, shrug and chew your way through or frown and spit out on a case-by-case basis. Nonetheless, its tastiest, juiciest bits are some of the best bites of steak you've ever had. Also, the chef seemed to have spent half the cooking time carefully cutting it into the shape of the USS Enterprise.

Depends how I'm feeling, but given the choice, I'll usually go for the fillet. Assuming it has sufficient potatoes/salad/chips to whet my monstrous appetite, because alone it probably won't be enough to sate my hunger. I never really bother with dessert, but I might have something to eat when I get home instead. I'm hungry.

Fallout is sh*t! sh*t writing, sh*t game! Ok, now on to business:

I really liked FO1 more than most other games. The locations were pretty well thought out, the original did not have a lot of hand holding, the quality was excellent. Favorite "dungeon" ever is The Glow, and there was really no combat in there (or at least, you could avoid it.) Nobody ever mentions the crazy random encounters base don luck, the ending(!), the main quest, and the named characters that are still staples: Harold, The Master, Vault Dweller, all of them looms larger than the game itself. Also, the unique experience each play through had. Playing a complete moron "Just give me the damn chip!" and playing as a genius seemed very different.

FO2 was a lot of stuff, good but a little too much quantity, as Excidium so succinctly put.

Excidium said:

FO1 is quality, FO2 is quantity.

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This, which is why FO1. I'm also a classy gentleman, so fillet > ribeye

FO2, easily.
Three words:

Intelligent Talking Deathclaws.

Discuss!!

DraQ said:

Intelligent Talking Deathclaws.

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To that point the FURRY Intelligent Talking Deathclaws take the gold. Falloout Tactics is the best.

DragoFireheart said:

the background of the vaults being revealed was interesting.

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f*ck that. The whole vault experiment bit introduced in Fallout 2 was sh*t. In Fallout 1, you were told the vaults were created to keep America's best and brightest from perishing in the impending nuclear holocaust. In Fallout 2, you learned that the vaults were a giant, secret experiment set up by a shadow government to test how humans would act in specific circ*mstances in small, closed environments. Why? So the shadow government could apply what they learned for when they'd hop into their spaceship and populate another planet.

OldSkoolKamikaze said:

DragoFireheart said:

the background of the vaults being revealed was interesting.

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f*ck that. The whole vault experiment bit introduced in Fallout 2 was sh*t. In Fallout 1, you were told the vaults were created to keep America's best and brightest from perishing in the impending nuclear holocaust. In Fallout 2, you learned that the vaults were a giant, secret experiment set up by a shadow government to test how humans would act in specific circ*mstances in small, closed environments. Why? So the shadow government could apply what they learned for when they'd hop into their spaceship and populate another planet.

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And what's wrong with that? It fits with the setting.

DraQ said:

FO2, easily.
Three words:

Intelligent Talking Deathclaws.

Discuss!!

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Intelligent bipedal reptilian beings...

Hmmm...

They should've been given the ability to morph into human form, which would allow them to infiltrate and manipulate human society from within. The unwitting hu-mans would then become their cattle, harvested for their blood and energy.

Interesting premise, wouldn't you say? Vril? Vran?

BROS I PLAYED THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME PRETTY MUCH BACK TO BACK

I PLAYED A MARATHON SESSIONS OF FALLOUT AND FINSIHED THE GAME IN ONE TO THREE DAYS I FORGET

I VOTE FOR FALLOUT 2 BECAUSE OF THE QUANTITY THE STEAK ANALOGY OF THE BRO ABOVE WAS PERFECT ALTHOUGH I GOT THROUGH FALLOUT 1 IN LIKE 1 BITE

Excidium said:

OldSkoolKamikaze said:

f*ck that. The whole vault experiment bit introduced in Fallout 2 was sh*t. In Fallout 1, you were told the vaults were created to keep America's best and brightest from perishing in the impending nuclear holocaust. In Fallout 2, you learned that the vaults were a giant, secret experiment set up by a shadow government to test how humans would act in specific circ*mstances in small, closed environments. Why? So the shadow government could apply what they learned for when they'd hop into their spaceship and populate another planet.

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And what's wrong with that? It fits with the setting.

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Yeah, I see no problem with this. A theme throughout Fallout 1/2 was a lying, invasive government and a military-industrial-complex. So yeah, finding out that the whole "saving the best and the brightest" story was bullsh*t fit perfectly into the setting. It was pretty cool, actually. Maybe the populating another planet was a bit much, but finding out that the government's motives were completely ruthless made perfect sense.

I started with Fallout 2, loved it and replayed it quite a few times before, years later, I finally got around to installing and playing Fallout 1. Don't ask how or why, it just happened that way.

Anyway, Fallout 1 blew me away. It was just a much tighter, more coherent and better paced experience than F2. I must have spent about 5 times as many hours playing F2 than I did playing F1 but the original gets my vote as the better game.

Esquilax said:

Excidium said:

OldSkoolKamikaze said:

f*ck that. The whole vault experiment bit introduced in Fallout 2 was sh*t. In Fallout 1, you were told the vaults were created to keep America's best and brightest from perishing in the impending nuclear holocaust. In Fallout 2, you learned that the vaults were a giant, secret experiment set up by a shadow government to test how humans would act in specific circ*mstances in small, closed environments. Why? So the shadow government could apply what they learned for when they'd hop into their spaceship and populate another planet.

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And what's wrong with that? It fits with the setting.

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Yeah, I see no problem with this. A theme throughout Fallout 1/2 was a lying, invasive government and a military-industrial-complex. So yeah, finding out that the whole "saving the best and the brightest" story was bullsh*t fit perfectly into the setting. It was pretty cool, actually. Maybe the populating another planet was a bit much, but finding out that the government's motives were completely ruthless made perfect sense.

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Agreed. I never had a problem with it either.

Fallout is still however > Fallout 2.

Just FYI.

I played Fallout 1 and 2 back to back. Fallout 2 felt insulting to Fallout 1. Sure, there's a lot more content, but it's absurdly immature.

LOL p*rnO. LOL MAGIC THE GATHERING. LOL ASIAN PEOPLE. LOL SCIENTOLOGY. LOL GETTIN' RAPED BY A SUPER MUTANT. LOL DAN QUALE.

Sure, if Fallout 1 hadn't set the precedent, I wouldn't mind these thing as much. Problem is right after playing a masterpiece that quite frankly has one of the most touching endings, ever, it's kind of hard to enjoy the LOL FUNNY in the same setting.

OldSkoolKamikaze said:

f*ck that. The whole vault experiment bit introduced in Fallout 2 was sh*t.]

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Thing is I wouldn't have so much a problem if that was the case for a certain percentage of vaults, say something small like 5%.
It would even be acceptable, amusing and the intended quirky rather than the rabble rabble rabble rabble rabble.
uuh but yeah I don't like this either.

:D I somehow didn't remember the part about spaceship travel , gaad thats painful.

and yes far too many jokes!(tm).
Years ago I saw some of a painful 80's Val Kilmer college movie on TV only to hear the rebellious and awesome joke of (something like) "switching to decaffeinated" line repeated.
At the time I think I had more to go on that they were referencing that movie.
Joke after Joke too too much.
Though I do like the Scientology parody especially in retrospect as I had never heard of them at the time.
The occasional tombstone joke!(tm) is appreciated too and was a little sad not to find any in New Vegas.