Almost exactly a month ago, I delivered a little PSA reminding anyone with a lingering Amazon Prime subscription that they could pick up a free GOG copy of Fallout 1, the obviously and objectively best Fallout game. Well, here I am again, reminding anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription that they can pick up a free GOG copy of Fallout 2, the obviously and objectively 3rd-best Fallout game. You are welcome.
This is, I suspect, a controversial ranking on my part, but it’s one I stand by. For my money, Fallout 1’s isometric moody pulp and its relatively tight and focused plot make it my favourite game of the series, but New Vegas is a very close second place. To be honest, if I really search my feelings my slight preference for the first Fallout comes down mostly to the fact that I think its isometric engine allowed for a much more evocative artstyle.
Anyway! Although there are many, many people who will tell you Fallout 2 is the best one, I never got on with its style and humour all that well. Fallout 1 had its fair share of comedy and absurdity, but the second game really ratcheted things up, cramming daft pop culture references wherever they would fit and adopting a slightly, uh, adolescent attitude toward sex (you could become a porn star, for instance, and there was even a totally useless perk to make you canonically great at sex). I don’t think it was bad—I still prefer it to the Bethesda games—just not my cup of tea.
But whatever my feelings, Fallout 2 is undeniably a worthy entry in the pantheon of great RPGs, and is filled with great RPG systems, consequences for your choices, and all that good stuff you expect from a game with the Black Isle logo on the box.
If you’re a Prime subscriber, which it feels most of us are almost without willing it these days, you can head over to Twitch’s Prime Gaming page, where you can also claim yourself an assortment of knick-knacks for games like PUBG, Battlefield, and other live-service whatchamacallits. Let’s be honest, though, you’re there for Fallout.
