Fallout 2

Fallout 2: A Post-Nuclear Role Playing Game is the sequel to the original Fallout game. Released in 1998, it was officially developed by Black Isle Studios, which by that point had become a full-fledged design outfit.

Fallout 2 is shit.

Ausir is shit.

Suriyardi is "slow".

Setting
At the end of original Fallout, the hero Vault Dweller was exiled by the Vault Overseer for prolonged exposure to the outside world. Unable to return home, the Vault Dweller, with a group of willing companions, traveled far north. Eventually they started their own tribal village called Arroyo in what we know as Oregon. Decades have passed since the original Fallout, and the Vault Dweller has died.

In the time since the Vault Dweller's exile, a new government known as the New California Republic (abbreviated NCR) has begun to unify the southern towns and is spreading to the north. A mysterious new organization known as the Enclave has emerged with the most sophisticated technology in the wastes, even surpassing the Brotherhood of Steel. And a new drug, Jet, has become a cancer on many towns with a nearly 100% addiction rate, forcing many to rely on the town of New Reno to keep them supplied.

Story
During 2241, Arroyo suffered the worst drought on record. Faced with the difficulty, the village elders asked the direct descendant of the Vault Dweller, referred to as the Chosen One, to perform the quest of retrieving a Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) for Arroyo. The GECK is a device that can create thriving communities out of the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The player, assuming the role of the Chosen One, is given nothing more than the Vault Dweller's jumpsuit, a RobCo PIPBoy 2000 handheld device, a Vault 13 water flask, and some cash to start the mission.

The player eventually finds Vault 13 (the first place possible to obtain a GECK) devoid of the majority of its former human inhabitants. The Chosen One returns to find his village captured by "The Enclave", which is later revealed to be remnants of the United States government. The player, through a variety of means, activates an ancient oil tanker and its autopilot, thus allowing him to reach the Enclave's main base on an offshore Oil Rig.

It is revealed that the dwellers of Vault 13 were captured as well, to be used as test subjects for FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus), together with the Arroyo tribesmen. Vault 13 was supposed to be closed for 200 years as part of an Enclave experiment; this makes them perfect test subjects. The Enclave modified the Forced Evolutionary Virus into an airborne disease, designed to attack any living creatures with mutated DNA. With all genetic impurities removed, the Enclave (who remain protected from radiation) could take over.

The player frees both his village (Arroyo) and the Vault 13 dwellers from Enclave control, and destroys the Enclave's oil rig. In the ending, the inhabitants of Vault 13 and Arroyo villagers create a new prosperous community with the help of the GECK.

Characteristics
The fact that in Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout 3 the player characters are raised in an isolated community works with the plot structure, allowing the character to be as ignorant about the game world as the player would be and explaining why the map the character starts with is almost completely unexplored.

Reception
Fallout fans are generally divided in their opinions of Fallout 2. The most common complaints involve the voluminous amount of pop-culture references throughout the game, many of which are extraneous and forced; the exaggerated "adult" content such as the porn studio in New Reno, or even New Reno as a whole; the lack of a true Fallout atmosphere when compared to the original game; and especially the overall lack of advancement over the original in terms of graphics and gameplay. There have also been some complaints about the game's relatively arbitrary end boss, Frank Horrigan.

Other fans argue that Fallout 2 goes above and beyond the ideas and promises of the original. With a level of content many times that of the first Fallout, and no "ticking clock" main quest hanging over the head of the player, some feel that Fallout 2 fleshes out the concept of a truly open-ended roleplaying experience to an extreme that the original was unable to achieve.

Most fans can agree that Fallout 2 is fun for what it is, but nowhere near as groundbreaking as Fallout was. Still, Fallout 2 is considered one of Black Isle Studios' best RPGs by most critics, and is generally well respected in the RPG community.