Kotaku ranks the Fallout games

Sander

Sander

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Over at Kotaku, Patricia Hernandez decided to rank the Fallout games, or most of them -- she understandably skips Fallout: Tactics and that-one-abomination-we-never-talk-about. You may remember Hernandez from the time she wrote about the way Fallout 2 allowed her to explore her sexual identity for Rock Paper Shotgun.

Not surprisingly, Fallout 2 is her number one ranked game. Not a bad choice -- but the list goes off the rails at number two, where she throws in Fallout 3. Taste is subjective and all, but nope. Nope nope nope. Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 1 round out the list.

My personal ranking: Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 3. What's yours?
 
The two originals would definitely vie for the top, but I'm surprised myself that I would have Fallout in the first slot. Probably because it had a little bit of mysticism to it, the virgin mind of entering the huge vast apocalyptic world. I love Fallout 2 and almost in all ways would want to say it's my top pick of the Fallout games but the first one edges it out, as going into Fallout 2 I kind of knew what to expect in a way. Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas actually teeter out surprisingly close as well, which is something a simple ranking list can convey.

So I'd have to go with: Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 3. Ironically the same as Sander's, though I wouldn't be surprised if the reasons are incredibly varied.
 
Actually I would go so far to say Fallout, New Vegas, Fallout 2, Tactics. I don't care about the rest. I'd rank New Vegas before Fo2, because it is more serious with less obvious wackyness. Also I find the story way more interesting.
 
Sander said:
Over at Kotaku, Patricia Hernandez decided to rank the Fallout games, or most of them -- she understandably skips Fallout: Tactics and that-one-abomination-we-never-talk-about. You may remember Hernandez from the time she wrote about the way Fallout 2 allowed her to explore her sexual identity for Rock Paper Shotgun.

Not surprisingly, Fallout 2 is her number one ranked game. Not a bad choice -- but the list goes off the rails at number two, where she throws in Fallout 3. Taste is subjective and all, but nope. Nope nope nope. Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 1 round out the list.


My personal ranking: Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 3. What's yours?
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"understandably skips Fallout: Tactics"
Because they forgot to take their brain medicine?
 
Lexx said:
Actually I would go so far to say Fallout, New Vegas, Fallout 2, Tactics. I don't care about the rest. I'd rank New Vegas before Fo2, because it is more serious with less obvious wackyness. Also I find the story way more interesting.
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Your heresy knows no limits, Lexx.

Although I would rank Fallout: Tactics above FNV. Unleash the horde!

P.S. It is not the first time Kotaku ranks the Fallout series in a stupid way, we've been through this. Was it really news-worthy? :/
 
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Damn, I find it a bit difficult to rank Fallout 1, 2, and New Vegas.
Like many Fallout 1 was my introduction and set up myths and expectations for me when I first played it.

2, well I like it but I have to confess that I did not enjoy the opening or some of the 'filler' very much, I think it could have been a bit more streamlined (not cutting locations necessarily, just some re design). Though the Enclave wasn't as developed as well as the Unity and the Master, I still like the Fallout 2 incarnation.

Fallout New Vegas, well I have played that game the most these last couple of years, and it is probably the Fallout I will go back to when I am in such a mood. Doesn't mean it does not have flaws but I just enjoy the mix of it all.
What it mainly would need is an Arizona/Legion expansion and a bit more background balancing for that government.

It has been ages since I played Fallout Tactics but I do remember that unlike some people here I was one of the few people who did like the Calculator and Vault Zero though I acknowledge now that it is canon breaking compared to Fallout 1 and 2.
It is probably still enjoyable but will probably not play it so soon again.

Fallout 3, well it was an okay hiking game I guess but that is pretty much it. There is nothing substantial to it for an old school Fallout like me.
It is a rather pis poor Fallout 1/2 reboot.

FOBOS, there are parts in it I like such as a town having fallen into a sinkhole (done better in Lonesome Road later), the secret Vault, and Attis and his army. For the rest I am ignoring it
 
1. Fallout
It takes the top spot because the reason I got into the series was because of the isometric turn-based combat and choice and consequence cRPG mechanics and design though it was Fallout 2 that I first played. The reason that Fallout 1 comes at top for me is because it is much more neatly designed. Fallout 2 is stuffed with content but Fallout 1 had much better well-rounded condensed content.

2. Fallout 2
Much for the reasons as stated above.

3. New Vegas
Here's the thing, I consider FNV to be 'the best out of a bad situation' and it is not the ideal Fallout game to me. It did have a lot of good design decisions in it and improved on some aspects of the previous Fallout games greatly but when it comes down to it I didn't get into Fallout so I could grind around in twitchy first person. If I could include Tactics and if Tactics 2 and Van Buren and perhaps even Fallout Extreme had been released then FNV would be ranked lower than all of them. Great writing, lots of choice and consequences, interesting setting, but I 'really' don't like the first person perspective, the action-paced combat system or the 'one big sandbox' world it has.

4. Fallout 3
I don't think Fallout 3 got much right at all. The setting doesn't make any sense, the history doesn't make any sense, the settlements don't make any sense, the factions don't make any sense and a lot of quests don't make any sense. The entire thing can basically be summed down to the developers going "Wouldn't it be cool if ____" to one another and tossing in as much iconic shit they could get away with.
 
Fallout = Fallout 2 > Fallout NV >>> Fallout 3 >>> Fallout T >>>>>> Fallout BOS

The first one is the rounder, is the best example of less is more, more focused and more meaning for all the things around. The time limits (water chip and mutant invasions) help the feel of the world moving with or without your actions.

The sequel is bigger, with more content, but less focused, excelent as the first nonetheless.

New Vegas is pretty good, but is much less focused even than FO2, too much of everything without any real meaning. You have more than 100 weapons, but I end up using the same 4-5 ones in every playthrough. Legion is meh, NCR is meh, House and Yes Man are cool though, but the best is the BOS and the characters from the DLCs.

Fallout 3 was my first contact with the franchise, awesome back in the day, boring as hell now. Is more focused than NV or FO2, but there is no real choice and consequence, leveling is meaningless because you will end maxing up everything and the world itself is bland, you won't find those charismatic places like in FO1 or 2.

I find Tactics boring and tedious, never finished it, and I don't know how good or bad is BOS because I don't give a shit about it.
 
My order would be:

1. Fallout (I love this game so much)

2. Fallout 2 (Second place because Arroyo was annoying and makes repeat playthroughs a bit of a hassle for me. Once you leave the Arroyo though it gets perfect again. :p)

3. Fallout NV (Still haven't finished because my save game got bugged and haven't felt like starting over again yet, but the writing in this game is amazing. I'll finish it someday. :p )
.
.
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N. Fallout 3 (The writing and quest design pissed me off so much I could barely get passed Megaton. I have no idea what happens past that point pretty much. Hated this game. Hated it so much. >_< )

I would like to point out some factual incongruities in their description of New Vegas. They say it takes you a third of the game to get to New Vegas, but if you're a sneaksy little Hobbitses, you can sneak through the Death Claw area to get there in 20 minutes maybe. They also say it's linear but you can do things in pretty much any order you want. I haven't tried doing these kinds of things, but I believe they're do-able.
 
FO1, FO2, and the rest aren't worth mentioning.

FO1 is more serious & dark, and quite consistent. FO2 is all over the place with no direction and easter eggs all over the place. FO2 is technically better and larger, but in all other areas fails to outshine FO1.

That said, I've played through FO2 more times than I have FO1.
 
Sander said:
Fallout 2 allowed her to explore her sexual identity
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Wat8.jpg
 
maximaz said:
Sander said:
Fallout 2 allowed her to explore her sexual identity
Click to expand...


Wat8.jpg
Click to expand...

She grew up in a conservative religious South-American family, big on old-school latin-American gender roles and trying their best to get into lockstep with the "American Dream." Needless to say, this was probably pretty confusing considering she was one of those "something's been off ever since before grade school" lesbians (bisexuals?) and didn't even really have the context to know what a lesbian was. Some years later, enter an accidentally purchased copy of Fallout 2 to open her eyes to things like "maybe the American government isn't always on the level," "yes, girls have a place in the vidgy-games too," "maybe women can actually be kickass adventurers instead of dead-eyed housewives," and, "sometimes girls like to tee-hee other girls in their hoo-hoos."

As far as the other article, the one the thread's about, I can cover it with far fewer words: 1 (quality over quantity, though much of 2's dialogue could be said to be better and its mechanics were unquestionably superior), 2 and NV (about half an inch behind F1 in the race, and edging each other out for second so constantly that I never bother declaring a definitive winner), Tactics, 3.
 
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I would go with Fallout 1, Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 2.

Fallout 1 is the perfect Fallout experiencie, the C&C, the NPCs, the Cities, basically everything. My only regret is that Junktown original ending didn't made to the final game but maybe can be added by modders. *Looks to Sduibek*

Fallout New Vegas is my introduction to the series and the one who led me to NMA. The design was flawed I admit, the Legion could be better explored ( It should be) but overall , for me, is a game that can hold something to the Fallout name.

Fallout 2 comes behind manly because I never finished, so I couldn't explore it properly, somehow it doesn't get my interest like the first one ( maybe it is the silly stuff) but from what I experienced I can probably tell that is a good game.

Tactics and FOBOS I never played, can't give an opinion on them. Fallout 3 I prefer to forget, could only stomach one playtrought and the only things that I liked was The Pitt and the main characters on Point Lookout.
 
My ranking: Fallout > Fallout 2 = New Vegas >>>> Tactics >>>>>>>> Fallout 3. FOBOS? wut? :razz:
If Van Buren got finished 10 years ago, I'd put it before Fallout 2.
 
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