Hi, I'm from Ukraine. Russian is like the second language here.
My personal impression - the article is good. At the beginning the author explains to the younger gamers just why the originals are so great, which is nice.
Here are some highlights from the article. My own comments are in italics.
According to Igromania:
Genre: RPG; Action
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game studios
Russian Publisher/Localisation: 1C (
They did quite impressive on fallout 2 btw)
Similarity: Fallout Series; The elder scrolls 4: Oblivion
Multiplayer: none
Release date: Autumn 2008
Official site:
http://fallout.bethsoft.com
Fan-sites:
www.duckandcover.cx; www.nma-fallout.com; http://fallout.wikia.com
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Igromania on the original atmosphere:
Fallout still doesn't have any analogs when it comes to atmosphere. As the sign says: fallout is a
post-nuclear adventure, which means the game is set up in a nuclear wasteland. Numerous attempts to copy the game's unique atmosphere failed because people don't understand that fallout is not just about your monitor full of rusty cars, mutants and tribesmen. The game is set in so-called
retro-future aesthetic. Despite the fact that the game is set in late 21st century, the surroundings look like 40-50s. [...] Black isle took the classic, poster-like America and settled it with two-headed cows, tribesmen, drugs (
or is it chems?=)), radiation and Brotherhood of steel.
It is also important to remember that fallout was released in 1997, just a year after diablo. In such market environment releasing a rpg without demons, swords and hammers seemed suicidal.
But it came out that talent is stronger than marketing. Or, at least, it was 10 years ago.
On the original Gameplay:
Fallout was played even by people who got indigestion from hearing "rpg". Black Isle invented a system which perfectly balanced a complex set of characteristics and easy-to-understand ways of controlling them. [
the author then explains what SPECIAL is, gives basic info on primary and secondary statistics, perks]
Thanks to SPECIAL you could develop your character using simple human logic, not a pen and a calculator.
On the original freedom:
Fallout is like a set of unique stories. "How I maradeured in the wastes"; "How I joined the Brotherhood of steel"; "How I did nothing for a week" or even "How I seduced casino owner's wife, overheard her rambling safe code numbers in sleep, and got blown on the dynamite trap ". The game seems to have no artificial limits at all - the player was only limited by his own fantasy and skills. Even today Fallout remains a game of great possibilities - you can get lost and find a secret location (A UFO Landed in the wasteland!), take a part in illegal fight or star in a pornomovie.
[
So this is like a page and a half in the magazine just to explain what fallout is. Great, isn't it?]
On Fo3 combat system
(
nothing new here)
...[after explaining the vats] The bad news are - you can't attack an enemy in the groin like in previous games.
On political correctness
... Fo 1 and 2 were very mature games. Apart from the mentioned above porno, you could also marry and use your own wife as a prostitute. You could also shoot kids, and even gain a "Childkiller" perk. This feature caused a huge discussion - bethesda is still uncertain whether the player will be able to kill children, which angered the hard-core fans of course. [...] However, there was an information leak that a game has a strange "corpses eaten" counter. Bethesda doesn't comment on this, but there are hot discussions on forums about eating children's corpses.
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There also was some information which I find disturbing and do hope it's inaccurate - "When you first visit a location the game tunes the monsters level according to your current state. But after that the enemies won't change, so if you visit the same location later (
after leveling a lot I guess) you can easily make a henocide"
Is this true?