Every stat affects something, somewhere. Strength, for example, influences the damage you can do with melee weapons, as well as carry weight; Perception affects how accurate you are in shooting, as well as how much you notice things; Endurance affects general 'survivability' (hit points, rad resistance); and so on. There are also "unwritten" effects, such as in dialogs, effects of exploration, NPC reactions, and so on, that the manual doesn't necessarily talk about. It's all in the manual (which is either 1.) the book with the spiral binding 2.) the glossy black and white pamphlet or 3.) the PDF in the "\Fallout\manual" directory on the CD... depending on which version you own). I highly suggest you RTFM as it will clear up 100% of the problems you have about character creation. Mind you, this game was made prior to everything being all about hand-holding the first hour of the game.
As for "bad graphics", those were SOTA in 1997... and truth be told, they have held up quite well for their age. But, RPGs aren't all about pretty graphics, they are about gameplay, the storyline, the choices, the characters... and most importantly, the use of your own imagination in making the game come to life. This game does not spoonfeed you, in the manner most modern games do. It actually expects you to use your brain in a creative manner.
As for not knowing what to do... did you, perchance, skip through the introduction movie? Or, perhaps, check out your Pip-boy, and didn't notice the big piece of paper taped onto it, saying how many days you have left to complete your goal? Mayhaps, did you fail to listen to the Overseer as he explained "you should head east to see if vault 15 has a spare water chip"?
Sometimes, listening and reading are keys to winning. Both in Fallout, and in life. Learn to do so, and you will go far in both.
So, what's the big deal?
* You have freedom of choice- if I'm facing a major foe, I can talk him into submission, I can sneak-attack him, I can betray him, I can go gung-ho and fight him, or any other way I can think of to take him down. You can go through the entire game mowing down everyone and everything, or you can go through it without firing a single shot.
* Your deeds actually mean something- if I help out someone, they'll put in a good word for me with someone else. If I help out a town, it is recognized by the area. If I lay waste to a village, you can be sure I'll be ostracized in the next one.
* Quality of writing- you don't find games with this deep of a storyline that often anymore.
* Unique gameplay- it is a computer emulation of playing a tabletop RPG. Most modern RPGs try to tell a story, and it uses the computer to do so as efficiently as possible. Fallout, however, is as if the story was initially told with figurines, a tabletop map, cardboard buildings, dice, and you played it in real life, from the perspective of looking down at the table... and it then takes *that* experience, and translates it into computer form.
* Moral ambiguity- just because it may seem to be right choice at the time, may or may not mean it really is. It is not "good vs. neutral vs. evil", but rather, "What is good in the eyes of some, is evil in the eyes of others, and vice versa" and "What seems the right choice now, may wind up having wrongly-intended consequences, and vice versa".
* Details- While in the average game, you get plenty of visual details, they are lacking in the other four senses. What Fallout lacks in visual high-definition details, it makes up for with descriptions of sound, smell, taste, and touch.
* Unique NPCs- I can almost guarantee you will never meet another NPC like Harold, and if you're playing FO2, I have to give respects to Bob as well. And even party members have their own unique quirks... Sulik with his "we and I", Ian and his SMGs, Tycho's legacy, Cassidy's heart, and so on.
* Easter eggs- If you're as old as most original Fallout fans (25-35 years old), most of them will bring back fond memories of your youth, or of stories of your parent's era. If not... consider it as exposure to some of the coolest, strangest, and controversial things of ours and their time.
* Music- Most games nowadays come with fully orchestrated soundtracks. Even back then, games were going for that general feel. But Fallout's soundtrack is unique in that it is atmospheric and ambient, as opposed to melodic... and that in of itself sets it wholly apart.
* Classless- I am not limited to "ranged DPS", "melee DPS", "ranged burst damage", "melee burst damage", and "stealth DPS"... but rather, my character's class is limited only by my imagination. If I want to play a politician, so be it. If I want to play a drunken brawler, so be it. If I want to play a whore, so be it. If I want to play a socially-inept drug-addicted psychopathic cultist sniper, so be it. If I want to play a martial artist, so be it. If I want to play a complete idiot or an utter genius... so be it. I can be all those, and many more.
There are a great many more reasons, including the various perks and traits, locations, references to Wasteland, foes, philosophy, secrets, exploration, and so on.
But, mind you, this is not a game where you will be given an arrow and told "you have to go here next". This is not a game that tells you, "go and kill this person next". And this is not a game where you click through a dialogue, and have the answer appear in your face. This *is* a game where *you* decide where to go or not go, and whom to kill or not kill, next.This *is* a game, where *you* have to *read* and *listen to* the dialogue, to find the answer.
This is not a casual gamer's RPG. It is an RPGer's RPG. And that, my friend, is the big deal.
