View source for Fallout 2

{{Short description|1998 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox video game
| title      = Fallout 2
| image      = PC Game Fallout 2.jpg
| developer  = [[Black Isle Studios]]
| publisher  = [[Interplay Productions]]{{efn|[[MacPlay]] published the Mac OS X version.<ref name="IGN_mac"/>|lead=yes}}
| producer   = {{Unbulleted list|Eric DeMilt|[[Feargus Urquhart]]}}
| designer   = {{Unbulleted list|Feargus Urquhart|Matthew J. Norton}}
| programmer = Jesse Reynolds
| artist     = {{Unbulleted list|Gary Platner|Tramell Ray Isaac}}
| writer     = Mark O'Green
| composer   = [[Mark Morgan (composer)|Mark Morgan]]
| series     = ''[[Fallout (series)|Fallout]]''
| platforms  = {{Unbulleted list|[[Windows]]|[[Mac OS X]]}}
| released   = {{Unbulleted list|'''Windows'''|October 29, 1998<ref name="NARel">{{cite web |url=http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_10/26_fallout/index.html |title=Fallout 2 Ships |author=Mullen, Micheal |date=October 26, 1998 |website=[[GameSpot]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000610191645/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_10/26_fallout/index.html |archive-date=June 10, 2000 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 13, 2019}}</ref>|'''Mac OS X'''|July 2002<ref name="IGN_mac">{{cite web |last1=Samhain |first1=Cynn |title=Fallout 2 For Mac |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/07/02/fallout-2-for-mac |website=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705094414/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/07/02/fallout-2-for-mac |archive-date=5 July 2022 |date=2 July 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Macworld Conference & Expo |url=http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworldexpo/v31/index.cvn |website=[[Macworld/iWorld|Macworld]] |publisher=[[International Data Group]] |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020604051536/http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworldexpo/v31/index.cvn |archive-date=4 June 2002 |quote=Expo: July 17–19, 2002}}</ref>}}
| genre      = [[Role-playing video game|Role-playing]]
| modes      = [[Single-player]]
}}
This article is a clone of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_2.

'''''Fallout 2'''''{{efn|Also known as '''''Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game'''''}} is a 1998 [[role-playing video game]] developed by [[Black Isle Studios]] and published by [[Interplay Productions]]. A sequel to ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'', which had been released the previous year, it mostly uses similar graphics and [[game mechanics]]. ''Fallout 2'' featured a considerably larger game world and a far more extensive storyline. It was originally released on [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and ported to [[Mac OS X]] in 2002.

The game's story takes place in 2241, 80 years after the events of ''Fallout'' (the first and original installment of the [[Fallout (series)|Fallout series]]) and 164 years after the atomic war which reduced the vast majority of the world to a nuclear wasteland.<ref name="FOBible0">{{cite web |first=Chris |last=Avellone |author-link=Chris Avellone |title=Fallout Bible 0 |work=Black Isle |date=March 8, 2002 |url=http://feedback.blackisle.com/downloads/fallout_bible_0_pdf.zip |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226133641/http://feedback.blackisle.com/downloads/fallout_bible_0_pdf.zip |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=April 3, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The plot tells the story of [[The Chosen One (trope)|The Chosen One]], the grandchild of the Vault Dweller, and their quest to save their primitive, peaceful tribe from the small village of Arroyo, situated on the [[West Coast of the United States]] and founded by a wretched group of former residents from Vault 13 led by the Vault Dweller, from starvation by finding an ancient [[restoration ecology|environmental restoration]] machine known as the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) in the ruins of the tribe's ancestral home.<ref name="story">{{cite web |year=1998 |url=http://www.interplay.com/fallout2/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031204121000/http://www.interplay.com/fallout2/story.html |work=Fallout 2 Website |publisher=[[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]] |title=The Story |archive-date=December 4, 2003 |access-date=September 3, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Upon completing the mission, however, The Chosen One discovers that their tribe has been conquered by the "Enclave", a group of marauders claiming to wield the authority of the former U.S. federal government, and must fight to save their people from enslavement and death.

In terms of critical acclaim, the game was well-received as well as tremendously praised for its gameplay, storyline, and as a worthy successor to the original ''Fallout'', while the frequent bugs and lack of improvement over the first game attracted mild criticism on behalf of several gamer groups and gaming magazines. The game was followed by ''[[Fallout 3]]'' in 2008, developed by [[Bethesda Game Studios]] after Bethesda acquired the rights to the franchise from Interplay Productions.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bradon |last2=Boyer |date=April 13, 2007 |title=Fallout IP Sold To Bethesda |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/-i-fallout-i-ip-sold-to-bethesda |access-date=April 19, 2022 |website=Game Developer |language=en}}</ref>

==Gameplay==
''Fallout 2'' is a role-playing [[open-world]] video game. The [[Player character|player]] is free to move at will until they enter into combat. Combat gives them a number of [[Action point (video gaming)|action points]] to move, fire, check their equipment, reload and the like.

When a player uses up all of their action points, they end their turn and enemies start theirs. If the player survives unharmed, he or she has their action points restored. Injuries and poisons can reduce the number of action points available both in a single turn and semi-permanently, until combat ends and the player can be treated.

Combat and completion of jobs or quests reward the player with [[experience point]]s with which they can level up their characters and apply beneficial perks to become more suited to the dangerous post-apocalyptic world.

[[File:Fallout2Dialogue.jpg|thumb|right|An example of dialogue between characters in ''Fallout 2'']]

General gameplay consists of traveling and interacting with local inhabitants and organizations to complete goals and aid or inhibit the NPCs. The player's actions dictate what future story or gameplay opportunities are available. Mature themes such as alcohol consumption, drug usage, and sex are present.

Organized crime, prostitution, and slavery are major elements of the setting. Character creation is based on the [[SPECIAL (role-playing system)|SPECIAL]] role-playing system.

==Plot==
In 2241, the primitive town Arroyo suffers the worst drought on record. Faced with the calamity, the village elder asks 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.<ref name="story"/> The player, assuming the role of the Chosen One, is given nothing more than the Vault Dweller's jumpsuit, a RobCo PIPBoy 2000, a Vault 13 water flask, a spear and some cash to start on their mission.

The Chosen One eventually finds Vault 13, the supposed location of a GECK, devoid of the majority of its former human inhabitants and instead inhabited by intelligent Deathclaws. The Chosen One then returns to find their village captured by the [[deep state]] remnants of the [[United States government]] known as "The Enclave". The Enclave often terrorizes the inhabitants of continental United States with their supreme arsenal of advanced technology. The Chosen One, through various means, activates an ancient [[oil tanker]] and engages its [[autopilot]], thus allowing them to reach the Enclave's main base on an offshore [[Offshore oil platform|oil rig]]. It is revealed that the dwellers of Vault 13 were captured as well, to be used as [[Human test subject|test subject]]s for Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). Vault 13 was supposed to be closed for 200 years as part of a government experiment,<ref name="FOBible0"/> making 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 Chosen One frees both their fellow villagers from Arroyo and the Vault 13 dwellers from Enclave control and subsequently destroys the Enclave's oil rig, killing Dick Richardson, the [[President of the United States]], as well as a genetically modified [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] enforcer named Frank Horrigan. In the end, the inhabitants of Vault 13 and the Arroyo villagers create a new prosperous community with the help of the GECK.

==Development==
[[Tim Cain]] announced ''Fallout 2'' via a [[Usenet]] posting in December 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/0,3,0-1347,00.html |title=GAMECENTER.COM - Game News - Fallout 2 Under Way |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990506061401/http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/0,3,0-1347,00.html |archive-date=May 6, 1999 |url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview with Interplay founder [[Brian Fargo]] for [[Retro Gamer]], Fargo stated that production of ''Fallout 2'' began before ''Fallout 1'' had even been released.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dransfield |first=Ian |date=April 4, 2019 |title=The complete history of Fallout |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-complete-history-of-fallout/ |access-date=April 5, 2021 |website=PC Gamer |language=en-US}}</ref> According to co-founder of Black Isle Studios [[Feargus Urquhart]], Interplay was experiencing financial difficulties at the beginning of 1998, which according to Urquhart, gave the studio "basically nine months to make the whole game".<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Fallout 2's wild wasteland came to define a series |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/fallout-2/fallout-2-wasteland |access-date=April 5, 2021 |website=PCGamesN |language=en-GB}}</ref> In order to reach this deadline, many staff were taken from the ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' development team and made to work on Fallout 2. Additionally, the development team were also made to work [[Crunch time (expression)|crunch time]] to make up for a lack of manpower and time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World on Fire: The Oral History of Fallout and Fallout 2 |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/114982/world-on-fire-the-oral-history-of-fallout-and-fallout-2 |access-date=April 5, 2021 |website=Shacknews |language=en}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Sales===
''Fallout 2'' was a commercial success.<ref name=desslocksales2 /> Upon its release, it secured third place on [[PC Data]]'s computer game sales chart for the first week of November 1998. It was absent from the weekly top 10 by its second week<ref name=nov1-7>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000609184911/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_11/25_pc_pcsellers/index.html |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/98_11/25_pc_pcsellers/index.html |title=Top Sellers of the Week |work=[[GameSpot]] |date=November 25, 1998 |archive-date=June 9, 2000 |author=Feldman, Curt |url-status=dead |access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> but debuted at #20 for the month of November overall in the United States.<ref name=nov1998>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406162520/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/025/pc_data_november.html |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/016/025/pc_data_november.html |title=November Belongs to ''Deer Hunter 2 3D'' |date=December 13, 1998 |author=Mayer, Robert |work=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]] |archive-date=April 6, 2005 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> In that country alone, it sold 123,000 copies by March 2000. [[GameSpot]]'s writer Desslock considered these "very good sales, especially since the overall [worldwide] figures are likely double those amounts."<ref name=desslocksales2>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010203124200/http://desslock.gamespot.com/archives/200005/20000511.html |url=http://desslock.gamespot.com:80/archives/200005/20000511.html |title=Desslock's Ramblings – RPG Sales Figures |author=Desslock |date=May 11, 2000 |work=[[GameSpot]] |archive-date=February 3, 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Keza MacDonald of [[Eurogamer]], ''Fallout 2'' was unsuccessful in the United Kingdom; she noted that the game and its predecessor totaled just over 50,000 sales combined in the region.<ref name=eurogamer>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029123628/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/fallout-retrospective-article |url=http://www.eurogamer.net:80/articles/fallout-retrospective-article |title=''Fallout'' Retrospective |work=[[Eurogamer]] |archive-date=October 29, 2009 |date=October 27, 2008 |author=MacDonald, Keza |url-status=live |access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Critical reviews===
{{Video game reviews
| title = Reviews
| subtitle =
| state =
<!-- Aggregators -->
| GR = wikidata
| MC = wikidata
<!-- Reviewers -->
| Allgame = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="allgamereview">{{cite web |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15954&tab=review |title=Fallout 2 - Review |author=House, Michael L. |publisher=[[AllGame]] |access-date=April 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115011258/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15954&tab=review |archive-date=November 15, 2014}}</ref>
| GamePro = 5/5<ref name="gameprocom" />
| CGW = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=cgw>{{cite magazine |author=Scorpia |author-link=Scorpia (journalist) |title=Help Me, I'm Falling |date=February 1999 |issue=175 |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |pages=214, 216}}</ref>
| GSpot = 8.8/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout2/review.html |title=Fallout 2 Review |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |date=December 9, 1998 |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref>
| IGN = 8.9/10<ref name="pcigncom" />
| PCGUS = 89%<ref name=pcgamerus>{{cite journal |author=Vaughn, Todd |journal=[[PC Gamer US]] |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000116195844/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/3.html |archive-date=January 16, 2000 |date=February 1999 |title=Fallout 2 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]''
| rev2Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name=cgm>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021105172926/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/015/109/fallout2_review.html |url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/015/109/fallout2_review.html |title=Fallout 2 |author=Mayer, Robert |work=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]] |archive-date=November 5, 2002 |date=November 13, 1998 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]''
| rev3Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name=nextgen>{{cite journal |author=Staff |title=Fallout 2 |journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=50 |date=February 1999 |page=98}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[PC Gaming World]]''
| rev4Score = 9.5/10<ref name=pcgw>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000819080249/http://www.gamespot.co.uk/pc.gamespot/rpg/fall2_uk/review.html |url=http://www.gamespot.co.uk/pc.gamespot/rpg/fall2_uk/review.html |title=''Fallout 2'' Review |author=Barrick, Gordon |work=[[PC Gaming World]] |archive-date=August 19, 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<!-- Awards -->
| award1Pub = ''[[PC Gamer]]''
| award1 = #3 Best RPG of All Time (2015)<ref name="pcgamerbest">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-rpgs-of-all-time-1/ |title=The best RPGs of all time |last1=Banks |first1=Cory |last2=Johnson |first2=Leif |date=December 18, 2015 |website=PC Gamer |publisher=Future US |access-date=December 20, 2015}}</ref>
}}

''Fallout 2'' received positive reviews from critics, according to online review aggregators [[Metacritic]] and [[GameRankings]]. Positive reviewers praised the gameplay, storyline, and worthiness as a successor to the original ''Fallout'', while detractors criticized frequent [[software bug|bugs]] and lack of improvement over the first game. Daniel Morris of ''[[GamePro]]'' praised the mix of action and character interaction as well as the non-linear gameplay.<ref name="gameprocom">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/798/fallout2/ |title=Fallout 2 |author=Morris, Daniel |publisher=[[GamePro]] |date=January 1, 2000 |access-date=December 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005093851/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/798/fallout2/ |archive-date=October 5, 2008}}</ref> [[IGN]] applauded the developers for the sizable game world, the writing, and "not fixing something that wasn't broken."<ref name="pcigncom">[https://web.archive.org/web/20020818103501/http://pc.ign.com/articles/153/153783p1.html "Fallout 2"] (November 13, 1998). IGN. Retrieved December 5, 2008.</ref> [[Game Revolution]] praised the game's depth and storyline but criticized its graphics and interface.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/fallout-2 |title=A kiss to build a dream on... |date=February 1, 1999 |publisher=Game Revolution |access-date=October 27, 2013}}</ref>

''Fallout 2'' was a finalist for ''[[Computer Gaming World]]''{{'}}s "Best RPG", [[GameSpot]]'s "Role-playing Game of the Year", [[CNET|CNET Gamecenter]]'s "Best RPG of 1998", [[IGN]]'s "Best RPG of the Year" and the [[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]]' "Role Playing Game of the Year" awards, all of which ultimately went to ''[[Baldur's Gate (video game)|Baldur's Gate]]''.<ref name=gamecenter1998>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001216230700/http://www.gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Awards98/index.html |url=http://www.gamecenter.com:80/Features/Exclusives/Awards98/index.html |title=The CNET Gamecenter.com Awards for 1998 |date=January 29, 1999 |work=[[CNET|CNET Gamecenter]] |archive-date=December 16, 2000 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name=gamespot1998>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815235823/http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/index.html |url=http://www.gamespot.com:80/features/awards1998/index.html |title=GameSpot's Best and Worst of 1998 |author=Staff |work=[[GameSpot]] |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ignawards1998>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020404002022/http://pc.ign.com/articles/066/066665p1.html |url=http://pc.ign.com:80/articles/066/066665p1.html |title=IGNPC's Best of 1998 Awards |work=[[IGN]] |archive-date=April 4, 2002 |date=January 29, 1999 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name=aias1998>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991104003923/http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html |url=http://www.interactive.org:80/iaa/finalists_pc.html |title=Second Interactive Achievement Awards; Personal Computer |publisher=[[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] |archive-date=November 4, 1999 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=cgwpremier1998>{{cite magazine |author=Staff |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |title=''Computer Gaming World''{{'}}s 1999 Premier Awards; ''CGW'' Presents the Best Games of 1998 |date=April 1999 |issue=177 |pages=90, 93, 96–105}}</ref> The editors of GameSpot wrote, "A bigger, better ''Fallout'', this sequel to 1997's RPG of the Year was populated with more characters, more places to go, and more things to do."<ref name=gamespot1998 />

===Legacy===
In 2013, [[GamesRadar]] ranked ''Fallout 2'' number 68 on their list of top video games of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/best-games-ever/ |title=GamesRadar Top 100 |publisher=GamesRadar |date=February 15, 2013 |access-date=December 18, 2013 |pages=37}}</ref> That same year, IGN ranked it as the 28th best role-playing video game ever.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/top/rpgs/28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916234840/http://www.ign.com/top/rpgs/28 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 16, 2012 |title=IGN Top 100 RPGs (Fallout 2) |publisher=IGN.com |access-date=December 18, 2013}}</ref> In 2015, ''[[PC Gamer]]'' ranked the game #3 on its list of best RPGs of all time.<ref name="pcgamerbest"/>

==References==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980710153639/http://interplay.com/fallout2/ |date=July 10, 1998 |title=Official website }}
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183066/ ''Fallout 2''] at the [[Internet Movie Database]]
* {{moby game|/fallout-2}}

{{Portal bar|1990s|California|Nuclear technology|Oregon|Speculative fiction|Video games}}
{{Fallout}}
{{Black Isle Studios}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1998 video games]]
[[Category:Anti-war video games]]
[[Category:Black comedy video games]]
[[Category:Black Isle Studios games]]
[[Category:Censored video games]]
[[Category:Fallout (series) video games]]
[[Category:Interplay Entertainment games]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Open-world video games]]
[[Category:Organized crime video games]]
[[Category:Role-playing video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Video games about slavery]]
[[Category:Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Mark Morgan]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 23rd century]]
[[Category:Video games set in California]]
[[Category:Video games set in Nevada]]
[[Category:Video games set in Oregon]]
[[Category:Video games set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Video games with alternate endings]]
[[Category:Video games with isometric graphics]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]