I am a post-apocalyptic hellspawn.

by Tempest of Shadows 

I am hellspawn....the status screen tells me so.

I'm not making that up either. With a quick check of my Karma title on my copy of Fallout 2, you can learn a great deal about my character. Karma: -1791. Rank: Hellspawn. Incidentally, I'm also a child killer, a berserker, a grave robber, and a jigalo. Not to mention a porn star. In nearly every town in the game I'm despised. I'm routinely attacked by bounty hunters trying to cash in on the price on my head. Posters in towns declare that I am wanted for Childkilling and Being a general rat bastard. No NPC in their right mind will join me.

To be blunt, I'm evil.

The really amazing thing about my basic evilness is that I actually earned every single bit of it. Sure, I'm a child killer, but I'm not a child killer because my in-game persona has some twisted past revealed in a cinematic. I'm a child killer because I walked into the first town in the game, saw a young boy, and promptly shot him in the head. Fallout 2 is an amazing game like that. You have freedom.

That basic freedom is what so many console RPGs lack. As much a fan as I am of Final Fantasy, in the end I have to say I don't feel like I'm playing a role. Instead, I feel like a combat choreographer in a movie, in control of the action packed parts, but left out of the actual story. Fallout 2 is diffrent though. You can do nearly anything you want to do. You can create the character you imagine, and play the game as the character would. Your characted will face many challenges, but unlike the console RPG worlds, the solution to the problems you face will be your solution, not the one coded into the game. A charasmatic diplomat will deal with things differently than a sneaky theif. Both of their methods will differ from the tactics employed by my paragon of evil, who usually just keeps shooting until nothing moves. Fallout 2 is truly a role playing game. You take on the role of a character, and your choices decide what happens.

Fallout 2 differs from the average console RPG in many many ways. After playing through it, I have to say that it is the first genuine RPG I have played that wasn't on pen and paper. For all their glory, console RPGs have the same basic flaw that has been pointed out in the laser disc games of old. You have no effect whatsoever on the story. You either win or lose, but in the end, the plot is unchangable. They are less role playing games, more interactive novels. It could be said best that while the Final Fantasy games are all stories, Fallout 2 is a world, complete with choices and consequences. Be a nice guy, help people, and save the world if you like. The good people will love you for it, and the bad guys will come out shooting. Its your choice.

If you've got a PC (and if you're reading this, chances are you do), I highly suggest you pick up a copy of Black Isle's little gem, and see for yourself just what role playing really is. Be a stealthy sniper, a vicious pugilist, or even a gun toting idiot incapable of speech beyond grunts - its all up to you. Just one word of advice though. Actions have consequences, and if you're going to be a post-apocalyptic hellspawn like me, be forewarned. Those bounty hunters have some heavy firepower.