Video Games Suck - Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (Review)

An old yet excellent game for all people who like high quality shit.

This game came out in 2001 but still looks and plays better than some of the tactical strategy games that have come out recently.

Graphics: Excellent 2D graphics that look crisp and sharp. The item icons are also of top quality. The graphics engine does an icredible job of depicting the insanely gruesome deaths you inflict onto anything you find to be worthy of death. As an added bonus there are many types of deaths depending on how badly you killed your enemy. At times they fall over and form a nice blood pool. However, if you score a "hard hit" or critical hit with an automatic rifle they will most likely flip horizontally while their arm, lung, and head are simultaneously blown to shit in a gorgeous display of gore. Among my favorite death scenes is when I score a critical hit on a human and blow off his knee cap into next tuesday causing him to lean forward into the oncoming bullets which rip his arm off and slam into his chest and face. Everything is smoothly animated and surpasses most of the games today. The variety of death animations is excellent and must be seen to truly be appreciated.

Sound: The music is pretty good, although it doesn't leave a lasting impression except for the Reaver theme song which is a mix of Japanese with some Post Apocalyptic flavor added. The gun effects are excellent with each type having a distinct sound. The auto rifles sound appropriately vicious with just enough bass to sound realistic. The 50 claibur browning M2 and the SAW sound sadistically nasty as they POUND bullets in the general direction of the enemy usually completely devastating their bodies in an orgy of sound and gore. The variety of sounds is truly impressive.

Gameplay: Ok, the sounds and visuals are top notch so how does the gameplay compare? The gameplay is great allowing you to choose from the Classic turn based goodness of Fallout 1 and 2 or the fairly gay Continuous Turn Based mode. In turn based mode the game plays wonderfully allowing for actual tactics. However, the best aspect is the staggering amount of choices you have to develop your character. It even surpasses the customization choices in RPG's allowing you to create and hire characters with completely unique abilities. For example the first character is the one you choose as the Leader which is most likely to be the character you most associate yourself with. For example one can create a Melee grenadier with sneak skills or an all out soldier speciallizing in small, big and, energy guns. Or perhaps you decide to be the doctor of the squad (a class which you most defintely need). Perhaps you care to make a comletely useless character in which case you would equip your moving target with science, piloting, and perhaps doctor so he can attempt to repair his broken useless body as the mutants commence to utterly destroy him. The options are too numerous to mention. The gameplay is more than solid and rewards your squad with ever increasing abilities which are derived from your Stats and chosen Specializations. Also depending on your charisma and ability to carry out the mission objectives exactly as stated you can gain ranks within the bortherhood which allow you access better equipment and recruits.

Story: The story is actually quite good for a game from this genre. Basically you are a recruit for the Brotherhood of Steel, a borderline fanatical group dedicated to uniting the post apoclytpic world through technology and extreme force. The first missions are to prove your worth and have you clean up a rather small uprising of raiders. As you progress through the game you slowly encounter the Mutant and Reaver factions. The Mutants are genetically engineered humans who are now in a dilemma after their creators demise. Leading them is a former Brotherhood paladin who has lost his faith in them due to a suicide mission he was sent on because of his disagreement with the elders. Anyways, the history behind the Mutants is rather long. The other faction, the Reavers, are new to this game and are quite strange. They're worship technology as a god and seem to be a cross between a samauri and ninja in their apperance complete with clan flag and tight cloths. Each one is gathering tech for the battle with the Menace from the West which you will come to know quite well.

This game is great yet hard to find nowadays but there is a great package deal you can find with Fallout 1,2 and Fallout Tactics for about 20 bucks. Well worth the money for all the gaming goodness.

9.5/10