Dark themes, a pessimistic and sarcastic vision of humanity, capable of atomizing itself and falling back into the brutality of an obscure age where only survival counts, far from the society smoothed over by consumption… This adult and uncompromising tone was very good, and still is, in the middle of other heroic-fantasy RPGs where we eat Chtimi the dwarf (because he comes from the mines of the North) and the evanescent elf with aerodynamic ears, at length of a overused scenario. In short, a rare work. A masterpiece.


"War, war never changes ..." it is with this fatalistic and bitter phrase, uttered by the deep voice of Ron Perlman, that one of the most famous role-playing games begins. A sentence that sounds like a judgment, then a music, "Maybe" by Ink Spots, with an old-fashioned charm, peaceful refrain that clashes with the apocalyptic images of an introductory sequence that will go down in the annals... Throwback to a classic of the genre.

2077: nuclear fire ravages Earth in two hours. Rare survivors find refuge in the coziest fallout shelters. A few decades later, a technical problem threatens the survival of your shelter. The delicate system ensuring the water supply breaks down. You need a new water chip and to find it you will have to face the vast and hostile expanse of the post-nuclear Wasteland.

The main quality of Fallout is its complete and cohesive universe, which plunges the player into the post-apocalyptic nightmare. From the scraps of humanity rebuilding society, to the remnants of the old world, to mutants and other ghouls, unnatural creations of the nuclear age, Fallout provides a startling glimpse into a Mad Max future. An adult glimpse, not devoid of black humor, where drugs, prostitution and the law of the strongest flourish. Between the religious lunatics, the unscrupulous slavers, the fearful withdrawn into their bunkers, your character will have to make his own path. Fallout depicts a changing world, still uncertain, without ideology or dominating power, a kind of return to the dawn of the Wild West, on a land burned with radium. References to the 1950s, televisual and musical, paint a satirical portrait of an ancient clean world, such as that of the Cold War, when security paranoia was at its peak. The game thus glimpse the remains of a consumer society (embodied by Mr. Handy, the handyman robot) which disintegrates into a mushroom cloud, victim of its own greed.

The key word in Fallout is freedom. The player will have the choice between behaving like a boy scout always ready (thereby increasing his karma) or be a complete jerk. Of course, nothing prevents staying in the gray area of ​​a variable geometry morality. But beware: each of your actions has consequences. If only on your reputation... A reputation capable of creating precious allies as well as bitter enemies. The player walks around the map, leading his boat as he sees fit. Want to join a group of looters? No problem. Need money? Caravans pay well. The subtle art of blackmail is also proving to be lucrative...

As in any classic RPG, the hero visits villages and collects missions, to do or not, depending on your mood. But these quests can take place in many ways: you can betray your employer, use the hard way, use diplomacy or seduction. All depending on the strengths of your character, and without any moral constraint. A legend says that you can finish Fallout without killing a single creature (in combat). It's possible; additional solutions often make it possible to avoid stupidly frontal conflicts. Even the ultimate fight against “the final boss” can get bypassed, if your avatar possesses certain qualities at a high level. The battles rely above all on tactics. Each action (movement, attack, access to inventory) leads to the consumption of a precise number of “action points”, which, when they are exhausted, end the game turn. Being reckless can prove to be fatal in a lot of situations.

This freedom is also found in the creation and development of your character. Once the necessary experience is acquired, he can be made a delicate thief or a thick bully, with the right skills. The optional qualities also offer a wide range of possibilities, from the most eccentric to the most offensive. Your playing experience will depend a lot on the character you created, which provides an appreciable replayability. Years later, notwithstanding many parts, you will still discover new details by approaching the adventure from a different angle.

While freedom is Fallout's keyword, that doesn't stop it from developing an interesting story. The search for the water chip is not reduced to a simple pretext in order to explore the map. The time limit, 150 days, involves the player in this research, adding a significant stake. This limit remains very theoretical; you really have to take your time to reach it, but there is always something scary about a countdown. After this first phase, the player will have to embark on a second major quest, with no time limit this time. True to its non-linear design, these two main quests can be solved one after the other, alternately or even at the same time, according to your choices.

A brilliant work of anticipation, Fallout also has another facet, more sentimental. It is above all the story of a deep friendship, that of a man and his dog! Indeed, you will quickly cross the road of a wandering mutt, Dogmeat, who will follow you, faithful as ever. The designers were no doubt largely inspired by the film "A boy and his dog" (L.Q. Jones, 1975) in creating the universe of Fallout, Dogmeat being the ultimate nod. A broke film, but whose atmosphere, steeped in black humor and desolation, makes it like the big cinematographic brother of Fallout. Another influence, more obvious this one: Wasteland, a role-playing game published by Interplay in 1988, and which already includes the main points of the Fallout franchise.

Of course, perfection is not from this world, so Fallout has a few flaws. The main one: a deplorable management of the team members. You can hardly do anything with it. This deficiency makes inventory management and barter/trade operations particularly difficult. In addition, these teammates, unable to evolve, quickly become irrelevant on the battlefield. Another regret: the map and the number of places to explore is, all in all, quite limited. Many redundant sets, identical characters en masse, the different models being few... But, by the grace of its coherent and amoral universe, Fallout will remain, in spite of these small defects, a role-playing game of legend.

[h1]Short review[/h1] Dark themes, a pessimistic and sarcastic vision of humanity, capable of atomizing itself and falling back into the brutality of an obscure age where only survival counts, far from the society smoothed over by consumption… This adult and uncompromising tone was very good, and still is, in the middle of other heroic-fantasy RPGs where we eat Chtimi the dwarf (because he comes from the mines of the North) and the evanescent elf with aerodynamic ears, at length of a overused scenario. In short, a rare work. A masterpiece. [h1]Long review[/h1] "War, war never changes ..." it is with this fatalistic and bitter phrase, uttered by the deep voice of Ron Perlman, that one of the most famous role-playing games begins. A sentence that sounds like a judgment, then a music, "Maybe" by Ink Spots, with an old-fashioned charm, peaceful refrain that clashes with the apocalyptic images of an introductory sequence that will go down in the annals... Throwback to a classic of the genre. 2077: nuclear fire ravages Earth in two hours. Rare survivors find refuge in the coziest fallout shelters. A few decades later, a technical problem threatens the survival of your shelter. The delicate system ensuring the water supply breaks down. You need a new water chip and to find it you will have to face the vast and hostile expanse of the post-nuclear Wasteland. The main quality of Fallout is its complete and cohesive universe, which plunges the player into the post-apocalyptic nightmare. From the scraps of humanity rebuilding society, to the remnants of the old world, to mutants and other ghouls, unnatural creations of the nuclear age, Fallout provides a startling glimpse into a Mad Max future. An adult glimpse, not devoid of black humor, where drugs, prostitution and the law of the strongest flourish. Between the religious lunatics, the unscrupulous slavers, the fearful withdrawn into their bunkers, your character will have to make his own path. Fallout depicts a changing world, still uncertain, without ideology or dominating power, a kind of return to the dawn of the Wild West, on a land burned with radium. References to the 1950s, televisual and musical, paint a satirical portrait of an ancient clean world, such as that of the Cold War, when security paranoia was at its peak. The game thus glimpse the remains of a consumer society (embodied by Mr. Handy, the handyman robot) which disintegrates into a mushroom cloud, victim of its own greed. The key word in Fallout is freedom. The player will have the choice between behaving like a boy scout always ready (thereby increasing his karma) or be a complete jerk. Of course, nothing prevents staying in the gray area of ​​a variable geometry morality. But beware: each of your actions has consequences. If only on your reputation... A reputation capable of creating precious allies as well as bitter enemies. The player walks around the map, leading his boat as he sees fit. Want to join a group of looters? No problem. Need money? Caravans pay well. The subtle art of blackmail is also proving to be lucrative... As in any classic RPG, the hero visits villages and collects missions, to do or not, depending on your mood. But these quests can take place in many ways: you can betray your employer, use the hard way, use diplomacy or seduction. All depending on the strengths of your character, and without any moral constraint. A legend says that you can finish Fallout without killing a single creature (in combat). It's possible; additional solutions often make it possible to avoid stupidly frontal conflicts. Even the ultimate fight against “the final boss” can get bypassed, if your avatar possesses certain qualities at a high level. The battles rely above all on tactics. Each action (movement, attack, access to inventory) leads to the consumption of a precise number of “action points”, which, when they are exhausted, end the game turn. Being reckless can prove to be fatal in a lot of situations. This freedom is also found in the creation and development of your character. Once the necessary experience is acquired, he can be made a delicate thief or a thick bully, with the right skills. The optional qualities also offer a wide range of possibilities, from the most eccentric to the most offensive. Your playing experience will depend a lot on the character you created, which provides an appreciable replayability. Years later, notwithstanding many parts, you will still discover new details by approaching the adventure from a different angle. While freedom is Fallout's keyword, that doesn't stop it from developing an interesting story. The search for the water chip is not reduced to a simple pretext in order to explore the map. The time limit, 150 days, involves the player in this research, adding a significant stake. This limit remains very theoretical; you really have to take your time to reach it, but there is always something scary about a countdown. After this first phase, the player will have to embark on a second major quest, with no time limit this time. True to its non-linear design, these two main quests can be solved one after the other, alternately or even at the same time, according to your choices. A brilliant work of anticipation, Fallout also has another facet, more sentimental. It is above all the story of a deep friendship, that of a man and his dog! Indeed, you will quickly cross the road of a wandering mutt, Dogmeat, who will follow you, faithful as ever. The designers were no doubt largely inspired by the film "A boy and his dog" (L.Q. Jones, 1975) in creating the universe of Fallout, Dogmeat being the ultimate nod. A broke film, but whose atmosphere, steeped in black humor and desolation, makes it like the big cinematographic brother of Fallout. Another influence, more obvious this one: Wasteland, a role-playing game published by Interplay in 1988, and which already includes the main points of the Fallout franchise. Of course, perfection is not from this world, so Fallout has a few flaws. The main one: a deplorable management of the team members. You can hardly do anything with it. This deficiency makes inventory management and barter/trade operations particularly difficult. In addition, these teammates, unable to evolve, quickly become irrelevant on the battlefield. Another regret: the map and the number of places to explore is, all in all, quite limited. Many redundant sets, identical characters en masse, the different models being few... But, by the grace of its coherent and amoral universe, Fallout will remain, in spite of these small defects, a role-playing game of legend.