I really didn't like Fallout 2 at first. Fallout 1 had such a grimy, dark atmosphere that the tongue-in-cheek style of 2 was really jarring and didn't meet my expectations. Everything from the exaggerated tribals and comedic quests to the pop-culture references really threw me off. And, of course, everything looked and played (at least initially) exactly the same as its predecessor. Still, I kept going, and I'm so glad I did because Fallout 2 really opens up when you realise how overwhelmingly massive the game is.

For me, this was when visiting New Reno for the first time. I was just visiting all the new locations unlocked on my map one by one, and I kind of just stared at the screen and thought about how much stuff there was to do. And I'm not talking about fetch quests and collect-a-thons that so many games use to extend their length. I mean random sidequests leading to self-contained, yet still immensely engaging and significant storylines. Whether it was working as a triple-agent for a trio of organised crime families or becoming a diplomat trying to keep the peace between two settlements, Fallout 2 is like a vast library where you can stumble upon amazing story after story. For a moment the game really seemed limitless.

The key here is that every location is hand-crafted to make it feel like its own place, with its own atmosphere, major players, side characters, music, quests, and secret areas. And there are so many areas like this for you to explore. Fallout 1 might have felt confusing and overwhelming in the beginning, but the game becomes pretty small once you've beaten it. I can easily see myself coming back to Fallout 2 again and again thanks to the immense number of choices you have. While the dialogue isn't as refined or open-ended as New Vegas, the amount of diverging paths you can take more than makes up for this. It successfully fixes the problem I have with older RPGs, where you're quest log is quickly filled with linear objectives that you simply can't complete until you've spent time grinding for levels and equipment. Fallout 2 always engages you with quests that you can accomplish in loads of different ways.

While combat is harder here, it's actually more tedious than anything. It seems everyone has had a health boost, leading to fights that drag on forever. And for the first portion of the game, the low hit chances make every encounter a drag. I'd say combat is the one aspect that isn't near-perfect, and more often than not acts as an annoying barrier to whatever you want to do. Equipment isn't distributed properly across the game. After upgrading my armour to a better item twice in just a few hours, I found nothing new for a significant portion of the game. If a combat encounter was too difficult, there was very little you could do about it until much, much later on.

Like the original, Fallout 2's main story is expertly crafted. The Enclave is used brilliantly to create a mysterious, unknown entity that may or may not be a threat. They appear incredibly sparingly, but you'll never forget the times that they do. Everything just makes sense and fits together perfectly. Unlike some other Fallout games, everything has a purpose and a reason to be here, drawing you in as any questions you may ask yourself while playing probably have an in-game answer for you to discover, rather than "Well we just searched 'Fallout' in Google Images and added everything that came up."

Overall, Fallout 2 quickly became one of my favourite games, and I haven't even scratched the surface. While I still prefer the oppressive (green) atmosphere of Fallout 1 (3), the darkly-humourous-and-silly-yet-still-dirty-and-desolate (yellow) atmosphere of Fallout 2 (New Vegas) really gives the series its unique style. If you managed to complete the original, you'll be able to manage the gameplay here, and hopefully you'll also have the epiphany like I did that this game is truly a vast masterpiece that never stops throwing something new and exciting your way.