The Abbey is a mysterious location, excluded from Fallout 2 for technical reasons, located in the very top right corner of the map, above Gecko. Ian (a character from the first game) was supposed to be here, but was later reclassified as Old Joe (or Dan? I'm confused) in Vault City, and later removed from the game altogether because it was decided there were too many references to the first game.
The location is a large temple inhabited by monks who have organized their own cult and built their own society. Their views are similar to those of the Followers of the Apocalypse, but they are completely different people. They care about the preservation of pre-war knowledge (books), sacredly guarding them, although they understand nothing of it, since they can't read or something like that.
The Abbey is an allusion to Walter Miller's book "The Leibowitz Canticle": after the war, all books were burned as heresy. The book centers on the Abbey of St. Leibowitz, which exclusively searches for surviving pre-war books, records, and the like and preserves what it finds, even mindlessly copying decaying notes. They make no attempt to understand the meaning of what's written—they simply preserve fragments of the past.
Imagine a society of fanatics willing to defend the preservation of books they can't comprehend, and you'll form a superficial opinion of the Abbey.
Fallout 2 is considered a cult classic, so it's no surprise that it's become steeped in myths and unfounded admiration, often fueled by nostalgia. I decided to write a review and give a sober assessment of the game, free from fanaticism, nostalgic whining, and praising every little detail.
Eighty years have passed since the events of the first Fallout.
The game begins in the savage village of Aroyyo, whose inhabitants believe their ancestor was the very Vault Dweller who saved the world from the Maker's army. The protagonist is a descendant of the Outcast, hailed by the savages as the Chosen One.
The savages are the descendants of people who survived the Great War outside the shelters. They had a hard time—misinformation caused by the destruction of sources of knowledge (books burned in fires or were destroyed) and the harsh conditions of the wasteland transformed their descendants into akin to Native Americans, believing in spirits, magic, and prophecies. Their appearance has become rough and savage, their skin tone darker, influenced by the conditions of the new and merciless world. They use spears as weapons—cheap and cheerful, as they say. Perfect for hunting mutated lizards, scorpions, and ants and defending themselves from their own kind.
The first quest is a test in the Aroyyo Temple. For some reason, the Old Believers (ardent fans of Fallout 1-2 who reject the third installment and New Vegas as a legitimate continuation of the series) when discussing illogical moments in the new games forget about the strange brick temple with columns and traps that appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the wasteland. No one could have built such a structure before the war, nor after it. The Aroyyo tribe is clearly incapable of it. It's ironic that the savages are huddled in tents, leaving the structure empty, awaiting the day when it might be useful for a test. It's astonishing logic to create a unique location with unique elements for a short quest, using them nowhere else in the game. The test could have been made more challenging and intricate in terms of traps and puzzles, but no.
The first door must be broken down, and the second one must be blown up. Keep this in mind, as such opportunities will be extremely rare in the game. Seriously, some doors in the temple can't be destroyed even by the most powerful grenades in the game, not to mention doors in other towns and locations. Opportunities to break into them will also be rare – there are still a handful of locked containers and doors in the game. There are
only two ways to deal with the ants in the temple: either kill them with a spear or your fists, or... run past them. Firearms will not be available for testing. And don't say, "They're just savages, they don't have anything like that." The main character was supposed to be given a single-shot homemade pistol, but for some reason it was cut from the final version. This weapon later appears in Fallout Tactics, but with modified characteristics.
The bottom line is that heavy and energy weapons won't be encountered early in the game, so these skills won't be needed for a long time. I'll say nothing about throwing weapons – spears are weak, heavy, require a lot of action points, and are only encountered early in the game. Grenades are almost never found among enemies or merchants. Of course, there are throwing knives, but I wouldn't say they're in abundance among gunsmiths and caravanners. The bottom line is that, as in the first game, throwing weapons can't be a primary skill. It's hard to even call them secondary.
Spears and throwing knives appear in New Vegas, but they're still rare and weak. Furthermore, the engine's design only allows them to be thrown; they can't be used in close combat. Obsidian brought these weapons back just for show – quality isn't important, the fact that they're in the game is what matters.
Of course, one could argue that in the early stages of Fallout 2, other weapon types would have provided a strong advantage and disrupted the balance (more like a balance issue), but why couldn't weaker versions of heavy/throwing/energy weapons be added to the starting locations? For example, a very weak laser pistol or a single-shot grenade launcher, a pipe bomb, or dynamite? This wouldn't require anything more than creating a new weapon icon and adjusting its stats.
The reward for completing the challenge is a Pip-Boy 2000 and a tattered Vault Dweller jumpsuit, which, according to the tribals, is the main attribute of the Chosen One. Wearing this outfit can influence certain situations, and it's also frequently mentioned in dialogue.
This is a major breakthrough, as previously, even a brand-new Vault Dweller suit meant nothing to the common folk.
Interestingly, relatives of the Chosen One (for example, an aunt, nephew, or cousin) can be found in the village, which is refreshing, as the previous savior of the world had no one. In the first game, the protagonist's responsibility for the fates of the vault's inhabitants was barely felt, as the player knows absolutely no one there.
On the other hand, the search for the water chip (Fallout 1) was more logical, as the inhabitants couldn't leave their vault, as all life support systems were built into it.
The village elder tells the protagonist how dire the situation is in the village: the drought is preventing crops from growing, the plague is killing the Brahmins, and the children are sick. Instead of dancing with a tambourine, the protagonist is offered an equally improbable option: finding the GECK—a rare pre-war technology that the savages learned about thanks to their legendary ancestor. They have no idea what this mythical thing looks like, but they do know where it might be—the Sacred Thirteenth (Vault 13). The task is complicated by the fact that no one knows the exact location of this pre-war complex (I should note that those who have completed Fallout 1 will have a much easier time finding it).
The only clue is the merchant Vic from Klamath, who sold the residents of Aroyyo a Vault flask with the number thirteen on it.
What's the illogical part? As you travel, you might conclude that it's easier to move elsewhere than to remain in the wilderness and wait for a magical miracle that will heal the sick and save you from starvation.
The search for the GECK has two drawbacks that somewhat detract from the gameplay.
You can find the GECK completely by accident, without connecting any plot threads, but simply by "abandoning" the search and heading off to earn money!
If in the previous part time was allocated for the search, then here the hero is not limited.
The tribals are certainly one of the highlights of Fallout 2, but their presence is noticeable only in the early stages of the game. Aside from Aroyyo, there are no tribal settlements or quests assigned directly by them. This would have been fine if the final game had featured Sulik's village and the quest to find his sister, but unfortunately, these exist only in hints and dialogue.
The tribal's roleplaying
has become more convincing – in the first game, no one recognized the Vault Dweller as a Vault Dweller, despite his brand-new jumpsuit. The character's past is not specified, and the influence of their origin on dialogue is noticeably weak.
Fallout 2 succeeds in this regard – the Chosen One is perceived as a tribal, so wastelanders can treat him with prejudice, ridicule, or even understanding – it all depends on the situation and the company. This role was a success, which can't be said about others...
The role of a slave trader.
The hero can join the slavers' guild, whose branch is located in the city of The Hole. They enslave savages, nomads, and the poor, and then sell them wholesale. The Chosen One can participate in this.
After talking with the guild leader, the hero finds himself with two slavers in a random location full of defenseless people. The task is simple: kill all those who resist.
What's the catch? The hero gets a tattoo with the word "slaver" on his forehead so everyone knows he belongs to the group. Logically, there are pros and cons, but in reality, there are only disadvantages. Many companions will refuse to go with the slaver, leaving only the "don't care" ones who will go with the hero no matter what (but there are only three of them!). In Fallout 2, there are no companions for characters with bad karma (as in the previous game) and the Slaver brand, although there are characters in the game who would be perfect for this position.
The positive attitude of the "bad" factions is also not particularly noticeable. In the slaver city, the hero will be greeted exactly the same as without the brand, which is strange and illogical. Some criminal gangs will warmly welcome the slaver, but this is essentially just a replacement for the standard greeting dialogue. New missions exclusive to the slaver are out of the question, but the hero loses access to some old ones.
So what happens? The hero gains access to a new job, but at the same time, it comes with a lot of restrictions. This is illogical. Creating companions for the slave trader is optional, but adding quests and gaining respect from slave and criminal groups wouldn't hurt.
The Mafia Role:
The Chosen One can join one of New Reno's four mafia families by completing their quests.
The hero can complete quests for one mafia family, then betray it and quietly join another. Even if only one mafia family remains in the city, it will believe the hero will fear a brutal and terrible reprisal and will not treat them the same way as others. Aside from items and money earned from completing mafia assignments, the hero gains considerable experience from missions and killing bosses (although it is possible to betray the mafia without betraying its leader).
Although the power, scope, and influence of mafia families vary, the reward is always the same: a discount and access to a special arsenal at the New Reno Arms gun shop and free visits to the Cat's Paw brothel.
There are no negative consequences, other than attacks from members of other mafia families. But this will only happen if the hero approaches them voluntarily. The Chosen One can still travel freely, without fear of being ambushed outside the city by several well-armed gentlemen from a rival family.
Bottom line: despite the atmospheric dialogue and quests, the role of the mafia in Fallout 2 isn't fully explored. Only the positive side is shown—respect, money, girls, dope... Other bandits and thugs stand silently by, not even trying to impede the "happiness" of the Chosen One.
Reputation is the opinion of a given city on the actions of the protagonist. It primarily influences character dialogue (especially extras). The developers certainly overdid it here, adding a reputation for a city literally engulfed in anarchy, a military base with no characters, and a gang of aggressive raiders. Reputation in Redding doesn't change from "Indifferent" no matter what the Chosen One does (the exception being attacks on civilians).
In Klamath, a bad reputation results in a positive attitude from the shady characters who hang out at the Golden Gecko dive, but hostility from other locals. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen in other cities, although they also have bad company.
A reputation title is earned through certain actions or misdeeds.
In Fallout, there were only three: "Berserker" (killing multiple characters with positive karma), "Child Killer," and "Champion" (killing multiple characters with negative karma).
In Fallout 2, for some reason, they added the ability to rob graves, along with the "Grave Robber" title. Nothing valuable can be found in graves, and the title earned for committing a crime only lowers your karma by five points (at a time) and has no effect on the rest of the game. Only one character will refuse to speak to a gravedigger. Perhaps this ability was only added because of two quests related to the two largest graves in the game.
The other titles are entirely justified, and their impact is more noticeable in-game.
Many new perks have been added, one of the most interesting and useful being "Cult of Personality." Description: "Your character's karma begins to positively influence those around you. Everyone loves you." In theory, its owner, being a slave trader with bad karma, wouldn't receive any restrictions on quests or companions. But the perk doesn't work...
There's a fan-made modification that corrects this oversight, but this is thanks to the game's fans, not the developers.
Skills haven't changed much—most of them won't be needed at all throughout the game. You can repair a well and steal a pass even with minimal values. The "Traps" and "Lockpick" skills are useful in a few places, mainly during the quest about raider attacks.
Okay, these skills are almost unnecessary, but then why does increasing them "cost" the same number of points as increasing truly useful and necessary skills ("Speechcraft," "Energy Weapons," Light Weapons, etc.) Apparently, this is "that very balance."which is not in the "bad new parts".
However, "eloquence" is mostly useful in relatively minor and routine situations. A prime example: the Chosen One cannot lie to a mafia boss about his non-involvement in an event for which there are no living witnesses. In Klamath, the Chosen One cannot lie about the murder of Torr or Smiley, inventing a convincing version of their death. Thus, eloquence will not help the player avoid major bloodshed.
Restoration Project (walkthrough, features , quests )
Source: dns-cabinet.ru.