Fallout
Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is an un-ambitious hack-and-slasher that offers little innovation, and is saved from obscurity only by it's licensed setting and reasonable production values. Especially with a friend, fans of the hack-and-slash genre should check it out. Long-time fans of the Fallout series will most likely shed a tear however, as BoS definitely doesn't offer the solid finale this series deserves.—GrumpyMicrobe
It isn't all that easy to get some real information about this game. On some Fallout boards, merely mentioning the title in anything but a curse is considered trolling, and the game is referred to only as FoPoS.
Indeed, if Interplay meant to please the Fallout fans, it was certainly not a good idea to cancel Fallout 3 (Van Buren) when it was nearly done and instead embark on a console adventure, which in the end was a financial disaster as well.
Whatever Interplay had hoped for from this adventure, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel didn't deliver. It simply wasn't a good game.
For anyone familiar with the action RPG genre, BoS plays like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. For those who are not, it plays like a 3D version of Gauntlet. Seriously, the game plays in an overhead fashion. The stick moves you around, you mash on the A button a bunch of times to attack, or hold it down if you have a gun. Back opens up your inventory to make changes, and the Y button jumps. It is, however, beyond me why this form of overhead game includes jumping. These are not just lame jumping sequences, like hopping over a box in your path, but the kind of jumping where if you mess up, then you die and reload. The game frequently offers up an assortment of bottomless pits, and you need to use your limited viewpoint in judging the distance and pray for the best. If you factor in that you must do this stunt while getting shot at, then the whole setup is simply no fun. Jumping puzzles are lame in anything outside a platformer, and even then, are still lame.
The real problem is simply that one can only do so much with this kind of environment. It's difficult to create art that looks good but depicts something that's intentionally ugly—F:BOS only really pulls this effect off in a certain few areas. Even though there are a decent number of special effects in this game, including the good-looking water from BG:DA, it just doesn't have that much of an impact here. On top of this, the game engine is now more than a couple of years old, and with no obvious enhancements, it hasn't kept up well with the competition.
It's basically a barely adequate piece of entertainment, suitable for a weekend rental. Looks OK, plays OK, gets a bit boring my halfway through. What's ironic about the whole thing is that the people most likely to be attracted to Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel are the same people that Interplay screwed over by canceling Fallout 3—the fans. It's not a good enough game to draw in casual gamers looking for a good action-RPG, and it's going to disappoint fans of the series, which makes it a lot like the latest Liz Phair CD—it's not really going to satisfy anyone. Screw it, I'm firing up the PC and playing through Fallout 2 again—I've had enough of this crap.
It'll keep you entertained for a good 10–12 hours, but beyond unlocking harder difficulties there's not much replay value. I think this is a game for those who thought Fallout was too hard, or too weird, but if you were a die-hard fan of the games, then a rental will be enough. Those simply looking for a new action game might like the game for its good arsenal of weapons and foul language, but in my opinion it's not a game worth owning.
The action is repetitive and straightforward, but the game features a lot of cool weapons and tons of stuff to hack or shoot at, plus it's got some of the charm that helped make Fallout a genuine classic. Brotherhood of Steel is no substitute for a true Fallout sequel, but it doesn't aim to be one. So, if you're looking for a hack-and-slash game that you can unwind with, but you're a bit weary of how they all take place in fantasy-themed settings, then Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel should do you good.
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel stirs up several different reactions in me. After playing this game I can definitely say that it was an enjoyable experience. Though it did seem repetitive in several parts, I found it to be a fun way to pass the time. On the other hand however, I really don't think this game stayed true to the Fallout series, and I was definitely expecting more. But if you're looking for a pretty good game, and aren't expecting it to be as good as the PC version of Fallout, then take my advice—book a one way trip to the wasteland…just don't forget sunscreen.
Essentially BOS goes a bit like this: wander around bland environment, talk to instantly offensive and pathetically stereotypical NPC, endure expletive-riddenmaturedialogue, go and wander to area instructed and hack mutant enemies/raiders to death, collect booty, power up, rinse, return, repeat until bored.
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel suffers from some basic timing issues and dumb AI. The enemies just keep coming one after another and you keep mowing them down. There is really nothing that sets Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel apart from the rest of the games that are out like it. As a matter of fact there are better games out there. I think they could use a lot less profane language and crudeness and better game play and smarter AI.
