FALLOUT - RTFM: Further Reading on the Game

That's a fair point, Jim. There's no doubt the sequel adds a lot of features that make the game easier to play, including a tutorial section at the start and much finer control over NPC behavior and equipment. The bad NPC AI in Fallout isn't something that can totally be forgiven, and this is largely fixed in FO2. The sequel is also much larger, with many more towns and quests, including ones that finally make use of those alternative skills (let's just say there's one or two really crazy things involving the Doctor skill). From that standpoint, it's a superior game, and it is as much blast to play through as I found the original to be. While I welcomed these changes, they also took some of that cohesive plot and gameplay design from the original game in exchange.

For example, the NPC design. When you first get a partner in the game, it's very odd compared to most games - you can barely control your partner at all, and you have to trade him weapons and equipment! I think it would have been relatively trivial for the designers to put in armor support in FO1 - it could have worked the same way each NPC has set types of weapons they can accept. But the designers intentionally did this to reinforce the idea that you are NOT leading an army - you're essentially alone out here. At first, the NPCs are incredibly helpful, when you're relatively weak, Dogmeat is an amazing companion! Through the middle section of the game, your character eventually becomes strong enough to equal and then surpass them. In the final section, while they might be able throw a decent punch, the lack of armor means it's almost impossible for them to survive, and you WILL watch them die, one by one - as they could never grow beyond their original strength. If you get to the end of the game, this idea that you, the player, have evolved beyond the "normal" human has a big significance in the plot, and without giving away spoilers, the ending and your final "reward" reflect these ideas.

Compare this to most games (including Fallout 2, where your NPCs have experience points and can level up) and you can see how rare this kind of thinking is in video game design.

Fun thread