Ever since 1997, Bethesda has been living in a nuclear
fallout reality that they have decided to share with us all. Ever since the
vault dweller first emerged from his little whole in the ground to search for
the water purifying chip, we have been mesmerized by the intense random enemy
interactions and the unique combat that follows. The series has a retro
technological feel in a post nuclear war scenario. Yes, it is as though
technology went in a totally different direction in the early 50’s and everyone
went with the steam punk and vacuum tube way of making things. Over the years,
Bethesda has blessed us all with three main stream games with a fourth on the
way. Along the way, it was deemed worthy to grace us with a few spinoffs.

Fallout – As the first of a
franchise master piece, Fallout first introduced us to a unique system of
control known as SPECIAL. Throughout the series, the character is governed by
his/her Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and
Luck. All of these attributes play a key role in the story line and over all
game play. With its unique 2d gaming and turn based combat actions, it brings a
new flavor to an all ready growing in popularity genre.

Fallout 2- As the second
installment of the post nuclear apocalyptic universe is released in 1998; Fallout
2 took place 80 years after the first game. It shared the same game engine as
the first one and as such the graphics are roughly the same but the expanse of
the world is much greater and you find yourself with a lot more side quests
which add to the dynamic of the game.

Fallout Tactics - Tactics
is a turn-based/real-time tactical role-playing game set in the
post-apocalyptic Fallout universe and was released in 2001. As a spinoff
game, it doesn’t continue any story line but is a standalone game. Fallout
Tactics was also known as Fallout Tactics –Brotherhood of steel.

Fallout Brotherhood of steel – In 2004,
another spinoff game came about that resided within the Fallout universe,
except this time it was an action game made for the Xbox and Playstation 2
which introduced the consoles to the nuclear holocaust. With the choice of
three playable characters (a female human, a male human, and a male ghoul), the
goal is to fight your way across various enemies as you are trying to join the
Brotherhood of Steel.  

Fallout 3 – Finally, in 2008, a
long 10 wait for the next mainstream installment of the post nuclear
apocalyptic Fallout Universe, and this time it is a first person, action role playing
game. With a variety of new traits added to make things more interesting and
the all so popular SPECIAL control system is back to keep that old role play
feel. A new feature added was the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System or
V.A.T.S for short. Using the VATS allows the player to target specific body
parts on one or more enemies with pen point accuracy. When activated, time
stops completely and is followed by a slow motion cinematic of the player
attacking the enemy(s) with their equipped weapon. One of the most notable
features of Fallout 3 is the custom character option which gives the player the
ability to immerse themselves further into the game. You can change your facial
features like hair styles and colors, as well as skin tones and beards (for
men). You can also choose the players sex and race also. This time, the game
takes place 36 years after the occurrences of Fallout 2 and the location is
Washington, DC where the whole area is over run by Super Mutants. One of the
best features of Fallout 3 (in my own personal opinion) is the use of a radio
station featuring a character named Three-Dog. As Three-Dog is a DJ, he plays
random retro songs from a golden age of music and he makes occasional comments
that reflect your karma and major quest lines that the player has completed.

Fallout New Vegas – As popular as
Fallout 3 was, it somehow felt incomplete so Bethesda made another spin off of
the series and named it New Vegas. As the name suggests it takes place in Los
Vegas Nevada. With a similar game engine as Fallout 3, a lot of the controls
are the same in New Vegas. In this game, there are four main factions that are
pretty much at war with each other. You have the NCR (New California Republic)
which are trying to rebuild the old government by policing the Mohave. Caesar’s
Legion is another faction that is trying to take over territory in the Mohave
area that has a lust for killing and hunger for conquest. You have the
Brotherhood of steel doing what they do best; gathering technology from all
whom they feel is unworthy. And last of the main factions is the tyrant of the
New Vegas strip, House.

Fallout 4 – As this game is not yet
released, I can only go on bits of information I have read and the new trailers
for the game that was released June 3^rd 2015. So far, of the
confirmed information, the game is taking place in Boston Massachusetts. As the
game has not been released yet, this is all I can say for Fallout 4 as the new
features, game play and other aspects are still a mystery to me.

The staff at Bethesda seems to be gaining steam as they
continue to put out exceedingly high quality game play and story lines for the
ever progressive universe of Fallout. Bethesda has made an amazing franchise
with the Fallout Universe and I think I speak for all the fans when I say I am honored
to have been able to enjoy a post nuclear apocalyptic future known as Fallout.
What does the future hold for a franchise that is all ready based in the
future? I for one cannot wait. One thing we know for sure is War, War never changes.

Of all the games for the Playstation, one stands out of the
crowd. A revolutionary piece is in a role playing classification. No I am not
talking about Final Fantasy VII; I am referring to Saga Frontier which belongs
to the Saga Franchise. It was originally released in Japan, as are most Playstation
games, on July 11^th of 1997. It finally came to America March 31^st,
1998. I believe the first time I played it was in August of 1998. Saga Frontier
works on a skill based system instead of the all popular leveling system. At
start, you pick one of the seven different protagonists, all of whom exist in
the same setting: a solar system known as The Regions, which are a group of planets,
each with its own culture. Only with one character, Blue, can you freely travel
between each region that you have been to at least once. Blue is technically
the main character of the game. And he is also one of the few main characters
that cannot be recruited outside of his own story line. With each region, you
encounter a variety of npc’s and some playable characters that you may recruit.
But they can’t all be recruited by all main characters. Of the seven main
characters, you get to choose from Blue, Asellus, Emelia, Lute, Red, Riki, and T260G.

• Blue is a first class
  wizard fresh out of graduation that comes from the Magic Kingdom along
  with his twin brother Rouge. The main goal of the two siblings is to
  master every magic by acquiring the gifts.
• Asellus is a Half-mystic
  that was killed and brought back to life by lord Orlouge. When you wake up
  from your slumber, you find yourself in the region called Facinaturu.
• Emelia is a human that was
  wrongfully accused of killing her fiancé Ren. When she escapes the prison
  of Despair, she joins a group that is also hunting the same guy called
  Joker.
• Lute is a free spirited
  human who pretty much just goes with the flow. His free spirit leads him
  on quite the adventure as he uncovers the truth of his father’s death.
• Red is another human that lost
  his family to a criminal organization known as Black X that kind of works
  like the Mafia. To save him from the same fate as his family, Alkarl
  transformed him into the super hero Alkaiser to save his life.
• Riki is a Lummox, a shape
  shifting, fox-like creature, and one of the last remaining inhabitants of
  the mysterious world, Margmel. Determined to save his homeworld, he seeks
  the Rings of Margmel. In his search. Starting out his quest in Scrap, a
  kind of run down region, he meets a researched by the name of Mei-Ling.
  Riki absorbs monsters and creates abilities from his new shapes.
• T260G is an ancient robot
  that was build from junk parts. It was built to be part of a combat ship
  that had a secret mission against the Region Buster 3. It lost its
  memories when it crashed into the Region Scrap.

No matter who you choose to play
as in the beg inning, a huge story unfolds at introduce a huge cast of supporting
characters. Each with their own little side quests that you may choose to
follow through or not. Some have substantial benefits to completing. Be it new
magic gifts, amazing treasures, or unique skills. All in all, side quests are
enjoyable and make for a longer and in depth game that can be played over and
over.

With an almost limitless supply of
abilities and magic that trigger other learned abilities and magic, the replay
ability is virtually limitless. Also the multiple character options, you can
never play the game the same way twice so happy playing.