Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel

                  Reviewed by Nick Edmunds

Being a lone scourge of the radioactive wasteland in the style
of a post nuclear apocalypse Robin Hood just cranked my dial.
So there I am, along with many other mutants, excitedly awaiting
the release of Fallout 3, when Interplay go and release Fallout
Tactics.  Now, I'm a bit wary of games with a squad base, for
while they are quite trendy at the moment, they tend to lack the
quests and character interaction that I crave from an adventure.
Putting aside my prejudices I gamely decided to give it a try
until the real McCoy arrives.

Set amongst the ruined cities and desert wastelands of a
desolate Middle America, as seen in Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, the
action takes place between the events of the previous two games.
Our character is a new recruit in the Brotherhood of Steel and
is quickly promoted to squad leader.  A squad contains up to six
members who can be drawn from the BoS ranks.  Most of the
wasteland social groups are represented within the Brotherhood
including Ghouls, Super Mutants and Deathclaws.  Each character
has their own individual skills and traits, which need to be
weighed up when creating a team.  The squad can be further
modified by selectively adjusting character statistics as they
gain experience and by returning to a BoS base between missions
to trade squad members and equipment. Unlike the previous
Fallout games, which provided only limited control over the NPCs
who tagged along, FT provides direct control of each character
in the squad.  As such FT combines an RTS with an RPG, in an
attempt to give us a squad-based, tactical combat game with
character development and a mission-based storyline.

Unsurprisingly FT has inherited many of the elements seen in the
previous Fallout games, e.g. the third person, isometric engine
and the character statistic and inventory system. Many familiar
character types make an appearance alongside several new allies
and enemies, and as ever it's packed with humorous popular
culture references. The weapons list includes a chakram and a
dak tar (if you have to ask you don't need to know) and contains
items varying from a sink plunger to a nuclear warhead.  Along
with this incredible inventory, a range of military vehicles
suited to different situations are also available to the squad.
These vehicles are great for transporting masses of looted
equipment home for trading, seriously reduce time spent
travelling to and from missions and enable you to engage in
combat while on the move.  Like your squad, these vehicles are
subject to damage and can be repaired by a character with the
relevant skills and equipment.  There is, however, an annoying
quirk to these vehicles.  Obstacles impede their passage in an
apparently arbitrary fashion, e.g. while it's possible to
repeatedly run your tank over a giant scorpion the size of a
Ford Cortina the same tank balks in the face of small shrubs and
empty cardboard boxes.

As ever it's worth bearing in mind that the inhabitants of the
wasteland have a very frontier attitude, thus FT contains some
adult themes and issues, like drugs, prostitution and swearing
and has the potential for serious gibbage.  While there is the

option to limit these features, Fallout Tactics is definitely
not a game aimed at a young audience or the faint of heart.

The plot plays out over the course of the single-player game
guided by the mission briefings.  Information gathered during
missions and portrayed by the cut scenes in between manage to
hide the linearness of the story by giving the impression that
the plot was unfolding rather than following a course of events.
In all there are 20 single-player missions along with any number
of random encounters out in the wasteland.  Each mission has a
variety of ways in which it can be completed: from stealthy hit
and run to total blitzkrieg depending on your state of mind.

The strategy you adopt also depends on, and affects how, you
mould your squad.  Movement during combat uses an action point
based system while the game engine uses true line of sight to
drive the AI.  This system combines with the characters ability
to stand, crouch, or lie prone allowing them to hide behind
objects and increase their cover. Each of these stances has its

benefits and drawbacks, e.g. prone stance combines well with the
Sneak skill, but prevents use of heavy weapons.

Gaming enjoyment diminished toward the later levels as my squad
had almost become too powerful, which meant I became more blas‚
about my attack strategy rather than the careful and cautious
planning of earlier levels necessitated by a puny squad with
limited ammo and equipment.  As it was, I ended up with the
infantry equivalent of a tank rush, which has always been the
bane of this style of game.  Six heavily armoured characters
with Gatling cannons make formidable opponents, as they were
practically tanks themselves by this point.

Unfortunately my initial foreboding was right for once, as FT
didn't have the character interaction or plot altering decisions
that featured so prominently in the previous games.  However,
the universe may be the same but that's where the similarities
end and so FT managed quite well without these features.  In
fact I was pleasantly surprised for while FT wasn't quite what I
was hoping for it was nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable.  So
that's a big radioactive thumbs up and a firm recommendation
from myself.  If you dig the Fallout universe and RTS then
Fallout Tactics is right up your desolate boulevard.
















                              - o -