Breaking News!

Let the record show this is the first time I’ve made two posts in one day (I do that on purpose, by the way). I don’t care if this fucking game takes me five years to play, I’m going to fucking beat it, and I’m going to make fun of it and everyone that likes it, because that’s my right when I’ve completed it. I’ve grown quite fond of my readers, but let it be known, to anyone who hates, to anyone who doubts: I’ll do this just to stick it to you (and in you), and you’ll come here to read about it, by God, because you can’t look away in spite of yourself. It’s like some kind of sick, vicious cycle that no one here has the power to stop. If I have to make an ass out of myself in front of a bunch of gaming snobs (I say that with the utmost love and fondness) several times in the process, so fucking be it. I started this project not expecting an audience, and if the fact that I don’t like every game I play bothers you, fair enough, but that’s not going to change what I set out to do. If any of the comments were meant as reverse psychology, it’s not necessary, because I’m not quitting. I’m just not making any promises about my writing style, pace, or overall opinions of the game (not part of the challenge, Bruticus).

The Hive…

…is a location I have yet to master. Alright, alright; I haven’t mastered it because I’ve barely played it. I know it’s been days and days since my last entry, but I’ve been struggling with this one. The original challenge thread shared on The Codex had posters suggesting this game would be too much for me, and it has been thus far. I. Just. Don’t. Feel. It! I don’t mean to continue comparing apples to oranges (or Apples to Apples, which coincidentally is a better game than PS:T), but I really don’t give a shit about TNO. I didn’t really create him like I did Geronimo; I didn’t get to tag any skills or customize anything about him other than his fucking wisdom. Then I woke up in a god damn mortuary with a talking floating skull, read a novel when talking to every pointless character that was capable of speech, and exited through a portal only to get to The Hive, which has buildings everywhere, groups of people every five game-world inches, and four different exit maps on each corner of the screen.

Am I accurately summing up my frustration? Good. So if the updates have been sparse (and they have been), I apologize. Only sheer determination and a strong desire not to give in to defeat has kept me going, and allowed me to even make this post today. I haven’t gotten far, readers. How can I? Every time I find something new and interesting, they don’t answer my questions; they just give me riddle upon riddle and a new problem to deal with. TNO has run into two separate people in The Hive freaking out about the “doors” and their “keys” so I’ve figured out I can probably get to a great deal of different locations in this place. Have I accomplished anything yet? Not in the slightest, but it’s been too long since the last update, and I can tell this game is too seemless to truly be updated after completing a chunk of the game and moved on to a new location for good. I get the sense that I’ll be spending more time in The Mortuary before the game is over. Hell, who even knows how long I’ll find myself in The Hive. I digress. Here are some of the things I have managed to experience in my horrible attempts at this game.

The first thing TNO does in the surprisingly bright (compared to The Mortuary) Hive area is begin talking to the locals. The ones I find immediately are useless and do nothing but offer cryptic clues about where not to go. However, I am able to obtain some sort of weird item by talking to some guy who mistakes me for someone else. No idea what most of my inventory items are for, yet. Aside from that, little happens, so I wander into a nearby home and get yelled at by a guy who appears to be experiencing roid rage. Talking to his wife helps clear things up; apparently he signed some sort of contract with a Dustman? Anyway, TNO offers to help, and vows not to let her husband find out about any of it. I could have lied, but TNO is attempting to travel down the same path of goodness that Geronimo did. Should this game continue boring me, I may have to try something more sinister to bring my interest level up.

Given another quest, I walk around some more outside, meeting such notable characters as Dabus and a harlot, each of whom provide basically no information I can use. On the plus side, TNO benefits 1,000 points from remembering he can translate the Dabus’ language. And no, Morte can’t sleep with the harlot. What’s the big deal with Morte, anyway? The fucking Monkey Island games created a talking skull that was more likeably in my opinion, and they did it before Planescape. I only bring this up because I really struggled not to refer to Morte as Murray just a moment ago. Didn’t play Monkey Island? Not surprising. I wish I was playing that now…

From now on, I'm just going to call Morte Murray instead and pretend I'm playing Monkey Island.

After walking past the harlot, I apparently wasn’t walking fast enough, because some nearby thugs who I examined (but had already learned not to talk to after reloading) decided to come after TNO, who uses his crescent hatchet and the game’s terrible semi-auto combat system to dispatch the enemies, collecting a little cash in the process. Next I run into a Dustwoman (I know they’re all Dustmen, shut up) who gives me another lead on Pharod. While others TNO has talked to have advised checking out Ragpacker’s Square to find him, this Dustman suggests I pay a visit to the Gathering Dust Bar. Hmmm. Phucking Pharod and his elusive ways.

My next worth-repeating stop was with Death-of-Names, a retarded (seriously) Dustman who prattled on about burying a name and engraving names of the dead on the walls. I couldn’t figure out what the hell to do here yet, so I left. Outside, the chanting Dustmen are busy chanting, but TNO gets them to mourn for some dead person he supposedly knew. Not sure what the point was exactly, but… you know, worth a try. I also agreed to assassinate three gang members in the “Starved Dogs Barking” clan with someone named Sev’Tai. So many characters, how’s a writer supposed to keep track of them all without writing a novel about the game?!

Oh, look. It's Death-Of-Names! Why am I here?!?!

Outside, I wander around and meet yet another character with a quest, this one Baen the Sender. Baen is looking for someone, and for some reason decides TNO would be better at looking than he is. Now I’ve got another quest: finding some guy named Craddock and delivering a message. Yay. Then there’s Ingress, who’s nuts, and somehow TNO feels he can help her calm down about all the portals and doors and such. Fat chance there, but hey, why not, I’ve already got a lump of quests I have no idea how to go about solving, right? One more can’t hurt!

A bar! I also went… to a bar. The one where the zombie outside had a bunch of signs stuck on it and TNO pulled a cobblestone out of his disgusting head; the game was kind enough to inform me the object had brain matter on it. The bar turns out to be the Gathering Dust Bar, which after inspecting, Pharod is most definitely not in. However, the story did hook me in a little more here, as talking to a few of the Dustmen gave me a couple of new plot developments: 1) The Dustmen are after Pharod as well, and TNO would be doing them a favor by finding him and figuring out his mysterious collector ways. 2) TNO can apparently join the Dustmen faction, which might help me to feel more a part of the game. 3) There’s a mausoleum that contains an intruder who disturbs the dead. TNO must put an end to it. 4) There’s a thief disguised as a Dustman; again, TNO must find him and take care of him.

TNO must do eighteen different things to become a Dustman.

I’m afraid my last stop to this was unfortunately in the Alley of Dangerous Angles, where I have no idea what to do. On one side is Blackrose, who tells me to slay someone every time I talk to him, and if I don’t accept, he murders me. Quickly. On the other side there is Rotten William, who also wants me to assassinate someone. How the hell am I supposed to know which faction to side with? All I managed to do was die rather quickly every time, however, so I reloaded and left without talking to anyone.

"You must kill whoever my crazy ass says to kill... or die!"

I think there’s something inherently wrong with how I’m going about this game. I don’t feel like I know the area at all; that is, trying to find a specific place I was in previously would prove very difficult. I’m taking on all these quests and talking to all these people, but remembering what they all say is nigh impossible. Guess that’s what the journal is for? And the biggest problem is that I’m not going about the game in any particular pattern, so narrating the events is damn near impossible since I don’t know what’s going on. Hell, even TNO doesn’t know what’s going because his fucking memory doesn’t work!

I’m trying to be open-minded and play this damn game, but it hasn’t been fun so far. I’ll keep at it, and I’ll keep blogging about it. Yes, I know these entries don’t convey I’m enjoying the game (I’m not), and as such aren’t very fun to read. Too bad. I can’t work miracles. All I can do is speak of my experiences, and right now, my experience is can I please go run to the nearest console and play a fucking mindless baseball game? Maybe everyone can switch tactics and get their enjoyment out of my frustration instead of the quality of writing I use to share my in-game adventures. Maybe things will get better, readers, and maybe they won’t. I know these entries aren’t high quality, but that won’t change as long the game fails to hook me in. But by God, I’ll keep blogging about it, even if it eventually results in entries I’ve typed simply by bashing my head against the keyboard repeatedly with no coherent descriptions at all.

That’s enough for today. I’ve got to get out of here and jab a blunt instrument into my eye now.

Fraps And More

Okay, so the style of the first entry was not popular. Let me explain: The Mortuary sucked. I don’t mean to make excuses, but I wasn’t feeling it while I played the initial area, not in the slightest. Most of the readers are familiar with this game and very aware of all the nuances involved, so you know what I mean when I say there wasn’t a lot of freedom or flexibility. There’s no possibility to create that many different types of characters to embody TNO, and for the most part, there are only a few choices to make. For anyone wandering, I did manage to increase my hit point total by bringing embalming fluid and thread to the female dust…man? Aside from dabbling in the zombie disguise, though, there was no other quest I took on or conversation I had that seemed to tell me anything worth repeating aside from the experience with Dhall.

Nevertheless, I’m not giving up — yet. I’ve been a little busier lately, but I have begun my play in The Hive area, and much like Klamath after the comforts of Arroyo, I’m lost, confused, and overwhelmed by the great number of people to talk to. Things are getting a little more interesting, though, and perhaps I’ll find the game grows on me quickly like it did with Fallout 2. Like I said, I’m not giving up hope yet.

I’ve decided to dabble with the program Fraps due to the fact that the game won’t allow me to take more than five screen shots in one play session. Even better, Fraps has video recording ability, so I may well record my entire adventure through the game, which will make writing about it much easier, since I can just reference my play as I write. I’m excited that the advancing game plot and Fraps can help bring some more life to these entries.

But one final note, and possibly harsh reminder: this is a so-called re-education process for me, one intended to teach me there is a better type of game out there, a dying (or dead) breed as such, one that I’ve never played before. My purpose was merely to write about my experiences in learning about this type of game, but I never promised I would enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised in that I enjoyed Fallout 2, but I expressed concerns about Planescape, and quite frankly, it hasn’t hooked me so far, plain and simple. I’ll continue to update my diary (just as TNO does in his adventure) in regards to my gaming experiences, but that doesn’t mean I have to like what I’m playing. Fair enough?

That said, continued input is always welcome, and I’ll do my best to please my audience. I’ll definitely be trying a new format from the last entry, seeing as now no one (self included) got much enjoyment out of it. I hope things get more interesting in The Hive, and I hope Fraps makes the blogging experience easier in terms of recalling what I did at various points in play.

The Mortuary

After much careful consideration, I’ve decided to try something a little different for Planescape: Torment. I’ve gotten multiple requests (read: at least more than one) to refrain from sharing the plot and story as thoroughly as I did in Fallout 2, and after playing through the first bit of the game, I think it’s better that way anyway. Simply put, there’s too much dialogue, too much musing over descriptions of items in the inventory to accurately describe my adventure without taking 5,000 words an entry to do it. So I’ll try to recap my findings in a slightly less concise manner this time around, and we’ll see how it goes. If it turns out the way I did it in Fallout 2 is more enjoyable, then I’m willing to abandon this style, at least after I finish this game.

Early thoughts on the game? Let’s get the plot going already. I wandered around The Mortuary far longer than an experienced player would, examining all the skeletons and zombies, occasionally finding odd things to cut or pry away from them. On one attempt I even found myself battling every Dustman, zombie, and skeleton in the game due to the fact that I failed to answer the questions correctly. Surprisingly, for a character built so much for intellect and cunning, TNO handled himself nicely, with the assistance of Morte’s bite of course. However, after killing all those bastards, I concluded there must be a better way and reloaded until I was able to avoid combat. I don’t like combat. And furthermore, the combat system seems lacking in PS:T. Anyway, I was definitely sick of the first area, and am ready for things to pick up.

Color me very, very confused with most of the items in my inventory. I have several weapons that seem to be redundant, many notes that tell me nothing I’ll need for the future, and a triangle earring I’m supposed to “identify” although apparently I’m not able to do that much yet. A few concerns over the first area, which are safe to answer because I’ve already progressed through it and have no plans of returning unless it becomes critical to the game: 1) What would the point be of disguising myself as a zombie? I tried it, got experience points for it, but found the need to walk and inability for dialogue more annoying than anything else. 2) Morte kept asking for a body to attach his head to, but every skeleton we examined wasn’t good enough for him. That is, until we got to the giant ones upstairs, but all I managed to do when examining one is a) get killed in two swipes of its sword and b) make it disintegrate entirely. Was I supposed to use that prybar to pull apart a skeleton for him or something? 3) I escaped The Mortuary through the portal in the northwest corner of the first floor, which took me to a tomb. I didn’t think I had the required items, however. I did manage to obtain a skeleton arm, but I didn’t have the skeleton finger specifically the game said I needed. 4) Is The Hive where Hiver got his name from?

There isn’t much else to be said about this first area. I escaped it, and I suppose that’s all that matters. I did kill a few zombies, one to get the key in the first area and another for bandages (which I’m attempting to hoard), but otherwise I played it safe and nice, aiming for a character that means well to those he interacts with. I’m certain the game gets a little more open at this point. I saved when I reached The Hive and quit. More to come soon!

Thoughts, tips (only those that doesn’t spoil the game for myself and the other readers, of course), comments, complaints, insults? Please share. Sorry for the delay; I know this has taken a while, but now that I’ve gotten past the first area and decided on a writing format, things should pick up considerably from here. I’m going to beat this game, damn it, even if it kills me. It won’t TNO, though. He’s already dead.

My first kill. It was pretty easy; TNO's ripped.

This item from Corpse #1201 proved tricky to figure out. Detective work; I like it.

Back To Work

I just wanted to leave a quick note that I had to make an impromptu out of town trip but am now settled and ready to get going. Thanks for the patience and tips. The opening area is definitely confusing for a first-time player, but it’s beginning to make more sense to me. I expect to make enough progress for the first entry by tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Still Learning The Ropes

After getting my first taste of PS:T, I can safely say this is going to be one interesting game. I haven’t managed to check off either of the first two quests I’ve been given, but I’ve been doing some exploring, inventory reading, and a lot of conversing with a skull. I’m definitely drawn into the story already, and looking forward to helping TNO figure out the mysteries of himself. My understanding of the interface is definitely not there yet, but I’m getting a little smoother.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m still in training mode; looking, playing with, exploring, feeling out, that sort of thing. I’m going to see how far I can get before I make an attempt to share more specific thoughts. I’ve got plenty of screen shots of my adventure already, although I’ve accomplished very little. This is normal, I suppose. After all, it took me like a week to figure Klamath out in Fallout 2, so I’ll get there. Game updates in the very near future, and thanks for your patience!

Kicking off PS:T

It seems some kind of WordPress error erased a brief intro paragraph I had written to properly lead us to into the SGD’s second game, so the paragraph below served as the opening for the first few hours of this entry’s life. I had no idea that had happened, and can’t remember at all what I typed up here in the first draft. This is not the first time WordPress has done something fucking irritating, either… But I digress! On with the entry, and on with the new game, which is, of course, Planescape: Torment. 

After taking careful consideration, it seems as though there’s nothing game breaking involved if I decide to install only the official patch, version 1.1. I want to make it clear that I mean no disrespect to all of you who so helpfully suggested various fixes and mods to improve gameplay, and until very recently I had planned on installing a few of these basic files on the site linked in yesterday’s comments. But after studying what would be accomplished with those mods and fixes, it doesn’t appear we’re talking about anything critical to gameplay. It sounds like the fixes make some minor corrections, improve the graphics for today’s computers, and add some content to the game that makes it feel more complete. I think now is a good time to perhaps lay out some general ground rules for the future games in this project with the decision I’ve come to here. I prefer to play only official patches the first time through. Again, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not suggesting mods and fixes are wrong, or that I wouldn’t be happy to use them when I play through the games again in the future (and I will, if I enjoy the game at all; if I don’t, the mods and fixes weren’t going to save it anyway), and I’m not trying to disregard the much appreciated tips I got from everyone. I just think, for the sake of consistency throughout this project, it’s best to stick with only official patches unless the very fundamentals of the intended game are altered, such as the random encounter problem incurred with Fallout 2. I’ll always be open to hearing persuasive arguments in the future games as to whether or not an unofficial patch/mod/fix is critical, so don’t think your opinion doesn’t matter, but ultimately I can’t make any one decision that everyone will agree with.

Whew. With what I hope reads to everyone as a very long-winded but nonetheless diplomatic explanation (what else would you expect from the creator of Geronimo?) as to why I’ve decided to go only with the 1.1 patch for this game, let’s move on, hopefully with all the readers still willing to stick around for the long haul. Moving on, of course, means getting to the character creation part!

I have to admit, I’m already a little disappointed. Not in a huge way, mind you, but after witnessing all the customization options in Fallout 2, I was saddened to see so few options this time around. I don’t get to name my character; he is simply The Nameless One, and I suppose I will simply refer to him as TNO throughout the course of the blog. Furthermore, there are no appearance options or skills to choose from. So this was a rather limited experience, but that’s okay. I’m sure the content in the game will make up for it, and character creation is probably something I enjoy way more than others anyway.

So I’m introduced to the attributes of the Torment character for the first time: Strength, Wisdom, Constitution, Charisma, Dexterity, and Intelligence. I’m told that these are the standard Dungeons and Dragons characteristics, and are commonly used in RPG’s, so I guess I’ll have to readjust my Fallout 2 character mindset, which I was growing quite accustomed to. Each stat begins at 9, which is decidedly average, but the minimum I can choose for each category. So it’s literally not possible to be below average in any one category, huh? Interesting; I was prepared to make sacrifices in a few areas. Anyway, I have 21 points to divide up between these six categories, so it’s time to get to work.

Another disclaimer: as requested, I did not do any reading about the strategy for this game, and in fact know nothing whatsoever about how to create a good character. I’m using common sense and the one hint that I got, which is that wisdom is the most important attribute. So I quickly max out my Wisdom ability, using 9 of my 21 points to bump it up to 18. It won’t go any higher, but I click on the plus button a few more times just to assure myself there isn’t some secret way to make the wisest character ever. With 12 remaining points and 5 categories left to choose from, I study the screen intently, wondering just what kind of guy my TNO is going to turn into over the course of his adventure.

"Your wisdom is of heroic proportions." Now that's what I like to hear.

Call me predictable all you want, but after reading through the description of each attribute, I quickly determine that I like the way intelligence sounds more than the others. I bump that up to 15, draining half of my remaining points in the process. Now I’ve got three physical categories (strength, constitution, dexterity) and one mental category (charisma) all set at 9. Since I’ve already allotted most of my points toward the mental side, I decide to keep playing that card, giving TNO 3 more points in the charisma department. With my last available points, I choose dexterity, effectively ignoring strength and constitution.

I admit I have no idea whether this is a good strategy, or what kind of character it is likely to turn TNO into. Obviously, he’s going to excel in things like dialogue and critical thinking, while he may prove less effective in combat. I cannot deny this always seems like a more intriguing character to me, but one of these games I promise I’ll switch it up and make a powerful idiot just for entertainment value. With no further options of customization, it’s time to get started! That is, in the next entry.

TNO's starting stats. Time to put them to use.

Before I end this entry, I want to make yet another disclaimer, the last one this time. I have absolutely no idea how the pace of this game goes, and I’m told to expect a ton of dialogue. As such, narrating the events may prove quite challenging, and very difficult to make worth reading. Until I get started and learn the basics of the game, I really don’t know how I’m going to handle the style of the entries, so it may take a bit to get in the swing of things. I’m excited and ready to get going for sure, but I expect there will be a slight learning curve to this new style of game, so I ask for your patience if my first few entries come out a little off. Hopefully I’ll figure out an effective way to share the tale of TNO in whatever random conquests he finds himself caught up in. Looking forward to taking the next leap in my re-education! Stay tuned, everyone.

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors

With Fallout 2 behind me (in body, not in spirit), it’s only fitting to usher in the new phase of the project by going over what has just been completed. Tomorrow, I’m going to be introducing the next game and discussing all the patches and settings I’m using or not using for my experience, and unlike last time, I don’t think there will be a great debate over my decisions halfway through the game.

Having said that, now is a perfect time to share a brief update about my conversion process to the RPG world. I’ll say this: I loved Fallout 2. A lot. As I said, I’ve already played many new characters on a different computer, and I’ve made a ton of progress even since finishing Geronimo’s journey. I currently have a guy who has owned the early stages of the game (the gifted trait really does do wonders, doesn’t it?) and is currently in Broken Hills at Level 9. I’ve taken such a different route than I did with Geronimo, it’s astounding. Actually knowing what I’m doing for the whole game makes it so fun, and I’ve already discovered tons of things I missed the first time, especially since I was absolutely clueless in those early entries (Klamath… it’s so big!). Anyway, the point is, I love Fallout 2, and am certain as a result I would love certain aspects of any computer RPG. The key component there is certain aspects.

Going forward to the next game, I’m not converted enough to pretend I’m not fearful. After all, Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment are two very different things, right? Fallout 2 is not really a fantasy setting as such; it’s more sci-fi oriented, and the plot didn’t turn me off at all since it didn’t feel like I was playing an active part straight out of a book by J. R. R. Tolkien. My fear is that Planescape: Torment will lose me in its Dungeons and Dragons based gameplay, and prove some of my original ill-conceived RPG assumptions correct. To sum it up, I’m not as against RPG’s as I might have once thought, but I’m still worried that the great majority of titles are going to bore me to death. That won’t stop me from playing, mind you, and I certainly don’t mean any offense in saying these fears aloud. After all, I’m determined to give the genre the fair chance I never did before, even it means walking away from it more certain of my disdain than ever. I want to like Torment, need to like Torment for the sake of this blog, but I admit seeing the screen shots scares me in a way Fallout 2 never did. I guess the only way to find out is to push ahead, right?

And push ahead I’ll do, starting with the new project tomorrow. For today, it’s time to take one last lingering look at Fallout 2. What more is there to say at this point? Not much. I just wanted to repeat how impressed I am that the game so flexibly allows you to win with a character of any style. The futuristic/post-apocalyptic setting is very nicely created, including the 1950’s era presentations and musical stylings. The introduction is very well put together, as are the end sequences, which truly make you feel accomplished as a gamer since all these things happened because of your actions. I’ve never seen an ending quite like that before, and I was blown away. Seriously. The voice acting, for the few characters that were given a voice, was tremendous, and again, the narration done in the introduction and ending was top notch. Overall, this is quite simply a very quality package, one done with love and care not often found in a video game of any kind, and I’m very pleased to have gotten the opportunity to learn about the Fallout franchise.

The downsides? I’ve already covered them. I understand the game wasn’t that long by RPG standards, but not only did it seem long to me based on the games I’ve played comparatively, it didn’t really seem like it needed to be that long. Seriously, San Francisco gave me no pleasure whatsoever, and the nostalgia I felt at the end stemmed more from the fact I’d taken one single character and brought him through everything for over a month of gameplay. I was actually quite glad to be done with the game, and I don’t think that should be the case in a perfect product. There have to be games out there that the player never wants to end, even if they’ve been playing 300 hours, right? Anyway, Fallout 2 wasn’t perfect, but it was a damn fine game nonetheless. I’m sure I’ll continue to revisit it the rest of my life, and not many games fall in that category.

So, with everything mentioned, I’m going to bestow an arbitrary rating on the game per my experiences with it. Bear in mind this is not so much a critical review rating as much as it is a rating of how much I personally enjoyed the game, which may mean very little if in fact my taste isn’t up to par. My hope is that during this re-education program, I’ll become seasoned enough to reach the point where my personal enjoyment in a game matches up pretty well with how good the game was overall. A pretty lofty goal, I know, and especially considering the games I used to spend my spare time playing. I don’t think I’ll ever confess those games, by the way, except to say it wasn’t all bad. I was big on Thief, Deus Ex, Evil Genius, and Civilization 4 for instance. But the other direction… we won’t go there. I’m pretty sure I’d have no readers left.

As a final note, I will say there must be some hope for me in regards to enjoying any RPG-based game I ever come across. I was reading (sort of reading, never finished) a lengthy article given to me by Bruticus about the roots of RPG’s, which discussed in length where it all came from, and discovered to my surprise that the baseball simulation game Strat-O-Matic was involved in the process. While I don’t and have never played Strat-O-Matic (sorry; was born in the “console tard” generation as my cousin keeps reminding me), I do order a well-regarded PC baseball simulation game every year and play the absolute hell out of it. One that has no graphics and all text, even. So yeah, that bodes well, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it?

By the way, I almost forgot I’m supposed to rate Fallout 2. I’ll be using a standard 1-10 scale, using a .5 if I feel it falls in between two numbers. I’ll use this format for every game played in the future as well. So with that said…

Final Score: 8.5

The End Is Nigh

Actually, the end has already come and gone. I just thought the title sounded more dramatic with the word nigh in it. Yes, readers, Geronimo has successfully completed his journey throughout the world of Fallout 2, and thus will no longer be sharing his adventures with us anymore. It was not an easy process for me; several times I grew frustrated with my lack of progress or the occasional plodding pace of the game, and a few times I let it show a little too obviously. But it’s all been part of the process, and with it all wrapped up now, I can happily say it was all worth it. But as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we can all stand and applaud Geronimo for a job (kinda) well done, it’s time to recap his final quest.  

It began at the entrance to the Enclave oil rig, readers, with faithful followers Sulik, Cassidy, and Marcus standing beside our hero. As our quartet advances into the building, I notice an imposing group of turrets immediately. They raise into a ready position, but fortunately do not fire a single shot. Not so fortunately, that doesn’t remain the case for long. As soon as our group moves forward to the right side of the screen, the turrets open fire and unleash a devastating series of bullets at us. Uh, not good. Reload.  

This is what happened to me immediately; in my San Francisco post I mentioned that I took a peak at the Enclave area and found it rather difficult. That’s what I was referring to. Death. Carnage. Unbeatable turrets that immediately shoot you down upon entering the base. Not what I had in mind for the end of game heroics. This part… took a while. I tried to fight the turrets. I tried to sneak past. I tried to not play the game for a long time, calling it names that would hopefully hurt its feelings and force it to be nicer. But ultimately, nothing worked.  

Until I remember the guy in the purple robe outside the main entrance to Navarro, and the hint Matthew gave me back in San Francisco. Leave your friends behind, and infiltrate the base alone. Also, during my time in the Navarro base, and I quote from myself, “On the way out, I stop in front of the armory and come across Advanced Power Armor, which makes Geronimo look exactly like a member of the Enclave.” Bing! With my three companions sadly having to wait outside, I’m able to get past the turrets no problem this time. I send Geronimo over to investigate the lone computer in the southwest corner of the room, but as there’s no way to login without having a presidential access key, I leave it and advance to the right side exit screen, avoiding the stairs down to the south for now.  

Geronimo never did really master computers...

The first several screens prove to be little more than a scavenger hunt. I loot every locker, footlocker, and desk, coming up with many useful items, books on electronics and science, super and regular stimpacks (I’m sure I’ll need them), and ammo for the Gauss pistol being the most memorable of them. I’m unable to talk with anyone in the barracks setting, although I did take the time to click on every single person. No luck. I begin to wonder just what kind of final adventure this is.  

Returning to the entrance area, I take the south exit down the stairs and wind up in an area with more soldiers and a hall of holding cells. Inside those cells, behind the forcefield that guards each entry, are the people of Arroyo! Geronimo’s heart aches to rescue them, but there’s no way to get to them when they’re surrounded by members of the Enclave in addition to being trapped by an energy forcefield. Still, I’m able to get a good look at my people and even chat with the town elder, who fills me in as to what happened at the village. The elder tells me I must destroy the computer and kill everyone in the building. That doesn’t sound like the way Geronimo would handle it, but fair enough. I search the area thoroughly, again finding no one to talk to, and again find a set of stairs leading down to the south.  

Hello, Elder. Haven't seen you in a long time. Looks like that right eyes's still gross; you should get that checked out.

This time I find myself in corridor with electrified floors. Geronimo is shocked after short periods of time, and this is particularly annoying to me, because there’s no apparent way to stop it, and where do I find myself at a time when it’d be awfully nice to get away from the floor that’s trying to kill me? A fucking maze, that’s where. Helplessly, I save and reload seemingly a thousand times, doing trial and error at the computer terminals in an attempt to get the right doors to open. On both sides of the computers lies a safe haven, a barracks of sort with more soldiers that won’t talk to me and more items to stock up on. Those are nice, but I can tell that the area I’m really supposed to be getting to is to the south.  

Well, it didn’t really take any skill (trial and error seems all luck to me), but eventually I found the right combination and wound up at a room in the bottom of the maze that simply lets me in the regular way. (Note: not the first time I tried. I couldn’t figure out how the hell to get past the second door until I reloaded from the beginning and realized the elder had told me I needed to have a GECK on me. Since I had left the GECK with Marcus to save inventory space, I simply borrowed the spare inside the oil rig, and then got through the door no problem. Stupid maze.) Now we’re in business, finally.  

A maze that continually shocks you while you find your way through it? That must suck for the people that work here.

This area is much more interactive, and Geronimo finds himself in the first oil rig conversation with an incoherent man that offers no useful information and makes even less sense. He bids me farewell by informing me the future will be better tomorrow. Helpful. To the north is President Richardson, who I’ve heard nothing about the entire game (did I miss something?). President Richardson turns out to be an evil, twisted fuck, and the Enclave’s plans are made clear to Geronimo for the first time: wipe out all non-humans in the world by releasing a toxin known as the FEV virus and make a fresh beginning. Honestly, if I were a human in a world like this, I’m not sure I’d be that opposed…  

But Geronimo feels very differently about the news. He’s outraged, in fact. He argues with President Richardson at great length, but never directly threatens his life. I’m unable to come to any sort of agreement or meet any objectives by talking to him, so I assume his presence is strictly for informational purposes, and I leave him. In the northwest room I run into an evil scientist named Dr. Curling who is equally twisted and every bit as cold as President Richardson. Dr. Curling gives me more background on the FEV virus, seeming to take delight in his personal role in the project. Again, nothing seems to be gained when it comes to his character, so I head to the north and take the flight of stairs up, hoping for some answers.  

With a different character, assassinating President Richardson would have been quite satisfying.

After doing some more looting and exploring, I finally across a man who gives me information I know I can use: researcher Tom Murray informs me that the reactor is controlled by one central computer, and without it, there would be no power for it, effectively shutting down the reactor. This must be the computer the elder wanted me to destroy. That leaves Geronimo with only one thing to do: take matters into his own hands and blow up the computer. I thank Tom for his assistance politely as it if were a regular conversation we’d just had, and then proceed to the northwest room where the mainframe is.  

Careful to push the scientists at work aside so they don’t turn hostile on me, I clear space by the computer and set down the dynamite. The demolition goes smoothly, the computer explodes, I’m rewarded 10,000 points (and given another level in the process), and most importanly, I now have ten minutes to get the hell out of here. Thankfully, no one seems to have any hostility toward Geronimo for his actions, so I’m able to leave almost the same way I got in without anyone stopping me.  

That is, until the room before the entrance, where a group of Enclave soldiers are stationed together, seemingly waiting for me. I brace myself for battle, get the Gauss ready, quick save, and engage in conversation. Turns out the guys aren’t so bad. Their leader is Sergeant Granite, and he’s kind enough to inform me I’ve got quite a battle up ahead. I expected nothing less, so I’m not too fazed. He tells me about Frank Horrigan, a genetically engineered freak that won’t allow anyone to leave the base without a fight. Using the same cunning that’s helped Geronimo get to the point he’s at now, I convince the soldiers to assist me in fighting Frank instead of just sitting there and letting everyone die on the rig when it blows up.  

Geronimo's speech skill comes through again. It brings a tear to his creator's eye.

Saving again, the five of us advance on Frank, who has little to say other than that he’s going to kill me. Geronimo, a diplomat to the bitter end, asks him if he wants to talk things over, but Frank wants no part of it and opens fire. Unfortunately, so do the turrets. Within five turns or so, all my friends are dead, and the turrets and Frank Horrigan (who has 999 fucking hit points) are all attacking me together. So… not a good plan. Let’s back up a bit.  

Reloading from an earlier point in the game before the computer was blown up, I decide to try a little experiment. I return to the turret room while they’re dormant and unsuspecting, whip out my Gauss pistol, and go on a little shooting spree. The turrets are tough as hell, even though the Gauss is so awesome it can literally break the sensors of three turrets per turn. Were it not for the trick I discovered where I left the building altogether (ending up outside where I left my companions) and then reentered to a once again friendly group of turrets, I’m not sure I would have had any stimpacks left at all. As it stands, though, I’m able to take them all out quite nicely using this system. With three aimed shots per turn and the four bonus moves to get me out the door afterwards, I hardly even have to take a shot at all. With the turrets destroyed, I go back, blow up and computer, and retry the showdown with Horrigan, this time in a 5-on-1 battle.  

With no turrets to pick off my temporary allies, the battle goes much smoother. Horrigan, all 999 hit points of him, loses strength very slowly, but I catch a huge break (after much reloading, of course) when one of my friends with an energy weapon scores a critical hit that compacts his chest plate. Amazingly, the lumbering final boss takes a knee at that point and never gets up, and the five of us gradually finish him off. He still had 554 hit points at the time of his misfortune, so I get the feeling this is supposed to be a much harder battle. With Horrigan crippled and sitting there defenseless, though, he’s an easy victory, and the final shot cuts him in half, leaving his head to threaten something about hitting the self-destruct button.  

Frank looks like a quarterback trying to run out the clock.

With triumph rising slowly in my chest, I slowly make my way to the front entrance, saving my game just so I’ve got the moment stored forever. When I walk out the door, I’m hit with a series of endings (very nicely done) that I helped to influence, lengthy credits, and the opportunity to keep playing. For the hell of it, I say yes, but am too busy celebrating my victory to play much. I save and leave it in that spot, where I may give it a look someday just to enjoy the post-game world of Fallout.  

For those of you who are curious, I made sure to take note of the endings Geronimo achieved in my first playthrough. They go as follows:  

Relations between the Slags and the residents of Modoc flourish. Between the two peoples, Modoc prospers and becomes a major farming community, supplying all the outlying regions with food.
 
With Metzger gone, slavery disappears from the area. Becky’s Casino Bar grows quickly, and Rebecca Dyer’s reputation as an honest casino and bar owner brings her the business needed to buy out her competition and expand. The Den flourishes, and it soon gains a reputation for being a tough, but honest, community.
 
In the years to come, Vault City suffered greatly from raider attacks. Eventually, the situation grew so desperate the Citizens were forced to request aid from NCR. Within a month, a large detachment of the NCR’s military was stationed in Vault City. The military presence soon became an occupation force, and Vault City became the first of NCR’s border territories. 

Less than a month after the Enclave’s destruction, a mob war broke out on New Reno streets. The Wrights, armed with an arsenal of weaponry that dated back to the pre-war years, levelled the casinos of the other families with rocket launchers. The ‘mob war’ was clocked as lasting a little over forty-three minutes, and when the smoke cleared, half of New Reno had been demolished. To this day, it is commonly taught that the Wright Family were the founders of New Reno.
 
Though the Wright Family never completely recovered from Richard’s death, the knowledge that the killer had been brought to justice eased their troubled sleep.
 
Optimising Gecko’s reactor creates a power surplus in Gecko. The Vault City council, unable to expand because of their limited power supply, yields to internal pressure and is forced to take over Gecko to control the reactor. The peaceful ghouls of Gecko become slaves and spend the rest of their lives serving Vault City. After Doc Johnson helped treat the miners during the Great Jet Scare, the Citizens of Vault City voted Doc Johnson into the Mayor’s seat. Under the Doctor’s patient hand, Redding forged closer ties with Vault City until, some years later, Vault City annexed Redding, granting Vault City Citizenship to only 10 percent of Redding’s population.
 
With the destruction of the conspiracy to destroy the mutants, Broken Hills began to thrive. Then the uranium ran out. The city, losing its sole reason for existing, slowly dispersed. The residents carried their riches with them, leaving the place a wind-swept, desolate ghost town. A few hold-outs remained, attempting to eke out a pathetic existence, but eventually, they too, disappeared.
 
Your help with Vault 15 launched the New California Republic’s push to civilize its neighbors. Though there were many more obstacles to overcome, the NCR now had a foothold into the northern wastes.
 
With the support that you secured from the New California Republic, the Vault 15 squatters soon became self-sufficient and productive members of society.
 
By eliminating the deathclaws of Vault 13 you banished yet another species to the realms of extinction, proving, once again, that genocide is a viable solution to any problem…
 
The Shi flourished, creating a botanical scourge on the radiation surrounding their beloved town. Though this vine could not grow in other soils, the Shi took care to nourish it in their lands. They continued to grow in strength and prominence, forming the basis of a new empire.
 
As for the Tanker vagrants… well, as vagrants do, they drifted on.  

So the adventure finally comes to a close, readers. I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic about the end of Geronimo, the character that ushered me into the RPG world and succeeded greatly in doing so. There will be many other created characters in the future, but perhaps none will be remembered more fondly. I’m going to be making a post tomorrow in which I more or less summarize my overall opinions of Fallout 2, and then it’ll be time to continue with the project, which means taking a crack at Planescape: Torment. I have read next to nothing about the game, and absolutely zero strategy hints, for those wondering. But I’ll get into that whole speech when I write the introduction to that part of the project, most likely the day after the summary of Fallout 2.  

It’s been a lot of fun journaling my experiences with Geronimo. I was definitely ready to beat the game and move on, but I enjoyed (almost) every minute of the process, and I’m greatly looking forward to the next step. To those of you who got a chance to relive your first time playing through my words, to those who rediscovered the itch to play the game all over again, and to those who just came here out of some morbid curiosity or desire to see me struggle to translate my failure into words eloquent enough for reading, I again want to take time to thank you for visiting. Your comments kept me going during the grinding, halting periods where quitting may have been the easier option. I’m very much so looking forward to continuing to provide content that’s hopefully worth your time in the future.  

Geronimo's final stats. Sigh. Farewell, friend.

Holy shit, this is almost 3,000 words. I’ll stop now.

General Update Day

With one last enormous bite to chew off before this game is finished, I thought I’d hold a quick question and answer session to fill the space on what would otherwise be another day with no update. No drama intended at all; if I felt and any real sense of tension, I’d pull the plug on the project and erase the blog so fast no one would ever have been able to prove it was here in the first place. Believe me, I’ve had my share of unfinished projects.

But this isn’t one of them. I do apologize for the quick summaries of the last few areas; was hoping it didn’t show, but indeed, I did rush through the writing, but that’s not to say I’m no longer enjoying Fallout 2. Far from it. In fact, true confession time: I’m actually playing around with several different characters on a different computer in my house, reliving the early part of the game over and over again, enjoying the unofficial patch from the beginning this time around. I think the real joy in Fallout 2 is the character design process. I’m really curious to see how this game varies with different builds, ie a science-oriented guy, someone who’s extremely intelligent (like a 10 instead of Geronimo’s 8), someone who never really uses combat unless it absolutely must come down to it. Or maybe it’d be fun to see what a close-range/melee type fighter with little intelligence would offer. Maybe a sneak/steal type? You get the idea. I understand speech and lockpicking are critical, and thus are usually impossible not to tag, but I’m fascinated by the ideas of future playthroughs with this game.

So no, I’m far from bored. I am, however, trying to get to the end quickly, because I do feel the game is just sort of delaying it without any real purpose. I didn’t really want to go through another big ass city like San Francisco and was slightly irritated to find it wasn’t a quick shot like Navarro; I just want to move the story along, and these last few locations haven’t really done that for me. I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the locations, like Redding, The Den, Vault City, and Modoc, but a few along the way have either overwhelmed me or felt unnecessary. I’m not trying to be critical; Fallout 2 as a whole is fantastic, but it has not been a consistently thrilling ride all the way. That’s all I’m saying. It feels like perhaps these last few spots for me have been sort of the low-end of the rollercoaster, and I’ve let it show in my writing. I’ll work hard not to do that for in future games; why write all this if it isn’t fun for anyone to read, right?

Lastly, there is one final element to take into consideration: pressure. True, I’m likely putting it on myself, because by and large the comments have indicated a pretty patient crowd, but I do feel an obligation to deliver a post every so often, even if I didn’t get where I wanted to in the game or even if I don’t have a really firm grasp on what I just played. If I didn’t comprehend what I recently played and enjoy it, making it a good read proves quite a challenge.

But I digress. Those concerned about the nature of the last few entries need not be worried. I’m not losing interest, and I’m obviously not going to keep churning out shitty posts just for the sake of content. Again, if it comes to that, I’ll take this fucker down. But I’m having a good time for now, so I’m sticking with it, and I hope you all do, too. It’s been great reading all your comments and getting your feedback; it’d be a hell of a lot of fun to just have a roundtable Fallout 2 discussion, in fact, with player stories and experiences and methods of play.

I promise not to let my alternate playthroughs cut into Geronimo’s almost-over quest, and I will definitely put my all into the final FO 2 blog entries. As far as the Enclave itself in the game, well… if it kicks my ass too much for too long, there will either be a walkthrough consulted or a lack of new posts for a while. I’m about to get to it as we speak! Thanks for the continued support, readers.