Fallout Journals: Game Critique Interlude

I got a chance to play some Fallout last night, and I actually made some serious headway. I ditched the cool leather jacket for some new Leather Armor, and my arsenal of weaponry has expanded considerably. Here's a brief recap of my lastest adventures in the wastelands.

Ian and I were hanging around Junktown, looking for some clues on where to find a Water Chip or some ways to make some sweet caps. We met up with the guards/police of Junktown, a bunch of guys wearing the same armor and generally saying the same things. One of them does manage to say something unique: he warns me about Gizmo and his cronies.

Gizmo, huh? Well, he can't be any worse than those damn Raiders in the desert. Not long after, Ian and I find a jail with a fellow by the name of Andrew.

My dialogue options are "What are you doing?" and "No thanks." Hmm.......well, "No thanks" makes absolutely no sense, so let's ask Andrew what he's doing. What he has to say may surprise you:

Enlightening. Ian and I go looking for the mayor of town. He's a fellow by the name of Killiam Darkwater, who doubles as the town trader and sheriff. He asks me to help take care of Gizmo and his cronies - apparently, they are running some kind of gang/crime syndicate out of Gizmo's casino to the north. I tell Killiam I'll help him; I'm about to leave when, out of nowhere, one of Gizmo's cronies bursts into the store and starts shooting at Killiam, screaming "Gizmo sends his regards!"

Ian and I had the guy dead before I could get a screenshot of us fighting him. Here's a picture of me and Ian looming over his shattered corpse.

Killing this guy helps me win the trust of Killiam, and I get some more precious XP, not to mention a SWEET hunting rifle which becomes my weapon of choice for the rest of the play session.

I don't have screenshots for the battle that ensued, but basically here's how it breaks down. Killiams give me a tape recorder and a bug to try and get some sort of incriminating confession out of Gizmo. (Apparently, the homicidal crony screaming "Gizmo sends his regards!" ain't enough to convict.) So I go up north to the casino and have a little chat with Killiam - after killing two of his guards and stealing their Leather Armor, of course. I pretend that I'm there to offer my services as a hitman, and he hires me to take Killiam out.

I run back to Killiam's store and give him the evidence - and put on my sweet new Leather Armor.

IRL break, more to follow later tonight.

EDIT: It's 11:41pm as of this edit, so I'll save the rest until tomorrow. On the plus side, our house looks great - the only thing left to do is hang some pictures.