Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

When it was released on the PC back in 1998, Fallout offered up a great blend of futuristic storyline and Dungeons and Dragons inspired gameplay set in a rich RPG universe.  The series went on to gain critical acclaim and set the mood for the release of the Baldur’s Gate series and it’s subsequent sequels and emulators.  Now, Fallout is finally hitting consoles in the same vein as the Baldur’s Gate series with Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.  The gameplay is pretty much pulled straight from the Dark Alliance games, warts and all.  The action RPG elements have been largely untouched, as have the repetitive missions and situations.  However, the rich and deep Fallout universe is all here.  For fans of the series, the game should provide a fun, if brief experience.

After the nuclear blasts, the world is a desolate wasteland.  Ghouls, mutants and monsters rule the desert raiding and attacking whomever they please.  You take control of one of three different warriors (more can be unlocked as you progress through the game): Cyrus, the largest and strongest fighter of the group with a penchant for melee combat; Nadia, the quickest member of the group who can wield two weapons at once; and Cain, a mutant with a resistance to radiation who can eventually develop the ability to regain health by coming in contact with radiation.  As one of these characters, you must complete tests and trials to gain access to the Brotherhood of Steel, a faction trying to right the wrongs in the world and restore peace and order.  

The atmosphere from the PC incarnations of the Fallout series is constant throughout The Brotherhood of Steel.  The dark sense of humor has been retained and fans of the series shouldn’t feel out of place, even considering the heavy action elements.  

As I said earlier, the gameplay is lifted almost directly from the Dark Alliance series.  The game is very heavy on the action and fairly light on the RPG elements.  You guide your character from a top-down isometric view and attack enemies in real-time.  The more enemies you kill, the more experience you get, allowing you to gain levels and new abilities.  You can also collect or purchase better weapons and armor to help you progress through your missions and so forth.  

The game begins fun enough, requiring you to clear out a group of raiders in the local bar.  However, the missions grow a bit redundant as most missions become simple clean up missions where you have to go and clear out a certain kind of monster from a warehouse and so on.  Eventually, the RPG elements give way to the action elements, making the game feel more like a mindless hack & slash.  

The graphics engine is also almost directly ported from the Dark Alliance series, which both works for and against the game.  There are some great lighting effects and animations, but the character models and environment details are showing their age.  So while the engine looked great a year and a half ago, now it looks a bit dated.  

The sound effects are also pretty good, but not great.  The sounds of clanging metal and laser beams are slightly simplistic and repetitive, but do not really detract from the experience.  There are some strange things going on with the music as well.  The game has a deep soundtrack filled with licensed metal bands like Slipknot, Chimaira and Meshuggah, but these tracks are largely absent in the game’s levels.  In their place is a subtle ambience, which while atmospheric and appropriate for the game’s tone, will leave you wondering where the music went. 

The Brotherhood of Steel is probably as close to Fallout 3 as we will see in a while, which could potentially be bad news for some.  While the game is fun at first and does a fine job of keeping with the Fallout universe, the gameplay grows far too repetitive and not compelling too quickly.  A mindless hack & slash, The Brotherhood of Steel would make a good weekend rental for fans of either the Fallout PC series or the Dark Alliance console series, although it probably wouldn’t warrant a purchase.

Gameplay: 6.9
The Brotherhood of Steel’s gameplay is almost entirely lifted from the Dark Alliance series, which can be both good and bad.  The game is an RPG-esque hack & slash with a noticeably Gauntlet Legends-feel to it, which makes it fun for two people to play together.  However, the mission structure and action grows very repetitive very quickly.

Graphics: 8.0
The game uses a ported version of the Dark Alliance’s graphics engine, which again, is both good and bad.  The game boasts some great lighting effects and smooth animations, but the character models and environments are very simplistic.  All in all, the appearance looks dated.

Sound: 7.0
The sounds are pretty good, although somewhat simple and repetitive.  The licensed music is missing from much of the game, although the ambient noise present in most of the stages works to set the mood.

Difficulty: Medium  

Multiplayer: 7.5
Given the action-RPG elements, The Brotherhood of Steel is a fun game to sit down with a buddy and play for a while.  However, this is still limited by the repetitive nature of the gameplay.

Concept: 6.5
While it does a fine job of incorporating the atmosphere of the PC series into a console, most of the game is basically lifted from Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance.

Overall: 7.0
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is fun at first, but after a while it falls prey to repetitive gameplay and mindless hack & slash action.  At most, the game would be a good rental for fans of the Fallout PC series or those looking for more Dark Alliance (and haven’t already picked up Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest).