I'm sure this discussion has come up before, but I couldn't find it
As an Avid Fallout 3 player and a half-hearted lover of Fallout New Vegas I would like to know which game you guys suggest next, Fallout or Fallout 2. I know that they have different story lines but what did you guys find more enjoyable, what has the most replay value, most character development, are they both turn-style, which ending is most rewarding and so on... :fallout:

The gameplaymechanics on both are pretty much the same. ISO view, TB combat, etc.

Personally I started with Fallout 2 (unintentionally, though, as I didn't have the chance to play the first earlier - and it has lasted with me from release to this date, and continues to do so). Fallout is overall better written game, but Fallout 2 offers a bigger experience - there is no telling which one is better for a first timer, so I'd suggest playing both and starting with the first. They're not overly long games (unless you decide to prolong them) nor different at their core, so going through both in a row might well feel like playing one game that has two chapters.

I liked Fallout 2 better. It's longer, the world is bigger and more detailed and you don't have a time limit like in Fallout 1.
They're both turn-based and the graphics are identical.
I don't know if you can continue playing after the end In 1 but I think you can in 2.

Start with Fallout 1. You'll appreciate the UI and companion improvements in 2 more. It's also a smaller game so easier for a first time player to get the hang of.

And don't worry about the time limit. Unless you're wandering around aimlessly instead of going from town to town like you're supposed to it's not very limiting.

Fallout, definetely. Fallout 2 is much bigger and harder IMO, so it's better you get used to the games with 1. Not saying it's not hard, but atleast you don't have to fear for your life everytime you enter the world map. I myself started with 2, and I almost quit it because I was so noob.

Fallout then Fallout 2 followed by Fallout Tactics :fallout:

FO2 becomes too easy after getting PA, so I'de say Fallout then you could try 2.

Plus, you will appreciate the newer additions in FO2 after playing Fallout.

It seems like FO2 is more like the Fallout 3 and new vegas that I'm used to.

Fallout 2 is probably the best of the Fallout Games, but you should still play Fallout 1 first. Fallout 2 is the ultimate Sandbox game. If you're one the Fallout 3 gamers that liked how you could dike around for 80% of the game and THEN do the main quest, you'd probably like Fallout 2 the best. The problem I see with Fallout 2 is there's a few more inconsistencies and general sillyness. A lot of the game is like playing New Vegas with Wild Wasteland on steroids. The Chosen One as a character has some of the BEST and most hilarious dialogue I've ever seen a player character have, for example:"What do I WANT? I don't really know. Most of the time I ignore my quest and walk into the homes of others, riffling through people's shelves..." After Activating a nuclear bomb "Mother of Go-" After hearing a horrible awful pun "Ohhhh. Ouch. That's terrible. The pain, the pain!" and after leaving a Midget stuck in a welf "I feel like I'm forgetting something" While dying horribly "I'll get you during my next save game!"

Here's my suggestion.

Play Fallout 1. Play Fallout 2 .

I highly recommend playing Fallout 2 with the Restoration Pack mod, as it includes a lot of the cut content and fixes all the bugged endings and quests. I wouldn't call it a mod per-se, since it's just readding content. If you want a full blown mod you want the MegaMod, which is basically the Restoration Pack on steriods.

I'd suggest the first game simply for the fact that it's the first game.
It will show you what a 100% true Fallout game is, and you can see how the series have changed from it's original formula.

The time limit still gives you a lot of time to complete the task before it's too late. At least the patched version gets rid of the time limit of the game itself(or was that Fallout 2 that had that issue?), where it would end after so many game-years played.

Fallout 1 was pretty good, however FO2 expanded on everything and improved lots of stuff. So FO2 is the "greatest" in the original series. For me atleast. The added companion controls where a god send.

Fallout 1 had a patch which removed the 500 day limit to beat the game but you still had a limit on finding the waterchip.
I think it was Fallout 2 that crashed if you played for more than around 17 years.
I just have that thing that if I have a time limit I always try to do thing as fast as possible even I have several hours.

Fallout 2 didn't crash after 17 years, it ended at 13 years (hur hur get it?). Largely because of technical issues. Fallout 1 you had 500 days to destroy both the Master and the Military base post-patch.

The time limit I had a problem with in Fallout 1 was the "Everyone gets killed by mutants" time limits.

By the time you get to the Boneyard 90 days will have past and the followers are doomed to be destroyed.

Fallout 1 is just better IMO. It hits the nail on the head for atmosphere, and the intents of the series. No Fallout game has since has had quite the same mix of desolation, isolationism, wry (or sometimes downright evil) sense of humor, and frightening* NPC's, paired with a calculated turn based combat method. Fallout Tactics' turn based combat was better ~but that's all FO:Tactics really was ~linked combat missions. (*and by frightening NPC's, I don't mean their appearance.)

IMO Its the best ~first Fallout game, to cement the series into the player, but that said... A patched Fallout 2 has more polished gameplay. In Fallout 1 its possible for an NPC to stand in the doorway of a room with no other exit, and there be no way to leave without combat; Fallout 2 adds the ability to nudge people around to avoid this. It also expands upon the player's ability to suggest combat behavior to their NPCs. There are other things they added and fixed that make playing the game less frustrating where it shouldn't be. Fallout 2 is a lot bigger than Fallout 1, and would be my choice if I could only pick one to have (from the whole series).

Interesting (though not as fulfilling) option to playing Fallout 1, is to watch this 131 part youtube video, (the guy misses a lot ~quite a lot, but he has fun doing it ).
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1164041-fallout-played-by-a-complete-novice/page__view__findpost__p__17109402