History YMMV / Fallout2

* BrokenBase: While the game is generally agreed to be an EvenBetterSequel (especially in gameplay), there's a group who feels that ''2'' went too far into DenserAndWackier territory and went overboard with the [[ShoutOut pop-culture references]]. There's also a small group who doesn't like how the game messes with the lore established in the first game, such as featuring a larger amount of real-world firearms and introducing supernatural elements.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Many of the criticisms levied against ''Fallout 3'' by its detractors can also be directed at this game -- re-usage of story elements and ideas from the previous game, plot holes in the main story, inability to join the villain faction[[note]]The Enclave in the second game is trying to purge the wastes of people like the player character, whereas Colonel Autumn in the third game seeks to gain control of the water supply. It's also worth noting that the original game's option to join the evil faction resulted in a bad ending[[/note]] and retcons to the lore. However, the ''Fallout'' franchise was comparatively obscure at this time and the franchise was still finding its identity with only two games to its name, so these problems aren't minded much since ''Fallout 2'' is still a great game, while ''Fallout 3'' dials up some of these problems and has several others that make it more contested.

** If you initiate combat with enemies, the enemies will often get two turns in a row between your first and second turns if they should have gone first.

** Deathclaws are more numerous than ever, and the game introduces the Enclave patrols, who will absolutely end your game with their weaponry if you're at anything other than near-endgame levels.
** Wanamingos. They're tough, hit hard, leave radiation damage, and tend to come in packs.

* ScrappyMechanic: When you have Goris and enter the combat mode, Goris always takes off his robes for several seconds before you can do anything. Thankfully, Restoration Project speeds this animation up a lot.

* CompleteMonster: [[SociopathicSoldier Frank Horrigan]] is a Secret Service agent and DragonInChief to President Dick Richardson. A psychopath even before his mutation, Horrigan delighted in killing whenever he could. His first onscreen appearance has him gunning down a family, including their child, for refusing his demands. Later, he gleefully kills Brotherhood of Steel agent, Matt, and wipes out the entire community of peaceful, talking deathclaws that the player had earlier befriended. Horrigan has a special hatred for "[[BoomerangBigot mutants]]", humans and creatures that have been exposed to the FEV virus or even the slightest amount of radiation. This racism leads to him aiding in the Enclave's plan to unleash a biological weapon which will wipe out all mutated life in North America, in order to make America "[[ANaziByAnyOtherName genetically pure]]." Once defeated, Horrigan tries to activate the Enclave Oil Rig's self-destruct sequence, condemning all of his remaining allies to death, just so he can take the [[PlayerCharacter Chosen One]] with him when he dies.

** Your character can become a porn star or a "fluffer" [[note]]Women who keep, let's say, the male actor's motor running during film breaks[[/note]]. There's also a variety of reputations and stats that count how good you are at having sex, such as "Gigolo" which is given to you after banging enough people. The sheer amount of work put into the possibility that the players may want to become virtual sex workers in a post-apolcalyptic world is baffling but hilarious.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Many of the criticisms levied against ''Fallout 3'' by its detractors can also be directed at this game -- reusage of story elements and ideas from the previous game, plot holes in the main story, inability to join the villain faction, and retcons to the lore. However, the ''Fallout'' franchise was comparatively obscure at this time and the franchise was still finding its identity with only two games to its name, so these problems aren't minded much since ''Fallout 2'' is still a great game, while ''Fallout 3'' dials up some of these problems and has several others that make it more contested.

** Marcus. He's a super mutant and thus unable to wear armor, which really hurts his viability in the late-game when you fight enemies that can liquidate him in one shot. He's also very limited in the types of weapons he can use and most of them are burst weapons, which makes him just as dangerous to you and your other companions as to the enemy. Not to mention that they guzzle ammo like water, so he'll be quick to run out. While the fandom loves Marcus as a character, not a lot of players take him as a companion, and if they do they tend to leave him behind once they reach Vault 13 or equip him with two-handed energy weapons instead of miniguns which he favors the most. And even then, the lack of armour and any defenses will lead to him dying 4 out of 5 times when someone bursts a Big Gun in his direction, so he's best left behind.

** The Temple of Trials, a ForcedTutorial that ExecutiveMeddling forced be included in the game, and ''no one'' likes it. Unless you build your character for Unarmed or Melee combat, you'll have only a 30-40% chance to hit enemies with attacks, and it takes three or four attacks to kill the giant ants that infest the temple, making each battle long and boring as you and the ants just take turns hitting each other in melee. The temple is extremely scarce on supplies, including little in the way of healing, which is a problem when several radscorpions are found deeper in the temple. Finally, because of your limited combat options, the ants and radscorpions being the only enemy types, and the linear nature of the temple, the level is plain boring.
** The Wanamingo Mine, several levels of DemonicSpiders with high power and lots of HP. 'nuff said.

* ItWasHisSled: TheReveal that the Vaults were made for human experimentation has become less shocking after every subsequent game made this common knowledge.

** Cassidy, by virtue of being far and away the most useful party member thanks to his [[ImprobableAimingSkills marksmanship abilities]] and his memorable one liners. Such is his popularity that the ''Restoration Project'' modification gives him a fully animated and voiced 3D head model. His daughter appears in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout New Vegas}}'' as a possible companion and quest-giver.
* EvenBetterSequel: The first ''Fallout'' was good. ''Fallout 2'' took everything it had, cut out the superfluous parts, improved the lacking parts, and polished it all to a gorgeous finish. The result is a larger world to explore, more involved quests, morally complex stories and characters, and much deeper gameplay with a large variety of new equipment and enemy types. The first ''Fallout'' seems like a beta or a demo for ''Fallout 2'' when you look at the two together.

** Marcus. He's a super mutant and thus unable to wear armor, which really hurts his viability in the late-game when you fight enemies that can liquidate him in one shot. He's also very limited in the types of weapons he can use and most of them are burst weapons, which makes him just as dangerous to you and your other companions as to the enemy. Not to mention that they guzzle ammo like water, so he'll be quick to run out. While the fandom loves Marcus as a character, not a lot of players take him as a companion, and if they do they tend to leave him behind once they reach Vault 13 or equip him with two-handed energy weapons instead of miniguns which he favors the most.

** Marcus. He's a super mutant and thus unable to wear armor, which really hurts his viability in the late-game when you fight enemies that can liquidate him in one shot. He's also very limited in the types of weapons he can use and most of them are burst weapons, which makes him just as dangerous to you and your other companions as to the enemy. Not to mention that they guzzle ammo like water, so he'll be quick to run out. While the fandom loves Marcus as a character, not a lot of players take him as a companion, and if they do they tend to leave him behind once they reach Vault 13.

** Marcus. He's a super mutant and thus unable to wear armor, which really hurts his viability in the late-game when you fight enemies that can liquidate him in one shot. He's also very limited in the types of weapons he can use and most of them are burst weapons, which makes him just as dangerous to you and your other companions as to the enemy. Not to mention that they guzzle ammo like water, so he'll be quick to run out. While the fandom loves Marcus as a character, not a lot of players take him as a companion, and if they do they tend to leave him behind once they reach Vault 13 or equip him with power fists or two-handed energy weapons instead of miniguns which he favors the most.

** Marcus. He's a super mutant and thus unable to wear armor, which really hurts his viability in the late-game when you fight enemies that can liquidate him in one shot. He's also very limited in the types of weapons he can use and most of them are burst weapons, which makes him just as dangerous to you and your other companions as to the enemy. Not to mention that they guzzle ammo like water, so he'll be quick to run out. While the fandom loves Marcus as a character, not a lot of players take him as a companion, and if they do they tend to leave him behind once they reach Vault 13.

* TierInducedScrappy: Myron is by far the weakest character in the entire game. He has an ''extremely'' limited weapon selection, low health, and will almost always run away from enemies. His only redeeming trait is the ability to make stimpaks and super-stims if you bring him the right materials, but said materials are so uncommon that it isn't worth the trouble of dragging Myron around to use them.

** Frank Horrigan has a reputation ''massively'' beyond what his brief in-game appearance suggests. He's the ''Fallout'' equivalent of Chuck Norris and whenever his name comes up on battle boards it can be assured that the thread consensus will always be him stomping the opposition.
** '''SERGANT ARCH DORNAN''' can scream loud enough to scare off deathclaws and blow out your speakers.

* ItWasHisSled: TheReveal that the Vaults were never intended to save anybody has become less shocking after every subsequent game made this common knowledge.

* NightmareFuel:
** The wanamingo. You know, the... things in the Redding mines. Besides being extremely difficult. They're so [[EldritchAbomination alien]]. At least you can tell that the {{de|monicSpiders}}athclaws are mutated reptilians, but the wanamingo, you have no idea what they are.
** Somehow managing to play so long that you reach the game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwzFJzedzfU built-in]] [[NonstandardGameOver 13-year time limit]]. Though it's only a still image of the wasteland with "THE END", the ScareChord and blowing wind make it unnecessarily spooky, especially when you aren't expecting it.

* EvilIsCool: Frank Horrigan has his share of fans due to this.

* SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}: If you play as a stupid character and answer the "Why don't you have a uniform" question of one of the Enclave officers in Navarro, he loosens up a little and remarks that it's not your fault that you're slow, and adds that he has a brother just like you.

* ScrappyMechanic: When you have Goris and enter the combat mode, Goris always takes off his robes for several seconds before you can do anything.

* HilariousInHindsight: The next exchange is hilarious with every ''Fallout'' game except ''2'' having a way to [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talk down the end-game boss into submission]]. Frank Horrigan's caustic disdain for diplomacy almost feels as if he were lampshading the whole issue.

* MemeticBadass: Frank Horrigan has a reputation ''massively'' beyond what his brief in-game appearance suggests. He's the ''Fallout'' equivalent of Chuck Norris and whenever his name comes up on battle boards it can be assured that the thread consensus will always be him stomping the opposition.

** [[BadassGrandpa Cassidy]], by virtue of being far and away the most useful party member thanks to his [[ImprobableAimingSkills marksmanship abilities]] and his memorable one liners. Such is his popularity that the ''Restoration Project'' modification gives him a fully animated and voiced 3D head model. His daughter appears in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout New Vegas}}'' as a possible companion and quest-giver.

* TheScrappy: Aside from being a TierInducedScrappy as mentioned below, nobody likes Myron because he's an annoying, arrogant douchebag with little utility and can potentially [[spoiler: rape a female Chosen one.]]

* HilariousInHindsight:
** The next exchange is hilarious with every ''Fallout'' game except ''2'' having a way to [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talk down the end-game boss into submission]]. Frank Horrigan's caustic disdain for diplomacy almost feels as if he were lampshading the whole issue.

** The cut content would have included an intelligent, AffablyEvil serial killer named {{Series/Dexter}}.

** All the enemies in the Temple of Trials. Even if you have a character specifically geared towards unarmed or melee combat, all the enemies are obnoxiously hard to hit, forcing you to use drawn-out hit-and-run tactics to avoid burning through all their Perception-lowering healing items.

* OneSceneWonder: Despite having next to no bearing on the actual plot and it being possible to play the game without meeting him at all, Sergeant Arch Dornan is one of the most memorable characters in the game on account of how absolutely ballistic his voice actor goes with the DrillSergeantNasty routine. The developers seem to have been intentionally aiming for this trope, since he has a "talking head" and full voice acting, which is otherwise only reserved for very important characters, which he is not.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The unused icon for [[http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/a/ab/Childkiller_Unused.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100226092110 the "Child Killer" reputation.]]