History YMMV / Fallout2

** Entire videogame is essentially time capsule of 90's pop culture references, especially Vice President of Enclave being parody on Dan Quayle and audio log of pre-War news reference to Bill Clinton's sex scandals along with Titanic, Animaniacs, and Terminator 2.

** Entire videogame is essentially time capsule of 90's pop culture references, especially Vice President of Enclave being parody on Dan Quayle and audio log of pre-War news reference to Bill Clinton's sex scandals along with Titanic, Animaniacs, and Terminator 2.

** Entire videogame is essentially time capsule of 90's pop culture references, especially Vice President of Enclave being parody on Dan Quayle and audio log reference to Bill Clinton's sex scandals.

* 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, [[WouldHurtAChild including their child]], for refusing his demands. Later, he gleefully kills a 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.
** [[MadScientist Dr. Schreber]] is one of the Enclave's most disturbed scientists. Schreber "customizes" his test subjects in [[PlayingWithSyringes horrible experiments]] involving biological and cybernetic augmentation, eventually resulting in Schreber's mortified superiors in Navarro forcing him to soundproof his lab against the constant screaming of his subjects. Schreber also paralyzed his cyberdog K9 so he'd be ForcedToWatch every horrific experiment that Schreber conducted. In his most abominable act, Schreber ordered the [[FinalSolution extermination]] of the sapient, peaceful Deathclaws in Vault 13, resulting in Frank Horrigan coming down upon them and wiping them out.

** While the game is generally agreed to be an EvenBetterSequel in regards to gameplay, design, and layout, the story and tone are another matter. ''2'' is DenserAndWackier than the first game and has a lot more [[ShoutOut pop-culture references]]. Among many other misadventures, you can: get hitched in a shotgun wedding after a one-night fling with a farmer's daughter; meet a tribe of talking deathclaws; become a Super Mutant's gimp after losing to them in arm-wrestling; meet a sapient AI named Skynet; meet a giant intelligent rat called The Brain; and encounter several characters from ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. The game also features more overtly supernatural elements, and while they were present in the first game, they could be written off as EarlyInstallmentWeirdness and MaybeMagicMaybeMundane; not so with ''2'', which explicitly has psychic dreams, ghosts, and aliens, and some of the (dubiously canon) random encounters involve time travel.

** 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, albeit one borrowed with permission from another fan project, Mutants Rising. The developers seem to be aware of his reputation, as his daughter appears in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout New Vegas}}'' as a companion.

** 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. The developers seem to be aware of his reputation, as his daughter appears in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout New Vegas}}'' as a companion.

** The earlier games held a RaygunGothic aesthetic inspired by a very 1950s-style [[EagleLand image of America]], but were also a twisted satire of that ideal - pre-war America was near-universally treated as violent, imperialistic and prejudiced, having interned people of Chinese descent over fear of them being sleeper agents and so desperate for resources that among other things it was confirmed to have annexed Canada (even the intro to the first game includes a newsreel of a pair of power armor-clad US soldiers executing a Canadian citizen in the streets [[MoodWhiplash and then waving at the camera]]). As the series went on, however, especially after it fell into Bethesda's hands, the PatrioticFervor elements gradually became less satirical, and even attempts made to hold to the original message were counterbalanced by cartoonishly-overblown nationalism and its associated imagery being either played completely straight, or [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing treated in such a way it may as well have been]]. One can compare and contrast the endings to ''Fallout 2'' and ''3'' both having segments revolving around a marvel of old American super-science with a cartoonishly-violent personality that embodies America's warlike nature, but there is one critical difference: Frank Horrigan of this game is the ultimate villain and FinalBoss, treated dead-seriously and with his nationalism resulting in lines that simultaneously glorify America and make it clear he's going to do very bad things to you and everybody else in the wastes in its name; Liberty Prime of ''Fallout 3'', by contrast, ''assists'' the player, and while he's similarly nationalistic, his personality is ''so'' cartoonishly overblown that it becomes endearing, so that even though [[UnbuiltTrope he's technically used against the genocidal remnants of the American government]] in his debut game, [[MisaimedFandom not a lot of players remember him that way]]. Not helped was Bethesda and Zenimax's growing obsession with ''Fallout'' [[MerchandiseDriven as a brand]], taking things meant to satirize the hyper-capitalist ideals of pre-war America and [[MisaimedMarketing using them to sell merch]] - which, like many cases of this trope for ''Fallout'', culminated with ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' and its ''multiple'' controversies surrounding PreOrderBonus material, everything from false advertising (the canvas bags that turned out to be nylon) to health hazards ([=GameStop=]'s version of the Power Armor helmet had to be recalled because the inner lining quickly started growing mold).

* FairForItsDay: ''Fallout 2'' is the first known video game to feature a gay or lesbian marriage in the form of brother and sister Davin and Miria who can be slept with regardless of the player's character sex. Said sex leads to a literal ShotgunWedding, which is mostly PlayedForLaughs, and the PC's spouses are [[JokeCharacter Joke Characters]] with awful stats who can't be dismissed from the party outside of death [[spoiler:[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential unless you sell them into slavery, or divorce them, or force them into sexual slavery, or extract their brain]]]]. Yet the very fact that a ''1998'' video game featured gay marriage as a valid option that wasn't particularly unusual within the game world is extremely impressive.

** The earlier games held a RaygunGothic aesthetic inspired by a very 1950s-style [[EagleLand image of America]], but were also a twisted satire of that ideal - pre-war America was near-universally treated as violent, imperialistic and prejudiced, having interned people of Chinese descent over fear of them being sleeper agents and so desperate for resources that among other things it was confirmed to have annexed Canada (even the intro to the first game includes a newsreel of a pair of power armor-clad US soldiers executing a Canadian citizen in the streets [[MoodWhiplash and then waving at the camera]]). As the series went on, however, especially after it fell into Bethesda's hands, the PatrioticFervor elements gradually became less satirical, and even attempts made to hold to the original message were counterbalanced by cartoonishly-overblown nationalism and its associated imagery being either played completely straight, or [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing treated in such a way it may as well have been]]. One can compare and contrast the endings to ''Fallout 2'' and ''3'' both having segments revolving around a marvel of old American super-science with a cartoonishly-violent personality that embodies America's warlike nature, but there is one critical difference: Frank Horrigan of this game is the ultimate villain and FinalBoss, treated dead-seriously and with his nationalism resulting in lines that simultaneously glorify America and make it clear he's going to do very bad things to you and everybody else in the wastes in its name; Liberty Prime of ''Fallout 3'', by contrast, ''assists'' the player, and while he's similarly nationalistic, his personality is ''so'' cartoonishly overblown that it becomes endearing, so that even though [[UnbuiltTrope he's technically used against the genocidal remnants of the American government]] in his debut game, [[MisaimedFandom not a lot of players remember him that way]]. Not helped was Bethesda and Zenimax's growing obsession with ''Fallout'' [[MerchandiseDriven as a brand]], taking things meant to satirize the hyper-capitalist ideals of pre-war America and [[MisaimedMarketing using them to sell merch]].

** The random pickpocketeers in the Den are some of the worst GoddamnedBats. They don't do ''anything'' but steal from you, and even unless your Steal skill is obscenely high, you'll have to buy your items back from one of the Den's vendors.[[note]]In versions of ''Fallout 2'' where no children exist, you'll find your items mysteriously vanishing from your inventory. The only option is to buy the items back because there are no clickable children to steal back from![[/note]] Yes, this includes quest items. If you want to avoid becoming a Childkiller, you can go with a more moderate option and [[DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff hit them once]]. They won't ever bother you again. You can also enter combat mode whenever you are within melee range of the children. They can't steal during combat, so it's not necessary to even hit them.

** If you save Smiley in the Toxic Caves, he can later teach the Chosen One about geckos, increasing their Outdoorsman skill by 3%. You can ask him to teach you about geckos for the infinite amount of times and increase the Outdoorsman skill up to 300% if you want.

* ObviousBeta: The numbers of bugs and things left half-finished are quite high, even with the official patches installed. Luckily, there are a lot of unofficial patches as well. Sadly, these patches, due to the larger game world, are more likely to trigger the above GameBreakingBug.

* 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]]You ''can'' side with the Enclave, but it's a non-canon bad ending. Also, wanting to join the Enclave in ''3'' is more understandable than here due to the shift in their motivations and goals -- in ''Fallout 2'' they raze Arroyo and want to unleash a genocidal virus on the mainland population, while in ''Fallout 3'' the Enclave (rather, its DragonInChief) wants to use Project Purity as leverage to rule the wasteland[[/note]], a really long unskippable ForcedTutorial, 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.

* MoralEventHorizon: Being evil is still kinda OK (although at -500 Karma, you get badass {{Bounty Hunter}}s after you). Being a slaver won't make you many friends, but it's a living. Killing children, though, is an irredeemable act that will get you not only bounty hunters but also stop many people from even talking to you.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: What led to the Jet addict stabbing Myron in the ending in which the latter survives? Was the addict angry about Myron's role in creating the drug that so many became addicted to? Did the addict want money for Jet? Was it due to Myron's [[{{Jerkass}} personality]]? Or was it a random act of violence, likely caused by the addict being high on Jet?

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

* {{Fanon}}: With ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' claiming that Jet was already around pre-War, [[SeriesContinuityError contradicting Myron's claims that he created it from scratch]], a large chunk of the fanbase decided that Myron simply recreated/reverse-engineered a pre-War recipe and took the credit for it; it works surprisingly well considering Myron's [[SmallNameBigEgo not as important as he pretends he is]].

* BrokenBase: While the game is generally agreed to be an EvenBetterSequel in regards to gameplay, design, and layout, the story and tone are another matter. ''2'' is DenserAndWackier than the first game and has a lot more [[ShoutOut pop-culture references]]. Among many other misadventures, you can: get hitched in a shotgun wedding after a one-night fling with a farmer's daughter; meet a tribe of talking deathclaws; become a Super Mutant's gimp after losing to them in arm-wrestling; meet a sapient AI named Skynet; meet a giant intelligent rat called The Brain; and encounter several characters from ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. The game also features more overtly supernatural elements, and while they were present in the first game, they could be written off as EarlyInstallmentWeirdness and MaybeMagicMaybeMundane; not so with ''2'', which explicitly has psychic dreams, ghosts, and aliens, and some of the (dubiously canon) random encounters involve time travel.

* LowTierLetdown:

** K9. While he has [[LightningBruiser Power Armor levels of defense and 12AP to work with]], he has virtually no effect on armored opponents, who will be the only enemies who will give you trouble by the time you recruit him in the end game. To make matters worse, he cannot even act as a pack mule because he can't carry equipment.

* MemeticBadass:

* 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.
** 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 armor 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. Even in the Restoration Patch which adds the ability to get him some decent armor, it'll pale in comparison to Power Armor by the endgame.

* EvilIsCool: Frank Horrigan has his share of fans due his [[KnightOfCerebus menacing presence]] and BadassBaritone.

** Radiation, just like in the previous game. Only Gecko's nuclear reactor and the Toxic Waste Dump random encounter will give you rads, and Gecko's nuclear reactor is entirely option to access (the quest there can be completed by a remote-controlled robot). You do get a whopping '''2''' rads by eating fruit, but you only start getting stat penalties at 150 rads (and die at 1000). On the plus side, this means all the Rad-X and Rad-Away you find make great VendorTrash.