# Fallout 1, 2 & Tactics FREE for the next 45 hours at GOG **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 12, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157 "2013-12-12T15:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/1 "2013-12-12T15:18:37Z")
[http://www.gog.com/promo/fallout\_series\_giveaway\_winter\_promo\_2013](http://www.gog.com/promo/fallout_series_giveaway_winter_promo_2013) These games are worth owning, and with the new ownership coming into effect at the end of the year, there’s uncertainty when they will be back up for sale. I recommend getting them while the getting is good. (Made this a separate thread since I wanted to grab attention because of the time frame. I’ll lock and sink this thread when it’s over.) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/2 "2013-12-12T15:32:19Z")
Absolute classics…I own them all, but I’ll download them from GOG since I assume they’ll be completely patched. And just when I was trying to come up with a scheme to reduce my screen time :-/ ---
**Author:** ![nolonger\_lurking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/41988e/32.png) [@nolonger\_lurking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nolonger_lurking)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/3 "2013-12-12T17:33:05Z")
I tried twice to pick this up and got a 502 error each time. I will try again when I get home from work. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/4 "2013-12-12T17:41:33Z")
> [@nolonger\_lurking](#): > > I tried twice to pick this up and got a 502 error each time. I will try again when I get home from work. GOG is absolutely overloaded right now. It timed out on me four times before it finally went through. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/5 "2013-12-12T17:52:40Z")
I remember loving the _Fallout_ games back when they were new, and then bought _Fallout 1_ again on GOG a year or so ago and played it a little, but my guy was so weak in the beginning I kinda got impatient with it and didn’t even get to the first town. But I’ll give it another shot when I have some more free time. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/6 "2013-12-12T17:57:18Z")
It’s been several years since I played I, but I think the ‘trick’ I used was to pump up my unarmed or melee skills right away. It doesn’t end up being that useful later in the game, but it gets you through the scorpions and geckos easily and lets you level up a few times, then you can develop guns etc. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/7 "2013-12-12T18:10:47Z")
You can also find character editors on line pretty easily, if you want to give your starting character a bit of a boost. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/8 "2013-12-12T18:36:43Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > It’s been several years since I played I, but I think the ‘trick’ I used was to pump up my unarmed or melee skills right away. It doesn’t end up being that useful later in the game, but it gets you through the scorpions and geckos easily and lets you level up a few times, then you can develop guns etc. Has anyone had any luck with a melee/unarmed character? I never tried, it might be a fun way to play through again. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/9 "2013-12-12T18:38:36Z")
Very nice… the only editions I owned were for Mac. My newer computer is a PC and the old apps don’t run under the newer Mac OS anyway. Thanks for posting this. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/10 "2013-12-12T18:39:39Z")
What style of games are these? I saw the email but don’t know the games. I am probably going to order FTL though as it is on sale for only $5 and it looks like a game I would enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/11 "2013-12-12T18:41:38Z")
I spend the first five levels save-scumming on pickpocketing, which gets me a nice starting package of XP. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/12 "2013-12-12T18:44:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > What style of games are these? I saw the email but don’t know the games. I am probably going to order FTL though as it is on sale for only $5 and it looks like a game I would enjoy. Turn-based, isometric grid RPG. The “spiritual” successor to [_Wasteland_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)). Interestingly, the upcoming _Wasteland 2_ looks to be nearly identical in style to the first 2 _Fallout_ games. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/13 "2013-12-12T18:58:09Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Turn-based, isometric grid RPG. The “spiritual” successor to [_Wasteland_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)). Interestingly, the upcoming _Wasteland 2_ looks to be nearly identical in style to the first 2 _Fallout_ games. Sounds like it is worth trying for the price. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/14 "2013-12-13T05:13:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Turn-based, isometric grid RPG. The “spiritual” successor to [_Wasteland_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)). Interestingly, the upcoming _Wasteland 2_ looks to be nearly identical in style to the first 2 _Fallout_ games. Not really. Fallout is one player character with a few NPC’s that may tag along. Wasteland is a group of up to 4 player created characters with up to 3 more NPCs. Which means you have 4 characters you have direct control over making for many more strategic options in combats and a far greater distribution of skills, just as in Wasteland 1. Granted, it goes back to the turn-based combat that was prevalent in the first 2 Fallouts (as opposed to the “everyone submit actions and we’ll see who goes first” type combat of Wasteland), but aside from combat it seems to have much more of a Wasteland feel than a Fallout feel. (Though the conversation options seem to be an amalgamation of both FO and Wasteland.) But I’ve yet to play it. I should have time this weekend to fire up the Beta and get a better idea. (They released the Steam keys for those of us Kickstarter backers who are in the Beta.) ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/15 "2013-12-13T06:12:27Z")
From what I’ve heard, there’s a publishing issue that may cause these games disappear from the store. If you get them now, you should be able to download and play them in the future, but they may become unavailable for sale. All the more reason to grab them now while they’re free. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/16 "2013-12-13T13:18:23Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Not really. > > Fallout is one player character with a few NPC’s that may tag along. > > Wasteland is a group of up to 4 player created characters with up to 3 more NPCs. Which means you have 4 characters you have direct control over making for many more strategic options in combats and a far greater distribution of skills, just as in Wasteland 1. Okay, maybe not _identical_, but surely you can see the resemblance, superficially at least. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/17 "2013-12-14T18:44:56Z")
Dangit, if I hadn’t been too exhausted to think last night, I could have gotten this. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/18 "2013-12-16T06:06:20Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Okay, maybe not _identical_, but surely you can see the resemblance, superficially at least. There are certainly similarities. The combat plays out much like fallout did (full turn based). Though, your NPC’s occasionally will do combat on their own. In Wasteland 1 NPC’s always chose their own targets when told to attack, though other combat options–like reloading–were always done by your orders. In the first two Fallouts, NPC’s did everything according to your orders (well, Ian did have a tendency to shoot you in the back, and I don’t think you ever ordered him to…). Wasteland 2 NPC’s usually follow you, but not always. The bartering system is a flat out ripoff of the Fallouts (not a bad thing). The stats/skills are much closer to the original Wasteland paradigm than the Fallouts, though. But unlike the original Wasteland, there doesn’t seem to be any useless skills. The atmosphere hews closer to Wasteland 1 than the Fallouts as well. Conversations also are closer to how they worked in Wasteland then in the Fallouts (though they are far more fleshed out than Wasteland was.) The thing is, both Wasteland and FO1 were revolutionary in their own ways. They both did things that weren’t commonly done at the time. And Wasteland 2 shares some of the staff from FO1 and the original Wasteland. FO was a great game, but I like the more tactical aspect to combat that Wasteland 2 seems to be trying to accomplish. So, yeah, there are similarities. And there are differences. FO was the spiritual successor to Wasteland; Wasteland 2 is the literal successor but borrows heavily from the parts of FO that made it a great game. Because Wasteland, while being one of my favorite games as a teen and a guilty pleasure to replay on occasion, lacks a lot of the gameplay/ergonomic/interface/etc. aspects of modern games that make them in many ways superior to the old games. The interface is just light years better. Your actions have far reaching consequences, not just minor ripples that only are relevant to the current community (floppy disk) that contains the city you’re in. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-1-2-tactics-free-for-the-next-45-hours-at-gog/676157/19 "2013-12-17T02:52:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Dangit, if I hadn’t been too exhausted to think last night, I could have gotten this. Check your PMs.