Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is often overlooked, but it's worth mentioning for its place in gaming history and as a cautionary tale. The game, developed by Interplay at the same time as Black Isle Studios on Van Buren, was intended to be a console entry for the rising PlayStation 2 generation.
The Fallout franchise has been around for a pretty long time at this point, and there have been some notable ups and downs over the years.
The original games, developed by Interplay, were hugely impressive examples of the genre, and laid out much of the lore the series has become known for since. At the same time, the move to a 3D approach when Bethesda took the reins was obviously also an inspired one, and it has given us some of the best RPGs of all time as a result.
That said, in secret, another game was made, and it contained cruelty, malice, and a will to end all the positive feeling that the series had managed to generate up to that point. If You Think You Know Fallout, Think Again If you were playing games during the PlayStation 2 generation, then you might have a vague memory of the release of Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.
Though it might not seem that way once you play it, it was also developed by Interplay Entertainment, at the same time that Black Isle Studios was working on Van Buren, which was intended to be the third entry in the main series. It was designed to be the developer's next step into the console market, which had grown hugely with the arrival of the PS2, after they had achieved a notable success publishing Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.
Before we talk about the game itself, it's important to note that Interplay themselves were in a bit of a weird spot while developing the game, spreading themselves thinly and becoming embroiled in a bunch of disputes with developers working under them. Those issues served as the backdrop for the development of Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, and whether they were a factor in the final product, what we got was a genuinely terrible game. So what exactly is it?
Well, it's a linear action RPG that puts players in the jackboots of a Brotherhood of Steel Initiate, with one of three character options available, including a Ghoul in what remains the only official opportunity to do so. Played from a top-down perspective, it's very combat-heavy, and while it does include some interesting lore references and story beats, the overall narrative really pales in comparison to anything we've had in literally any other Fallout games .
After a little while playing, it really begins to dawn on you that the reason this game feels quite as bad as it does is because of how insanely shallow it is. Beyond the slightly warm feeling you get from the recognizable setting and factions, every level is essentially the same, and all you really do is drop in, kill some stuff and complete whatever the miscellaneous objective was. Subscribe for deeper Fallout retrospectives and lore Hungry for more context?
Subscribe to the newsletter to get deep dives into Fallout's forgotten entries, developer backstories, and clear analyses that put retro missteps in perspective for fans. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Beyond that, there is literally nothing to do, and it's unforgivable when the series is so well-known for the depth it contains.
Sure, you can still have a little fun chopping or shooting your way through hordes of enemies, but it's nowhere near enough to carry the experience through what should be a forgivingly short runtime. Is Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel Any Good? So is Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel any good at all? In short, no, not really.
You could probably have some fun with it if you're an existing fans of the franchise, but given how many other genuinely great games there are in the series, it really is difficult to give a reason for why you'd pick this one to play. As a little piece of gaming history, it's interesting to look back on, but that's definitely where it should stay.
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel Like Action RPG Systems Released January 13, 2004 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence Developer Interplay Publisher Interplay Engine creation engine Multiplayer Local Multiplayer Franchise Fallout Genre Action RPG Powered by Expand Collapse
Fallout Interplay Bethesda 3D RPG Linear Action
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