Fallout 2

The setup is similar: you have been chosen to save your community (this time a straggly bunch of tribal descendents of the original game's hero) by seeking the fabled Garden of Eden Creation Kit. The game is slower going than the first, which makes building your character up from tribal hick to Nietzschean Ubermensch all the more satisfying. While movement, combat, and inventory are still essentially the same, there are so many more quests to perform and facts to learn and keep track of that you'll find yourself playing again and again long after you've won the first time.

Be warned: There is extremely graphic violence and some graphic sex parading through this game from start to finish. Though you can set the tone down a bit through the main control panel, developments that happen on this adult setting are integral--so if you want a G-rating, try elsewhere.

For those who want great action, intriguing puzzles, and hysterical interactions, all created with a deviously twisted sense of humor, Fallout 2 is a dream come true. As a special bonus, the user's manual is even better than its predecessor; for once you actually want to read the darn thing! --Rob Lightner

Amazon.com Product Description
You are the Chosen One, the direct descendant of the Vault Dweller. The village elders have selected you to wear the sacred Vault-suit of your grandsire and, in time, to ascend to the leadership of your people. First, you must prove your devotion to your people. Your tribe needs help.

If you are truly the Chosen One, then you alone are capable of claiming the heritage of the Vault Dweller, to take back your birthright. Among the many wonders described in hallowed yellow pages of the Vault Dweller's Survival Guide is the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. The GECK is said to have the power to turn the harsh Wastes into a fruitful paradise. The Vault Dweller's Survival Manual promises the redemption of the GECK to all Vault Dwellers.

Your tribe has survived more than ten years of drought, but now their reserves are at an end. You must find Vault 13 and claim the technology that your tribe needs to survive. If you fail in this quest, your tribe will surely die. You must travel the perilous Wastes on a holy quest to find Vault 13, the same Vault that cruelly cast your grandsire out into the Wastes 80 years ago. The Vault owes you. The Vault owes your tribe. Now it's time to collect.