GOG, the DRM free game store is currently giving away all of the pre Bethesda Fallout games, that includes Fallout 1, 2 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. If you've ever been interested in exploring the background of the series then this is your chance. Be careful though, Steam has put these three games on sale to combat this offer but obviously it's not free, it'll actually cost you £4.00.
Fallout 1 is set in the year 2161 after the events of a global resource war brought on by shortages in oil and uranium, nobody knows who struck first but the war eventually turned nuclear and ended in major cities being destroyed and small settlements of people becoming unable to live on in the wasteland. Surviving humans went underground and chose to live and set up societies in the Fallout vaults, your character's story begins in vault 13.
Fallout 2 takes place in the year 2241 and sets you out on a quest to retrieve a device known as the GECK, which is found in vault 13. However, upon retrieving the device you'll find your village has been taken over by the enclave. The enclave consists of the last remnants of the US government, these are the guys you'll be fighting for the rest of the game.
Lastly we have Fallout Tactics which focuses on the Brotherhood of Steel and its quest to restore humanity. You start off in Chicago attempting to gain territory by offering protection to human settlements but you'll soon find raiders getting in the way. Other enemies that you will go up against includes Beastlords and even an army of robots. However, this game's story line does contradict some of the events that take place during Fallout 3 so it is considered non-canon by Bethesda.
GOG is worth keeping an eye on as it does have some good deals every so often, for example, in October it was giving away a copy of The Witcher with any other purchase. Remember these games don't tie to your Steam account as the site based on a DRM free policy. If you buy anything from GOG that you don't like then you won't have to worry as it now offers a 30 day money back refund scheme on digital purchases. Surprisingly, Origin also offers refunds on digital purchases, hopefully this will push Steam to do the same.
KitGuru Says: These games might be old but they are free so you can't really complain, they do offer a lot of background in to the Fallout universe too and are still quite fun. Have any of you guys played the original Fallout games?
Thanks! There were 20 minutes left when I got to the website.