For those who either spend their time under a rock or, more appropriately, have been trapped in an underground Vault for the past 200 years, the Fallout series is a wildly popular video game franchise.
In each installment, you take on the role of a post-apocalyptic survivor in a barren wasteland of what used to be the United States, try to survive, and fight unholy monsters like – and Fallout players will shudder when they hear this name – Deathclaws.
The latest installment, Fallout 4, was just recently released and has been flying off the shelves. Here are something you may not know about this epic, sprawling, brilliant franchise.
13Fallout 4 Has More Dialogue Than Fallout 3 and Oblivion Combined
More than 13,000 lines of dialogue were recorded for Fallout 4, because as everyone knows, people play these games to hear people talk, and not to blast the head off of a Super Mutant with a high-powered minigun, right?
12Matthew Perry is a Fallout Super Nerd
Matthew Perry, most famous as Chandler on Friends, became such a vocal fan of Fallout 3 that they actually cast him in one of the voice acting roles in Fallout: New Vegas as a thank you.
11Combat in the New Fallout Games was Modeled on Action Figures
Specifically, Incredibles action figures. The VATS fighting system was designed by Grant Struthers as he was playing with some action figures based on the movie The Incredibles.
10You Can Tip Cows in Fallout 3
Well technically, they’re called “Brahmins” but if you sneak up on them, you can actually practice the old, countryside hobby of cow-tipping. Perfect for any first date in the post-apocalyptic wasteland!
9You Used to be Able to Shoot Enemies in the Junk
In the original Fallout games, numbers 1 and 2, you could target an opponent’s nether regions if you felt so inclined. Sadly, this option was removed starting with Fallout 3, presumably because gamers were already too busy teabagging victims in Halo.
8Fallout 3 Features a Very Real, Playable Text-Based Adventure Game
At one point in Fallout 3, on one particular computer terminal, you can find a fully playable text-based adventure game called Reign of Grelok. If you get bored with things like “graphics” and “blowing up Mirelurks” then it’ll give you a nice reprieve.
7The Location of Fallout 4 was Given in Fallout 3
And by the way, it should be mentioned that Fallout 4 is technically the fifth in the series, following New Vegas. Either way, Fallout 4 is set in Boston, referred to as “The Commonwealth”…an area that was referenced a few times in Fallout 3. People with sharp ears could have guessed where the new game would be set.
6Fallout Mets Mony Python And The Holy Grail
One of the original Fallout games, Fallout 2, has a random side quest in which a player can try to help King Arthur and his knights retrieve the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, a reference to the famous film by comedy troupe Monty Python.
5One of The New Vegas Companions is Related to a Fallout 2 Companion
In Fallout: New Vegas, one of the companions you can acquire is a boozehound named Cass. Well, it turns out she’s actually the daughter of one of your companions from Fallout 2, John Cassidy.
4Si Manty Pop Culture References…
We already mentioned the reference to Monty Python, but the series is littered with numerous other pop culture references, including a Fallout 2 reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In one scene, you can find a splattered sperm whale, in reference to a particularly hilarious passage in that famous book.
3And Naturally, There’s a Star Wars Reference
If you play Fallout: New Vegas with the “Wild Wasteland” perk you get a lot of goofy stuff, including Indiana Jones’ skeleton inside a refrigerator, and of course, two burned out skeletons named “Owen” and “Beru” in reference to the fate given to Luke Skywalker’s poor aunt and uncle.
2The Wrecked Cars Are Based in a Real Concept Car
You’ve probably never heard of the Ford Nucleon, but it was a real concept car built in 1958 and was designed to run on a steam engine in conjunction with uranium fission. A car run by a small nuclear reactor? What could possibly have gone wrong?
1In The Original Fallout 3 Ending You Could Have Been Liberty Prime
One of the most awesome things in Fallout 3 is the giant robot called Liberty Prime, which sadly you never get to actually take control over. But want to hear the worst part? Originally, you were going to get to drive Liberty Prime and lay waste to your enemies, but the idea was scrapped, presumably because they didn’t think we could handle so much awesome.
