The Fallout franchise consists of some of the best Western RPG titles of all time, with dark, contemplative storytelling, fascinating ideological characters, and a twisted sense of humor. While the series saw a bit of a hiatus during the 2000s due to Interplay's financial woes, Bethesda managed to bring it out of the vault and into the HD era.

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From there, a brand-new generation of fans was introduced to the series and proceeded to dig further into the lore. However, several inconsistencies have cropped up throughout the long-running franchise due to a change in developers and writing staff. These continuity errors can detract heavily from the games' immersion.

10 The Karma System Leads To Some Ludonarrative Dissonance

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Throughout the games, players can encounter characters who have negative Karma. Should they fall by the protagonists' hands, players will be rewarded with positive Karma. However, several characters have committed ruthless and heinous crimes but still sport neutral Karma.

One egregious example is the character Elijah from the New Vegas DLC Dead Money, who failed his comrades at the battle of Helios One, forced Christine to end her relationship with Veronica, and aims to use his knowledge to wipe out all life in the Mojave. Despite all this, players receive no karma should they serve him some poetic justice.

9 The Same Goes For The S.P.E.C.I.A.L Stats

Frank Horrigan, the final boss in Fallout 2

The S.P.E.C.I.A.L system stands for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck – attributes each character has at their disposal in the wasteland. However, some stats contradict what players learn about certain NPCs. In Fallout 2, Frank Horrigan acts as the Enclave's personal muscle whose stats are maxed out.

However, the Fallout bible claims that Frank's low intelligence was exacerbated by the FEV virus and exploited by the Enclave. Caesar from New Vegas is the cunning leader of the Legion who cites philosophers such as Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, but his charisma and intelligence are ranked as a 4.

8 The FEV Virus May Or May Not Cause Sterility

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In the first game, a charismatic but deranged figure known as the Master planned to harness the FEV virus to create a civilization of mutants. However, if players managed to join the Brotherhood of Steel, they could encounter a scientist named Vree who discovered that the FEV virus renders the infected infertile.

This would have ruined the Master's ambitions, but in Fallout 2, Marcus tells the chosen one that mutants are fully capable of pro-creating. This is further muddied in the spin-off Brotherhood of Steel, where a mutant force led by Attus seeks to cure their infertility with help from research in a secret vault.

7 Bethesda Really Nerfed The Deathclaw

In the first two entries, the deathclaw were formidable opponents, capable of making mincemeat out of players within seconds. It seriously cannot be emphasized how dangerous these things were. Even with a full party equipped with power armor, taking on more than one deathclaw at once was downright suicide. When Bethesda took over the series, they incorporated a different design philosophy that prioritized freedom over challenge.

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This essentially meant that enemies scaled with players, making previously powerful creatures like the deathclaw considerably weaker. When Obsidian developed New Vegas, they adopted the challenge of previous games, which gave these beasts the terror that had been lacking in 3.

6 Post-War Armor Appears In A Pre-War Setting

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The Enclave is a faction that showed up as the main baddies of Fallouts 2 & 3. They originated as a secret agency within the United States of America before the Great War and re-emerged in the year 2040 under the presidency of Dick Richardson. Fans may be familiar with their distinct power armor, which is displayed prominently on the cover of Fallout 2.

According to the loading screen in Fallout 4, the X-01 model was created after the events of the Great War, offering more protection than the older pre-war suits. However, the Nuka World DLC has an X-01 in a pre-war display case.

5 The Lone Wanderer Doesn't make A Very Compelling Counterargument

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The debate between the player and President John Henry Eden is a massive disappointment, especially when compared to the ideological discussions with characters such as the Master, Dick Richardson, and Legate Lanius. While other entries required players to actually engage with the points that the antagonists were making and present them with compelling counterarguments, 3 requires them to pass a speech check.

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Not only does the main villain fail to make a reasonable case for the Enclave's ambitions, but the player's "high speech" option isn't even a sound argument. It's just the lone wanderer browbeating an easily swayed supercomputer.

4 Fallout's Currency Went Back And Forth

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In the first Fallout, bottle caps served as the world's currency and a sharp social commentary on the worthlessness of old world currency and its exacerbation of humanity's self-destruction. In Fallout 2, a faction known as the New California Republic was gaining influence in the wasteland, and their currency took over bottle caps. This served to demonstrate the NCR's sheer presence and power.

Instead of continuing with NCR money or forming a new currency, Bethesda decided to go back to bottle caps with the third entry. While caps have become an iconic staple of the franchise, their inexplicable inclusion in 3 makes the world feel less organic.

3 Fallout '76 Has Super Mutants Just Because

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The looming threat that hung over the events of the original Fallout was the Super Mutant army created by a figure known as the Master. Utilizing research done by the West Tek Corporation, the Master aimed to bring about a new chapter in humanity divorced from the bigotry and pettiness that held it back.

Despite being thwarted in the first title, surviving super mutants have appeared in subsequent installments, with some believing that the Master's cause was just and noble. Despite taking place years before the Unity was formed, Fallout '76 has super mutants. This begs several questions that will likely never be answered.

2 Myron Was Forgotten By Both The Wasteland And Bethesda

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In Fallout 2, players can encounter the sleazy child prodigy scientist Myron. From their conversation, the player learns he is the drug Jet's creator. Regardless of the player's moral alignment, he meets an ignoble end - getting stabbed by an addict and fading into obscurity.

In addition to the wasteland's inhabitants, Myron apparently found himself forgotten by Bethesda as a pre-war terminal entry in Fallout 4 mentions Jet. This is particularly egregious since brahmins played a part in the drug's creation, which begs the question of how it could have been made before the Great War.

1 Fallout 3's Ending Choice Defies All Reason

The Lone Wanderer agrees to activate Project Purity at the cost of their own life in Fallout 3.

The moral dilemma presented to players at the end of Fallout 3 is widely regarded as the game's weakest aspect. The final mission tasks the lone wanderer with deciding who should enter the control room for the purifier. The room is filled with deadly radiation - essentially forcing players to choose between sacrificing themselves or their companions.

That is, it would if it weren't for the fact that Fawkes is a radiation immune mutant. However, despite the fact he literally did this exact thing when the two first met, Fawkes decides that he doesn't want to because of "destiny."

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