Prime Gaming is one of the best Amazon Prime membership benefits offering a rotating selection of freebies and exclusive DLC items for some of the biggest multiplayer games around. This month, Amazon is celebrating the impending launch of its Fallout TV show on Prime Video with a very well-timed perk.
Until March 6, Amazon Prime subscribers can claim a free copy of Fallout on PC. And this post-apocalyptic RPG isn’t the only free game you can grab on Prime Gaming right now either. Prime members also have access to a selection of smaller indie titles including Atari Mania, Breakout: Recharged and Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you already have access to these freebies, just head over to the Prime Gaming hub and download them from the “Games” tab.
Be sure to claim February’s free games before the selection refreshes next month. And remember that once claimed these games are yours to keep. So you should still pick them up even if you don’t have time to play right now.
Fallout is a true RPG classic
Released in 1997, Fallout, or to use its official title Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, is a legendary release. It would go on to spawn a blockbuster franchise that is still running to this day and is widely considered one of the most influential and important RPGs ever made.
If you’re approaching this nearly 30-year-old title having only played the more modern Fallout games developed by Bethesda Game Studios such as Fallout 4 or Fallout: New Vegas, be prepared for quite a few differences.
For starters, the original Fallout was made by a developer called Interplay Productions and is played from an isometric perspective, rather than the first/third-person viewpoint you’ll find in the latest Fallout games. Battles are also turn-based.
Of course, the apocalyptic setting will be familiar to anybody who’s encountered the series before, and the writing is just as strong as any of the modern Fallout releases. However, the game shines brightest in its RPG system.
Players are given significant freedom to mold their character, making critical decisions that dramatically impact the narrative, and the game’s karma system lets you play as a wasteland hero, a sinister villain or you can exist between the two extremes as a morally-grey figure.
Quests can also be tackled in a multitude of ways, further adding to the sense of player freedom. For example, if you need to bypass a locked door, perhaps your computer skills are high enough to hack it, or you might have to locate an NPC with the key and then either charm them into giving it to you or take it by force. And that’s just the most basic example.
As you’d expect from a game of its age, Fallout cannot compete with brand-new releases in terms of visuals, but it’s got a striking art style that has held up surprisingly well. Although, the 3D character models do have a very uncanny quality about them. But at least the more rudimentary graphics mean Fallout can run on pretty much any modern PC or laptop. You certainly don’t need a cutting-edge GPU.
Fallout is considered a classic for a reason. And while it’s not been immune to the passage of time, its fingerprint can be felt across the RPG genre even all these years later. Its inclusion in the Prime Gaming lineup is the perfect opportunity to try out this piece of video game history. And it’ll no doubt get you in the mood for Amazon’s Fallout show, which is scheduled to arrive on Prime Video on April 12.
More from Tom's Guide
