One of the coolest things about Fallout 4 was its opening sequence. And by "coolest" I do in fact mean "most terrifying".
You'll no doubt remember that Fallout 4 kicks off in 2077, giving players the chance to experience the fateful day the first nuclear bombs dropped and turned the world into a wasteland. In Fallout 4 we end up waking up some 200 years later, around the same time as most Fallout games are set. It's rare, then, that we ever really get to see the immediate aftermath of the Great War.
Take a look at the incredible Fallout: London, another stunning mod, below:
This makes enough sense for the most part. One of the most interesting things about Fallout is seeing the factions, regions, and communities that have formed over centuries of nuclear misery. But we do often wonder what happened during those first few years, in the wake of those first bombs.
Enter Fallout Zero, a total conversion mod for Fallout 3 that tells an entirely new story set just two months after The Great War. Hardcore Fallout fans will almost certainly have heard of this one - it's widely regarded as a classic mod - but I wanted to highlight just how impressive it is for any newcomers looking for a different experience.
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The NexusMods description summarises the adventure: "Our hero and his/her father have been living in the basement of their bombarded house for the past two months, since the Great War broke out.
"With supplies running low, their only chance for survival is to find a way inside the city’s Vault. Join our hero and discover a world of survivors crippled by the fatal lack of food and drinking water, ubiquitous radiation, an imminent nuclear winter, and humanity’s inability to come to terms with the consequences of its own deeds. Their fate, along with your own, is in your hands."
Much like the original Fallout games, Fallout Zero takes the focus away from shooty bang bang action and places emphasis on exploration and creative puzzle solving. Choices you make can and will impact the ending, and there are new features like a hunger management system and a metro car you can actually drive.
If you're looking for a markedly different Fallout experience, I can't recommend this one enough.