Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

 Xbox
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 33
  3. Negative: 4 out of 33
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  1. Gamer's Hell
    74
    Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel isn't a bad game, but it's far from memorable. It'll keep you entertained for a good 10-12 hours, but beyond unlocking harder difficulties there's not much replay value.
  2. GameSpot
    73
    The action is repetitive and straightforward, but the game features a lot of cool weapons and tons of stuff to hack or shoot at, plus it's got some of the charm that helped make Fallout a genuine classic.
  3. GamingTrend
    73
    Only get this title if you've finished everything there is to do in the previous titles, and even then only at a discounted rate.
  5. TeamXbox
    72
    Those encountering BoS without ever playing "Baldur's Gate" will definitely find some sweet RPG style gameplay and some nifty real-time action to boot.
  6. Gamenikki
    70
    This is simply too flawed a title to recommend for purchase, especially in light of the competition, but it's a fantastic guilty pleasure.
  7. Yahoo!
    70
    This is essentially a stylish "Day After" dumb-and-gunner, with even less brainpower required than "Dark Alliance," and it's safe to say that if you enjoyed that game, this will have some appeal for you.
  8. Gamers' Temple
    68
    A lot of the fun got nuked out of Dark Alliance when it was moved to Fallout's post-apocalyptic future.
  9. Next Level Gaming
    68
    The problem is that you get thrown into the game with very little to work with. That would be fine if using the weapons weren't so freaking hard to do. Collision detection was not a big thought in this game, or at least it seemed to be an afterthought.
  10. netjak
    66
    It does, apart from the lack of options and jumping puzzles, have solid gameplay, decent graphics, and excellent sound, but the lack of originality and poor story keeps it from being really worth anything more than a casual rental.
    All this publication's reviews
  11. AtomicGamer
    66
    Interplay's Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is an action/RPG title that seems like it's less than the sum of its parts. Not only is the action disjointed, but it's just a bit too much of a chore to bash your way through it.
  12. GamingWorld X
    65
    A competent game. It won't win any awards, but it's a fun time- assuming you're playing through with a friend.
  13. GMR Magazine
    60
    A decent example of the genre and has some creative design, but it won't blow any minds or win many awards.
  14. TotalGames.net
    58
    A decent action RPG that manages to be as good as Baldur's Gate, though not better than it, and so falls short of really offering anything new.
    All this publication's reviews
  15. Deeko
    55
    The new style of gameplay, which is best described as Baldur's Gate: Post-Apocalypse, could have been interesting, but simply falls flat on it's ass in terms of overall quality and should be apprehended for identity theft.
  16. Just RPG
    53
    In short, diehard Fallout fans will be disappointed by Brotherhood of Steel, and even fans of hack-and-slash titles have much better options available to them. It's a bargain bin-title by now, though, so it's at least worth a thought.
  17. Xbox Nation Magazine
    50
    What makes an otherwise solid action RPG mediocre is the obscenely slow and tedious beginning. [Mar 2004, p.101]
  18. XboxAddict
    50
    My advice to the developers would be to broaden their horizons and come up with something a little more original, or if you're going to repaint an old car, disguise it better. It just doesn't seem a lot of effort went into this one.

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2004

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 14 out of 30
  1. nurfedx
    Nov 19, 2021
    10
    One of the best games to the series and an All-time Classic. A true Masterpiece of a Game!
  2. TheQuietGamer
    Sep 2, 2019
    8
    The OTHER much-maligned Fallout title. Like the more recent 76, Brotherhood of Steel is a spin-off in the series that earned the ire of theThe OTHER much-maligned Fallout title. Like the more recent 76, Brotherhood of Steel is a spin-off in the series that earned the ire of the fanbase for experimenting with a different style of gameplay. It's a hack 'n slash dungeon crawler in the vein of Diablo, and while that's not exactly what one would expect from the IP that doesn't make it a bad game.

    In fact, it's quite good at what it does. There's a lot of loot, tons of monsters to kill, cool environments to explore, and even two player couch co-op. It's not perfect by any means. There are plenty of odd deficiencies like a lack of music throughout most of the game and I have to wonder why they bothered with a dialog tree when all the options lead to the same outcome and you can't define your character in any way. However, as long as you are willing to accept the fact that this isn't a choice-based RPG like the main entries in the series this can satisfy your craving for action in a wackier version post-apocalyptic world you've come to love over the years.

    Stylistically this is a fascinating take on the franchise. It's like some bootleg version of Fallout with the tone of a B-movie. The game is packed with immature humor and the creature designs look like they were made with the intention of being just similar enough to the rest of the series to trick the uninformed, while also avoided a plagiarism lawsuit despite the fact that this came directly from Interplay themselves. So while the arrival of 76 may mean this can no longer be considered the worst Fallout, it will always be the weirdest. That alone might make it worth playing for some.

    The franchise, while largely more serious than this overall, has always had some absurd humor thrown in here and there. So it's kind of fun to see Brotherhood of Steel fully embrace the more ridiculous side of the nuclear apocalypse. Now, I'm not saying this is going to be every Fallout fan's cup of tea. It's just that none of it is outright broken or unplayable so I feel the hate this game has received over the years has been flat out excessive, rather unearned, and largely derived more from what it isn't as opposed to what it actually is. Which is unfair considering it legitimately does a pretty good job at the whole Diablo/Gauntlet thing.    … Full Review »
  3. Broyax
    Apr 8, 2017
    0
    Un "hâchez et tranchez" sur le même joli moteur graphique que les Dark Alliance qui sont les références bien connues dans ce sous-genre idiotUn "hâchez et tranchez" sur le même joli moteur graphique que les Dark Alliance qui sont les références bien connues dans ce sous-genre idiot sauf qu'ici c'est le monde de Fallout qui s'avilit dans ce cloaque vidéoludique. La licence Fallout ne méritait pas et n'a jamais mérité un tel traitement, aussi oublierons-nous bien vite cette "erreur" d'un ennui et d'une répétitivité atroces.… Full Review »
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