Fallout 4 won’t be the only gaming-related release for the franchise coming out later this year. Bethesda Softworks recently confirmed that the Fallout Anthology will also be released for the PC. So is the RPG collection worth buying? Let’s examine the content, along with other factors, before you can come up with your own decision.
Pricing
Fallout Anthology is priced pretty fairly at launch when you considered that you can get the physical versions of all five games at a similar price tag when buying each separately. Not to mention that the added Mini Nuke Storage is a great bonus. You can check out the pricing of the collection with this link.
You can also find the prices of the physical releases of Fallout Trilogy (which comes with Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel) here, Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition with this page and Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition via this link.
Mini Nuke Storage
The most noticeable item in the bundle is easily the Mini Nuke Storage. It is designed to look like a “Fat Man” atomic bomb on the outside and will also make an explosion noise. On the inside, it will store the five games in the compilation in addition to providing space for a physical copy of Fallout 4, which is sold separately. Check out a pair of photos of the unique storage case below this paragraph.
Fallout
The first game in the series was released in 1998. Developed by Interplay Entertainment, the computer RPG is dramatically different when compared to the more recent installments as it takes place from a isometric 2D perspective and features turn-based combat. As long as you don’t mind the gameplay differences, the original is worth playing, especially if you want to learn more about some of the elements that appeared in the subsequent releases.
Fallout 2
A year after the release of the first title, Fallout 2 came out in 1999. The sequel is set 80 years after the events of the original as gamers will be able to play as a descendant of the first hero. The second installment retained and improved upon the original’s gameplay. If you don’t mind the dated graphics and turn-based gameplay, the second game is also worth trying out if you are a hardcore fan of the role-playing series.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Not to be confused Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (which came out for the PS2 and Xbox One in 2004), Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is a PC-exclusive spin-off that was released in 2001. It added more depth to the combat system found in the first two games in the series. With that said, its story is considered to be non-canon (although the Brotherhood of Steel faction was included in Fallout 3). While not as essential as the other games in the Fallout Anthology, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is still a quality game that you may end up appreciating. 
Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition
The franchise rose substantially in popularity after the release of Fallout 3 in 2008. In addition to the PC, the third main installment was also released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, giving console customers a taste of what they have been missing.
Fallout 3 features some major changes to the series as it was developed by Bethesda Softworks, a studio that was previously best known for The Elder Scrolls series. Instead of the isometric 2D visuals found in Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, the third game is fully rendered in an open-world 3D environment. It also introduced the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (or V.A.T.S. for short) as players can pause the action in order to aim at specific body parts of the enemy.
Fallout 3, which takes place 36 years after the setting of the second game, won numerous Game of the Year awards when it came out in 2008. The upcoming Fallout 4 build upon the foundations set by the third game. So, if you haven’t already, it is a great idea to play the third mainline installment before the fourth one.
The Game of the Year Edition comes with the base game along with the following DLC expansions: Operation Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta. 
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition
Last but not least is Fallout: New Vegas, which came out in 2010. Bethesda Softworks enlisted the help of Obsidian Entertainment to develop the follow-up to Fallout 3. New Vegas takes place four years after the third main installment as it is set in Los Vegas and the surrounding areas.
Fallout: New Vegas added some casino mini-games in addition to other smaller elements to the core foundations set by Fallout 3. Otherwise, the non-numbered installment was not a huge leap in terms of gameplay innovations. With that said, it is still a solid entry that fans of the RPG series will appreciate.
The Ultimate Edition comes with the main game along with the Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road in addition to the Gun Runners’ Arsenal and Courier’s Stash DLC expansions. 
Recap
Although there is an established timeline, the stories of the previous games, as well as Fallout 4, aren’t directly linked together. So you won’t be missing out on much if you decide to jump on the fourth installment of the series without playing the previous games.
With that said, Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition and Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition are all great games that are worth playing. Not to mention that the included Mini Nuke Storage looks great while the collection is reasonably priced. If you are still interested, you can preorder the Fallout Anthology with this link.
The Fallout collection will be released for the PC on the 29th of September in the North American region.
