In an alternate timeline where nuclear energy paved the way to all kinds of technological advancements (including robotic servants), the Fallout series plays off of the often unsaid fears that were prevalent throughout American culture during the Cold War, when humanity was seemingly calm about the potential of a nuclear catastrophe, just as long as everybody was able to get their slice of the American Dream.

In order to celebrate the launch of Fallout 4, we're scrounged up the best fan art of the franchise we could find. Just don't be surprised if you're left glowing green by the end of it.

When PC gamers first heard Ron Perlman's epic catchphrase of "War. War never changes," uttered during the opening cutscenes of the first Fallout game in 1997, everyone knew they were in for something special. Eighteen years later, the Fallout series has become the definitive apocalypse survival experience.

As technology made some monumental advancements in the Fallout 'verse, society remained stagnant, still holding onto the prejudices and preferences that were the norm during the 1950s. Once the 21st century hit, nations started warring over the dwindling remains of resources. China went to war against the United States and invaded Alaska, which led to a global nuclear war in 2077. In just two hours of missile blasts, the globe's circumference was decimated.

A small percentage of people were able to survive in the Vaults, specialized fallout shelters deep underground. Throughout most of the series (excluding New Vegas), you played as a character who was raised in one of these Vaults centuries after the war who must venture out into the wastelands. It doesn't matter if you were playing the top-down, Diablo-esque earlier games or the first-person modern titles, Fallout has always been about kooky characters, exploring the irradiated ruins of a society long gone and mankind's desperate attempts to survive no matter what the cost.

Whether you're up against the Brotherhood of Steel in Boston, the Enclave in Washington DC, the Raider armies of Nevada, mutated wildlife or the Super Mutants of California, the series' iconic opening words are its biggest constant: war never changes.

 

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