Tired of waiting for Fallout 4? Try this Fallout MMO in the meantime

While most of us are arguing and speculating about the Fallout 4 announcement, possible release date or even its actual existence, someone out there decided to take the franchise in a whole other direction. Sure, a sequel, prequel or even spin-off would be nice, but what about an MMORPG? Well, a group of modders called No Name Yet Team decided to do just that. Presumably tired of waiting for Fallout 4, the group started their own project called FOnline: Ashes of the Phoenix. The game is set in Phoenix, Arizona and takes place in the year 2200. The city apparently suffered very little damage as a result of the 2077 Great War and eventually folks over in the Wasteland heard about it and went to check it out. You play as one of these Wastelanders.

Now, unlike Fallout 3 and presumably Fallout 4, Ashes of the Phoenix is not played from a third-person perspective. The game features an isometric view and looks very reminiscent of the first two titles in the series. This might be disappointing to some, but fans of the first two games will surely get a kick out of it. FOnline uses a fan-made MMORPG engine simply called the FOnline engine, which currently supports several old-school RPGs such as Fallout, Fallout: Tactics, Fallout 2, Baldur’s Gate and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. The game’s creators say that Ashes of the Phoenix is focused on the PvP, but there are definitely plenty of other activities including quests and dungeons. I wouldn’t necessarily claim that this game will make the wait for Fallout 4 easier, but it will definitely give us a new perspective on the series as a whole. Below are a few of the game’s most important features.

• A new region of the Fallout world to explore around the city of Phoenix, a giant location with dozens of connected quarters where everything can happen.
• A completely reworked character system with hundreds of viable profiles, guarantying that you can actually create any character you want and develop it on the long term, while still being competitive against other players. No level cap, but a soft cap at level 24, where evolving your character further will make it rather more versatile than strictly more powerful.
• A deeply revised combat system fully in real time with the introduction of a new Action Points system, new burst mechanics, deployable weapons, covers, squads and many more features implying personal and group strategies for an exciting and ruthless combat experience.
• A strong PvP system stimulating fair savage PvP and involving the control of Phoenix. Twelve quarters can be claimed, strategy and smart moves matter more than ever. Exploring Phoenix underground dungeons can also be the occasion for player groups to ambush each other.
• A vast equipment composed of hundreds of weapons and many armors. Multiple new items have been added, like new grenades, traps, spears, energy SMGs and many more. Those items bring a new dimension to PvP, like smoke grenades, Incinerators or the legendary Bozar heavy sniper rifle. Every player should find multiple suitable combinations of weapons and armors for his playstyle.
• A vast crafting system including the search for relics, exchanged with your faction for blueprints unlocking more advanced weapons through different tech trees. Your character is able to be fully independant without suffering from any power gap with other player characters.

FOnline: Ashes of the Phoenix will release tomorrow, September 5th and you will be able to download the client from here once it goes live. The game is free-to-play and only requires you to own a copy of Fallout 2, which currently costs 10 bucks on Steam and Amazon. So, will Ashes of the Phoenix make the wait for Fallout 4 a little more bearable for you guys?