Critics and fans seem to agree that, much like a mini nuke launched with a 100 per cent VATS hit chance on a Super Mutant's big head, the television adaptation of Fallout doesn't miss.
For gamers, Fallout is a big deal. They're hugely popular role-playing games set in an alternate retro future where technology and culture locked in on the '50s aesthetic. It's a world where science focused on atoms and nuclear power rather than miniaturised computer electronics. And it's a world that blew itself up in The Great War in the year 2077.
The games are set decades, or even centuries later, in the aftermath of this worldwide nuclear war, where Earth has become an irradiated wasteland. A select "lucky" (read: rich) few got to ride out the disaster in highly protected Vaults, where they were promised apple pie, verandahs, and the American Dream. Think Mad-Max meets I Love Lucy and you'll kind of get an idea of the Fallout vibe.
The show now brings all that the games had onto the screen for a whole new audience, and makes for some damn fine TV that fans, and even those who can't tell a Pip-Boy from a Radroach, can enjoy.
Here's why it's S.P.E.C.I.A.L! (that's a Fallout reference in case you didn't know).
1. Spot on
There's nothing worse than an adaptation that doesn't look right (We're looking at you, Sonic design with the creepy teeth). But Fallout doesn't put a foot wrong aesthetically.
Things that could be considered Easter eggs for fans of the game don't even feel like Easter eggs, they're just how they should be. When a stimpak just more or less heals a stab wound, or when the exact hacking mini game from the games shows up while someone is trying to access a terminal, it doesn't read as fan service, it just feels right.
From the Vaults down to the stitching on the inside of the Power Armour, every prop, set, costume and location feels like it's been ripped straight from the games, and it all shines on screen to deliver that iconic retro-futuristic Fallout vibe.
2. Personality
The Fallout games may be set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic wasteland steeped in violence, but they're surprisingly funny.
They're camp, cheeky, and full of dark humour and satire, poking fun at the absurdities of capitalism and greed that managed to get the world blown up in the first place. The show captures this in spades.
Even the violence is funny. Bullets hit like punchlines, while the comic timing on a decapitation scene is masterful stuff.
Top tier comedians deliver some of the show's stand-out moments too: Chris Parnell's turn as a cyclops Overseer is hard to take your eye off; Matt Berry, a man who could read a microwave instruction booklet and make it hilarious, voices a friendly, organ-harvesting Mister Handy robot in a pitch-perfect bit of casting.
3. Expert hands
Credit must be given to the expert hands of all the crew involved.
That said, it feels like Westworld director Jonathan Nolan was absolutely the right person to help bring this show to life. Nolan was executive producer and directed the first three episodes, which are always crucial in setting a show's overall tone and feel. And no doubt his time with Westworld helped set him up for success here. Deserts? Check. Robots? Check. Dystopian sci-fi interpretation of classic Western themes? Check.
It's also clear that the team at Bethesda Game Studios, helmed by famed Game Director Todd Howard, has kept a gulper throat full of fingers in this pie, making sure it all remained game-accurate and fit into the existing lore. Clearly, it's been a successful creative partnership.
4. Casting
Of course, behind-the-scenes talent is wasted if the actors can't pull off their roles. Not a problem for the three leads of Fallout.
Walton Goggins' turn as American hero Cooper Howard-turned-bounty-hunting-Ghoul is electrifying. He fills his scenes with a Clint Eastwood-esque, "Do you feel lucky, punk?", energy that puts you on edge for each inevitable quick draw.
Ella Purnell nails the wide-eyed, naive, do-gooder Lucy McLean. Her main story quest to find her Dad,à la Fallout 3, confidently leads us on her descent from her American Dream life in the Vault, out to a world where drinking irradiated water from a toilet is going to be a highlight of your day.
Aaron Moten's Maximus hits all the right notes in his journey to be a hero, a shining Knight in Power Armour, a wannabe stereotypical good guy in a world where being "good" usually has to take a back seat to just being alive.
And, of course, there's the real star, Dogmeat. Ok, it's not THAT Dogmeat, she's CX404, but she's still a very good girl. Yes, she is.
5. I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
If you read that heading and didn't hear the song starting to play in your head, then I feel bad for you, son.
The use of music in the Fallout games has been one of its most defining traits, and it's a trait the show doesn't skimp on.
The crackle of those cheery old-timey tunes as horrible acts of hyper-violence play out across the wasteland is paid due service here, with many of the most iconic songs used in the games making for perfectly timed needle drops.
Even the games' official soundtrack gets used to good effect.
6. Amazon money
Shows like this ain't cheap, and it's clear this has had the full support of that Amazon coin behind it. From the impressive sets of the Vaults and towns to the effects so good you can barely tell they're effects, it looks as good as any big budget film.
According to Varietythe first season cost US$153 million (AU$238 million) to make, which puts it at almost US$20 million (AU$31 million) per episode. For reference, most Game Of Thrones episodes averaged around US$6 Million.
It's an insane amount of money, but it shows.
7. Leave the games out of it
The Fallout games were always going to be perfect for adapting. They're classic, sprawling Bethesda-style role playing games which, for those who don't play games, just means they're games where you get spit out into an open world and left to do whatever you want.
This isn't like The Last of Us — where the show quite faithfully retells the story of the games for a new audience, but leaves those of us who've played it seeing every major plot coming from a mile away. (By the way, if you haven't played The Last of Us 2, you ain't ready for Season 2).
It isn't even like Halo, where they felt the need to rewrite much of the universe and timeline to make it translate on screen, much to the chagrin of die-hard fans.
Instead, just like the sandbox the games let us play in, Fallout the series gives the creatives here that same sandbox to tell their own stories in. Sure, it has a well-established universe with timelines, lore and characters that the show faithfully adheres to, but it's not forced into retelling any specific story.
It can create new characters, show off new Vaults, and explore new areas of the Universe, all while respecting the source material and adding to it, leaving us with one of the best game adaptations we've seen to date.
It's definitely just a little bit special.
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Fallout is streaming now on Prime Video.
