What the fuck are you talking about? What do you mean you "can't fuck around"? Are you fucking retarded? What game were you playing? Are you're talking about Fallout 2? Are you sure what game are you talking about?
Fallout 2 is probably THE most reactive game out there, practically every choice you make counts for something - most of the greater quest storylines are interconnected and there are plenty of paths that you can take and ways to succeed. Many ways to fuck around, fuck somebody up, fuck everyone up or fuck yourself up. You can play the game like a dumb fucking retard or a betraying bastard. Or none of that, just weasel around without firing a bullet. Finish it in 15 minutes if you know what to do or play it for years. You can even plant plastic explosive on children, become a pornstar, overload a nuclear reactor, fuck with a super-mutant, dig graves, sell slaves even get yourself a nice gay wedding...and find enough easter eggs to last you for several playthroughs.
And if by "fucking around" you mean going full diablo in a game that is everything but not an aRPG, yes, you can do that too. Kill EVERYTHING on sight in a galore of satisfactory death animations with a huge variety of weapons - and feel the consequences of your killing spree. Sure, combat is far from perfect, but what the hell are you doing with this game if combat is all you want?
Tedious and shallow...talking about shallow...that sounds as if spoken by a fucking CoDtard casual. I can get it if you don't like the wacky post-apoc retro feel of the game or if you wanted something more combat oriented. But that sort of generic shit you can find in practically any other "cRPG" game out there. Or FPS. Some of them very recent. Fallout 2 is played for something else entirely.