Nope. Like all the other classic isometric RPGs of the age, FO2 was developed by Black Isle/Troika (and published by Interplay). Bethesda did make Daggerfall around that time too.
Why? If it's good, then no matter what franchise, right? I'm hoping for some Planescape:Torment/Mask of the Betrayer/Bloodlines-style storytelling, but I'm probably going to be disappointed...
TES had the same leveling system ever since Daggerfall and it's a good leveling system (better than a generic XP-based one), but it has the critical flaw that leveling becomes easier as you gain levels (since you'll succeed in your skills more often and will therefore gain quicker skill increases). A simple way to fix that is to have a skill increase every time you fail. That way, you'll find it easy to pick up the basics in a skill, and difficult to master it, as it should be, since the higher your skill becomes, the less likely you are to fail. It has the added advantage that it'll also reward you for challenging yourself, using skills under difficult circumstances, and trying new things, instead of the current system where you're rewarded for making things as easy for yourself as possible.
Haven't read it, can't help you there.
