I only found F2 hard in the beginning, when you don't know the game very well yet and have little more than a sharp stick to defend yourself with. Once you get some guns and good armour, it's smooth sailing.
My advice would be to take it slow at first, and don't go exploring. In the beginning even a couple of Geckos can make your life difficult, so stick to doing some quests (as D-Mic mentioned, the rat quest is a good one, and not too difficult) until you've got some XP and guns (and ammo!). Don't go out of your way to cause trouble. By the time you hit Vault City things will be a lot easier. Sniper rifles and assault rifles are great weapons, and if you come across a Bozar, keep it. It's best small gun until much later in the game when you'll get Gauss weapons.
A melee or unarmed character will have a relatively easy time early on and is great all the way to the endgame if you know what you're doing, but I wouldn't take it for your first playthrough. I'd a small guns-focused guy in stead (big guns and energy weapons are cool too, but are very scarce for the first half of the game, and small guns are useful for the entire game except the very beginning). High Agility and Intelligence are highly recommended with an Agility of 9 being standards and an Int of 8 or 9, Perception should be medium-high (like 7 or 8) for a ranged character, and high Charisma is strictly optional but very cool. Taking Strength higher than 6 is not recommended even for a melee character, since it will be augmented by the Power Armour you will be using later in the game anyway. Gifted is the best trait bar none, Skilled is the worst. Good Natured is great for high Cha+Int characters. I'm personally a really big fan of Finesse since criticals are generally more important than raw damage in this game (causing things like knocking your enemy out to blinding him to instantly killing him), but YMMV. Fast Shot is either really awesome or really shitty, depending on your playstyle. I don't like it. Never ever buy perks that give you extra levels or extra XP, since perks are more valuable than levels and you'll never get enough levels to earn back that perk anyway.
Also, if possible, save before and after every fight and every area transition. Chances are you won't need that many saves, but it never hurts.
) and remember that the game is broken in more ways than one, and every problem has multiple ways of solving it.