Killian Kalthorne

EEEK! My level 6 character doesn't have a Fatman. I just got the combat shotgun, and I am running away alot because a lot of things tend to b able to kick my arse.

Lare, you might as give it up. Raven is stuck in the 90's and she can't get out.

I disagree. It is far more superior to Oblivion.

PC requirements isn't that high. After all, it needs to be able to play on the XBox 360.

If the game gets a Construction Set and some good mods to download I will get the PC version myself. However, my XBox 360 is a little more stable and more powerful than my PC right now.

Just don't get the PS3 version. It won't be getting the DLC goodies that the XBox 360 and PC will.

You don't need to eat food and water but food and water will replenish your health and it is far far more plentiful than stimpacks. Some food and water aren't purified and will boost up your rads, so after eating a twelve course meal from the wastelands you might need to use Radaway like Pepto Bismol. The survival aspects kick in when dealing with hostiles and lack of ammo. Not a problem if you are playing a pugilist, but I wouldn't want to go against a super mutant hand to hand.

The design is pretty balanced. Think at it this way. The original SPECIAL system was akin to 3.5e d20 System. Every three levels you get a Feat/Perk. FO3 SPECIAL is more like the d20 Modern d20 System, which the Perk is more in lines with the power level of a Talent. If you haven't done d20 Modern or Saga System Star Wars, a Talent is like a weaker Feat. However some talents can be quite powerful and have greater requirements than a baseline talent. That is why some of the Perks that have greater requirements are indeed quite powerful.

Yeah, the lack of targeting in VATS is a downer but it does still have some interesting criticals.

I think this game will be in my top ten. Falling in place right behind Fallout 2.

Best game Bethesda has put out yet.

FALLOUT IN NAME ONLY! Ahem, how's HtH combat, anyway? That is a weak spot since you cannot target specific limbs in VATS, though you can get some interesting cinematics. Such as my roommate was playing the game and was using a baseball bat. He went into VATS and used up all his action points to beat of this guy. Well, the last animation showed him swinging the bat striking the poor guy under the chin and he flew backwards into the wall which he slid down and slumped on the floor. Melee and HtH is decent enough, but the lack of targeting body parts makes it not as interesting as shooting people or using grenades.

To be honest, its like Fallout.

Not at all. You can run away, and having high score in other skills can play an important role. ANd yes, if you have a good sneak and a frag grenade, you can sneakily blow up people. There is an achievement for that called actually.

I am playing the XBox 360 version, but you meet the minimum requirements handily. I would say you could play the game on medium settings but I don't know for certain.

I haven't gotten that far into the game as of yet, but I can say with certainty that having a high Speech is important, and high ability scores and high level in certain skills do open dialogue options with certain NPCs that I have experienced so far.

Fallout 3

Its the wasteland. Everything is useful in some way, and there is always risk. I was walking down the busted up highway from just escaping the vault and got jumped by three raiders. One of them had a freaking flamethrower! I was able to take down one but then I decided to run away. As I turned to run, the buddy of the flamethrower guy pegged me with a critical hit t the back of the skull. I'm nervous just walking outside. Loot items seem to be leveled not by the character but by the person using it. You can come across a super mutant while still rather low, if you go the wrong places to soon, and he will have an appropriate weapon for being a super mutant which will make you hamburger. Random loot seems to be more along the lines of what would logically be available to the location you are at and its inhabitants than based on your character. I have come across a couple of merchants and they often sell ammo, and ammo is very very very very very very important. As are stimpacks. Some stores will weapon your weapons and armor, though you can do that by cannibalizing similar weapons. If you have 3 10mm's you can repair one by taking the parts of the other 2.

They are very hard to find. So far I have only found 1.

That's good news. What about level scaling? Is that horrible thing where the npcs and general bandits level with you, stats and gear both, still in play? I think there is minor level scaling, but nothing compared to Oblivion. Some areas I have came across I was definitely to low for and I got my butt munched on, while some areas I just mowed down.

Okie dokie folks, here is my initial opinions, if any of you cared, of Fallout 3 on the XBox 360 and keep in mind that I am still in new game ferret shock mode. Each individual section ranges from 1 to 20, with a final score gives a percentage. I am curious to other people's first impressions of the game. Eye Candy: 14 The graphics of the game are good, but what game out nowadays doesn't sport good graphics so that aside lets talk about animation, environmental, and lighting effects. The animation of the game is a far improvement from Bethesda's previous work in Oblivion but it is not up to par compared to other action oriented CRPGs such as Mass Effect. The environment and lighting effects are decent and draws you in, but there is also a lacking in weather. Overall the eye candy is above average, but nothing spectacular. Audiophile: 18 The music of the game fits very well within the setting. Inon Zur did a great job of it and keeps the ambient feel of the wasteland. Also the radio tunes from the two stations within the gam can play songs that are strangely appropriate. I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire by the Inkspots popped on while I was been mauled by fire ants (fire breathing ants!) nearly had me double over laughing, then I died. The voice talent is decent, and with a wider array of voice actors than what was in Oblivion there is far less repetition. The sound effects from various weapons are top-notched and overall I have no real complaints about the audio aspects of the game. Gameplay: 18 This is not your grandfather's Fallout. The action is intense, and strangely enough the VATS system works quite well. I do miss the old text blurbs when one criticals, but the visual impact is much much strnger. There is no targeting the groin, however sad that is for hilarity sakes, but you can target an enemy's weapon, which is far more useful. Sure, it would be nice to get that minigun from the super mutant, but first you need to kill him and he most certainly will ry to use it on you. While it you can make it useless for yourself, you can make it useless for him, which gives you the overall advantage. The controls for the XBox 360 is a little awkward and not as intuitive as Oblivion or Mass Effect, and there is a bit of a learning curve to the game. The usual Fed Ex quests are there but a few branch off to more interesting story lines. I just want to add it has the most unique character creation and tutorial that I have seen in any game. Setting: 17 The use of Fallout lore is good, and expands on a couple of things, though I haven't gotten to deep into the game as of yet. You can get a good history of the locations that you visit, but unlike the Elder Scrolls, you can get the majority of the backstory by actually talking to people instead of reading books. People do seem to react to the way you act which is good in my ever so humble opinion, and there are more than a few quirky people you come across, such as Beatrice in Vault 101. Her poetry is... disturbing. I say that it keeps to the setting and lore well enough, much better than I thought it would. Fun Factor: 18 The game is very much fun to play, and it is a challenge to play. The mini-games actually meld well into the primary game play, such as lock picking and computer hacking, unlike Oblivion's. Best of all there is no annoying Dialogue Mini-Game. The annoyances from Oblivion seemed to be removed, and are replaced or even omitted. The challenge level of the game is very much there and as a warning, ammo is scarce so look everywhere, collect every weapon you can. I can honestly say that I am having a great deal of fun playing the game, but in its presentation it really gives you a re taste of how hard it would be to survive on the wasteland. Not-So Final Score: 85%

They are still a sovereign nation and must be treated and respected as such. You get more flies with honey than vinegar, dear Leferd.

In any case we shouldn't just go into another country and start bombing them. Yes, we should go after terrorists as much as possible but we should work with foreign governments to root out these people, not totally disregard the sovereignty of a nation. This sort of "cowboy" tactics is why the majority of the world is downright, and justly, pissed off at us.

In all things, moderation is needed for stability.

DDO was not good.