Kjarista

Sorry for being rude, but learn to read. learn to think. The comment I responded to indicated that the poster wanted quests and things to do. Explorers explore for the sake of exploring. If you like finding things just to find them, then this is the sort of games Beth makes. There was less in Oblivion to find than in FO3, but there were plenty of little villages, shrines, shacks and the like in Oblivion, several of which didn't show up on the map.

How do you mean? What places? Are those places bustling with unique encounters? Are there a multitude of diverse actions a player can perform in those places? So you are not an explorer...you want story. Again, the games are not for you...best continue to be an Obsidian fan. So they suck for you? That's fine...they weren't made for you.

Uh, because they are special encounters meant to be discovered only by characters with exceptional luck? They are hidden nods to popular sci-fi, as Twinkie said, hidden tracks on an album that shouldn't be factored into the final review. And I hope you see the difference between a *single* *special* *random* encounter and a three hour add on *entirely dedicated to aliens*. No, I do not see the difference. Either way...any way, they are IN game and OOC. At least when they are DLC a player can simply not use them. We had no option in FO2.

This pontification of what is canon and what isn't seems a bit too convenient in that it allows folks to discount the failings of the earlier games. Clearly, the happenings in the wastes are PART of the game, and are, therefor canon, for beter or worse. They weren't "wth, that's FUNNY!" moments for me, they were more like WTF, this sucks" moments for me. So if you found it funny then, why isn't it funny now? It's still WTF for me.

I think it might have to do, in some part, with the TYPE of RPG people like to play. Beth has always produced open, story lite, sandbox games. They aren't for everyone, and it's understandable that on this forum, where folks are more likely interested in strong story, strong quest games, that there won't be many Oblivion fans. Actually, I'm a big fan of open world games, and the problem with Bethesda games isn't that they're light on plot but that the worlds are so poorly realized. Really, the only open thing thing about Oblivion is that you can walk right, left, forward and back. Regardless of where you go, you'll find the same quests, the same dungeons, the same loot, the same people. What kind of open ended, exploratory RPG is that? That's interesting. Did you not leave town or cut cross country? There are all kinds of places to explore deep in the wilds. Oblivion and FO3 are exploration games. If you aren't interested in exploring, they aren't for you.

Think that's it pretty much (same reason they threw everything from the old games in as much as they could too). It's a shame too, considering that the game plays much better without VATS.

Nope, just the same old back and forth. It's about time for a teaser, I think.

[intelligence] So you fight the good fight with your voice on Galaxy News Radio. [sarcasm] Yes, every game is perfect and has no flaws. Seriously, FO3 was too dummied down for the console crowd, and there is plenty of room for improvement, as there is in just about every game. The difference in fO3 however, and other games, is that the Fallout franchise has militant followers who spend an awful lot of time venting their rage. There are also a lot of RPG fans who just don't like sandbox games, and honestly offer their opinions. There is an obvious difference between the two, and they are easy to spot and difficult to ignore.

I'd just say that technically, LOTRO is well run and very stable. I'd reccommend it for folks who really like quests and story driven adventure.

I think it might have to do, in some part, with the TYPE of RPG people like to play. Beth has always produced open, story lite, sandbox games. They aren't for everyone, and it's understandable that on this forum, where folks are more likely interested in strong story, strong quest games, that there won't be many Oblivion fans.

You must have areally crappy PC. Oblivion looks great on my PC.

Cry more? Seriously, I don't understand the alien thing, but Point Lookout was a blast...the best yet, and FO3 is one good game, despite the lamentations of the self proclaimed RP(g) Nazis. So... Can't really get beyond Cry More?

I'm currently MMO-less. I have a sub to LOTR but I don't much like that game. Conan has run it's course for me, as has WoW. I'll probably head back to EQII until something more interesting happens.

waitwaitwait...back up a minute. are you using this to defend the re-use and re-treading of the idea in FO3? because if it's ridiculous in FO2 it's even more ridiculous in FO3. we've already established that FO2 has a silly side which many die-hards wish was a bit less silly but this doesn't exempt FO3 from totally missing the mark and making something which started out "ridiculous" into something which became for all intents and purposes ****ing retarded. Ya, I'd call this pot-kettle-black. GECK was a mess from the start, but they did think it would save the village, etc. It's yet another example of the 50's cultural belief that technology could solve every problem, which, of course, is silly. A POX on both the houses of FO2/3. But if I were to compare the silly factor of the two games, FO2 would be the silliest by far.

Fallout 3's major failing: the game is built around your love for your father and doesn't even try to act as if one could feel anything else than unrestricted, completely compassionate love for that character. The game is not built around that. As many have pointed out, the story is weak. This is a sandbox RPG. The point of the game is to explore and interact with the world. Besides, if you really feel this way, you missed much of the story. The father figure is very easy to hate.

You just told it in two lines. And that's why more games don't do it. Seems as it's lost on most players.

Well, I liked the books, in both MW and in Oblivion, and I liked the holotapes in FO3. Any device which can flesh out the story is a plus for me. I also liked the visual storytelling in FO3. There were plenty of times in FO3 when I paused to determine just what happened in a place. The placement of bodies, blood stains on the floor and the walls, all told the story of a last stand, or a gunfight, or a lingering death. I ran across a scene today that I have never seen before. At the edge of broken overpass, a small skeleton, hugging a teddybear with empty booze bottles near by. Imagine sitting on the edge there, overlooking miles of desolation, slowly building the courage to perhaps jump, and in the end, not being able to. It would take a lot of text to tell that story.

It's great they release the tools, but a shame that you have to depend on user content to enjoy the vanilla game.. but that's really the case for a lot of games I think - I can't play any of the Total War games or Mount and Blade without mods.. Still I think it's great that mods can extent the lifetime of games several years and I think it's extremely interesting that this trend is growing. Also - The Settler is absolutely great - it does feels a little artificial at times, but it's fun to build a thriving village! I've already got a small community going with hunters looking for food and builders expanding the village.. Maybe it's a shame YOU can't enjoy the vanella game....lots of players do enjoy it. Not only do the tools extend the life of the game...Morrowinnd, until recently, still had shelf space in Wal Mart...the tools allow each player to customize the game for themselves. No game is going to be perfect for everyone.

Ya, it does get old, but I'd be more interested in seeing the development time going into something else, like better quests. The graphics aren't that important to me.

This. No one is making you buy it.

Well, I wouldn't...didn't let my kids buy or play games like that, or watch tv/movies which I deemed too violent. Both of my kids are adults now, and they can decide what they want to do with themselves and their kids. Their generation was the first to grow up in the Internet age, and we were forever trying to monitor their online usage. Something you non parents need to be aware of: There is no perfect parent. We all suck at it. We make mistakes. We can't get our kids to listen half the time, and we can't watch them 24/7. All we can do is to teach them how to make decisions, and hope for the best. 12 year olds generally don't make good decisions...not because they lack intelligence, but because they lack experience. 18 year olds make better decisions, but generally not as well as 25 year olds. We are talking statistically here.

Not so much. Rigorous statistical analysis is hardly rubbish. CAns such studies be flawed? Of course. However, taht doesn't eman that EVERY study is flawed. In this case, the metastudies reflect the results of the majority of the studies. Again, feel free to google. I'd post links, but I don't want to argue with people the accuracy of specific links.

Ultima VII. Thank you, Exault team.

Just to break up the group-think a bit, consider this: Meta studies (studies of studies) tend to indicate that violent video games tend to promote aggressiveness, reduces the natural abhorrence of violence, making it easier to consider the use of violence, and a reduction in the desire to help others. The meta studies are clear in this. The younger the player, the more effect. What they don't know is if the effect lasts long term...beyond the gaming, and to what extent does predisposition of the player towards violence influenced the effect. A quick google would probably bring up all kinds of studies results. It's pretty clear that preadolescent children should not be playing violent games. It's probably safe to say that kids under the age of mid teens shouldn't either. There is an effect on adults, but it seems that at that point, predisposition has a larger effect. So, no, playing GTA isn't going to make people go out and shoot up the town. It might, however, empower subtle increases in aggression, which might have larger influence on players who are predisposed towards violence and aggression. Censorship? I don't really see this as censorship, because it doesn't impact my freedom of speech or my freedom to express myself. I don't give this the moral equivalence of, say, getting hauled off in the middle of the night for publishing a rant against the government.

There are some outstanding mods on Nexus, and yes, also a bunch of crap. I'd recommend: Here's my list: Fallout3.esm Anchorage.esm Mart's Mutant Mod.esm <This is one of my favorites. Adds new mobs, increases spawn, and adds ghoul zergs which can get very nasty very fast. Highly recommended. CALIBR.esm < Adds real world ammunition, used with the sniper mod. ThePitt.esm BrokenSteel.esm Mart's Mutant Mod.esp Mart's Mutant Mod - Increased Spawns.esp Mart's Mutant Mod - Zones Respawn.esp < This respawns interior areas with mobs. SuperDuper Mart will always have raiders, for example. Mart's Mutant Mod - Feral Ghoul Rampage.esp Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp < buffs the caravan traders...they can still die though. 1alexscorpionsnipergear.esp <Excellent sniper rifle, well textured. I us it more for the nice scope zoom feature. I recommend this as well. pen1.esp < this is one of my tweak mods. Slightly reduces damage and increases magazine size. Slower Levelling - slower.esp < Dramatically increases the amount of XP needed to advance. Several levels are included. GalaxyNewsRadio100[M].esp < MUST HAVE! Adds 90 era songs, from the 40's and 50's to teh GNR play list. Thredd Dog now breaks in after about 10 songs. Thunder2.esp < a mini rocket launcher, with scarce ammo. Mart's Mutant Mod - Hunting & Looting.esp So, the slower leveling mod paces the game nicely. The MMM mod makes combat a bit more interesting with larger spawns and more varied mobs. GNR100 makes the radio much more interesting.