Fallout 3

[Starwars]

I expect some flaws or detractions, but there seems to be enough in there to have fun the first time round.

 

This was certainly true for me. While there are plenty of things to complain about, I had fun on my first playthrough, except for the later parts of the main quest.

I'm struggling with my replay though, the character build doesn't feel like it matters much and thus the experience is rather "samey" even though I pretty much flipped my original character concept upside down.

 

But yeah, definetely good for a playthrough at least.

[~Di]

I'm going to shot that stupid dog myself and leave him dead for good if he doesn't stop his damned growling every time there's an enemy nearby. Not to mention I had to reload a few times, one time he got in my line of fire and I scored a critical on him. Combat shotgun is devastating like that.

 

I finally made him "essential". Now I don't kill him during every battle. I found the paladin and took her along... for about five minutes. She didn't add anything, had nothing useful to say, and basically was a pain in the ass every time I went into a building. But when I found her standing on top of my own dining room table, that was, like total disrespect of my humble abode. She had to go!

 

I'm kind of enjoying Dogmeat now that I don't have to worry about him stubbing his paw on a gate and keeling over dead.

[GreasyDogMeat]

The Paladin has been nothing but a huge help for me as long as I keep her well stocked with ammo. She's also great as a pack mule to carry any heavy armor or items I find.

 

I did regret giving her a missile launcher though as she's not too discriminating when it comes to range and... ahem... if a friendly happens to be next to the enemy. She's very funny when armed with it though... 'Let's see him dodge THIS!'.

 

Can just imagine the chaos if I gave her the Fat Man launcher.

[Arkan]

Just had a really depressing moment

 

 

I ran into our good old friend Harold in Oasis. Looks like ol' Bob finally got the best of him. I really did feel bad for him, and knew exactly what he was going to ask of me when I heard him speak. I could do no other than to put him out of his misery, as requested, though I did not do so with glee. He was so changed from the carefree ghoul we all met in Fallout 1, and go to know better in Fallout 2.

 

 

 

 

On a lighter note:

 

I found the 1-51b Power Armor! The regular BOS power armor always looked "off" somehow, but I couldn't quite place it until I got a look at this beauty. This is MUCH more true in spirit to the original in Fallout. Looks great! Only bad thing is that it doesn't have the same +2 STR as other PAs.

 

Now if we could only get rid of the huge BOX on your back when you wield a minigun.

[CoM_Solaufein]

I like the Enclave armor for its intimidation factor.

 

Too bad there's no Gauss weapons, I liked those from Fallout 2 and Tactics.

[GreasyDogMeat]

Just had a really depressing moment

 

 

I ran into our good old friend Harold in Oasis. Looks like ol' Bob finally got the best of him. I really did feel bad for him, and knew exactly what he was going to ask of me when I heard him speak. I could do no other than to put him out of his misery, as requested, though I did not do so with glee. He was so changed from the carefree ghoul we all met in Fallout 1, and go to know better in Fallout 2.

 

 

 

 

On a lighter note:

 

I found the 1-51b Power Armor! The regular BOS power armor always looked "off" somehow, but I couldn't quite place it until I got a look at this beauty. This is MUCH more true in spirit to the original in Fallout. Looks great! Only bad thing is that it doesn't have the same +2 STR as other PAs.

 

Now if we could only get rid of the huge BOX on your back when you wield a minigun.

 

 

You can apply a salve to his heart that will increase the range and speed that 'Bob' helps to reforest the region.

 

Harold was initially angry that I chose to help the people of the grove instead of killing him, but I convinced him that they needed him. This seemed to brighten his mood and he still had the little girl to talk to whom he liked. I personally liked how it turned out.

[newc0253]

so about 80+ hours into the game, i finally finished the main quest. i now see the force in others' compaints:

great game, but a rushed & anticlimatic ending. it's particularly dumb if you've got fawkes standing right there, the guy who earlier on helps you get a key plot item because he's immune to radiation, is somehow unable to walk two yards to a keyboard and type in a 3 digit code? the slow, ghost-like reveal of the jefferson statue was a great touch but it would have meant more if your final choice hadn't been so gimped & perfunctory

.

 

but kudos to Bethesda for the overall effort: they really worked to get the Fallout feel and, in particular, lift their game when it came to writing and NPC characterisation. i wouldn't say that they succeeded 100%, there were elements of classic fallout that i still missed & it would have served the game better to cut more of the cookie-cutter guff. i never got to paradise falls, for instance, but it feels like i spent nearly half the game in various metro tunnels. that's great for replayability and fantastic for exploration, but the noise-to-signal ratio could certainly have been tweaked. but for all the complaints, i'm still more impressed than not. especially stuff like

lamplighter caverns

or

tranquility lane

. Fallout 3 may only be my third favourite Fallout game, but i'd definitely buy a Fallout 4 from Bethesda based on this effort.

[Monte Carlo]

Fallout 3 may only be my third favourite Fallout game, but i'd definitely buy a Fallout 4 from Bethesda based on this effort.

 

You see, there are reasonable Fallout fans!

 

I don't think Bethseda could ask for anything else from the old-skool fans of the series, but it's still rare praise indeed.

 

Cheers

MC

[Janmanden]

The absolute lack of criticism in this thread confuses me.. except one, the exception that confirms the rule, somehow.

 

I have played this bastard child of Fallout and the bloodline is clearly broken. It's a fake. No wit or charm or attention to detail. No humor, atmosphere or depth. Nothing except cuddly, sweet and rude. Out of character, out of context, out of style. Completely shallow. No one to love or hate. To sum it up: it's everything I have seen and come to expect from Bethesda Softworks.

 

Well.. All of you Bethesda fanbois, you have finally gotten your Oblivion, but I have lost my Fallout!!

 

This is what I had foreseen, but I am still disappointed..

[~Di]

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to delete saved games besides just writing over them? My list of saves is getting rather clumsy to work with.

[Arkan]

The absolute lack of criticism in this thread confuses me.. except one, the exception that confirms the rule, somehow.

 

I have played this bastard child of Fallout and the bloodline is clearly broken. It's a fake. No wit or charm or attention to detail. No humor, atmosphere or depth. Nothing except cuddly, sweet and rude. Out of character, out of context, out of style. Completely shallow. No one to love or hate. To sum it up: it's everything I have seen and come to expect from Bethesda Softworks.

 

Well.. All of you Bethesda fanbois, you have finally gotten your Oblivion, but I have lost my Fallout!!

 

This is what I had foreseen, but I am still disappointed..

 

 

Oh please!

 

Many of the people praising this game are oldschool fans that were brought up on the first two games. Me being one of them. Are there things to complain about in this game? Sure. But that doesn't mean the game isn't a worthy successor. Many people share this opinion.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Many people share this opinion.

 

And many disagree with those who hold that belief, myself included.

[alanschu]

Many people share this opinion.

 

And many disagree with those who hold that belief, myself included.

 

 

And no doubt you get equally annoyed when people start criticizing you for not being a "true" fan (or whatever) because you don't like Fallout 3, or that you're just a Bethesda hater with no foundation to state your opinion. There are plenty of fans of Fallout that are loving Fallout 3. There are also fans of the first two that don't care for Fallout 3. Oh. My. ****ing. God. What a statement of the obvious

 

 

You don't like the game. Move on. Stop posting in a thread distracting from those that want to discuss the game.

 

 

Given the success of Fallout 3, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Fallout 4. You can bitch and whine that it's not Fallout 1/2, but that's not going to change anything, and it doesn't make it any less of a sequel. It's just not the sequel you were hoping for.

Edited November 17, 2008 by alanschu

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to delete saved games besides just writing over them?

 

Look in "C:\Users\*YourName*\Documents\My Games\Fallout3\Saves" and delete the ones you do not want.

[Hurlshort]

Who is Janmanden? I've seriously never seen him before today, but he's got 466 posts. Werd, I thought I knew most posters here.

 

So do we need a "Is Fallout 3 really a Fallout game" poll? Because the title kinda tipped me off, but a poll might clear it up for the more bitter folks.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

You don't like the game. Move on.

 

Did I ever say I did not like the game? No, I did not. What I did say was that I do not consider it a worthy successor to Fallout 2; please stop putting word in my mouth to further your own agenda. As for the proposed Fallout 4, I think that I would most likely buy it -just as I bought Fallout 3. But wait, I guess I was supposed to be all "Fallout 3 suxors" and play into your posting...

 

So do we need a "Is Fallout 3 really a Fallout game" poll? Because the title kinda tipped me off, but a poll might clear it up for the more bitter folks.

 

And do you really think I'd change my mind based on that poll?

[Aristes]

I don't care whether folks on this board like the game or not. I do hope the game is successful because I want another Fallout game along the lines of Fallout 3. I guess I'm one of the ol' skool Fallout fans who loves the game. I can think of some things to improve, but that's been the case since 1 and 2 shipped. Some of these opinions really are from folks giving the game a fair shake. As far as Janmanden, I'm hoping folks don't have to be around here and posting for a long time before they can engage in discussion. Who cares how many posts he has or whether folks now him or not?

 

The big thing about Janmanden is the whole over the top weeping and bemoaning the "loss of Fallout." Give me a break.

 

"I have played this bastard child of Fallout and the bloodline is clearly broken. It's a fake. No wit or charm or attention to detail. No humor, atmosphere or depth. Nothing except cuddly, sweet and rude. Out of character, out of context, out of style. Completely shallow. No one to love or hate. To sum it up: it's everything I have seen and come to expect from Bethesda Softworks."

 

I mean, I don't want to completely mock the statement above, but Good Lord, man! You're obviously alive. It's not like Bethesda stole your child (no, the 'true child of Fallout' doesn't count as your child.). It's not like they destroyed your home or killed you. If this isn't the game you want, go find another. If you really didn't like specific things about the game, just take them to Bethesda and suggest improvements. It really seems to me that most game designers respond to the fans if they make enough noise. Hell, sometimes too much if I judge by patches I've seen.

 

You know, if it weren't for Bethesda, there might never have been a Fallout 3. You would rather they didn't design a game so many of us enjoy because you don't like the name? That's entirely selfish. Seriously, Fallout 3 takes nothing from you that you hadn't already lost. If you can't accept that, go to hell. Hmm, I wonder if the mods will edit that?

[Deadly_Nightshade]

You know, if it weren't for Bethesda, there might never have been a Fallout 3.

 

And would that have been a bad thing? No, I think not. However, now that we have a this supposed "sequel," I guess that the best things we can do is modify it while accepting it as a spin-off (id est Fallout Tactics).

[Hell Kitty]

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to delete saved games besides just writing over them? My list of saves is getting rather clumsy to work with.

 

Right click on the one you want to delete.

[Photon*Lust]

+

Atmosphere

Humour

Performance

Skills/perks and their effect on gameplay

Above normal variation in how to go about quests/the game in general

Combat

Replayability

 

-

Engine stability at release

NPC animations

Bleakness of landscape (but it does contribute to atmosphere, just isn't a place I want to be all the time)

Length of critical path.

 

Nice and concise summary for those of us who haven't had the chance to play it yet - thanks!

 

Decisions aren't hard to make. good decisions feel good. bad decisions feel bad. The "role playing" in the game is generally overall pretty poor I'd say. (see below)

 

Skills and perks don't REALLY affect gameplay. I'm level 14, haven't put a single point into any combat skills, and I'm finding it way too easy on very hard mode. I've died maybe 10 times. I also set my SAP to 1's (SPECIAL) CIL to 9's... no real noticable "penalties" using VATS for AP, carry weight, etc.

 

Very little challenge is on the table for the more "serious" players beyond the typical xbox get-drunk-play-a-game-2-night/this-weekend category.

 

Dialogue is totally turds most of the time. Sometimes it feels alright, but Deus Ex this is not! NPC's tend to respond erratically more often than not. You can tell the dialogue options aren't exactly well planned out. They just don't mesh together in sequence when having a conversation! I can never tell if someone is "angered" by my response or likes me less after the conversation is over. Sometimes they will act angry, then act cheerful if i immediately start another conversation with them again. Again, good decisions feeling good and bad decisions feeling bad are present in the dialogue just as well. beyond "humorous" insults... theres little reason you'd want to anger someone, threaten them, etc.

 

Poor plot and story line (so far).

 

Lots of mapping errors.

 

Tons of gameplay glitches

 

lot's of general design bugs... the thing just really feels very unfinished. it starts to feel more and more unfinished as you progress through the game. I hate it when games feel that way, good int he beginning, real lackluster in the middle, and they may pick up in the end, or they may just continue to decelerate further into oblivion (no pun intended, as Oblivion was at least decent). It really does feel Beta.

 

Lot of content/feel removed and stripped away from the authentic franchise. No New Reno, no gambling skill, technology is not as "tweaked out", dirty-feeling, philip k **** inspired, etc. Overall gameworld is "sameness", exploration reward payoff not high enough, skill utilization/benefits not high enough. (finding pinkerton in rivet city took me three hours, and my "reward", is to change the appearance of my face.... this cool neurotic scientist type with all this cool equipment and gear... no items, weapons, quests, etc... just "hey i'll change your face")

 

lot of content added that doesnt really add to the gameplay. "Useless weapons" such as the chinese pistol, cue stick, etc. Lots of "junk" items, but few quest items that you realize later are quest items. (as the game wasn't designed to make the player think that way and make "hard decisions" in the beginning about which items would later be important, and have to save things like geiger counters, ropes, radios, crowbars, pliers, wrenches, etc.) overdone retro-ization of the game, to make up for the very little orthogonal "future-ization" feel/flavor.

 

The combat and visuals overshadow all the other aspects of the game in a large proportion, resulting in a "car lot" game that is fun to "watch" than it is to actually purchase, take home and "drive".

 

Doesn't give enough of a contrasting feel in the locations that the west coast did in the other titles. Being able to go to new york, atlantic city, philadelphia, etc. could have given more flavor, but may not have meshed well... but it really doesnt mesh well anyway. you can kind of tell who worked on what, and when their "project ends" (and it ends abruptly).

 

It's very American (xbox) Dream and not very "mysterious" or intriguing. Depth limited to the sex, drugs, violence, and some coarse language that seems intentionally stuck in some places it doesn't necessarily seem to even belong.

 

Very mentally disengaging and non-stimulating. Diablo gives the cerebral cortex more of a workout than this.

 

Very greedy DLC for the "Games for windows deal", resulting in a patch that comes out just to correct problems associated with "live"... yet lots of players still seem to be having problems regardless. Bethesda made a very immoral decision to use games for windows with this IMO as it wasn't a convenience to players at all, it was a corporate deal.

 

 

 

Incredible sound and music that is both appropriate for the game, immersive to it's environments, and pay homage to the earlier titles (in some respects at least.)

 

some of the best combat in any game I've seen in a while.

 

VATS is the coolest new evolution in bullet time around (since bullet time!)

 

The weapons while not realistic (so what?) are rather balanced (most of them), and really do work well in the game, having more of a situational/response feel similar to that of titles such as counter strike, deus ex/system shock, or even unreal tournament.

 

great remakes of most of the weapons, such as the 10mm, 10mm SMG, laser pistol

 

great remake of the pipboy as well. really feels nice, looks nice, glows nice as you bring it up to your face. (It's rather hypnotic and strangely very comforting in ghoul infested subways. as you take stim-pack breaks from your assault rifle)

 

Touring a postwar capitol offers a lot of cool places to explore. A novel idea.

 

Great feel of rivalry between the brotherhood and supermutants like in the original series.

 

enclave returns.

 

bottlecaps return.

 

 

Overall, it is a fun sit-and-go game, but nothing remarkable really. I remember one time back in high school where i had a conversation over the phone with a friend, he called me up and asked me how to repair gecko's nuclear power plant and i walked him through it. he asked me where he could find a water chip, and i give him a few hints. this game isnt really that engaging. Bethsoft threw away the whole DND/classic roleplay feel to it and built a game world revolving around VATS that was in league with their earlier titles.

 

I'd say the game might DESERVE an "8" score out of "10" once all the bugs get worked out. if the DLC and expansions are cool, (and better than dog-meat armor) maybe a 9.

 

lot's of mods for the game already, some are pretty cool. ghoul/child races... chuck norris playable model. check out fallout 3 nexus sometime if you play the game.

[Gorgon]

I'd say the one thing the game runs out of rather fast is narrative thrust. Sandboxing is fun, but unless there is something noteworthy to do it gets old.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Depth limited to the sex, drugs, violence, and some coarse language that seems intentionally stuck in some places it doesn't necessarily seem to even belong.

 

What sex? I've not seen anything that would qualify as "sexual" - hell even the whores sleep next to you and not with you.

[Volourn]

"I'm finding it way too easy on very hard mode. I've died maybe 10 times."

 

Doesn't sound easy to me.

[GreasyDogMeat]

The absolute lack of criticism in this thread confuses me.. except one, the exception that confirms the rule, somehow.

 

I have played this bastard child of Fallout and the bloodline is clearly broken. It's a fake. No wit or charm or attention to detail. No humor, atmosphere or depth. Nothing except cuddly, sweet and rude. Out of character, out of context, out of style. Completely shallow. No one to love or hate. To sum it up: it's everything I have seen and come to expect from Bethesda Softworks.

 

Well.. All of you Bethesda fanbois, you have finally gotten your Oblivion, but I have lost my Fallout!!

 

This is what I had foreseen, but I am still disappointed..

 

No atmosphere!? Are you kidding? F3 feels like I've been dropped into the 2d landscapes from the original games. The detail is fantastic and one of the high points.

 

What Bethesda fanboys? Most folks here are Bioware/Obsidian/Black-Isle rpg style fans. Some of us (me anyway) think Bethesda has managed to combine their open world design with the roleplaying options of the classic RPGs released from the developers I mentioned.

[alanschu]

You don't like the game. Move on.

 

Did I ever say I did not like the game? No, I did not. What I did say was that I do not consider it a worthy successor to Fallout 2; please stop putting word in my mouth to further your own agenda. As for the proposed Fallout 4, I think that I would most likely buy it -just as I bought Fallout 3. But wait, I guess I was supposed to be all "Fallout 3 suxors" and play into your posting...

 

My own agenda. Right

 

And do you really think I'd change my mind based on that poll?

 

No, we don't. It's clear you're already living in denial.