Fallout 3

[theacefes]

Got it and started playing it. After approx 4 hours, here are my first impressions. Note: spoilers!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Make sure you test your system with this. The max settings are really nice!

2) Introductory tutorial sets the story nicely.

3) Human graphics are nowhere near Mass Effect, but better than Oblivion.

4) Stay in first person: the third person view is not very clear

5) Environments are amazing

6) Sound effects are good. Music is okay...the intro music is awesome but at times you will feel like you are listening to Oblivion's soundtrack. Same with some sound effects

7) Voice overs are good. There is mature language (you can even use foul language in your PC responses!).

8) Love the weapons. I'm a sucker for a good FPS. Really good guns available early.

 

You don't need to play the other two Fallouts to understand the game. The leveling system is similar to Oblivion. I think the guy that did the voiceovers for the Argonians is also in this.

 

Undead corpse zombie things are kind of creepy. You can actually blow off body parts of people and mutants, even after they are dead. It's a lot harder to stay a good guy/girl in this. Survival is difficult, with all the radiation, lack of medical supplies, and bad water everywhere (it's a post nuke US capital wasteland), you might have to do a lot of things any other rpg would consider immoral.

 

I like it so far.

 

EDIT: Pictures!

 

[Domi]

Sorry for being a nag, but it doesn't have a party, right? How does the graphics compare to NWN2?

[Sorrow]

Generally, my awe of Fallout 3 graphics lasted until I took a closer look at textures.

Horrible, things. I avoid them whenever I can.

[Bri]

Just a slight note to what Domi asked earlier, about party interactions in Fallout 1 and 2...the characters have very little to say. Most of the time it was more entertaining in finding them/getting them. They actually do very little once in your party other than acting as force multipliers and moving targets.

 

For when 1 and 2 came out, and bearing that in mind, though, I did love 1 and 2.

 

I am still deciding how I like Fallout 3...admittedly, I haven't spent as much time as others on it...and definitely need a new graphics card to enjoy the topmost rungs...ugh.

 

That said, I actually did think the opening sequence/events were a good way to introduce people who aren't familiar with the Fallout Universe...

 

Sorry for being a nag, but it doesn't have a party, right?

 

There are recruitable characters in the game, but so far I only came across one...and I was too much of a good two-shoes for him. There are others, though you need not take them (no, I haven't come across them)

 

How does the graphics compare to NWN2?

 

I guess the graphics are technically superior to NWN 2 (coming out later as it were). However, you have to bear in mind the world of Fallout is the aftermath of a nuclear war...and thus look rather bleak, etc. Personally, I found NWN 2 actually more engaging (so far, at least)

[theacefes]

For what the technology at the time was, I felt NWN2 graphics were horribly inferior to what was available at the time of development.

 

As for party stuff...or any other questions...think Oblivion. It's pretty much a creepier version with post nuke setting and guns. I loved Oblivion, and I love post nuke and guns...and I like Fallout 3.

 

Again, the only negatives I've seen is the sound/music and the third person pov. I've put a lot of money into my system though to be able to run most games I want at max settings with little to no lag. The only thing I can suggest is to refrain from talking crap about the game unless you've tried it personally. Luckily there is a chain of stores where I live where we can try out the game before we buy it. I wish more places had that.

[theacefes]

Okay some more spoilers:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I beat the game. It differs from Oblivion in the sense that once you beat the main plot, the game ends and goes to credits. I was able to get two of the endings. I don't know if there are more.

 

While the storyline buildup and the visual effects of the big end battle were cool, there was an actual lack of fighting in the end battle, and at the very very end, you could actually talk your way out of fighting the bad guy...because there really wasn't a true villain in this game. You could tell by choice of dialogue options at the end of the game that either the writers ran out of material or the developer was running out of time.

 

Personally, I was disappointed in the ending...I guess I was expecting some huge showdown and a longer epilogue. It seemed very hastily finished.

 

I did very few of the subquests. I've heard there are a ton but I have yet to play them. Unfortunately, the game was designed to end when the main plot ends. Since the game takes place in one city rather than a huge land with many cities, there are more limitations and less people.

 

Also...world's shortest game?! What the hell?

 

Overall, I give it a 6.5/10. Pretty pictures, nice backstory, good intro, mostly good dialogue options, easier to be a bad guy, but crappy ending.

 

[Domi]

What's this thing with crappy ending lately? I guess I should adopt a strategy of writing out the ending first to make sure I don't work myself into a corner like Obsidian...

 

Uhm, I haven't played Oblivion.

[Ardanis]

About the villain. While I can only rely on what you say about it (as I neither have F3 nor the proper hardware to play it), it does sound like an excellent design move.

[theacefes]

On one hand, I think it was a good attempt at demonstrating humanity and how desperate it could really get. Everyone wanted to help the world (or rather, the US in this case) but they wanted to go about it different ways. My personal problem is that I'm so jaded by all these fantasy rpgs with super duper evil people in them that the game leads up to fighting that it was just plain odd for me to actually finish a game just by talking my way through it (and using a big machine gun).

 

As for Oblivion, Domi, I only use the game as a comparison because it is plain and simple: Oblivion with guns. But I liked Oblivion and I mostly liked F3. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I am a fan of the engine and the gameplay. While it's not party based play, either might be something you want to try (I would try Oblivion first if you can get your hands on the game).

[Domi]

I think I am actually a bit more in favour of F3, because I think I am too late for Oblivion, and with its multiple expansions, I don't even know what to start looking for. Plus, FO3 being short is actually a big plus in my books. But I want to give a try to Kult first to see if I can manage solo at all.

[theacefes]

There are only two expansions for Oblivion: one of them can hardly be called an expansion - it's more of an additional quest that isn't even that great.

 

Shivering Isles is pretty cool. Still, you don't need it and it doesn't really add anything amazing to the game except some new quests and dialogue, items, etc.

 

I would recommend just getting the original game and seeing if there is a patch you can download to update it to the latest version. Also, Oblivion doesn't have a long stupid update wait...

 

I've seem the game for 30 dollars. The Game of the Year runs around 50 (USD).

 

Plus, there is a huge array of mods you can download and play and implementing them into the game is very very easy.

 

I was able to figure out many of the cheat console codes for Fallout 3 as well. Since it uses the .esm files like Oblivion, I can see some sort of construction set coming out for it if the game becomes very popular.

 

Now...waiting for my copy of Dead Space...

[Domi]

Thanks, Ace. By whatever reason, all I have seen in the stores up to now was that Elder Scrolls expansion thinggie, not the Oblivion proper. I'll keep my eyes peeled though in the EB Games.

[Sorrow]

The only thing I can suggest is to refrain from talking crap about the game unless you've tried it personally.

Ha! No can do .

 

What I think about Fallout 3:

1. It even fails at recreating tabletop roleplaying game on computer - Fallout losing GURPS licence and replacing it with a half-baked SPECIAL system was one thing, but turning it into FPS...

Ugh.

2. It doesn't work on my comp, which automatically disqualifies it from receiving any positive rating.

3. Textures on screens look fugly.

4. Dialogues that I've seen on screens are even more retarded than the ones from BG1 and have much worse writing.

 

1/10

[theacefes]

Domi, I don't know if Canada has any Best Buys, Targets, Circuit Cities, or any places like that, but those are the places I found the original copy of Oblivion. EB/Gamestop seems to carry a lot of the Game of the Year edition here.

[Edwyn]

Domi...I was in the EB store at Chinook Centre this evening & they have the Oblivion Game of The Year Edition (both expansions included) for $59.99, so its still around. I doubt you could find just the original version anywhere unless it was a used copy. Anyway, good luck.