Eurogamer Fallout 3 Review: 10/10

[jimbo118]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=270173

In any case, I'm scraping the barrel for things to pick holes in. Fallout 3 has been by some margin the most enjoyable game I've played since BioShock - a game with which it shares a similar artistic vision and ambience. Despite so many worries, Fallout 3 almost effortlessly succeeds in its central aim of reviving a much-loved brand to appeal to the vast majority of players. It's a thrilling, all-consuming experience that will absorb you for weeks, whether you're attracted by the action, the adventure, or the role-playing, as you fall in love with the relentless excitement, incredible atmosphere, sense of place and sheer choice.

Bethesda has once again delivered a game of life-affirming brilliance that will be heralded as a classic, and talked about for years to come.

Life-affirming brilliance? k...

[Gargantou]

Notice the "once again", in other words, this guy probably believes that Oblivion was a game of life-affirming brilliance, hence why anyone with half a brain should ignore this review.

[jimbo118]

Notice the "once again", in other words, this guy probably believes that Oblivion was a game of life-affirming brilliance, hence why anyone with half a brain should ignore this review.

He gave Oblivion 10 :cheese:

IGN review is up too: 9.6
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/924/924165p1.html
IGN UK: 8.8

[Lone Wolf]

I don't take reviews to heart, I have to play the game for myself to get an opinion.

[Gray Fox]

Didn't they give far cry 2 a 10/10?

[hot564231]

Notice the "once again", in other words, this guy probably believes that Oblivion was a game of life-affirming brilliance, hence why anyone with half a brain should ignore this review.

See people, this guy, is in denial. His brain gets overloaded when it comes to good reviews.

[ailevation]

God, these type of games require so much time... It took me about an hour to finally get out of Vault 101.

The start is pretty funny because you actually start out as a baby and walk and talk as a baby... for a little bit though

[Barnz]

We have spoiler tags.

Don't spoil the game, or I'll break your neck.

[ailevation]

oh please you probably had worse spoilers reading the review.

[TollBooth Willie]

We have spoiler tags.

Don't spoil the game, or I'll break your neck.
The game's shit. OOOOOOOH BIG TWIST ENDING THERE.

vut

[Gray Fox]

Some dude from mapcore
Shacknews review:
http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1037

IGN review (9.6):
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/924/924165p1.html

1UP review (A):
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3170949

Gamespy review (5 stars):
http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/fallout-3/924342p1.html

Eurogamer review (10/10):
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=270173

Looks like it delivers! :-D Can't wait.

[Unfocused]

I'm intrigued now.

BTW, I LOLd when in IGN's video review the player picked up something from the table and all the other items on it floated up slightly. Didn't we have that in Oblivion those few years ago?

Also, the people in the bar getting shot and just running backwards with angry looks on their faces instead of running away or fighting back? Or the gangmember getting shot in the face and just standing there, again, with an angry looks on his face? Wut?

[OmegaX]

I'm intrigued now.

BTW, I LOLd when in IGN's video review the player picked up something from the table and all the other items on it floated up slightly. Didn't we have that in Oblivion those few years ago?

Yeah. That's what happens when you use the same game engine.

[jverne]

eat shit cocksuckers

http://fallout3.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/fallout-3-review-from-sweden/












:P

[VictimOfScience]

Yeah, I don't think i have time for this right now. Maybe when I get my new PC next year and some new mods are out, but not now. Too many other games to buy.

[CptStern]

I'm waiting for Mikael Grizzly's and those always optomistic members of NMA's review ...should be entertaining


Gray Fox: eurogamer gave far cry 2 8/10


my copy hasnt shipped yet :(

[Jimmeh]

Eh. I'm not one for conspiracies, but watching the IGN video review was a real head-scratcher. I was watching the gameplay on screen and thinking - is this guy talking about the same game? Awesome, awesome combat eh? I mean really?

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42064.html

I don't really give a monkeys about Fallout-lore or whatever, this game just looks like shit to me.

[PaoloM]

Let's see if VATS succeeds in bringing turn-based combat feeling. A lot of reviewers are praising it. Remember: this is not a shooter. This is not to compare with Far Cry 2. I put FO3 in the same league as Mass Effect.

[zombieturtle01]

Eh. I'm not one for conspiracies, but watching the IGN video review was a real head-scratcher. I was watching the gameplay on screen and thinking - is this guy talking about the same game? Awesome, awesome combat eh? I mean really?

*video*

I don't really give a monkeys about Fallout-lore or whatever, this game just looks like shit to me.

God that looks shit.

[Lucid]

$$$$$.
I'll wait until I see user reviews pop up.

Bethesda hasn't made a good RPG since Morrowind, but even that was flawed with the shitastic combat, but the story and world was brilliant.

edit: Eh. I'm not one for conspiracies, but watching the IGN video review was a real head-scratcher. I was watching the gameplay on screen and thinking - is this guy talking about the same game? Awesome, awesome combat eh? I mean really?

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42064.html

I don't really give a monkeys about Fallout-lore or whatever, this game just looks like shit to me.

...Oh wow.
Look at those awesome animations and fantastic AI in action.
The voice work is incredible!
The combat also looks incredibly satisfying! WOW.

[kupocake]

Sounds like some reviewers are ready to overlook some pretty big flaws with the get out clause of saying 'I know this is a flaw, but ssshhh', and that old Fallout fans / Oblivion haters just want any old excuse to hate the thing.

Incidentally, can anyone who loves the original Fallout say the words 'the interface to this game is a piece of shit'? It might encourage me to put the 'click like this, NO like this and then like that, no you're doing it wrong arsehead' time into wrestling this thing's reputedly good storyline out of it.

[KagePrototype]

Gamespot gave it 9/10
http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/fallout3/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review

[jimbo118]

I'm intrigued now.

BTW, I LOLd when in IGN's video review the player picked up something from the table and all the other items on it floated up slightly. Didn't we have that in Oblivion those few years ago?

Also, the people in the bar getting shot and just running backwards with angry looks on their faces instead of running away or fighting back? Or the gangmember getting shot in the face and just standing there, again, with an angry looks on his face? Wut?

All this.

Lol idd at the table part :P

[Shadow-warrior]

Problem with these 'expert' reviewers, is instead of them being how we'd expect them to be - hardcore gaming freaks who play games 24/7, they are infact the most casual of the casual who still get hardons over bouncey physics and polygon counts.

[Mikael Grizzly]

What shadow-warrior said.

I pity the gullible sheep who consider pre-release reviews trustworthy.

[Acepilotf14]

God grizzly, I'll be getting my game after school today and then I'll tell you how I feel. I played Fallout 2 yesterday and was having kind of fun, (although I pissed off the first citizen and am now in a bit of a rut.) So I'll get back to you on how it feels.

[CptStern]

What shadow-warrior said.

I pity the gullible sheep who consider pre-release reviews trustworthy.

:upstare:

most of the big guns have already posted their reviews ..are you saying that we should wait for ...who exactly? NMA? some guy who isnt co-oped by "big bad media"?

what review would you have faith in? one that echoed your pre-concieved notion of what the game is?

shacknews gave it a throrogh review, they are not in the pay for review business, they gave it a good review ...but in your mind because it's "pre-release" it's not valid? one or two reviews sure ...but all of them?

[hot564231]

Ain't Mikael Grizzly a shinker.

http://openguys.org/romio/movipics/bugs&bunny.jpg

[Wanted Bob]

Hmm, I've got a decision to make between this and Fable 2. Gonna wait for some of you guys to post your impressions, cause most of the time you are on the money with my opinion.

[hot564231]

Game Trailers Reviews is the one review I wait for.

[VictimOfScience]

Game Trailers Reviews is the one review I wait for.

Seconded. Those are always good fun. Them and Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's. :thumbs:

[Gray Fox]

Hmm, I've got a decision to make between this and Fable 2. Gonna wait for some of you guys to post your impressions, cause most of the time you are on the money with my opinion.

Are you kidding, buy fable 2.

[CptStern]

I have fable 2 ..dont think it's for everyone

[Gray Fox]

You like far cry 2 don't you?

[CptStern]

havent played it but I'm sure I would ...my brother in law would love far cry 2 ..he's not finding fable 2 to be all that fun ..in fact called it boring, I on the other hand like it

[Gray Fox]

Well thank god he isn't a blood relative.

[Mikael Grizzly]

most of the big guns have already posted their reviews ..are you saying that we should wait for ...who exactly? NMA? some guy who isnt co-oped by "big bad media"?

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3116/p_30/Fallout-3-Review.htm

This one.

what review would you have faith in? one that echoed your pre-concieved notion of what the game is?

One that wasn't done with a time limit in Beth's HQ or a luxurious hotel paid for by Beth.

shacknews gave it a throrogh review, they are not in the pay for review business, they gave it a good review ...but in your mind because it's "pre-release" it's not valid? one or two reviews sure ...but all of them?

Most.

[Unfocused]

You like far cry 2 don't you?

Aww, Gray Fox, don't be bitter cause hl2.net's current top FPS doesn't appeal to you. :p

[Warbie]

Check out ocuk forums, Gray. There's a 56 page thread filled with people who don't rate Far Cry 2 at all. I've never seen a fps get some mixed reviews.

[Ennui]

Alex from RPS wrote the IGN UK review (8.8 score I think) and he seems to think it's quite good... he's one of my more trusted reviewers.

I've spent a few hours getting into Fallout 3 today, since it just unlocked for those of us in North America on Steam. It's better than I thought it would be but it hasn't wow'd me yet... then again, I've just started. Right now I'd probably give it a 7/10, but that score could fall or rise depending on the next few days of play.

[Wanted Bob]

Are you kidding, buy fable 2.

Well, the thing is everyone LOVED the first one. I was never really compelled to play it (however I loved watching other people for some odd reason).

[PaoloM]

The combat sequence in this video is, imo, quite awesome. And, yes, the more I look videos, the more I like VATS and the way it keeps the FPS factor tamed and under control. It's a matter of personal taste. As for the reviews, I usually don't trust them but a current metacritic of 93% cannot be a mass allucination, don't you think?
This game is a buy for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLawVpHLifE

[Jintor]

Gamer reactions on the Penny-Arcade forums are predominately positive.

[kupocake]

One that wasn't done with a time limit in Beth's HQ or a luxurious hotel paid for by Beth.
Time Limits? Fallout games? Time Limits?

That gives me an idea!

[Agent.M]

Honestly I was not attracted to this game at all but after seeing and reading all the positive reviews this game has been getting Im gonna have to go ahead and buy this game.

[zombieturtle01]

I'll wait until Christmas, see what people really think by then. If it's good enough, I may ask for it.

[Ennui]

i've been loving it so far.

[Gargantou]

Just a general 'warning' for everyone, unlike Oblivion, you can't continue playing the game after you reach the ending, so if you want to keep playing with your character, don't do the final quest.

[Dalamari]

Bought it last night, was too lazy to deal with all that piracy nonsense with all of its cracks and such...

Played about 20 mins of the intro bit, still a baby.

[PaoloM]

Bought it last night, was too lazy to deal with all that piracy nonsense with all of its cracks and such...

Is not a simple disk check?

[Kyorisu]

It's just basic securom afaik. Reloaded's release works straight away from what I've heard.

[Cerpin]

Played it a few hours. The amount of things you can accomplish simply by talking your way out of a situation is most welcome. I've been using VATS exclusively, it's a lot of fun.

[PaoloM]

I've been using VATS exclusively, it's a lot of fun.

I was hoping for a comment like this :)

[Ennui]

VATS is actually great and a lot more entertaining / fluid than I thought while watching the combat videos. I just wish action points recharged faster, half the combat is running around trying not to get bitten/scratched/mauled/shot waiting for AP to recharge so you can shoot them in the head a few more times.

[Cerpin]

Just boost your agility for a few levels.

I agree with the VATS thing. It looked so annoying in videos, but playing with myself is another world. I'm not pissed about the change to real time now, because the system works really well.

[PaoloM]

VATS is actually great and a lot more entertaining / fluid than I thought while watching the combat videos.

I'm not pissed about the change to real time now, because the system works really well.

Don't judge a game by videos only...? ;)

[Shamrock]

Just a general 'warning' for everyone, unlike Oblivion, you can't continue playing the game after you reach the ending, so if you want to keep playing with your character, don't do the final quest.
Seriously? That is rather a huge downer for me as I want to explore the game and not just end it. I hope they patch it so you can continue it after you finish the main quest. That's what I loved about Oblivion. When I was done with the main quest, bitches still got served by me whilst I leveled even more.
VATS is actually great and a lot more entertaining / fluid than I thought while watching the combat videos. I just wish action points recharged faster, half the combat is running around trying not to get bitten/scratched/mauled/shot waiting for AP to recharge so you can shoot them in the head a few more times.
This. I've noticed enemies can take a shit load of hits while you are at a low level. I'm currently level 5, and it is rather a nuisance wasting your ammo on one enemy to find out there are several more whilst you barely have any HP or stimpacks left to recharge.

Though, the game is brilliant fun. It's a modern Oblivion without the magic. If you liked Oblivion for what you could do, this game is basically the same minus a few aspects such as the Arena which I'm not sure if there is one in this game or not, but I really can't see it being possible, and this should not hold you back from purchasing it.

Get this game! It's good!


GET IT OR ****ING DIE.

[Cerpin]

Don't judge a game by videos only...? ;)

When it comes to specific gameplay mechanics, I'm pretty good at getting a decent impression of what it's like from videos. However, VATS proved me sooo wrong.

[PaoloM]

And now the big question: will it run on my system? With Oblivion I had no problems, but FO3 seems more demanding.

[Cerpin]

I'm playing on my 360, so I can't comment on that. Most people say it's a pretty smooth ride on PC, though.

[Gargantou]

And the other big question, is the AI generally better than what has been shown in the GameTrailers videos?

[Mikael Grizzly]

According to NMAers that have the game, it's as stupid as it appeared.

[Cerpin]

The AI is decent enough, it doesn't ruin the game or anything. I'm not playing this for the blazing fast tactical combat anyway.

[Llama]

One that wasn't done with a time limit in Beth's HQ or a luxurious hotel paid for by Beth.
Most.

So the PC Gamer UK that loved it?

[Cormeh]

Well well! I never expected the game to be so widely accepted as you guys have described.

I did want this for a while, but with having Fable 2 and looking to at least rent Dead Space in the next few weeks I'd given F3 a by.... It does SOUND like it delivers.

My only hesitation is - although I enjoyed Oblivion a lot, that had the same reception, but little as a month down the line people started to give it a lot of flak because they got bored with it. Hopefully F3 has a better sell by date.

[Mikael Grizzly]

My only hesitation is - although I enjoyed Oblivion a lot, that had the same reception, but little as a month down the line people started to give it a lot of flak because they got bored with it. Hopefully F3 has a better sell by date.

I predict the same.

[ĐynastҰ]

IGN and Gamespot gave it 8-9 so, it sounds like its a great game, just not incredible.

[CptStern]

little as a month down the line people started to give it a lot of flak because they got bored with it.


see I never understood the hate for oblivion ..I mean that's all people talked about for a month then all of the sudden the haters started to crop up saying it's boring ..I put in easily 100 hours into the game before getting "bored" ..really how many single player games can honestly say that? certainly not hl2 or CoD4 or any other game I can think of ..100 hours for $60 sounds like a really good deal to me ..but some people are never satisfied


we should co-op fable2 sometime :)

[Cormeh]

see I never understod the hate for oblivion after the fact ..I mean that's all people talked about for a month then all of the sudden the haters started to crop up saying it's boring ..I put in easily 100 hours into the game before getting "bored" ..really how many single player games can honestly say that? certainly not hl2 or CoD4 or any other game I can think of ..100 hours for $60 sounds like a really good deal to me ..but some people are never satisfied


we should co-op fable2 sometime :)
I was in the same boat mate! I clocked at least 200 hours on Oblivion over about 6 save files, so it wasn't like I never played the absolute bejesus out of it. At the same time, the criticsms became overbearing with the allegation of crap gameplay and boring story. But this to me was only apparent after about my third run.

As for Fable 2, I'll co-op when I get my internet set up in my new place (end of year/January D: ). GT: Padoo in the meantime. ;)

[PaoloM]

Getting bored after 100 hours with the same game is absolutely normal, in my opinion.

[CptStern]

Getting bored after 100 hours with the same game is absolutely normal, in my opinion.

10-12 hour playthrough is usually the norm for single player games so the rest of the 88 hours is replaying which isnt the same right? 100 hours and I hadnt finished the game, I cant think of a single single player game that even came close to that

[Gargantou]

see I never understood the hate for oblivion ..I mean that's all people talked about for a month then all of the sudden the haters started to crop up saying it's boring ..I put in easily 100 hours into the game before getting "bored" ..really how many single player games can honestly say that? certainly not hl2 or CoD4 or any other game I can think of ..100 hours for $60 sounds like a really good deal to me ..but some people are never satisfied


we should co-op fable2 sometime :)Well, I personally but a lot more hours into Daggerfall and then Morrowind than I did into Oblivion. But to be fair, the mods for Oblivion added a whole new layer of quality to the game, shame Bethesda has decided to, for now anyway, not release mod tools for Fallout 3.

I probably played Daggerfall for around at least 70 hours before doing the final quest, and keep in mind this was back in the 90s, not the year 2008.

Anyone who played Daggerfall and Morrowind can't honestly say that Oblivion was better than them in my opinion, at least not when it comes to how deep the RPG elements are.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Morrowind was quite good. Not an absolute revelation, but nevertheless, good.

It stayed true to TES lore, building on Daggerfall and explaining how all of it's endings happened. A temporal paradox created by the Dwemer Anumidium.

Oblivion is so bad in that aspect that the father of the TES series gave up on trying to fit it into the TES storyline.

[Gargantou]

I think you mean Numidium not Anumidium.:p

Perhaps you mixed it up with Aetherius, the spirit realm the 'PC' enters in order to retrieve the Mantella.

[Mikael Grizzly]

I think you mean Numidium not Anumidium.:p

My bad. I can swear the hamsterbot in Morr was called Anumidium.

Perhaps you mixed it up with Aetherius, the spirit realm the 'PC' enters in order to retrieve the Mantella.

Maybe.

[jverne]

.

Anyone who played Daggerfall and Morrowind can't honestly say that Oblivion was better than them in my opinion, at least not when it comes to how deep the RPG elements are.

agree

[Dax]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42126.html

Gametrailers review is up. It got a higher score than I expected.
The biggest complain seemed to be that it can be a bit overwhelming.

Not touching this one just yet. Too much good stuff out there (GTA IV for PC next week) to play and a ton of school work to do. ;( Meh.

[Unfocused]

see I never understood the hate for oblivion ..I mean that's all people talked about for a month then all of the sudden the haters started to crop up saying it's boring ..I put in easily 100 hours into the game before getting "bored" ..really how many single player games can honestly say that? certainly not hl2 or CoD4 or any other game I can think of ..100 hours for $60 sounds like a really good deal to me ..but some people are never satisfied

Same here.

I don't however like what I'm seeing in Fallout 3 (media, haven't played it) and am surprised that it's getting high scores.

[Combine Hybrid]

Well, I dropped out my two classes, so I pretty much have a many free times to play Fallout 3. Since I never finished Oblivion, I'm gonna beat this one before Christmas.

[VictimOfScience]

I'll get it, but not 'til I get a new PC. Hopefully they will release a mod kit soon so that by the time I get it there will be some great new content/fixes.

[Ennui]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the mods for this game.

I have a Nuke-Cola vending machine in my apartment!

[Gargantou]

Bethesda had stated themselves that currently there are no plans for mod tools for Fallout 3..:(

[Raziaar]

No mods? No map editor?

I ****ing hate when companies do that.

[Dalamari]

Played for 4 hours, so far it's better than expected but the VATS is insta-kill like I thought it would be...

But still, better than expected, I'd give it a 7/10 if I had to review it from what I've played

[Barnz]

Bethesda had stated themselves that currently there are no plans for mod tools for Fallout 3..:(

There'll be a mod support in the future.

Edit: Looks like you don't need to have official stuff to mod. See NMA forums.

[Dalamari]

Played for 4 hours, so far it's better than expected but the VATS is insta-kill like I thought it would be...

But still, better than expected, I'd give it a 7/10 if I had to review it from what I've played

Also, are the enemies scaled to your level like in Oblivion? Haven't gotten far enough to notice.

[Ennui]

I think so... I'm level 5 I think right now, and I have to shoot most enemies in the head several times for them to die.

That sort of pisses me off, frankly if I shot a "vicious dog" in the head with a .32 pistol THREE TIMES it should be dead, not leaping through the air to rip my throat out.

[DEATHMASTER]

holy crap http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/fallout3

[<RJMC>]

can someone post the requirements?

though I am thinking of maybe getting it when I get a ps3,well if I ever get it

[Kadayi]

Not touching this one just yet. Too much good stuff out there (GTA IV for PC next week) to play and a ton of school work to do. ;( Meh.

GTA IV isn't out on PC till the 18th November in North America and the 21st November in Europe.

[CyberPitz]

I'll give this a spin and see how I like it. I am not a HUGE fan of the previous ones, so I'm not going to freak out if it's not Fallout 2.5.

[French Ninja]

The next 56 days are going to be torture avoiding spoilers.

<<< Waiting until Christmas, release too close to the holidays, already bought Spore over FC 2/FO 3/Dead Space, regretting it

[Krynn72]

I just cant get over how much it just looks like a modded oblivion. All the same bugs seem to still be there, all the conversation is the same "im a voice actor who doesnt give a shit" dialogue. The characters still just stand there facing straight at you while talking, the combat, both melee and ranged is so god damn boring. Animations look completely half-assed, as does a lot of the artwork in it.

I've only watched my friend play it, and watched a bunch of gameplay videos though. But frankly, from what I hear, it simply is Oblivion again. Everything that Oblivion did good is now just dated and boring, everything that Oblivion did bad is still there and never got fixed. I was planning on getting it, but I actually think I'm not going to bother now. Still, I will try it out myself, and if I like it I'll buy it.

[Bad^Hat]

Hmm, Kotaku seem to like it.

http://kotaku.com/5070394/fallout-3-review-wasting-away-again-in-radiationville

I generally put a bit of stock into their reviews, since they actually play the game comprehensively before reviewing it and aren't content with just slapping on a score and calling it a day. Before reviewing, this guy "created multiple characters, played story mode to completion, experienced two different endings, and spent countless time exploring."

Still don't like the look of it, though. Maybe a rental will change my mind, but it'll be going up against Fable 2 for a purchase, and I don't fancy it's chances...

[OmegaX]

I've played it for a little over four hours today and have done just one part of the first quest. I have a feeling this game is going to be massive.

[TheAntipop]

Can't wait til friday! :D Or maybe I'll pick it up from a supermarket if I'm out and about around midnight tonight. Hmm...

[Ennui]

Hmm, Kotaku seem to like it.

http://kotaku.com/5070394/fallout-3-review-wasting-away-again-in-radiationville

I generally put a bit of stock into their reviews, since they actually play the game comprehensively before reviewing it and aren't content with just slapping on a score and calling it a day. Before reviewing, this guy "created multiple characters, played story mode to completion, experienced two different endings, and spent countless time exploring."

Still don't like the look of it, though. Maybe a rental will change my mind, but it'll be going up against Fable 2 for a purchase, and I don't fancy it's chances...
From what I've played I pretty much agree with both the goods and bads listed in that post.

[Jintor]

Since it doesn't have Fable 2 for competition, getting this after I fail my ancient exam tommorrow.

[French Ninja]

Jintor, all you have to remember is that war never changes.

A+ guaranteed

[CptStern]

I dont understand. everywhere I look people are praising FO3, from reviews to gamers to other developers yet for some reason some people here dont like it ..I think Mikael has used his jedi mind tricks on you people

this sounds awesome:


ust a few feet in front of me stands a balding, wiry man who wants to kill me. He snaps at me with a loathsome tone for asking a line of ethical questions about his occupation of slave trader. Sun-weathered skin cracks around his mouth as he barks "get yer ass out of here if you don't like it then!" I relent and cool him down a bit. I inform him that I would like to inspect and possibly acquire several of his goods, but I am swiftly denied.

Perhaps he knows of my true intent, to rescue two children who have recently vanished from a neighboring shantytown. He hints to me that I can gain entrance to his slave pen if I offer him the right sum of caps, which are the legal tender in the Wastelands. Better yet, giving him a slave from a nearby town might improve my odds. I question whether I should even continue this harrowing discussion as I eye the road behind me.

I notice a raggedy man in a hockey mask standing behind him, holding a rifle. I quickly pull out my combat shotgun and literally blow the balding slaver's head right off. The grunt in the background raises that shotgun of his, but I put an end to things before he can even pull the trigger. I have found a more favorable solution and fashioned my own means of entry outside of the dialog tree. I'll continue my search for those kids, but first I'll pick these bodies clean of munitions and rations. This was my way of doing things in one of the numerous side-quests in Bethesda's long-awaited and skeptically-approached take on the Fallout franchise, Fallout 3.

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/games/fallout-3-review.ars

[alehm]

I admit I am holding out mainly because I am limited on cash funds for games right now and L4D is taking priority over FO3.

But I will say is other gamer friends of mine who bought FO3 love this game and are playing it for hours on end.

[Gargantou]

You know what else is awesome? I stored three weapons + ammo in my cupboard in the house you get in Megaton? Guess what happened? Same bug as in Oblivion, they mysteriously disappeared.

I mean fine it's the same engine but COMEON, couldn't they at least have fixed that?

[CptStern]

meh not a deal breaker imho

[OmegaX]

You know what else is awesome? I stored three weapons + ammo in my cupboard in the house you get in Megaton? Guess what happened? Same bug as in Oblivion, they mysteriously disappeared.

I mean fine it's the same engine but COMEON, couldn't they at least have fixed that?

Maybe someone stole them ;)

[Gargantou]

Maybe someone stole them ;)Erm no, it's a bug, considering the fact it was a documented bug in Oblivion related to memory management etc I doubt it's a design-feature, considering the fact that Fallout 3 uses the same engine as Oblivion.

[Gray Fox]

But that happens to me in real life!

[Lucid]

You know what else is awesome? I stored three weapons + ammo in my cupboard in the house you get in Megaton? Guess what happened? Same bug as in Oblivion, they mysteriously disappeared.

I mean fine it's the same engine but COMEON, couldn't they at least have fixed that?

You're not alone. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/fallout3/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-46263254&pid=939933)
Apparently the filing cabinet upstairs is safe or you can just leave everything on the floor.

[Gargantou]

You're not alone. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/fallout3/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-46263254&pid=939933)
Apparently the filing cabinet upstairs is safe or you can just leave everything on the floor.Thanks but I'm still pissed, it's been over 2 years since Oblivion, you'd reckon they would have been able to fix this bug by then..

[Mikael Grizzly]

I got it today. Let me use a Dead Space comparison: Fallout 3 is to previous Fallouts as mutated tentacle infants are to healthy human newborns. Meaning, it's malformed, but the Fallout is more or less (moar liek less) recognizable.

The gameplay is enjoyable, if basic, the FPS mechanics are really sketchy and the writing is pretty good. It's not PS:T, but it will do.

The animations are horrible, as usual in Beth's titles, the world is so condensed it's not even funny (you can see nearly the entire game world from the Vault exit), the art style is fairly consistent (but has it's stupid oddities like GIGN tactical armour in the Vault), the Vault is pretty nice.

Low res textures are horrible. As are malformed humans.

Does anyone else want to strangle Moira Brown?

Anywhoo.

As a standalone game, 7/10 - it's enjoyable, if severely unpolished.

As a Fallout spin-off, 8/10, it does capture the atmosphere and flavour (so far).

As a Fallout SEQUEL... 2/10. It simply isn't a Fallout sequel.

[Kadayi]

Interesting so far, I spent an inordinate amount of time dicking around in the Vault. Just got to megaton, but haven't really gotten up to much yet, however I thought the intro to the game was pretty good overall. Also my god, I how gory is VATS? I knew it was a bit overboard from the videos, but I was a bit taken aback as to just how blood and guts it is, when you get a critical.

This and Farcry 2 are going to keep me out of mischief I feel until GTAIV and L4D are available ;)

[TollBooth Willie]

Boring as ****, but the expansive environment is awesome.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Interesting so far, I spent an inordinate amount of time dicking around in the Vault. Just got to megaton, but haven't really gotten up to much yet, however I thought the intro to the game was pretty good overall. Also my god, I how gory is VATS? I knew it was a bit overboard from the videos, but I was a bit taken aback as to just how blood and guts it is, when you get a critical.

After losing six hours straight to the game... VATS is a good thing, except that it's way overpowered and the gorey deaths... well, they happen way, way too often.

I wonder how is it possible to rip a head off with a .32 round.

[ailevation]

I feel the VATS system is spot on for what it's worth, it's just the FP aspect is really fackin lackin. I can easily pop domes off in vats with the first sub machine you get with one strike command to the head. But, once I switch views I almost never get headshots and body shots take like 3 clips emptied into the bastard... i just use vats... shooting freely is not worth it.

[Dalamari]

I wonder how is it possible to rip a head off with a .32 round.

If you remember, Fallout 1/2 had the same thing with pistol rounds being able to cut bodies in half and such...so I don't know how you can complain about it in F3

[Kyorisu]

I don't think that's what his getting at, just how it's an impossibility. Personally taking heads off with coffee cups is an interesting experience.

Glad to see we still have game breaking glitches that won't be fixed for months though. Entered the GNR building, talked to the host and convinced him via speech to just give me the details I needed. Left the building and some random BOS soldier starts attacking me. Like wtf I'm neutral to you guys leave me alone. I can't leave the area because they'll just waste me.

[French Ninja]

You know what else is awesome? I stored three weapons + ammo in my cupboard in the house you get in Megaton? Guess what happened? Same bug as in Oblivion, they mysteriously disappeared.

I mean fine it's the same engine but COMEON, couldn't they at least have fixed that?

You're kidding right? :|

LEARN FROM YOUR ****ING MISTAKES, YOU ****S

[PaoloM]

Anywhoo.

As a standalone game, 7/10 - it's enjoyable, if severely unpolished.

As a Fallout spin-off, 8/10, it does capture the atmosphere and flavour (so far).

As a Fallout SEQUEL... 2/10. It simply isn't a Fallout sequel.

A fair review, not prejudice-oriented. Thank you, Mikael.

[ailevation]

oh shit I better check if I lost all my precious items NO!!!

[Lucid]

Game's pretty fun.

edit: When it isn't crashing all the damn time.

[Kyorisu]

After losing six hours straight to the game... VATS is a good thing, except that it's way overpowered and the gorey deaths... well, they happen way, way too often.

It spends way too much time following bouncing heads and the like after the thing you wanted to kill is dead. Once it's dead I'd like the controls back.

I wonder how is it possible to rip a head off with a .32 round.

Even better. How does a mini nuke cleanly slice off your opponents limbs?

[Krynn72]

So I played it for about an hour. I'm liking it a lot more than I thought I would. It may just be the beginning that is awesome, but hopefully the rest of it will be as well. I'm going to go ahead and buy it when I get my paycheck. Hopefully some Collectors Editions are left at my Gamestop.

[Jintor]

I just played for... uh... 3 hours.

This game is so awesome.

I really like how VATS is implemented. It's an interesting system.

It still has some major Oblivion glitches, though, like NPCs would start gliding around or they would carry on full conversations with you without turning their heads. Things like that. It's pretty immersion breaking but yeah.

I just got ****ing ambushed by a supermutant. The bastard. I heard a 'ting! Saw a big greeny-yellow thing jump out at me, and then my feet exploded.

THE DOUCHES KNOW HOW TO USE GRENADES

[Mikael Grizzly]

If you remember, Fallout 1/2 had the same thing with pistol rounds being able to cut bodies in half and such...so I don't know how you can complain about it in F3

For. ****'s. Sake.

In Fallout, you had to score A CRITICAL HIT to blow chunks of meat off the enemy and it happened very, very rarely with basic small arms.

In FO3, it happens at every ****ing step. It's entertaining, but also annoying and breaks immersion.

The biggest problem so far is the Brotherhood and Supermutants. They just don't fit in at all. Especially when you realize how pathetically easy SM's are to defeat.

[DEATHMASTER]

I'm quite addicted, not looking forward to a game makes you like it more if its good :)

[French Ninja]

Out of curiosity, has anyone rolled a diplomatic character (no violence)?

If so, is it possible to get by so far?

Also, is it true that by killing a lot of innocents you can befriend raiders/slavers? (as stated previously)

[Shamrock]

For. ****'s. Sake.

In Fallout, you had to score A CRITICAL HIT to blow chunks of meat off the enemy and it happened very, very rarely with basic small arms.

In FO3, it happens at every ****ing step. It's entertaining, but also annoying and breaks immersion.

The biggest problem so far is the Brotherhood and Supermutants. They just don't fit in at all. Especially when you realize how pathetically easy SM's are to defeat.

Lols. Get angrier at a video game! I love to read your worthless posts. Hey, I don't think this game lives up to the original at all so I'm going to bash it for not being fun even though I've always had this preconceived notion that won't leave my mind that this game was going to suck even before they announced it was being made, but I'm going to post like I'm playing the game and giving a fair opinion and then burst out in rage when others actually like the game and comment on it and also compare bits and pieces of it to it's ancestors, but if that doesn't stop you from reading my posts, sometimes I'll be civil and post decent criticisms just to bash you if you respond at all in the most civil way, I'm going to be the most condescending bastard and take your response as you taking a shot at my personal life, values, family, and even my eyeballs.

Shut the **** up Mikael. I'm sick of reading your bull shit posts bashing a pretty damn good game.

Out of curiosity, has anyone rolled a diplomatic character (no violence)?

If so, is it possible to get by so far?

Honestly, I don't think it's possible at all because of the fact that if you do something nice for someone, you're bound to get shot by someone else. Unless your.. Speechcraft (Oblivion joke :D) is all the way up and you swindle people is the only way I can see you being a completely diplomatic character.

[Jintor]

Out of curiosity, has anyone rolled a diplomatic character (no violence)?

If so, is it possible to get by so far?

No.

I think there is a sequence during the tutorial where combat is impossible to avoid, although you might be able to run straight past them (i haven't yet tested it).

Mikael's points are fine, but I think he goes overboard on how badly they **** the game up. They're minor points, nothing horrible.

[Top Secret]

I'll be honest, this game was a straight 10 for me.




Until I left the vault.

Now it's an 8.

[Jintor]

Meh. Reverse.

It was a 8 in the Vault, and 10 once I got outside.

It was nice to see how the isometric Vault was translated into 3d though. That really looked cool.

[Kyorisu]

For. ****'s. Sake.

Someone needs to calm down and realise not everyone is a Fallout nut. Besides critical hit or not it still doesn't make any sense. What you pulled the trigger a certain way and magically transformed the bullets calibre as it left the chamber?

[Mikael Grizzly]

I think there is a sequence during the tutorial where combat is impossible to avoid, although you might be able to run straight past them (i haven't yet tested it).

The escape is a pretty combat-heavy area.

Mikael's points are fine, but I think he goes overboard on how badly they **** the game up. They're minor points, nothing horrible.

I already said it's not a bad game on it's own. It just fails to rise to the level of Fallout 1 and 2 as an RPG. Still, it's enjoyable.

If it wasn't for the ****ing dungeon crawling and excessive, nonsensical gore. Gaaah.

On this note, I finally got to the Pentagon.

[Kyorisu]

Oh god dungeons don't get me started on dungeons. It's bloody worse that a bunch of them happen to be linear as **** subway lines. I'm still wandering around the wastes, skipped the bs find daddy quest by finding him myself without help.

[Unfocused]

*paragraphs, man*

Shut the **** up Mikael. I'm sick of reading your bull shit posts bashing a pretty damn good game.



Anywhoo.

As a standalone game, 7/10 - it's enjoyable, if severely unpolished.

As a Fallout spin-off, 8/10, it does capture the atmosphere and flavour (so far).

As a Fallout SEQUEL... 2/10. It simply isn't a Fallout sequel.

Fair.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Though honestly, while I'm playing, I'm constantly being reminded of Wasteland rather than Fallout.

[Jintor]

I'm being reminded of Oblivion mixed with Fallout. Which is fair enough.

I REALLY WISH THEY HAD FIXED SOME OF THE HORRIBLE NPC BUGS THOUGH

I hate it when people start gliding along the floor, or doing these really weird uncanny-valley-type things. Or when they deliver their horribly stilted auto-coversations. Urrrrrgh.

Just can't shake that Oblivion feeling.

[Cerpin]

Rivet City was a huge disappointment after I had seen the amazing concept art.

[CptStern]

I'll be playing this game with pretty much zero knowledge of the game beforehand (besides the basic plot) ..havent played fallout2 for at least a decade, havent kept up with anything Fallout 3 besides the odd screenshot, a few articles, and skimmed over a couple of reviews so I'm walking into this game with zero pre-conceived notions or expectations. there's nothing to be disappointed about because I havent given myself an expectation for the game to live up to ...I enjoy games much more that way

[Lucid]

It feels very much Oblivion to its core but, I'm enjoying it so much more than Oblivion.
Even though the terrible animations(gliding creatures and NPCs) can break my immersion pretty easily, I get over it and soldier on.
I haven't actually died once though, except for accidentally falling to my death in Megaton.(miscalculated a jump. :o), health items are pretty plentiful.

[Gray Fox]

Fix for crashing
WhiteBarbarian opened his big mouth to say:
I am going to repeat myself here. Add fallout3.exe to the exception list in ffdshow audio & video decoder settings. Crashing should stop.

I just can't believe that no one is using it here. You may didn't install it directly, but it could have been installed among with codec pack. For example, CCCP.

By default ffdshow already have Oblivion.exe in the exception list. As Fallout 3 is being better Oblivion and uses the same engine, it is a good thing to add it to the exception list too
http://i35.tinypic.com/29458d1.png



And the same for video decoder
http://i36.tinypic.com/29cxksz.png

[Bakurei]

Just tried the game on my friends Xbox, thank god I canceled my pre-order. It really felt like Oblivion with guns, sub-HL1 animation, friggin gibbing happening all the time, VATS being the ultimate god mode. I'm just going to forget this game was ever released and be happy with Fallout 1 and 2.

[Gargantou]

It feels very much Oblivion to its core but, I'm enjoying it so much more than Oblivion.
Even though the terrible animations(gliding creatures and NPCs) can break my immersion pretty easily, I get over it and soldier on.
I haven't actually died once though, except for accidentally falling to my death in Megaton.(miscalculated a jump. :o), health items are pretty plentiful.ROTFL, exact same here, opinion-wise and death-wise, I died in Megaton after jumping from outside the pub by accident, my leg broke off, looked pretty roffle.

[TheAntipop]

How the hell does caps/trading with people work? I go to buy a drink from Gob with 200 caps, I buy a few stim backs and now I'm down to 13 caps! Albiet, I'm not sure what I'm doing, so could someone explain?

EDIT: Never mind, I get it, I'm just a little confused as to how I lost so much so easily. I'm getting it back now by getting rid of unneeded crap.

[Kyorisu]

Fix for crashing

Soon as I noticed an ffdshow tray icon whilst tabbed out of F3 I quickly added it to the blacklist.

[CrazyHarij]

I just bought the collectors edition. ****ing ace lunchbox and the pipboy wobblehead is just awesome =) Gonna play some now.

[Barnz]

It's now out in Europe.

[TheAntipop]

Man, I am in desperate need of weapons, ammo and health. Any tips? I don't think I should of gone straight towards Galaxy Radio as soon as I got the quest... or should I? It's tough opposition around there but I can't quite grasp whether the game wants me to build myself up before going there, or if it's actually a really minor quest that I should get straight into. From the looks of videos I presume that area is quite a hotspot so I'm not really sure what to do if I'm honest...

Right now I'm looking for the Family. This game really is Oblivion with Guns - even the goddamn dungeon crawling! Urgh, do not want. Everything else is alright though, I guess. I need to play some more but like I said, right now I'm really bogged down/overwhelmed with things to do, and I'm not even sure how I go about doing said things. I just need to clear the air a little and build my character up, or something.

[Mikael Grizzly]

1. Get a Hunting Rifle
2. Get a Combat Armour set
3. Sell everything except for Stimpaks, .32 ammo and the rifle.
4. Pour skill points into Small Guns

The game is ridiculously unbalanced.

[TheAntipop]

Where can I aquire armour? I can't find any good stores, though the armour in Megaton always seems to be locked.

I've gotten some pretty good shit on my travels anyway - minigun, rocket launcher, flamer. Man, the outskirts surrounding D.C. are packed with good loot, you just got to fight for it. I could of had me some neat Brotherhood armour but it turns out you need some kind of special training.

[Top Secret]

Pro tip:

Unless you're a melee character, only put one point into strength.

You might say

"But you won't be able to carry anything!"

And I say:

"With 1 str, you can carry 160 pounds at first level, not to mention ammo is free!"

Also, since they removed the str requirements from weapons, there is zero incentive to have anything else.

My current stats look something like this:

S 1
P 5
E 4
C 4
I 10
A 10
L 8

I'm running around with a missle launcher and a mini gun taking down super muties....


... with one strength.

*Edit*

Speaking of which,

why am I running around with a missile launcher and taking down super muties at level 5?

Granted, in FO2 you could acquire power armor very quickly IF YOU KNEW WHERE TO GO.

I just walked into a shop, plucked down a few hundred caps and walked out with a rocket launcher...

[Krynn72]

I haven't actually died once though, except for accidentally falling to my death in Megaton.(miscalculated a jump. :o), health items are pretty plentiful.

Yeah, the only time I have died so far was after I took this screen shot. I climbed up the broken chunk of highway right outside the vault, took the screen, went "yeah, this looks nice" and then strafed one step to the right and fell to my death. I lol'd in real life.

Looking at the screenshot though, I can definitely say its a lot more impressive when you're playing. The character looks great, but the environment kinda sucks in still images without shadows. I really, really wish they had incorporated environment shadows.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/turkeyslapper/ScreenShot2.jpg

[Shamrock]

Yeah, the only time I have died so far was after I took this screen shot. I climbed up the broken chunk of highway right outside the vault, took the screen, went "yeah, this looks nice" and then strafed one step to the right and fell to my death. I lol'd in real life.

Looking at the screenshot though, I can definitely say its a lot more impressive when you're playing. The character looks great, but the environment kinda sucks in still images without shadows. I really, really wish they had incorporated environment shadows.

*snip*

You've got to realize that the radiation has stopped the shadows from being transmitted to the ground.

:p

[Jintor]

God damnit.

This is stupid. NPCs in Megaton keep mysteriously dying, possibly from RAD damage or just from falling off walkways. Douches.

[CrazyHarij]

Okay, at level 5 and some bit into the game my impressions are as follows:

Brilliant atmosphere, the game is just huge. The environment is vast. They really nailed the setting.
One thing I don't like is that you get bad karma for stealing, which you didn't in FO2 =) I'm turning out to be quite an evil ****, maybe that's because I blew up megaton. But that just feels like a must in your first run of the game, the oopportunity to do stupid/evil/fun stuff.

Getting quite decent ammo for my weapons so enemies aren't impossible to deal with. A lot of fun options when you talk to people, and very different ways to deal with stuff, quests, including disregarding whatever you don't want to do =)

Animations are way crappy, especially during dialogue. But it works.

The VATS system works amazingly well. I just don't get tired of it, if you think you'll outgrow it, consider that when it's successful you've just owned a difficult enemy. Fun for the whole family.

FAllout setting is pretty nailed. It really feels like I'm living in the FO universe. Maybe the vault boy being all over the game is a good contributor for that haha.

Some minor bugs here and there, but nothing that really detracts from the experience. The character animations detract from the believability of every single character you interact with, to the point that I just see most people as a weapons/bottlecap/stimpak container with a pulse.

In a rough fight with a Super Mutant Behemoth right now. But my grenades and VATS took care of him. Yay!

I'd have to wait for a final conclusive opinion about what makes FO3 work or not, but right now I can just say it's a really good game. It takes combat and gameplay elements from Stalker, RPG from the earlier Fallouts, the world and gameplay of Oblivion and stirs it with a post-nuclear world, reminiscent of fallout (duh), tiberian sun, and pretty much every imagined idea you'd ever have about what it'd be like. And it's terribly believable.

EDIT: Okay from reading all the hating going on, I think we either don't play the same game, or you just had ridiculous expectations. It's a game, with a reasonable timeframe for release and compatibility. It's not really revolutionary, if you were expecting that, but it's much more fun than most games I play, and that's enough for me. Cheers

[Mirage]

Vault 112 was certainly...interesting. I hope I encounter more missions like that.

[Shamrock]

EDIT: Okay from reading all the hating going on, I think we either don't play the same game, or you just had ridiculous expectations. It's a game, with a reasonable timeframe for release and compatibility. It's not really revolutionary, if you were expecting that, but it's much more fun than most games I play, and that's enough for me. Cheers

BAM! The quote of the day right here! Good job Harij. Thank you for pointing out to these people that criticize even the most bizarre things; shoe size, The unnaturalness of NPCs breathing in and out, and the size of Moira's wiener.

:D <3 CH.

[MRG]

I'm currently only at level 2, so my impression of the game is very limited. However, I think it is safe to say, that "Bug Baseball" has never been so much fun.

Story:

Still within Vault 101.

While trying to avoid 101 Security, I was running down a corridor towards a set of stairs leading up. At the top of the stairs was a walkway overlooking an area below the Overseers round window. While running up the stairs, I heard the fluttering of wings, alerting me that enemies were near. Once I had made it to the top, before me & the only door were 2 Radroaches. Deciding to conserve ammo, since I did not know how available more would be, I equip a baseball bat & face the overgrown cousins of the lobster. Once directly in front of the them, I enter VATS & target the heads of both roaches with 2 hits each. I then press "E".

With a perfect side view cam running in slo-motion, my character swings the bat down with an overhand swing, mashing the roach into goo. As my character was doing this, I see the other roach leap up & begin his attack. Without missing a beat, the cam switches to a different view as my character pivots & swings at the second roach, the one that had leaped up. It was as if I was playing T-Ball again. My character connected squarely with the second roach, waist high, sending it flying over the railing and into the area below.

While the Radroaches of course do very limited damage, it was a rush to kill them in such a manner. I am in love with this games VATS device. I reloaded the game, to see if I could repeat the performance, but this time, neither roach jumped & so my character smacked one with the bat & stomped the other with his foot. All in glorious Slo-motion.

Apart from knowing the name & watching a couple gameplay vids awhile back, I have not been following the hype or development of this game & so everything is new to me. I had no "expectations" before playing & So I am "greatly" enjoying myself.

-MRG

[Jintor]

Some minor bugs here and there, but nothing that really detracts from the experience. The character animations detract from the believability of every single character you interact with, to the point that I just see most people as a weapons/bottlecap/stimpak container with a pulse.

---

I'd have to wait for a final conclusive opinion about what makes FO3 work or not, but right now I can just say it's a really good game. It takes combat and gameplay elements from Stalker, RPG from the earlier Fallouts, the world and gameplay of Oblivion and stirs it with a post-nuclear world, reminiscent of fallout (duh), tiberian sun, and pretty much every imagined idea you'd ever have about what it'd be like. And it's terribly believable.


What would have solved it would have been if they had taken the writing and voice-acting and character animation of VTM: Bloodlines. Can you imagine how awesome it would have been.

VATS is so wonderful, but the aim without it is so shoddy I often find myself just hiding behind stones waiting for enemies to run around corners or just jumping out and potshotting them once my AP builds up again. Of course, that's a waste of ammo, and man ammo is scarse in this game. I love how rare ammo is, it's not very often I run out of bullets for anything in a game.

[Shamrock]

What would have solved it would have been if they had taken the writing and voice-acting and character animation of VTM: Bloodlines. Can you imagine how awesome it would have been.

VATS is so wonderful, but the aim without it is so shoddy I often find myself just hiding behind stones waiting for enemies to run around corners or just jumping out and potshotting them once my AP builds up again. Of course, that's a waste of ammo, and man ammo is scarse in this game. I love how rare ammo is, it's not very often I run out of bullets for anything in a game.

The funny thing is, the aim is so easy if you are in melee, and also, the combat is even easier. If you circle strafe any, and I'm talking ANY enemy, you can just bash the hell out of them with your melee weapon. You can use VATS as well and since you are so close, it's bound to be a powerful hit, and then you just continue circle strafing.

[Krynn72]

I usually kill in the same amount of shots whether i'm using VATS or not. Seems decently balanced to me.

[Jintor]

I dunno. Anything above 30% in VATS is pretty likely to hit, iirc.

The thing I find annoying about VATs is that it doesn't calculate environmental factor blockage. Or rather, it does, but then it doesn't. For instance, I just used 4 shots in VATS to kill a ghoul, but none of them hit, because a chain-link fence was in the way.

:<

[PaoloM]

To summarize, you are saying that combat in Fallout 3 is too easy, right? I have yet to buy the game so I am carefully listening to all the comments.

[Mirage]

This damn game keeps crashing on my laptop. Also, I'm kinda losing interest in it as well. Too bad, started out fun.

[Mikael Grizzly]

The biggest problem with the setting in Fallout 3 is that it's not convincing for 2277. 2137, sure, but not 2277.

[CrazyHarij]

To summarize, you are saying that combat in Fallout 3 is too easy, right? I have yet to buy the game so I am carefully listening to all the comments.

its easier than FO2 which started out REAL difficult right off the bat. Sometimes you'll be acing super mutants with close range shotgun blasts to the face, other times you'll be in the wasteland desperately gorging down any piece of animal meat you can find just to stay alive.
Most robots and enclave troopers are difficult at my level (7). The desolate cities can be tricky, more often than not you get jumped by a band of bad guys.
But you always have creative ways to deal with most problems.

The hunting rifle is very effective in no-VATS at long distance, whereas a good grenade or combat shotgun is great in close quarters. Get the commando perk for a good VATS accuracy boost for your rifles, it's a big improvement.
The assault rifle is damn good, especially when you first find one, but it starts losing effectiveness when you meet heavily armored folks. but by then you should have plenty of grenades and the opportunity to direct the occasional rocket at 'em. It's still great against most simpler enemies like ghouls and wildlife, but you can even use the starter pistol for that, it's surprisingly long-lived.

Just like FO2 you have to rely on food and stimpacks to keep you alive, so when that starts running out on your wasteland romps, the game gets much more difficult. However, a well stocked town is just a fast-travel away, and you can return the same way if you've discovered a town or special area. Making money is usually pretty easy, stock up on conductors, batteries, anything above 30 in value, sell multiples of the weapons you already have.

My character is turning out evil as **** since I like to kill and loot travelling traders, steal anything out of vision from another character, etc. It keeps me reasonably stocked =)

A pretty big bug I found is that if you're in a marketplace with goodies visible on shelves etc, but surrounded by people who'll shoot ya if you steal them in the open, press the right thumbstick (xbox) to pick the item up, carry it out of harms way, then steal it. Still adds negative karma, so with habits like this, expect bounties on your head and some people just outright hating you (I regularly hear radio broadcasts warning about my evildoings, haha). If you raise your sneak skill you can just pickpocket people as well, but I'm focusing on lockpicking, small guns and speech right now. Try the Stealth Boy item for a temporary invisibility cloak (well, sort of) and loot away right out of people's pockets.

Another aspect which makes it feel easier is that it's more forgiving than FO2. If you get crippled or addicted to a drug like Jet or Psycho, you can visit a doctor to heal that or even heal it yourself. That was permanent in FO2. In general I guess you could say that it's made more accessible and not as much of a "hardcore" RPG. If you keep your head in check, don't do anything stupid with grenades, use the most effective weapon for the situation, heal regularly, and keep your distance to hard enemies, you can stay alive for very long periods.

Don't save on items that might be good to use when you need them (stimpack, psycho, ammo, grenades, nuka cola quantum etc), there's usually more of them just around the corner or in the enemies you kill. Buy as much ammo as you can afford.

Oh and yeah, just got the BOS power armor. Yeehaw! My afroamerican wasteland pirate is turning out to be quite the survivor.

Vault 112:
That was weird as hell. Final assignment was fun though =)
End of jefferson memorial:
Was that the president that died when daddy-o pulled the plug??? LOL

[Jintor]

Of course all the Fallout 2 goodness will eventaully be modded back in. I hope.

There's quite a few things that I was thinking would be awesome in F3 that weren't carried over, but thank god it's built on the Oblivion engine - it's a modder's delight.

I miss having readable books though. The Tech Museum was great 'cos most of the exhibits were readable.

[Bad^Hat]

Just hired it out. Finished the Vault, explored Megaton and a few outlying areas, did about 4 or 5 quests and reached level 4.

First impressions: Boring. Flat. Bland. Artificial. :|

There was one moment that caught me off guard, though (minor spoilers ahead). I met the guy in Megaton who asks you to blow the place up, and instead decided to report him to the Sheriff (I was moving towards good karma anyway, even though I went out of my way to be an asshole in the Vault). So the Sheriff goes to arrest the guy, but instead gets a few pistol rounds in the back, and bomb guy tells me to watch my back as well.

Whatever, I think, the Sheriff was an asshole anyway. I grab his sweet coat and hat right off of his still-warm corpse, as well as his house keys, to which no one in the saloon protests. The coat has good stats, so I equip it and head over to his house to see if there's anything decent to loot (who needs karma anyway?). Instead I find his now-orphaned son there, who says to me, completely out of the blue, "you may wear his badge, but you're not my father!"

Nifty. :D

[Mikael Grizzly]

The assault rifle is damn good, especially when you first find one, but it starts losing effectiveness when you meet heavily armored folks. but by then you should have plenty of grenades and the opportunity to direct the occasional rocket at 'em. It's still great against most simpler enemies like ghouls and wildlife, but you can even use the starter pistol for that, it's surprisingly long-lived.

Hahahahahaha, no.

Boost your small guns to 75 and use the Chinese assault rifle. Fun for the whole family.

The game is seriously unbalanced in this aspect - I dropped supermutants for half of the game with my .32 hunting rifle.

Another aspect which makes it feel easier is that it's more forgiving than FO2. If you get crippled or addicted to a drug like Jet or Psycho, you can visit a doctor to heal that or even heal it yourself. That was permanent in FO2.

Only Jet was a permanent addiction, the rest went away with time.

Doctor-assisted adiction removals are stupid.

End of jefferson memorial:
Was that the president that died when daddy-o pulled the plug??? LOL

...

That's the stupidest idea I've ever read regarding Fallout 3 experiences, hands down.

Pray tell, why would the President go into the wastes? That was an anonymous Enclave colonel with a cool trenchcoat I really want to have.

[Kyorisu]

I just use my Wazer Wifle in real time and standard guns in Vats.

[Jintor]

Combat. Shotgun. To the face.

Works every time, bar none. Oh, except for Murklaps. Damn those crab-people. Possibly the most annoying enemies alive.

I found a super sledge! \o/

[VirusType2]

A pretty big bug I found is that if you're in a marketplace with goodies visible on shelves etc, but surrounded by people who'll shoot ya if you steal them in the open, press the right thumbstick (xbox) to pick the item up, carry it out of harms way, then steal it.


If I remember, in Oblivion, you can repeatedly bump into stuff to knock it out of view and then steal it.

But, what took the cake was in Morrowind, you could steal 1 inexpensive item, and it would get the store owner to attack you, then just easily kill him, and everything in the store was now yours. And you just got a measly charge for petty theft. So you immediately go to the guard and pay him 1gp and your are in the clear, now you could loot the store.

Of course, you lower the amount of store owners to sell the stuff too. ;)

[Jintor]

Assault is a MAJOR CRIME!!!1!!1!

/edit Fighting back when being attacked for a minor crime constitutes assault. :D

[Dalamari]

The game is seriously unbalanced in this aspect - I dropped supermutants for half of the game with my .32 hunting rifle.


Then boost the difficulty?...

[VirusType2]

Assault is a MAJOR CRIME!!!1!!1!

/edit Fighting back when being attacked for a minor crime constitutes assault. :D

Thanks for the correction. it's been several years.

still, assault was pretty small crime compared to stealing everything in the store or 1st degree murder.

... especially when most of them had enough money in their little lock box to cover the cost of the charge by itself, not to mention all the goods you can sell. And some store owners had a couple pieces of top level armor.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Then boost the difficulty?...

Why? Problems with balance aren't fixable by the difficulty slider. Fallouts had excellent balance at all difficulty combinations and weapons progression.

While Fo3 is good and expands the world in a better way than I expected, the lack of variety in guns is annoying. I want my 14mm SIG-Sauer.

[CrazyHarij]

...

That's the stupidest idea I've ever read regarding Fallout 3 experiences, hands down.

Pray tell, why would the President go into the wastes? That was an anonymous Enclave colonel with a cool trenchcoat I really want to have.

**** you too =) I was asking because my friend was playing and I just heard this southern talking man with enclave troops and a lot of influence. Hahaha


The game is seriously unbalanced in this aspect - I dropped supermutants for half of the game with my .32 hunting rifle.

Haha, same here. It's just funny because when I was starting to play FO2, the first thing a friend say "Get rid of the hunting rifle as soon as possible".

Fallouts had excellent balance at all difficulty combinations and weapons progression.

No it hadn't. It was just real damn hard until you got enough ammo and pwer armor. It was good at throwing you that "little fish in big pond feel" because even the starter enemies were apt at killing you.

[Kyorisu]

Why? Problems with balance aren't fixable by the difficulty slider. Fallouts had excellent balance at all difficulty combinations and weapons progression.


You sir are a moron. How the hell are you able to judge what easy or normal is as an experienced player. Are you daft? It's balanced fine.

[unozero]

Why? Problems with balance aren't fixable by the difficulty slider. Fallouts had excellent balance at all difficulty combinations and weapons progression.

While Fo3 is good and expands the world in a better way than I expected, the lack of variety in guns is annoying. I want my 14mm SIG-Sauer.

if you don't like the game plz stop spamming,I agree that it's not a true fallout3 though...

[CrazyHarij]

meeting president eden:
lol he's a robot

FO2 was outbalanced at alot of points by the way. The "gifted" perk was a given unless you deliberately wanted to make the game more difficult. The "karma beacon" perk did absolutely nothing, literally. luck was pretty much useless to spend points in, in this game you need 6 for the mysterious stranger perk, damn I wish I chose that =) Intelligence is pretty useless in FO3 though, it seems, unless you're going for a tech wiz. I thought it influenced dialouges as much as it did in FO2.

[Cornerstone]

I always enjoyed the struggle you face early in the Fallout 1 & 2. It really makes you feel like the wasteland is a deadly place and takes some work to survive. Fallout 3 doesn't have that and on top of that the wasteland isn't.

I miss the days when your character could die in video games.

[Kyorisu]

Put the difficulty on very hard and start again (no swapping now you have good gear).

It really makes you feel like the wasteland is a deadly place

Makes me feel like I'm playing a game with bullshit hard enemies. Doesn't work for everyone you see.

[TheAntipop]

I always enjoyed the struggle you face early in the Fallout 1 & 2. It really makes you feel like the wasteland is a deadly place and takes some work to survive. Fallout 3 doesn't have that and on top of that the wasteland isn't.

I miss the days when your character could die in video games.

I disagree. I thought the game was very hard from the get-go. I was constantly out of ammo and health but then I was out in the cities rumbling with the Super Mutants and ammo-gobbling Centaurs. I died many a times by bandits out there.

[Reginald]

Had a really guilty moment while playing. Games have always made me feel emotions such as joy, guilt, fear etc. Quite a few of the enforced moral choices in games make me feel guilty too, such as the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion, but this is the first game that ever made me feel truly guilty due to my own action. If that makes sense.

I found an old woman selling a few things down by the river. She was anxiously awaiting the return of her grandsons who were out hunting. She was nice to me and gave me some useful information. If she could have, she'd probably have offered a cup of tea. I was seriously injured though so I... oh god... I broke into her house and stole a couple of Stimpaks. And I got a little greedy. I found some more Hunting Rifle ammo. I left her some whisky though as payment.

But as I went outside, her dead body was lying on the floor by her little table. Raiders had killed this sweet old woman. Probably because they followed me to this little house. And I could have protected her if I hadn't been so dishonest. I mourned over her body for a bit, then chased down the raider that killed her. I followed him without him knowing and he led me to an abandoned shopping mall. He went inside. I went inside.

I killed every last mother****er in that place. They paid for the death of that sweet old woman.

I did consider going back to her house and waiting for nightfall to see what her grandson's reactions would be. But I couldn't bear to face them. Best they just assume it was all down to Raiders and not me as well.


Also, anyone find this game more scary than games that are supposed to be really scary? The unpredictability. And the fact that you can hide from enemies. It's all right if you know you have to kill them, but in games where you can avoid being found, it adds to the terror.

Also, does any one else find the hacking mini-game the most confusing thing in the world? I understand it, but I'm damned if I can figure it out. Must have been locked out of about 20 terminals due to my complete inability to find the right word. My brain obviously doesn't work in that way. Any tips?

[CrazyHarij]

My character is turning into a fulltime cannibal sniper. Greatest perk ever =)

Okay, game finished. Ending was good, nothing special, but true to the atmosphere of the game. A good recap of your story, and an important decision..

Sent the bitch right in there! Haha

Want to replay and explore more asap, this run was abit of a mess.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Also, anyone find this game more scary than games that are supposed to be really scary? The unpredictability. And the fact that you can hide from enemies. It's all right if you know you have to kill them, but in games where you can avoid being found, it adds to the terror.

VATS. Sure, I was scared when I faced Supermutants with only a hunting rifle. Until I found out how fast they drop.

Also, does any one else find the hacking mini-game the most confusing thing in the world? I understand it, but I'm damned if I can figure it out. Must have been locked out of about 20 terminals due to my complete inability to find the right word. My brain obviously doesn't work in that way. Any tips?

Quicksave before hacking.

It's mastermind. Remeber, the number of correct letters refers only to CORRECTLY PLACED letters.

[Top Secret]

I find the feral ghouls a little creepy...

[Mirage]

Want to replay and explore more asap, this run was abit of a mess.

Would you say it was a Bloody Mess? Heh...heh...eh

[Mikael Grizzly]

**** you too =) I was asking because my friend was playing and I just heard this southern talking man with enclave troops and a lot of influence. Hahaha

I love you too Harr.

I loved that scene. The guy was badass.

No? *shoots the girl* Now?

Haha, same here. It's just funny because when I was starting to play FO2, the first thing a friend say "Get rid of the hunting rifle as soon as possible".

I always stuck with it. Especially in FO1.

No it hadn't. It was just real damn hard until you got enough ammo and pwer armor. It was good at throwing you that "little fish in big pond feel" because even the starter enemies were apt at killing you.

It was if you kept your wits about yourself and didn't wander off in random directions with a deathwish.

if you don't like the game plz stop spamming,I agree that it's not a true fallout3 though...

I already said I like the game.

FO2 was outbalanced at alot of points by the way. The "gifted" perk was a given unless you deliberately wanted to make the game more difficult. The "karma beacon" perk did absolutely nothing, literally. luck was pretty much useless to spend points in, in this game you need 6 for the mysterious stranger perk, damn I wish I chose that =) Intelligence is pretty useless in FO3 though, it seems, unless you're going for a tech wiz. I thought it influenced dialouges as much as it did in FO2.

What? Luck was damn important to get Sniper - critical hits galore.

Also, Gifted is not really that important - you can ignore it and focus on developing skills. That's about 260 skill points saved by not taking Gifted.

[Shamrock]

Quicksave before hacking.

It's mastermind. Remeber, the number of correct letters refers only to CORRECTLY PLACED letters.

I don't save before hacking, but I do exit it when I only have 1 try left, and I still don't know what word it is, but if you forget that you only have one attempt left, and you go about and mess it up, then you should have saved.

So my advice is to SAVE before you do it if you can't remember. I've already got it etched in my mind to exit if I'm not even close to the word.

[Jintor]

Hacking is great fun, although I don't know why it works the way it works. Put it down to timeline divergence.

[Steven]

I got it today. Let me use a Dead Space comparison: Fallout 3 is to previous Fallouts as mutated tentacle infants are to healthy human newborns. Meaning, it's malformed, but the Fallout is more or less (moar liek less) recognizable.

The gameplay is enjoyable, if basic, the FPS mechanics are really sketchy and the writing is pretty good. It's not PS:T, but it will do.

The animations are horrible, as usual in Beth's titles, the world is so condensed it's not even funny (you can see nearly the entire game world from the Vault exit), the art style is fairly consistent (but has it's stupid oddities like GIGN tactical armour in the Vault), the Vault is pretty nice.

Low res textures are horrible. As are malformed humans.

Does anyone else want to strangle Moira Brown?

Anywhoo.

As a standalone game, 7/10 - it's enjoyable, if severely unpolished.

As a Fallout spin-off, 8/10, it does capture the atmosphere and flavour (so far).

As a Fallout SEQUEL... 2/10. It simply isn't a Fallout sequel.

So 2/10 from a proper Fallout fan. I think I'll borrow it from my friend instead of buying it. Unless Fallout 3 is a step forward in making games more like an interactive and atmospheric painting, and less like light entertainment, then it really isn't a Fallout game. Being a Fallout sequel it should at least be at a Mafia (the game)/original Fallout standard in this respect.
But who knows, maybe I will find it to be up to scratch when I actually play it. :p

Maybe they'll get there some day.

[Reginald]

Does anyone have any hints? Would writing it all down work? Or is there some mental process that you can go through? I just sat in front of a terminal for about 45 minutes, constantly reloading because I failed every time through not finding the right word. I've never had this much trouble with what should be a relatively easy logic puzzle...

I dread the harder terminals.

[Jintor]

I don't really know, but trying to click words that have many similar letters is generally the safest way to go. Remember to shut down the terminal before you run out of tries. Some of the nonsense characters will highlight a whole string of nonsense characters - click them, they'll remove some of the dud words without using up a try.

[Kyorisu]

Look for opening and closing brackets on the same line (you'd know this if you read the manual) they can remove duds and replenish guesses.

e.g.

like this

<123>
{123}
[123]
(123)

not like this
[123
456]

or this
[123[
]123[

etc

Look for similar words there are usually two or more groups of them. Say there are 7 letters and you pick a word from one group of similar looking words and get 2/7, in that case ignore them all and try the other group. As you get closer to 7/7 or however many letters it's gets easier as you have fewer words with letters in the same location.

[Shamrock]

I don't really know, but trying to click words that have many similar letters is generally the safest way to go. Remember to shut down the terminal before you run out of tries. Some of the nonsense characters will highlight a whole string of nonsense characters - click them, they'll remove some of the dud words without using up a try.

Look for opening and closing brackets on the same line (you'd know this if you read the manual) they can remove duds and replenish guesses.

e.g.

<123>
{123}
[123]
(123)

not
[123
456]

WUT TUH VUCK!

Really?! This helps tenfold! Thank God for you HL2.netters. :D

[Acepilotf14]

Been playing for about 28 hours now, having a lot of fun. It's a pretty good game grizzly, you heartless bastard, just accept it. The VATS wasn't nearly as boring as you said it would be, especially with bloody mess. It just feels like it needs more quests, I already feel like I've done everything. Random encounters and little non-quest dungeons are pretty fun, though. Exploring is a whole lot funner than oblivion, and so is leveling. Screw you haters, I liked it.

I also want to strangle Moira.
I made President Eden explode himself.

[Jintor]

I don't know why people don't like her. She's awesome, if tremendously naive. BUT WE'RE WASTELANDERS, WE CAN HANDLE IT

[Acepilotf14]

I ONCE BIT A GIANT RADSCORPION TO DEATH, RAWRAWRAWRWR.
rawr.
I ARE WASTELANDER.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Been playing for about 28 hours now, having a lot of fun. It's a pretty good game grizzly, you heartless bastard, just accept it. The VATS wasn't nearly as boring as you said it would be, especially with bloody mess. It just feels like it needs more quests, I already feel like I've done everything. Random encounters and little non-quest dungeons are pretty fun, though. Exploring is a whole lot funner than oblivion, and so is leveling. Screw you haters, I liked it.

I ALREADY ****ING SAID THAT YOU GOD DAMNED SON OF A MALFORMED MOLERAT.

Do you staple opinions into your brains or what?

I also want to strangle Moira.
I made President Eden explode himself.

Oooh. I want a piece of that.

Both actually.

[Krynn72]

Hey Mikael, take more things personally plz. You realize he wasnt talking about you in specific right?

Also Mikael, lets get a final word in on this. From what you expected of the game from before release, is it better, worse, or on par with how you thought it would be.

[Top Secret]

He has already stated several times that it is better than he had thought it would be, but it is not a true Fallout successor.

Pretty similar to how I feel.

Good game.

Not good Fallout.

[Mikael Grizzly]

Hey Mikael, take more things personally plz. You realize he wasnt talking about you in specific right?

Also Mikael, lets get a final word in on this. From what you expected of the game from before release, is it better, worse, or on par with how you thought it would be.

What Top Secret said. I expected a dumbed down, hideously malformed action-RPG and got a game that's... really decent. And I mean it.

It's by no means a proper Fallout sequel, just a really good spin-off. I was also pleasantly surprised that the amount of raping Fallout lore was kept to a manageable minimum and that what the game introduces not only looks good, but also feels good.

[Shamrock]

What Top Secret said. I expected a dumbed down, hideously malformed action-RPG and got a game that's... really decent. And I mean it.

It's by no means a proper Fallout sequel, just a really good spin-off. I was also pleasantly surprised that the amount of raping Fallout lore was kept to a manageable minimum and that what the game introduces not only looks good, but also feels good.

And Grizzly Adams had a beard.

[Corp. Sheepo]

Grizzly Adams did have a beard.

[Krynn72]

What Top Secret said. I expected a dumbed down, hideously malformed action-RPG and got a game that's... really decent. And I mean it.

It's by no means a proper Fallout sequel, just a really good spin-off. I was also pleasantly surprised that the amount of raping Fallout lore was kept to a manageable minimum and that what the game introduces not only looks good, but also feels good.

Very good then. Your sig now actually represents my true feelings.

[Mikael Grizzly]

And I'm having fun.

People.

I'm having fun in Fallout 3.

[Krynn72]

Now you're just messing with us.

[CrazyHarij]

As a standalone game, 7/10 - it's enjoyable, if severely unpolished.

As a Fallout spin-off, 8/10, it does capture the atmosphere and flavour (so far).

As a Fallout SEQUEL... 2/10. It simply isn't a Fallout sequel.

I think i'm beginning to see where you're getting at. As much as I'd love to see a proper reproduction of the fallout saga, I just don't think it's going to happen.

Of course it's not the same game. But tt has the atmosphere nailed down, 50's meet postnuke couldn't have been done better design-wise. In a way I think it's done better than the original fallout, with much more of that design (and the ability to listen to Fitzgerald while you're walking through a run-down shacktown).

The original FO were largely textbased in the feedback of info and combat report etc. It's like, "You are likely to be eaten by a grue" entices the imagination but doesn't work in today's games. It has to be visual. And I can't remember any situation where the feedback I was getting from the game was unclear because of it being an FPS.
The PIP-Boy is nailed 100% hands down.
The VATS works because it brings that "wait a minute, let me assess this" of turnbased combat into an FPS. Together with cool death animations. I haven't grown tired of it.

I think the problem (even though I don't think of it as a problem), is that FO3 is attempting too many things at once. It doesn't handle FPS as well as COD4, dialogue and animation as well as mass effect, the fallout universe as well as fallout1/2.

But what stands out to me is that within all of this, the blending that happens, in between all these gameplay elements, turns into a very, very enjoyable and all-round varied game.

Most parts of the issue are bugs. They're not actually very common, sometimes they break the illusion abit, but postulating that they detract from the overall game experience and perhaps influencing people not to buy or even try it is a very large step.
FO2 was unplayable at release before the first patch.

FO3 stands against one of the biggest enemies that sequels have to deal with, tainted nostalgia. The star wars prequels aren't star wars. Half-Life 2 isn't half-life (It's a brilliant game but more a spiritual successor and adaptation into today's videogame environment than a true successor of what HL was all about).

I guess it all boils down to the consensus that FO3 is a bit rushed, a bit dumbed down for the masses and not true Fallout because it's not Black Isle, all of which I'd agree with. However, none of these keep me from enjoying the game.

If anything, it could be a great way to attract new players to the old fallout games.

[Acepilotf14]

I love you, grizz.

Oooh. I want a piece of that.

Both actually.
If you get a high science skill you can force a paradox onto him. I loved it.

[Bad^Hat]

Oh god, I actually feel sorry for Mikael right now. Has this thread somehow rendered people temporarily blind and stupid or something?

Hey Mikael, take more things personally plz. You realize he wasnt talking about you in specific right?
Um.

It's a pretty good game -->grizzly<--, you heartless bastard, just accept it.
Hmm.

I really love the attitude in this thread. One wrong word about the game and people are up in arms, "OMG STOP BEING A HATER, IT'S STILL A GOOD GAME, STOP NITPICKING, I'M ENJOYING IT THEREFORE YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID, **** YOU AND YOUR EXPECTATIONS."

But then try even mentioning the word Halo around here...

[Corp. Sheepo]

My friend is either getting this, LBP, or GH4. I seriously hope it's not this.

[Shamrock]

My friend is either getting this, LBP, or GH4. I seriously hope it's not this.

I'd get LBP. It looks amazing, and I've heard great things on other forums. Plus, it just looks fun. Then again, I can see it sucking cock if you weren't able to create anything fun.

Guitar Hero games are always fun to me so that would be a no brainer if you were unable to create in LBP.

[Kyorisu]

What Top Secret said. I expected a dumbed down, hideously malformed action-RPG and got a game that's... really decent. And I mean it.

Sigged. I never claimed it'd be a true Fallout game but I did claim it'd be good for the masses and enjoyable to some extent. Me I'm enjoying myself when I play this game, it could be better but for what it is it's quite well done. Waiting on that CS is killing me though, I hope to see a lot of work that makes the game more Falloutish. I'm already playing with the original music and a few other tweaks.

[Krynn72]

But then try even mentioning the word Halo around here...

Holy **** I love that game!!!!

[Top Secret]

Halo 1 was a great game.

The sequels just did not deliver.

[Bad^Hat]

Yes, well...




Big Rigs?

[Krynn72]

Haha that game gave me many great laughs, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Bad^Hat]

Fallout 3?

[CrazyHarij]

fallout 2 has nothing to do with the original fallout, it's an abomination

[Mikael Grizzly]

fallout 2 has nothing to do with the original fallout, it's an abomination

B&

Of course it's not the same game. But tt has the atmosphere nailed down, 50's meet postnuke couldn't have been done better design-wise. In a way I think it's done better than the original fallout, with much more of that design (and the ability to listen to Fitzgerald while you're walking through a run-down shacktown).

There a few quirks that could be tweaked and/or removed. Like exploding cars. I don't think about them and don't shoot them, and they leave me alone.

The original FO were largely textbased in the feedback of info and combat report etc. It's like, "You are likely to be eaten by a grue" entices the imagination but doesn't work in today's games. It has to be visual. And I can't remember any situation where the feedback I was getting from the game was unclear because of it being an FPS.
The PIP-Boy is nailed 100% hands down.
The VATS works because it brings that "wait a minute, let me assess this" of turnbased combat into an FPS. Together with cool death animations. I haven't grown tired of it.

My biggest gripe with VATS is how repetitive it is, and how fragile people are in Fo3. You sneeze at them the wrong way and their head flies off.

The game could really use that textual feedback, though. Lack of item descriptions is annoying and I really mean the clever descriptions of your environment. Remember clicking on rocks continuously in Fo2?

I think the problem (even though I don't think of it as a problem), is that FO3 is attempting too many things at once. It doesn't handle FPS as well as COD4, dialogue and animation as well as mass effect, the fallout universe as well as fallout1/2.

But what stands out to me is that within all of this, the blending that happens, in between all these gameplay elements, turns into a very, very enjoyable and all-round varied game.

True dat.

Most parts of the issue are bugs. They're not actually very common, sometimes they break the illusion abit, but postulating that they detract from the overall game experience and perhaps influencing people not to buy or even try it is a very large step.
FO2 was unplayable at release before the first patch.

I beg to differ. It was playable and finishable in 100%, just buggy. Compared to Buggerfall, it was a fully finished game ;)

FO3 stands against one of the biggest enemies that sequels have to deal with, tainted nostalgia. The star wars prequels aren't star wars. Half-Life 2 isn't half-life (It's a brilliant game but more a spiritual successor and adaptation into today's videogame environment than a true successor of what HL was all about).

I wholeheartedly disagree. It's not tainted nostalgia, as I repeatedly replay Fallout 1 and 2 just for fun, and it captivates me every single time, especially Fo1. Problem here is not nostalgia, but rather lack of appreciation for good old games by the modern gamer, spoiled by graphics.

I guess it all boils down to the consensus that FO3 is a bit rushed, a bit dumbed down for the masses and not true Fallout because it's not Black Isle, all of which I'd agree with. However, none of these keep me from enjoying the game.

It could use polish... I'm waiting for the construction set now.

If anything, it could be a great way to attract new players to the old fallout games.

Indeed, there was a sharp spike in Fo1/Fo2 torrent traffic lately. Plus, GoodOldGames.com is up and running and for six bucks each you can get Fallout.

Six bucks. And you get a LOT of bang for your buck, especially in Fo2 with killap's restoration patch.

[Cornerstone]

I disagree. I thought the game was very hard from the get-go. I was constantly out of ammo and health but then I was out in the cities rumbling with the Super Mutants and ammo-gobbling Centaurs. I died many a times by bandits out there.

So in another words it made the feeling of living in a wasteland difficult... Are you sure you can call yourself The Antipop... Sure Primus made a good pop song with that but you obviously missed the point.

Since when was a since of accomplishment so easy? Oh yea since every kid was raised the "me, me, me" parenthood. Thanks, you ruined most enjoyment in life. Sex comes easy, no one bothers to try hard at sports, video games require no more than a rapid click of mouse/controller, sue for anything/everything... All because you deserve everything, you're S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

[Unfocused]

And you get a LOT of bang for your buck, especially in Fo2 with killap's restoration patch.

Just googled this. Do you know why that stuff didn't make it to the original game and how did the modders come into possession of those elements?

[Kadayi]

So far so good. Although I'm on PC I'm playing this with a 360 controller, which isn't working out too badly, although the aiming is ass, though that's where the VATS pays off. Certainly agree that the game doesn't feel like a fallout game, but that in itself doesn't make it a bad game. Overall it's pretty well done, and it's keeping me from returning to Farcry 2 bizarrely which is no mean feat.

Haven't gotten quite as far as some in the game as I'm an explorer whore (must find every unopened box everywhere!!), but it's keeping me occupied. Presently doing some of the side missions atm, rather than pushing the main (just got to the DJ) fire ants...pain in the ass tbh, but it has a certain charm.

[Jintor]

Waiting for modkit waiting for modkit.

**** Rivet City, I wish I could bomb it. So cramped. So depressing.

[Cerpin]

Where can I find the Alien Blaster? Or rifle, for that matter.

[Mirage]

Could someone give me directions to Paradise Falls, have been looking all over for it and can't seem to locate it. I headed east from Germantown like someone else said, yet all I found was Scrapyard.

[Dalamari]

beat the game, 200 endings my ass, I'd say more like 20-ish

[Ren.182]

Before this came out I'd only watched a few gameplay videos and read the odd article here and there. I thought it looked pretty boring. I thought V.A.T.S. was going to get boring. I basically thought it was Oblivion with guns.

My friends got the game and were all going crazy over it. So I gave it a go and fell in love with it. I haven't played the originals but I don't feel as though I don't know whats going on. There is so much to explore its basically taken over my life the past few days.

Deffo going to be replaying this a few times.

Whats this CS you're all talking about?

[TheAntipop]

So in another words it made the feeling of living in a wasteland difficult... Are you sure you can call yourself The Antipop... Sure Primus made a good pop song with that but you obviously missed the point.



?

I'm not even sure what you're talking about now. :laugh: All I'm saying is that I found the beginning of the game very difficult, but then maybe you and I went down different paths. Me, I went straight to D.C. because the quest said I had to go in that direction - it wasn't til a few hours later that I discovered this quest wasn't quite as simple as it sounded and there I was, having already explored all of the east side of the map with a good 7 or so deaths from Super Mutants and lazaaar bandits under my belt. So umm, yes, it did come across as difficult living to me.

I don't even want to know why you're comparing Primus' song about the declining music industry to the beginning of this game. :laugh:

(Not to mention I didn't decide on this username for any other particular reason other than I used to be a big Primus fan and it just sounded... well, cool.)

[CR0M]

And I'm having fun.

People.

I'm having fun in Fallout 3.


So did you actually pay for it then like you said you would? or are you having fun for free like you said you would?

[Laivasse]

Just googled this. Do you know why that stuff didn't make it to the original game and how did the modders come into possession of those elements?I don't know anything about this patch, but I have used a walkthrough which mentions bucketloads of unfinished/unincluded content, which I got the impression was all still present (just hidden) within the game's files. Sounds like Black Isle were just beaten by a combination of deadlines + overambitiousness, and that the killap patch simply works some of that content back into the game, although I could be wrong and they may've had to create that content from the ground up.

[Krynn72]

So in another words it made the feeling of living in a wasteland difficult... Are you sure you can call yourself The Antipop... Sure Primus made a good pop song with that but you obviously missed the point.

Since when was a since of accomplishment so easy? Oh yea since every kid was raised the "me, me, me" parenthood. Thanks, you ruined most enjoyment in life. Sex comes easy, no one bothers to try hard at sports, video games require no more than a rapid click of mouse/controller, sue for anything/everything... All because you deserve everything, you're S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

This post made me laugh out loud. Thank you for posting it.

[Gray Fox]

So what should I do, where should I put points in, what should I equip.
I like to find out as much as I can about the worlds and the story,
but off course not at the expense of having a retarded hard time fighting monsters.

[Unfocused]

So did you actually pay for it then like you said you would?
or are you having fun for free like you said you would?

What? Make up your mind as to what he said.

[Pesmerga]

Unfocused, your avatar makes me hate you.

[CR0M]

What? Make up your mind as to what he said.

He said both. Which he will be well aware of, which is why I addressed the post to him and not you.

[Krynn72]

Unfocused, your avatar makes me hate you.

Finally, Pesh is coming back.

[Krynn72]

So what should I do, where should I put points in, what should I equip.
I like to find out as much as I can about the worlds and the story,
but off course not at the expense of having a retarded hard time fighting monsters.

You could just go diplomatic and then lower the difficulty slider.


EDIT: **** double post.

[CrazyHarij]

So what should I do, where should I put points in, what should I equip.
I like to find out as much as I can about the worlds and the story,
but off course not at the expense of having a retarded hard time fighting monsters.

diplosniper

[Gray Fox]

Both thnx, I got this from another forum, is this any good:

The game isn't as relentless as fallout 2 in terms of how you choose your SPECIAL and skill points. So you can really go any direction you want.
I went Endurance, Intelligence, Agility in the start and got a couple perks to raise Agility. Agility is great for small weapons and accuracy and it helps when you want to wear power armor which reduces agil by.. 2 I think?
As for skills I mostly went Lockpick, Science, and Small Guns. By level 16 I had Lockpick and Science maxed. Nothing I couldn't pick or hack and it made getting around a lot easier. I usually stole my ammo and weapons.

As for equipment, power armor is really nice if you can get a good suit. You can get a full condition power armor suit later in the game from the brotherhood if you choose a certain path. As for weapons I usually used the Lincoln Repeater which is a great magnum rifle for headshots and it comes in full condition when you find it. The combat shotgun is nice and the Chinese Assault Rifle for good, quick damage.

I also forgot to mention I want to be nice, or more precisely I don't wanna get in to situations where I
have to hurt nice people. I don't mind stealing and hacking, but if it will make honest people attack me
and force me to hurt them, I don't wanna do it.

[CrazyHarij]

I don't mind stealing and hacking, but if it will make honest people attack me
and force me to hurt them, I don't wanna do it.

I ended up with the title "capital crimelord", for which i had to blow up megaton, kill a lot of traders and slaves, wipe out the ghouls, overall alot of dark dialogue and quest options, and i stole practically everything of value that wasn't in sight of powerful folks.

It resulted in a bounty on my head (bad guys in the wild here and there), i couldn't make some characters join me, I got gifts and respect from the slavers, some bad reputation in the radio and bad comments from characters, but I could still roam free, I don't think I ever had to fight a good important character. I strolled around the brotherhood headquarters without a problem. But I never attacked markets or towns, except the slaver compound which i wiped out, including their slaves.

I once got attacked by the brotherhood for eating one of their dead (cannibalism perk), but they are unable to kill (just become unconscious) so i just reloaded. But i never arrived to gunpoint in a new place. Generally people just thought i was a dick and kept interaction at a minimum.

Some tips;
Buy: stimpacks and ammo, as much as you can get
Loot and sell: anything of no use to you, superflous weapons that have good value, valuable crap like conductors (30 a pop sells for pretty good when you have several).

Combat shotgun (kickass in close range + vats), assault rifle, hunting rifle, grenade and the occasional minigun/missile/laser kept me alive even when i was terribly outnumbered.
Go into pipboy and heal and change weapons alot.
keep tabs on your action points, take jet (rarely though because you might get addicted) or drink nuka cola quantum to replenish action points instally.
Take psycho (i got addicted) to increase your damage. real effective
Take buffout (got addicted as well) to increase health temporarily.

get lockpick to 50 to open most locks, 75 is very useful later into the game.

Quickest way to get assault rifle; when finishing up megaton to blow it up, first make sure you have a sawed off shotgun (or find one outside megaton off a trader) or similar good weapon like grenades, set up the bomb and head to tenpenny. watch out for raiders since they might be difficult for your level, you can outrun them though. When at the gates, kill the friendly ghoul trying to get in, he has an AR and isn't too difficult to kill.
Of course with this you're going to be well on your way to bad choices, blowing up a town and killing friendlies doesn't exactly make you a wasteland jesus.

[Gray Fox]

Jesus Christ, thats horrible, that's the opposite of how I want to play. But thnx anyway.
Was your name PvtRyan in game by any chance?

[Kadayi]

Heh I'm such a slow gamer compared to you guys, I'm seriously taking my time with this one. One thing that has impressed me quite a lot is the side quests are generally quite involved and have lead ons. I did the fire ant mission (which was almost an epic in itself) and that's has a lead on, and the mail delivery letter has another one. Part of me wants to get on with the main story, but another part wants to roam around some more. Decisions.....

[Mikael Grizzly]

beat the game, 200 endings my ass, I'd say more like 20-ish

...

You do realize that number is the number of possible permutations, not actual endings?

[CrazyHarij]

Jesus Christ, thats horrible, that's the opposite of how I want to play. But thnx anyway.
Was your name PvtRyan in game by any chance?

=) it was poopface or somethign like that

Heh I'm such a slow gamer compared to you guys, I'm seriously taking my time with this one. One thing that has impressed me quite a lot is the side quests are generally quite involved and have lead ons. I did the fire ant mission (which was almost an epic in itself) and that's has a lead on, and the mail delivery letter has another one. Part of me wants to get on with the main story, but another part wants to roam around some more. Decisions.....

this run i'm gonna do everything except finish the game story

[TheAntipop]

I finished the game today. Annoying, but luckily I had a save file just before the final quest is triggered so I went back to that and now I'm gonna go explore the rest of the wasteland. I feel as though I've rushed this game but I think in the end maybe that's for the best - my gut tells me I'm not enjoying this as much as I thought I would be and there are a lot of things that really bother me about it. I think I'll be trading this in for L4D when it comes out as I'm really strapped for cash.

I'll give it til then, though, and I'll see how I feel. I don't really know what I have to say about the game if I'm honest. To be fair, it's only been a weekend, so I'll comment properly in a week or so.

Verdict so far - 6/10.

[Kadayi]

I finished the game today. Annoying, but luckily I had a save file just before the final quest is triggered so I went back to that and now I'm gonna go explore the rest of the wasteland. I feel as though I've rushed this game but I think in the end maybe that's for the best - my gut tells me I'm not enjoying this as much as I thought I would be and there are a lot of things that really bother me about it. I think I'll be trading this in for L4D when it comes out as I'm really strapped for cash.

I'll give it til then, though, and I'll see how I feel. I don't really know what I have to say about the game if I'm honest. To be fair, it's only been a weekend, so I'll comment properly in a week or so.

Verdict so far - 6/10.

Jesus wept, how much speed did you take? Seriously I've been on this pretty much all weekend and I've hardly even cut the cake in terms of progress. Did you not bother with any of the side quests at all?

[DEATH eVADER]

Heh I'm such a slow gamer compared to you guys, I'm seriously taking my time with this one. One thing that has impressed me quite a lot is the side quests are generally quite involved and have lead ons. I did the fire ant mission (which was almost an epic in itself) and that's has a lead on, and the mail delivery letter has another one. Part of me wants to get on with the main story, but another part wants to roam around some more. Decisions.....


I honestly thought she just wanted me to deliver a letter, thats why I chose the quest as one the first.

Moira's quests are interesting and was the most fruitful in the early stage of the game

Annoying, but luckily I had a save file just before the final quest is triggered so I went back to that

Does the whole game end when you finish the main quest?

[TheAntipop]

Yes.

Jesus wept, how much speed did you take? Seriously I've been on this pretty much all weekend and I've hardly even cut the cake in terms of progress. Did you not bother with any of the side quests at all?

I did loads of side quests - it's just none of them were really that interesting to me and/or were very easy.

You will cut the cake in terms of progress, though, and it will be very fast. The main quest is tiny. Of the top of my head, it's like four quests long, with about two side quests thrown in to mix things up a bit.

Very lackluster stuff.

[Wanted Bob]

Decided to go for it and buy this over Fable 2.

Did the little intro, was pretty clever way of integrating everything. Just exited the Vault and the place looks HUGE, I can't wait to go exploring :D

[Mirage]

Heh I'm such a slow gamer compared to you guys, I'm seriously taking my time with this one. One thing that has impressed me quite a lot is the side quests are generally quite involved and have lead ons. I did the fire ant mission (which was almost an epic in itself) and that's has a lead on, and the mail delivery letter has another one. Part of me wants to get on with the main story, but another part wants to roam around some more. Decisions.....

I heard about that "fire ant" quest. Which town do you get it in exactly?