Fallout 3 - First impressions and review thus far

Well, I've had my eye on Fallout 3 for a couple months now... Made by Bethesda, makers of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Fallout 3 just looked awesome. I saw some gameplay footage, though, and it looked to be combat more like Knights of the Old Republic, and I just wasn't in the mood for that sort of combat... (Playing it, I've learned that it's not what I thought it was).

So I picked up Far Cry 2 instead, because I just thought it had more to offer.... Well Far Cry 2 was a disappointment in the "gore" department, because there were no bullet wounds or anything of that nature (no limbs being blown off of people, etc...)... Decent game and fun experience, but eventually got boring. Then I picked up Grand Theft Auto 4, which I am still working on beating, and I'm having a blast (both literally and figuratively ha) with the game... But last night I went to Best Buy and decided to go get Fallout 3. I've heard good things about it, and I'm finally back in the RPG/FPS mood again.

Most people generalize this game as "Oblivion with Guns set after the apocalypse," which is a fair generalization... I even recognize some of the old voice actors from Oblivion making appearances as characters in the Fallout world, which is sort of odd, hearing an old guy in Washington D.C. speaking with the same voice as the Guard from medieval Anvil

First impressions... I've been playing this game for about 4-6 hours now, and first impressions are a hell of a lot better than any of the abovementioned games. The game does not have a long, annoying set of videos you are forced to watch each time the game starts... The graphics can be set on HIGH and there are no performance issues. The game runs smooth and actually feels like they TESTED it before they launched it. Graphics are very good, as are sounds. The controls are smooth and feel right. Some games, you have to screw around with the mouse sensitivity for an hour before it feels right, where this game just gets it right out of the box.

Gameplay... I must say, this is the first time I was there at the birth of my character... The game starts off right after being born from your mother, and your dad is a doctor delivering you. everything is in first person, and you don't actually see anything "nasty" in that scene, so no worries there! He starts talking to you and this is where you enter your character's name, and some basic character info. The game progresses by a series of instances where it fast forwards to parts of your life where you add in more character data as you play. First scene is you at 1 year old walking for the first time, where you pick out personality and traits... Then later it goes to your 10th birthday where you interact with several characters you are growing up with... Then 16 for your occupational job testing, and finally 19 when the game picks up as where you will continue to play out.

Your character lives in Vault 101. People who are born in the vault, die in the vault. No one ever enters or leaves. You were born there, and you will die there.... Well if that were true, this game would be awfully short, eh? hehe. So without spoiling the sequence of events, you get to leave the vault, into the wastelands that are post-apocalyptic Washington D.C.

Seeing the world for the first time is breathtaking. The game developers were strategic in putting the entrance to vault 101 up on a hill so when you leave, you get a grand look at the landscape and ruins below. My computer didn't even flinch, the FPS was high and there was no lag. Thank you Bethesda for actually OPTIMIZING your game!! It's sad how GTA 4 couldn't have done this, as it would have made it just that much better.

Moving around, your only objective is to head to a town to learn about where your dad went, who apparently left the vault right before you. Here you will feel like you are back in Oblivion, as character interaction and side-quests develop almost as soon as you enter a "town" which is just a crater in the ground with makeshift houses made from old decommissioned airplanes. Voice acting is all very well done.

The "Karma" system is somewhat ... I don't know. It reminds me of light side, dark side points you get from Knights of the Old Republic, but it's not just the way you talk to people and the choices you make, it comes down to taking karma away if you steal something or hack a computer instead of doing a side quest... Every choice you make has consequences... Now I usually always start out with the "nice guy" character, going for good points... So when I hacked a computer to find out info from a "tavern" owner, instead of completing one of his stupid quests, I lost karma points... Not a lot, but the idea just irked me because the guy was basically blackmailing me and being a ****.

I guess the ending you get depends on your karma and other end-game choices... So it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I hear the game itself is much better than actually getting to the ending, so I will have to keep you updated as to if the ending is worth playing the game... I hate it when you get a kickass game, that gets ruined by a crappy ending... Sort of puts a damper on the whole thing.

Overall a good game experience, so if you liked Oblivion you will have a good feeling as to what to expect.

 

 

 

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Well, I just finished the main quest for Fallout 3. It was quite a ride, though most people are disappointed in the ending(s). Yes there are technically more than 1, though they're not as epic as the game itself.

First off, I would definitely recommend downloading the mod that allows you to play after you beat the main quest. The game is still rather new, so there are a lot of mods I'm sure that will be coming out, but that's why I love PC gaming, is because we can mod our games (most of the time) alas the consoles cannot

The nice thing about this game is that each character you meet is different, and have different voices for them, unlike oblivion where you would have 1 voice per every female in an entire species, and 1 voice actor to play every male voice in that species... Every character feels unique, and when you bump into someone later, you usually remember them, which is incredible considering how large this game world is.

It's easy to be the good guy or villian in this game. I opted for good guy on my first playthrough... The problem, though, is that the game is so large, I don't know if I'll want to start all over again to play as an asshat I beat the main story, which would have ended the game, but thanks to that mod, I can keep exploring, because I haven't even covered 1/4 of all the spots that are available in this world. Thankfully, later in the game, you have the option when leveling up to unlock all the locations on your map, so it is easier to know what you are looking for.

There are dungeons, and other Vaults that you can explore in the Capital Wasteland, and though they are dark and creepy, they just aren't as scary as, say, STALKER's "Labs" or even Thief 3's Cradle.

The enemies tend to get a bit repetitive. There are a variety of wildlife enemies and raiders, but they tend to get boring once you reach higher levels... As you play, you'll face tougher enemies, but I don't think the game "levels" as you do... Like Oblivion did... I think it's just the harder enemies are farther away from where you start, so naturally the further you get, the harder they are, but you could realistically fight a "boss-like" monster right out of the Vault.

Overall, great game. Probably the best I've bought next to GTA 4, (which I actually stopped playing when I bought this).

I'll probably play with it for a while longer till I get bored, and pick up GTA4 again to beat its story mode. Out of all the games I got in 2008, those two have to be the only two I don't regret purchasing, because I got enough gameplay hours out of them that they paid for themselves, versus the others I got that left me feeling empty after finishing them :\

Get the game, download the mods. Here's a start for you:

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=586 ----Freeplay after you beat the main quest.

 

 

 

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Nice double post lol, my laptop crashed when I tried it

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the more I read about fallout the more I want to play, I mite just have to buy it for my new 360

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Fallout 3 is amazing. I have clocked in like 70 hours in that game

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