Fallout 3 ads and other tidbits

[Per]

gamesindustry.biz reports that not only did Fallout 3 hop to the top spot of the UK sales chart (although other news outlets have claimed that it since was pushed down by Wii Fit), but it has already outsold the four previous Fallout titles combined - yes, including console smash hit Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. There's no arguing with success now.

Boing Boing Gadgets posted a blog entry on Bethesda's supposed inability to instill their post-apocalyptic vision with humanity.<blockquote>But the reason Fallout 3 seems so different from previous Fallout games is because it is — above all else — a quintessential Bethesda game. Sure, gone is the staggeringly beautiful fantasy realm of Oblivion, replaced by a nuclear wasteland of unrelenting but wholly captivating scenic bleakness. Bethesda knows how to build a world. It's world execution is flawless. What it can't do is convey actual people as anything besides soulless, patrol-route jerk puppets.

I love Fallout 3. It's totally grabbed me. But it's Bethesda's wasteland... and, a fan of the previous games, I can't help but wish they'd called their game anything but Fallout 3.</blockquote>The chief example involves "draining the fun out of fucking a post-apocalyptic prostitute", so you can see that the Fallout franchise attracts all the sickest elements of the gaming world.

Meanwhile, at Crave, a full-page Fallout 3 ad in The New York Times is on display. If you don't live in New York, you can now see it anyway. Apparently the ratings quoted in the ad are those of OXM, IGN, Gamespy and AP. The reporter muses:<blockquote>The ad plays up a string of recent "perfect" review scores (a contentious topic we discuss on the latest episode of the Digital City podcast), but we doubt that more than a small slice of the paper's daily readers would be in the right demographic group for a full-page video game ad, especially one that quotes the Official Xbox Magazine or GameSpy.</blockquote>Speaking of ads, Printing News has an article on the Fallout 3 ad campaign.<blockquote>Even if you're not a "gamer" and don't really care about video games in general, it's hard to ignore Bethesda Softwork's Fallout 3, which hit shelves last week. The company has done an amazing job of mixing media, going for full saturation and awareness both before the launch, and after. And while you might think the campaign centered around electronic media, if you had waged a bet on that, you would be very poor right now.</blockquote>Another "review backlash" type blog entry appears at Hellforge, whatever that is, asking the question: "Are people who review video games the most easily impressed people on earth?"<blockquote>I could probably go on and nitpick it down to around an 8, but I don’t want to. It doesn’t leave me feeling the need to destroy it through tiny problems. I think I’ve highlighted the main issues for me that stop it from being the messiah that game reviewers have proclaimed it. It’s a decent game, and Bethesda have retained a lot of the atmosphere and feel of the old games while updating it for the rapidly evolving taste of modern gamers. And modern games reviewers are incredibly forgiving, it seems.</blockquote>hakunin made a little web gadget for defeating the hacking minigame in Fallout 3, one that "should get it every time". It is there for anyone who hates that minigame and would rather leave it to some thing on the internet that probably uses their data input to grow and grow in power.

Parental guide site What They Play has a piece called "Fallout 3: 7 Things Parents Should Know". We already knew the game was violent, but they also pick up on more subtle things:<blockquote>Unlike in the real world, though, curing drug addiction is rather simple in Fallout 3. Players can go to an in-game clinic at any time and pay a small fee to receive a shot that rids them of their addiction, perhaps bolstering an unrealistic view of how drugs work.</blockquote>Now you know. Thanks to Jabu.

 

[Leon]

Unlike in the real world, though, curing drug addiction is rather simple in Fallout 3. Players can go to an in-game clinic at any time and pay a small fee to receive a shot that rids them of their addiction, perhaps bolstering an unrealistic view of how drugs work.

I didn't know this. That's ass-tarded, and almost completely negates the risk of getting addicted to something in-game.

 

[aenemic]

Unlike in the real world, though, curing drug addiction is rather simple in Fallout 3. Players can go to an in-game clinic at any time and pay a small fee to receive a shot that rids them of their addiction, perhaps bolstering an unrealistic view of how drugs work.

I didn't know this. That's ass-tarded, and almost completely negates the risk of getting addicted to something in-game.

yeah, that's a very annoying part of the game. not only have they made most drugs only have positive effects (I think only alcohol and some edible items will lower stats) but if you get addicted you can simply pay up and get rid of the addiction.

effectively making drugs a way to onlu make the game even easier than it already is.

 

[Brother None]

For clarity's sale, the "outsold the previous titles" probably refers to UK sales (I'm assuming) and no Fallout ever sold well in the UK, for some inexplicable reason.

 

[aenemic]

For clarity's sale, the "outsold the previous titles" probably refers to UK sales (I'm assuming) and no Fallout ever sold well in the UK, for some inexplicable reason.

coming back to the drug issue here... that's probably because there was no ecstasy in the games and drugs were portrayed as something bad

 

[Club Heaven]

"Are people who review video games the most easily impressed people on earth?"

They're high on the list, that's for sure. Slightly above teen girls.

 

[Leon]

For clarity's sale, the "outsold the previous titles" probably refers to UK sales (I'm assuming) and no Fallout ever sold well in the UK, for some inexplicable reason.

Also, the market for video games has grown by orders of magnitude in the past decade.

 

[Flop]

Also, the market for video games has grown by orders of magnitude in the past decade.

Yeah, and the old ones were pc only.

 

[fedaykin]

Unlike in the real world, though, curing drug addiction is rather simple in Fallout 3. Players can go to an in-game clinic at any time and pay a small fee to receive a shot that rids them of their addiction, perhaps bolstering an unrealistic view of how drugs work.

I didn't know this. That's ass-tarded, and almost completely negates the risk of getting addicted to something in-game.

True. The doctor in Tenpenny charged me a whopping 50 caps. Not to mention that I was able to use mentats surprisingly often before getting addicted.

 

[TheGM]

Unlike in the real world, though, curing drug addiction is rather simple in Fallout 3. Players can go to an in-game clinic at any time and pay a small fee to receive a shot that rids them of their addiction, perhaps bolstering an unrealistic view of how drugs work.

I didn't know this. That's ass-tarded, and almost completely negates the risk of getting addicted to something in-game.

Not that bad. In FO1/2 I would just spin a circle on the world map for a couple seconds.....bam! no more adiction.

 

[aenemic]

Unlike in the real world, though, curing drug addiction is rather simple in Fallout 3. Players can go to an in-game clinic at any time and pay a small fee to receive a shot that rids them of their addiction, perhaps bolstering an unrealistic view of how drugs work.

I didn't know this. That's ass-tarded, and almost completely negates the risk of getting addicted to something in-game.

Not that bad. In FO1/2 I would just spin a circle on the world map for a couple seconds.....bam! no more adiction.

true, but time passed and you ran the chance of having a hostile encounter while having withdrawals.

 

[Leon]

Not that bad. In FO1/2 I would just spin a circle on the world map for a couple seconds.....bam! no more adiction.

Can't do that with Jet, though. Which leads me to a question: Can you throw a handful of caps at a doctor and get rid of your Jet addiction in FO3?

true, but time passed and you ran the chance of having a hostile encounter while having withdrawals.

That too.

 

[Jabu]

Not that bad. In FO1/2 I would just spin a circle on the world map for a couple seconds.....bam! no more adiction.

Can't do that with Jet, though. Which leads me to a question: Can you throw a handful of caps at a doctor and get rid of your Jet addiction in FO3?

Which leads me to a question: How prevalant is Jet in Fallout 3? Is it little more than an optional "buff"? And is its miraculous continued survival explained?


EDIT:

For clarity's sale, the "outsold the previous titles" probably refers to UK sales (I'm assuming) and no Fallout ever sold well in the UK, for some inexplicable reason.

Have you got any solid figures? I seem to remember hearing it was around a million copies, the two, over their entire lifetime.

 

[Fynn]

With the My First Infirmary and science lab addon (can't remember its name) for the house in Megaton, it's even easier. You can cure addictions, eliminate radiation and completely cure your HP and limbs for free. And they have unlimited uses. Just pop to the overworld and fast-travel to Megaton. No need for doctors anymore.

Jet is pretty commonplace, but it's basically treated as a normal drug in the game. Replenishes 25 AP or something like that. There aren't really any taboo or hard-to-get drugs, unless you count Ultrajet I guess.

 

[Claw]

yeah, that's a very annoying part of the game. not only have they made most drugs only have positive effects (I think only alcohol and some edible items will lower stats) but if you get addicted you can simply pay up and get rid of the addiction.

Sleeping off crippled limbs is even worse. It's almost harder to not cure a crippled limb than to do so.


Also, ThePinkBurns has my sympathy. "You cad! How can you rate Fallout 3 lower than a 9? The game is Fun! Fuuuuuun!"

 

[Matt K]

"Are people who review video games the most easily impressed people on earth?"

They're high on the list, that's for sure. Slightly above teen girls.

I would say they are to a certain extent but at the same time reviewers now a days seem to have no idea how to actually review a game. I've been considering getting a DS and so I've been looking into game reviews and I have to say most of the sites and reviews I've read have been pretty bad. I'm not talking scores either.

Reviewers seem to have no clue how to break down a game's pros and cons (and since this is the DS, how portable the game is). I either get a I love these games so get it or I hate these games so don't. These reviewers seem to have lost all objectivity. I'm sure it can be difficult to objectively review a game. However they are getting paid to do this so (at least the "professional sites like IGN, 1UP, Gamespot, etc) they should have competent reviews of games.

Sorry to rant, but after looking at reviews for other games it really hit me how widespread this problem is.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

OMFG, the "things parents should know" article is ridiculous. For f**k's sake, if the parents have their 10-y-o kids play games with M rating on them, then an article wouldn't help them anyway. Any more of these, and tha gaming market will be targeted to hippies and angry mothers. Pfft.

 

[PhillyT]

On the drug thing someone beat me too it, but addiction wasn't that hard to deal with in Fallout really. Just waiting a while would make it go away.

I use Buffout alot, and seem to get addicted every third time...

Jet is pretty common, and since it is n the wrong coast, I thought that was interesting. Must have made quite a journey. Still, there is always Superjet!

Phil

 

[Ausdoerrt]

On the drug thing someone beat me too it, but addiction wasn't that hard to deal with in Fallout really. Just waiting a while would make it go away.

It takes quite some time though, and if you're in FO1 it matters. Also, the game would stop your rest to notify you you're feeling bad/throwing up etc. Nothing like that in FO3 that I know of. Plus, the drugs seem to be less addictive too.

 

[PhillyT]

They may be less addictive, but that still avoids the biggest issue with them.

They just aren't that great. Buffout at least lets you carry more loot, but mentats don't really do much since the dialogue options aren't as interesting. Psycho and med-x do help in a scra though.

I think they are pretty addictive, especially alcohol, shich I became addicted too after a single beer. If my wife knew it was tat bad, she wouldn't let me drink a thing!

Phil