Fallout 3 Review: Official Xbox Magazine

[aenemic]

at this point I can definitely understand people having seen and heard all they need to pass judgement. but there still is a huge difference between only looking at videos/reading information and actually playing the game yourself. who knows, there might be parts of the game you will absolutely love that you had no idea was even there. not very likely with this game. but personally I will still have to play it myself to give final verdict.

I agree with you, but it also doesn't look all that compelling to play anymore and even give it that chance. I mean it doesn't exist in a vacuum and there are other things to do rather than drop 60$ on anything on the off chance it doesn't suck as much as you thought it would. There's not enough reason really to give it a final verdict.

Hell I never played the Witcher, but it's refered to enough might be a good pick-up now. Or given my support of Bioware I might pick up Jade Empire, which I skipped cause I wasn't a big fan of fighting games either, not my thing, but neither are shooters and I liked Mass Effect.

It seems more logical to pin my entertainment needs on a winner rather than an expected loser. I mean it's largely an individual thing and moot in general, I just think the general response of 'Give it a Chance' are largely pointless and false. I mean 'Why?' is a good response in return, you don't think I have anything else I could possibly do instead?

hell, you're spot on. I'm simply saying I'm going to give it a try before completely dismissing it. by now I understand if others do that without playing it, and I'm not gonna give anyone a hard time for that. I would a couple of months back, but not after recent information about the game. and their ever so disgusting pr machine.

I just wanted to point out that there's is indeed a difference between playing a game yourself and only looking at screens/vids/reviews. I can't name one single game where I felt like "this is exactly what I thought it'd be" after checking up on it before playing.

 

[K.C. Cool]

Ya know, I'd like to play to see if it's any good, however, thus far I've only heard band news on top of bad news, not to mention the plot deviations will make my experience poor. So I have no reason to spend $50 on something I keep hearing bad news about just to take a gamble to see if I like it. So I'll probably never get it. (Oblivion had a steady $50 price tag even after a few years of its release, so I can forget getting it in a bargain bin any time soon, or, if I even want to buy it.)

It's strange, it's like a car salesman is telling me that a certain car is the best car ever and I say "It looks like shit compared to the last model and everyone I know thinks the same." And he says "Well, you won't know until you drive it!" and the dude from underneath his desk pops out, wipes his mouth, and pipes in "Yeah! I like it! You can't tell unless you drive it!" So then I'm like "OK" and pay him the price of the car and get it outside the lot. Oh, wait, it drives like shit.

Bethesda Auto won't even allow test drives, whadda load of bull.

 

[quasimodo]

An FPS style game from the makers of Oblivion seems a pretty unlikely candidate for "Fallout Sequel", and I have seen very little evidence of anything "Fallouty" outside of the evironmental art.

I won't write it off completely, however, until I read some reviews and discussions by fans who have actually played the game here or on the Codex.

I have no faith in any review by mainstream gaming journalists.

 

[Tycn]

Fallout 3 will be a good game, it just won't be like Fallout 1 and 2, which sucks but I have come to accept that.

I disagree.

Fallout 3 will be an enjoyable game if you are a fan of Oblivion. Not all of us fit into that demographic.

Once again, I think everyone should actually PLAY the game before they dump on it. No, looking at gameplay videos is not the same as playing, no matter how you put it. I am very excited about this game, yet I wouldn't go as far to GUARANTEE that it will be awesome. Just give the game a chance, please?

Ah, that's a brilliant idea. Now we'll all head down to the store to buy a product just so we can determine whether it was worth buying. And kikomiko gets his nice, shiny paycheck courtesy of Bethesda.

 

[Iozeph]

Once again, I think everyone should actually PLAY the game before they dump on it. No, looking at gameplay videos is not the same as playing, no matter how you put it. I am very excited about this game, yet I wouldn't go as far to GUARANTEE that it will be awesome. Just give the game a chance, please?

No. Wanna know why? Because about 5 or so years ago the few remaining holdouts in the game selling business stopped giving a generous return policy.

Why? Because I was supposed to be able to gauge whether or not a title was "for me" by reading reviews from the what?...what? ... THE GAMING PRESS. Almost to a man, those crooked, pandering, bought-off sons of bitches have let us down.

Now, when I deign to spend 50-60 of my dollars on one of these "AAA" titles, I had better be goddamned good and sure that I am fine with it because, otherwise, I might as well withdraw that money and burn it on the spot. The modern-day generous return policy is:

"Don't break the tape on the pretty box or you won't be able to return it. As long as you don't open it we'll take it back."

/sighs

Then I turn around and have people telling me that I need to make an "informed" opinion on a title that I can't even try before returning it?

What?

WHAT!?

Does anyone see the dichotomy here?

And even if you do see it... don't you even DARE complain about it, because no sooner will the words have left your lips, then you'll be attacked by their trained cadre of jackasses, whose soul purpose in life is nothing more than to utter inanities like,

"What? Are you a child? It's only 60 dollars. That's pocket change these days."

Oh really?

Well, believe me when I say, fuck you and your seemingly endless supplies of money. I can't remember a day when 60 dollars was ever pocket change. If 60 dollars is so negligible then, by all means, give me your money. I know what you're thinking... it may be tough. I may buckle under the strain of such a responsibility. Be not afraid.

No.... No. It's quite alright... I believe I'll be up to the "challenge". Somehow, with a bit of luck, and determination, I think I'll manage to carry on.



/sighs...



God, I hate these people.

 

[raleigh_565656]

I usually dont rely on any game review unless its from game spot. Yes I know even they are often times wayyyyy off on their review scores. I honestly cant believe a 10/10..... I am a 100% die hard fallout 1 and 2 fan, but by no means would I give either a 10/10. A perfect score should be reserved for a perfect/near-perfect game. Which FO3 is not.

"What? Are you a child? It's only 60 dollars. That's pocket change these days."

Wow I must be wayyyyy poor because pocket change for me is usually like $3.

 

[Wooz]

Just give the game a chance, please?

*Casts Spell: Summon Roshambo*

 

[UncannyGarlic]

I am very excited about this game, yet I wouldn't go as far to GUARANTEE that it will be awesome. Just give the game a chance, please?

Haven't you refused to watch any of the footage from the pirated game? If so, how they hell can you honestly think that you have a more informed opinion about the game than those who have watched footage and do know the story? There are folks 'round here who, until they saw the footage, were excited about the game, thought it would be a good game but fail as a Fallout sequel, and who just wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt who have canceled their preorders or changed their tune to simply trying the game before making any final decision and who aren't optimistic about it anymore. Case and point is aenemic but if you read through the threads you'll see many others.

If these people have had their confidence shaken then think of the impact on those of us who were critical and/or doubtful up until that footage. Honestly the only people I still see praising it are those who think that Oblivion is a great RPG, it seems like everyone who enjoyed Oblivion but had their reservations or more negative are not pleased with what they see. Since I first read about Bethesda buying the rights to Fallout I said that people who enjoyed Oblivion are going to be the folks that enjoy Fallout 3 and thus far I have yet to be proved wrong. Fallout 3 doesn't look bad overall (it certainly lacks in many areas), it looks average (5/10). Some people enjoy average and sometimes a game just hits something that makes it really fun but it does neither for me and I no longer waste my time (as it isn't fun) on average games.

On topic, is this truly a surprise to anyone? OXM isn't going to give Fallout 3 less than a 10 with the coverage it's given it thus far and it's understandable (not reasonable or "right") that this particular magazine would do it.

 

[Jacen]

10/10 scores are stupid by definition...

No game is worth a 10, since there is always room for improvement...

 

[aenemic]

10/10 scores are stupid by definition...

No game is worth a 10, since there is always room for improvement...

I don't necessarily agree with you there. sure, 10/10 is handed out a bit too easily these days. but a fair and intelligent reviewer should judge the game partly based on how it stands against other current titles. so I think a game could very well be a 10/10 for its time. but with time expectations and quality changes. unfortunatley it seems like it's only been going downwards lately.

 

[Per]

10/10 scores are stupid by definition...

No game is worth a 10, since there is always room for improvement...

Just pretend the scale goes to 11 and that 11 is the unawardable score reserved for "no room for improvement".

 

[Sicblades]

Free game with each lunch-box!

Hell yes, I am bringing my lunch box to work everyday and putting the bobblehead on my desk. I'll get to the game eventually...

And to the person that was thinking of getting Jade Empire... if my opinion means anything at all, save the money and put it towards your own lunch box.

 

[lewis]

10/10 im not surprised, halo got a 10 everywere and sucks (in my opinion) spore got 10 in a lot of places and its a piece of crap, looks like there remplacing journalist with HDR kids (kids that ahev seen bloom, high dynamic light, and big explotions).

 

[Moving Target]

My attitude is that everyone here is hating on a game they haven't played just because it doesn't resemble the archaic, yet very well made, Fallout 1 and 2. That brings a little resentment from me admittedly.

If this is not the case with the community, please explain in detail why there is so much negativity related to Fallout 3.

Oh my, where to begin:

-Copy/pasted damage on buildings (this was covered months ago).
-VATS slo-mo probably can't be turned off (not confirmed, yet, but it seems that way)
-Ghouls look like zombies, and can move fast now. No longer are they greenish flaky-skinned slow movers.
-Super mutants do NOT look like F1,2 or even Tactics SMs. They look like orcs.
-ALL the menus are in the Pipboy, which has a tiny, tiny interface. On my computer, and at work, I had a really hard time making out the words during the E3 demos.
-The radio. The biggest problem here is that there are quite a few different stations. I'll repeat: there are several stations. In the wastes. Broadcasting with power that would be better used elsewhere, to people who probably could have more fun with it if the DJ was doing exactly the same thing during a community gathering.
-The Fatman. I refuse to explain this, it'll give me a stroke or something.
-Various arms skills now influence damage, not accuracy.
-In the OFFICIAL videos, there are no animations for when the targets get shot. Like when a BoS soldier was shooting a supermutant, with a gatling gun, and the SM was just getting pushed back, nothing else.
-The textures are very low-grade. Even in the official videos (I haven't bothered to look up the pirated vids; don't need to, considering how well other posters have covered it in other threads) they look dated and very ugly.
-Enemy AI is laughable. And before you even start: Yes the NPC AI wasn't so good in the first two games. But it was being improved, and that's truly a good excuse for saying "Technical limitations of the time!" On top of that, Bethsoft's had almost THREE YEARS to improve the AI. And it seems they haven't.
-The world is very dense and tiny compared to the first two games; the sense of space and relative isolation is gone.
-Exploding cars. Another stroke-inducing design decision.
-Playing house: If you blow up Megaton, you get a room Tenpenny Towers (which is okay- though the fact that the tower itself is there is not). If you don't blow up Megaton, they give you a house. With a robot butler. And a tool bench. And a Nuke-Cola machine. And lots of furniture and stuff. Aaaand... you're... um... searching for your father still... uh... I think.... Out the window goes the whole "Wandering the wastes without a home base" idea that was a BIG part of the first two games.
-So many of the old factions are back, somehow transported across the continent. Yes this point's been discussed to death, then resurrected and discussed to death again. Yes, it *can* happen that the Brotherhood could have made it across the continent. And it actually makes more sense that the Enclave is there already. But: it's indicative of lazy design decision when you do something like that, moving all the same factions from one place to another.

There are so many other things, but these were just off the top of my head. So: What I want to know is, what aspects of the game that you've seen so far do you like?

 

[Billionfold]

My attitude is that everyone here is hating on a game they haven't played just because it doesn't resemble the archaic, yet very well made, Fallout 1 and 2. That brings a little resentment from me admittedly.

If this is not the case with the community, please explain in detail why there is so much negativity related to Fallout 3.

Oh my, where to begin:

-Copy/pasted damage on buildings (this was covered months ago).
-VATS slo-mo probably can't be turned off (not confirmed, yet, but it seems that way)
-Ghouls look like zombies, and can move fast now. No longer are they greenish flaky-skinned slow movers.
-Super mutants do NOT look like F1,2 or even Tactics SMs. They look like orcs.
-ALL the menus are in the Pipboy, which has a tiny, tiny interface. On my computer, and at work, I had a really hard time making out the words during the E3 demos.
-The radio. The biggest problem here is that there are quite a few different stations. I'll repeat: there are several stations. In the wastes. Broadcasting with power that would be better used elsewhere, to people who probably could have more fun with it if the DJ was doing exactly the same thing during a community gathering.
-The Fatman. I refuse to explain this, it'll give me a stroke or something.
-Various arms skills now influence damage, not accuracy.
-In the OFFICIAL videos, there are no animations for when the targets get shot. Like when a BoS soldier was shooting a supermutant, with a gatling gun, and the SM was just getting pushed back, nothing else.
-The textures are very low-grade. Even in the official videos (I haven't bothered to look up the pirated vids; don't need to, considering how well other posters have covered it in other threads) they look dated and very ugly.
-Enemy AI is laughable. And before you even start: Yes the NPC AI wasn't so good in the first two games. But it was being improved, and that's truly a good excuse for saying "Technical limitations of the time!" On top of that, Bethsoft's had almost THREE YEARS to improve the AI. And it seems they haven't.
-The world is very dense and tiny compared to the first two games; the sense of space and relative isolation is gone.
-Exploding cars. Another stroke-inducing design decision.
-Playing house: If you blow up Megaton, you get a room Tenpenny Towers (which is okay- though the fact that the tower itself is there is not). If you don't blow up Megaton, they give you a house. With a robot butler. And a tool bench. And a Nuke-Cola machine. And lots of furniture and stuff. Aaaand... you're... um... searching for your father still... uh... I think.... Out the window goes the whole "Wandering the wastes without a home base" idea that was a BIG part of the first two games.
-So many of the old factions are back, somehow transported across the continent. Yes this point's been discussed to death, then resurrected and discussed to death again. Yes, it *can* happen that the Brotherhood could have made it across the continent. And it actually makes more sense that the Enclave is there already. But: it's indicative of lazy design decision when you do something like that, moving all the same factions from one place to another.

There are so many other things, but these were just off the top of my head. So: What I want to know is, what aspects of the game that you've seen so far do you like?

Everything you listed, you have major problems with?

Those are the factors that are deciding whether or not you play Fallout 3? There's no use discussing my likes or dislikes with you then.

 

[Pope Viper]

Oh come on, if it were just a few items, it wouldn't be a problem, but that's a pretty decent list of observations.


So, you expect the negativity to be proven, yet you can't demonstrate why you're looking forward to it?

Put up or shut up, eh?

 

[Moving Target]

Everything you listed, you have major problems with?

Those are the factors that are deciding whether or not you play Fallout 3? There's no use discussing my likes or dislikes with you then.

*sigh*

What I want to know is, what aspects of the game that you've seen so far do you like?

Nice try on the redirect. As Pope Viper said, put up or shut up.

 

[Ureshi]

Everything you listed, you have major problems with?

Those are the factors that are deciding whether or not you play Fallout 3? There's no use discussing my likes or dislikes with you then.

sorry but.... WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

"All that" is good for you??

 

[Texas Renegade]

I'll try. I want to play the game because there are other aspects about the game that interest me and do excite me. From the limited footage I saw, I think the vault and the escape from the vault look to be fairly well done.

The animations don't bother me. The limited dialogue trees that I have seen seem decent, voice acting isn't a biggie to me, I actually am fairly interested in VATS, but will not use BM.

The game isn't going to be perfect, but no game I have ever played is. Even the originals for all of their open endedness had several of obvious problems and obvious potential solutions that were never available in the game.

Will it be a lower quality game then the originals-definitely.

Will it be better then 90% of what is out there and worth my money compared to other games I have to chose from-definitely

Do I think I will enjoy it to the point that I feel it will be a good investment of $60-highly likely.

There ya go. It doesn't prove anything though, to quote my retired football coach: "Opinions are like @$$holes, everybody has one and they all stink."

 

[Black]

Everything you listed, you have major problems with?

Wow, and earlier you said that you've come here to discuss Fallout 3. Maybe so, but it seems like this whole "discussion" thing is too hard for you.
Why don't we have a goddamn ignore list here on NMA? FO3 is about to hit the stores, I'd say it's about damned time to get one. We will get more people here who "want to discuss the game, lol nothing you posted is a srs problim"