Well what can be said about a game ten years in the waiting.
Preconceptions aside, Today I bought this game, and over the last 5hours have given it my undivided attention.
And the best way to express the plethora of my emotions and comments would be to approach this systematically.
The Graphics
Technically it is poor and obsolete by todays standards. Somwhere around Half -Life circa. The water effects are stale, the colors are plain, and the motion capture is rigid. Forget shadow and lighting effects... its amazing how lifeless outdated graphics look in a 3d first person shooter. I am a seasoned veteran of games like Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Half life 2... etc. and Fallout 3 is a complete generation behind.
The Performance
It was never suppose to be an issue for an RPG like this. It wasnt important... but Bethesda have brought this on themselves... introducing us to a First Person Shooter perspective. because now, the performance is a major barrier to its immersion.
Simply put, this is a choppy performing shooter. Its DISASTROUS in many ways. The animation is unresponsive, clunky, awkward, and rigid. Like bricks and sticks compared to the fluidity and motion of better games of the same genre.
The storyline
Laboriously elementary for the first half of the vault experience. Sometimes I felt like I was playing a Half Life mod. The introduction is painfully slow and suprisigly boring and uneventful. It improves towards the latter stages, and only here do I start to feel like this game was coming to life. All of a sudden it occurred to me that my actions have an impending consequence. There are moral decisions to be made up until your departure from the vault. This was truly starting to feel like a "choose your own destiny". Much more consequentail than Deus Ex or even previous fallout versions.
And upon leaving the vault and looking out onto the vast landscape it becomes ever apparent as to the exansiveness of this experience to come.
The Art
The art concept has changed. For better or worse, the transition of 2d photo to 3d polygons has changed the feel. In a way this game looks alot more like Half Life with a bunch of Fallout boy stickers to remind you of the franchise. Of course, thats an exaggeration but thats really how it feels as I explored the world. The scenery is dark, grim and gritty. I havent seen much of the same dark humor or the cartoonish undertone that forged the cult status of Fallout 1 and 2. The death animations are not the same for sure, in fact, its ridiculous to witness beheadings with a 10mm pistol. Fun for some people, mostly pathetic for others. It looks trash.
Polygons just dont do it for me. And especially outdated and poorly performing polygons as I described before.
The Gameplay
The gameplay is different. Whilst the Vast system saves this game from a shitty point and shoot game. AND I MEAN SHIT. The pinnacle of the Vast system is ultimately undermined by the freestyle point and shoot option. Action Points and the role playing nature is somewhat lost. And in turn this watered down free playing option trickles down to effect all role playing mechanics in place. i.e. Perks, Stats, SPECIAL....(what happened to Traits?)
As a point and shoot this game is shitty, in a poorly coded amateur way.
OVERALL
Of course from the summation of what I have said, one would conclude that this game is a total flop. But ........
in some remarkable way, I am still excited to play this tomorrow night. This game is nothing like FALLOUT. And in the last 5 hous I have slowly come to accept this. Once I got over the fact I will not see a proper sequel, I began to enjoy this game as a separate entity.
Its still a fun game for new reasons. Just non of the reasons that I had been waiting for... for the last 10 years. SO yes it fails. but no its not a flop.
Preconceptions aside, Today I bought this game, and over the last 5hours have given it my undivided attention.
And the best way to express the plethora of my emotions and comments would be to approach this systematically.
The Graphics
Technically it is poor and obsolete by todays standards. Somwhere around Half -Life circa. The water effects are stale, the colors are plain, and the motion capture is rigid. Forget shadow and lighting effects... its amazing how lifeless outdated graphics look in a 3d first person shooter. I am a seasoned veteran of games like Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Half life 2... etc. and Fallout 3 is a complete generation behind.
The Performance
It was never suppose to be an issue for an RPG like this. It wasnt important... but Bethesda have brought this on themselves... introducing us to a First Person Shooter perspective. because now, the performance is a major barrier to its immersion.
Simply put, this is a choppy performing shooter. Its DISASTROUS in many ways. The animation is unresponsive, clunky, awkward, and rigid. Like bricks and sticks compared to the fluidity and motion of better games of the same genre.
The storyline
Laboriously elementary for the first half of the vault experience. Sometimes I felt like I was playing a Half Life mod. The introduction is painfully slow and suprisigly boring and uneventful. It improves towards the latter stages, and only here do I start to feel like this game was coming to life. All of a sudden it occurred to me that my actions have an impending consequence. There are moral decisions to be made up until your departure from the vault. This was truly starting to feel like a "choose your own destiny". Much more consequentail than Deus Ex or even previous fallout versions.
And upon leaving the vault and looking out onto the vast landscape it becomes ever apparent as to the exansiveness of this experience to come.
The Art
The art concept has changed. For better or worse, the transition of 2d photo to 3d polygons has changed the feel. In a way this game looks alot more like Half Life with a bunch of Fallout boy stickers to remind you of the franchise. Of course, thats an exaggeration but thats really how it feels as I explored the world. The scenery is dark, grim and gritty. I havent seen much of the same dark humor or the cartoonish undertone that forged the cult status of Fallout 1 and 2. The death animations are not the same for sure, in fact, its ridiculous to witness beheadings with a 10mm pistol. Fun for some people, mostly pathetic for others. It looks trash.
Polygons just dont do it for me. And especially outdated and poorly performing polygons as I described before.
The Gameplay
The gameplay is different. Whilst the Vast system saves this game from a shitty point and shoot game. AND I MEAN SHIT. The pinnacle of the Vast system is ultimately undermined by the freestyle point and shoot option. Action Points and the role playing nature is somewhat lost. And in turn this watered down free playing option trickles down to effect all role playing mechanics in place. i.e. Perks, Stats, SPECIAL....(what happened to Traits?)
As a point and shoot this game is shitty, in a poorly coded amateur way.
OVERALL
Of course from the summation of what I have said, one would conclude that this game is a total flop. But ........
in some remarkable way, I am still excited to play this tomorrow night. This game is nothing like FALLOUT. And in the last 5 hous I have slowly come to accept this. Once I got over the fact I will not see a proper sequel, I began to enjoy this game as a separate entity.
Its still a fun game for new reasons. Just non of the reasons that I had been waiting for... for the last 10 years. SO yes it fails. but no its not a flop.
