NMA: Fallout 3 review

[warfish]

Good review. However i am one of those people who found combat not so challenging at all.

After fo3 i could not resist the urge to go back to fo1 again and the difference in writing quality kinda kicks you in the chin this time, even at the very first minutes at shady sands.

 

[MrBumble]

"Pure RPG" Do you mean an RPG which satisfies your idea of what an RPG is?

A RPG including at least a bit of role-playing...

 

[Ausir]

There's lots of roleplaying opportunities in Fallout 3!

http://falloutfanon.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_3_roleplaying

 

[MrBumble]

lol man...Playing pretend in a computer game is the epitome of loser.

 

[ferrety]

I haven't taken an exact count, but there's probably 30 or so metro entrances. I mean, even then saying "85 to be specific" isn't accurate.

As for the overcrowding, I'm lost as to what standard people are measuring this by. Are people upset because there isn't a ticker telling you that several days have passed, even though in reality it took about ten seconds? Back on my 150 MHZ processor it did take a minute or so to travel any great distance, but even then I'd have preferred that I traveled faster. Fallout 3 is also based within a city instead of a state, which is why everything is within a "farts distance of each other". All in all the entire argument is arbitrary because the distance traveled in either game is an illusion. I mean, if we start arguing semantics, if that little ticker said that I'd only been traveling for seventeen seconds instead of several days what I literally saw on screen would've remained the same.

You haven't taken an exact count, yet you know he's wrong? I don't know if he is or isn't, but he sounds about right. Remember that many buildings also have multiple entrances. Also, if I remember correctly, certain areas (like the college/university, and I think Bethseda offices, and the 3 dish towers in a row) get a marker per building, even though the buildings are connected. It would be fair to clump them as 1 experience.

As for the rest of your argument... um. Wow. It's not 'arbitrary', it's overcrowded and in some cases, that creates absolutely ridiculous situations, such as the oft mentioned supermarket a stones throw from megaton that, for some odd reason, the townspeople haven't even explored yet.

 

[Viliny]

lol man...Playing pretend in a computer game is the epitome of loser.

I don't know, at least you're doing it away from other people unlike larpers in parks... that's borderline disturbing at best.

 

[thefalloutfan]

"Pure RPG" Do you mean an RPG which satisfies your idea of what an RPG is?

A RPG including at least a bit of role-playing...

Yes, and Fallout3 has got that. Maybe you don't see it, or accept it, or it doesn't play the way you want it, but it is there. If it wasn't I don't think me and others would be playing the game eh?

 

[Viliny]

"Pure RPG" Do you mean an RPG which satisfies your idea of what an RPG is?

A RPG including at least a bit of role-playing...

Yes, and Fallout3 has got that. Maybe you don't see it, or accept it, or it doesn't play the way you want it, but it is there. If it wasn't I don't think me and others would be playing the game eh?

I felt pretty defined as the character that bethesda wanted me to be... Didn't really feel like i was irrelevant to the world as whole before i actually did something to affect it.

I was the token hero of everyone just like so many other games...

 

[Dork Mage]

lol man...Playing pretend in a computer game is the epitome of loser.

I don't know, at least you're doing it away from other people unlike larpers in parks... that's borderline disturbing at best.

It appears that Bethesda's design goal is to provide a larp-simulatior - a big sandbox with lots of different toys for you to choose from.

Nothing wrong with such a game, but it isn't even remotely a character-RPG like fallout.

 

[MrBumble]

A RPG including at least a bit of role-playing...

Yes, and Fallout3 has got that. Maybe you don't see it, or accept it, or it doesn't play the way you want it, but it is there. If it wasn't I don't think me and others would be playing the game eh?

If we had a good pure RPG game in recent years to compare it to (since bethesda claimed it to be one) I don't think this game would be recieving anything near "good" ratings.

 

[thefalloutfan]

What's this 'pure' RPG eh? There is no pure RPG. There are only variations of different types of RPGs. Using 'pure' implies the 'best', 'as it should be', and I'm sure your idea of a 'pure' RPG is different than mine.

 

[MrBumble]

What's this 'pure' RPG eh? There is no pure RPG. There are only variations of different types of RPGs. Using 'pure' implies the 'best', 'as it should be', and I'm sure your idea of a 'pure' RPG is different than mine.

You know what he meant by this. Your or his definition of "pure rpg" is not relevant to the discussion. He obviously meant an old school rpg, that is to say in which your stats really matter and in which choices lead to meaningful consequences. If fallout 3 is so praised by the critics is because there is nothing to compare it to ( besides the Witcher ). It becomes particulary striking when you read reviews and everybody is startled because, OMG, you can be a real asshole in the game !

 

[thefalloutfan]

Yeah, your quote was broken and I didn't realise you bolded "to compare to". True, there aren't much recent RPGs we can compare FO3 to.

Also, I'll go with classic/old school RPG, rather than 'pure' RPG.

 

[Viliny]

Yeah, your quote was broken and I didn't realise you bolded "to compare to". True, there aren't much recent RPGs we can compare FO3 to.

Also, I'll go with classic/old school RPG, rather than 'pure' RPG.

In other news, Jagged alliance 3 is set to come out at some point. I heard they kept the isometric although free camera and turn based combat.

Looks like silent storm which is good in my book... also heard there's destructible surroundings again like in silent storm.

Loving it so far, hope it has the deep character quirks 2 had

 

[Sytxferryman]

The radio broadcast is supposed to be taken over by his mechanic/tech chick/whatever.

Not sure why it wouldn't for some.

Really? Well, I'll have to keep trying, then. Kill him over and over again until he is off the air forever. Again, the scripting on the news broadcasts is stupid as hell (so insanely repetitive), so I'm really hoping for a way to remove them all together while keeping the music intact.

Actually, since most of the time when he is talking on the radio it is pre-recorded things he recorded earlier so he can sleep/eat/shit/whatever that is my reasoning why he broadcasts on beyond the grave for a little while.... [spoiler:6f89c307f7]BUT after you off him I don't know how long but Margret the really old technician comes on and gives extremely brief intermissions between music saying things like "This is Margret the technician speaking into the microphone and hoping somebody gives a shit!" and "If three dog were here he would say something witty, but he's not becaulse some ASSHOLE killed him", and "This is Margret the technician playing more fantabulous ancient music. Three dog's dead and this is all I've got". So basically you get three dog to STFU and lots and LOTS Of music and just music played afterward's. [/spoiler:6f89c307f7]

 

[PhillyT]

Shooting old rusty cars results in even more nuclear explosions, which makes you wonder if there really was a big War or if a simple car accident caused a chain reaction of exploding nuclear cars across the States.

I laughed out loud when I read this.

Very well written article. Hits the nail on the head.

Because the cars weren't nuclear in the first tw games right? That makes it funny?

Yes, NMA is the best Fallout site around, and yes it is somewhat populated by angry 'fanboys' so that part is correct.


This is better than nothing, which was where things were going.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

If we had a good pure RPG game in recent years to compare it to (since bethesda claimed it to be one) I don't think this game would be recieving anything near "good" ratings.

You know, there's that RPG by a certain Polish team that got the role-playing spot on, I won't tell you what it's called but it starts with a "W..."

True though, there aren't many, but there have not really been many in the old days either, RPG has always been a niche genre more or less. The latest European RPG other than "W..." I remember is TOEE.

Because the cars weren't nuclear in the first tw games right? That makes it funny?

Yes, NMA is the best Fallout site around, and yes it is somewhat populated by angry 'fanboys' so that part is correct.


This is better than nothing, which was where things were going.

The well written jokes make it funny. The one about the cars was spot-on, what's your complaint? It's funny because it exposes the stupidity of mini nuclear explosions.

And at least the "angry fanbois" have reasons as to why they are angry, legitimate ones too. Then again, a lot of people here aren't 'fanbois' the least.

 

[pkt-zer0]

So, are we going to get a Fallout 3 review that actually rates the game as an RPG, and compares it to Fallout 1/2?

Because the cars weren't nuclear in the first tw games right? That makes it funny?

No, what makes it funny is that considering you can just launch a bunch of dollar bills at a 200-year-old car to set it on fire and have it explode, initiating a nuclear chain-reaction that spawns a dozen mini-mushroom clouds, the concept of 'nuclear apocalypse resulting from a car accident' actually becomes plausible.

In other words, the world design is abysmally retarded and driven by lulz, rather than the least bit of common sense.

 

[whirlingdervish]

If we had a good pure RPG game in recent years to compare it to (since bethesda claimed it to be one) I don't think this game would be recieving anything near "good" ratings.

You know, there's that RPG by a certain Polish team that got the role-playing spot on, I won't tell you what it's called but it starts with a "W..."

True though, there aren't many, but there have not really been many in the old days either, RPG has always been a niche genre more or less. The latest European RPG other than "W..." I remember is TOEE.

Good call on the Witcher..
There were many elements in that game that have been missing from RPGs in recent years, and which I wish other devs would pick up on.

Because the cars weren't nuclear in the first tw games right? That makes it funny?

Yes, NMA is the best Fallout site around, and yes it is somewhat populated by angry 'fanboys' so that part is correct.

This is better than nothing, which was where things were going.

The well written jokes make it funny. The one about the cars was spot-on, what's your complaint? It's funny because it exposes the stupidity of mini nuclear explosions.

And at least the "angry fanbois" have reasons as to why they are angry, legitimate ones too. Then again, a lot of people here aren't 'fanbois' the least.

In addition, it has seemed to me that a lot of the people who have signed up in the past few months have actually been giving off a ludicrously strong beth-apologist vibe, with some even acting like they have a legitimate reason to be pissed off at fans of Fallout & FO2 for expecting Fallout 3 to vaguely resemble the games that made us love the franchise, and bashing FO3 for not meeting our expectations.

Here's a hint for those guys: You got your FPP action-RPG with 'splodin heads, awesome magical hats and stupid fucking nuke launchers, and you got it at the expense of a franchise and it's fans that will sadly never see another installment that meets muster.

You have fuckall to come here and complain about. Go play your 60 dollar larping simulator and collect phat lewts.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Yup, I really hope there's a Witcher 2... Since there's the custom quests, I don't see a new full-blown campaign unfeasible.

Here's a hint for those guys: You got your FPP action-RPG with 'splodin heads, awesome magical hats and stupid fucking nuke launchers, and you got it at the expense of a franchise and it's fans that will sadly never see another installment that meets muster.

You have fuckall to come here and complain about. Go play your 60 dollar larping simulator and collect phat lewts.

Nailed it right there...