RPGWatch is the last of the inner circle to review Fallout 3, lowering barrages of criticism against the title before giving it 4/5. txa1265's review is a read-worthy 5-page piece, but for those looking for a more bite-sized chunk, look at Corwin's review.<blockquote>Something else they have never done well is creating living and breathing unique NPC’s. They are improving, but still have a long way to go. Many of the females, for example, look (and sound) very similar. Perhaps there were very few original survivors, so after 200 years of in breeding that could be expected. Nowhere is this limited palette more obvious than with minor characters like Raiders where 2-3 templates seems to cover them all. It’s a small improvement over Oblivion, but still, something of a disappointment. Why does every vicious dog have to look the same? Did only one breed survive? If variety is the spice of life, then it should be an integral part of every game.
One of the Hallmarks of the original games was the dialogue which was usually clever, witty, sharp and full of often dark, wry humour. Unfortunately, as someone who has played almost all of Bethesda’s games going back to Arena, this too is something they don’t do well. Their writers are at best competent, but there is little of the sparkling brilliance we have come to expect from a Fallout game. Most of the dialogue is pedestrian and some, when trying for humour, makes one want to cringe. I’ve seen high school students write better stuff. The conversation Skill checks are great, but the options, especially the ones using Intelligence are frequently pathetic and display more a lack of intelligence than a surfeit.
By now, you’re probably thinking I hated the game, but you’d be very wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was. I just wish Bethesda could learn to improve in the areas in which it has always struggled. We all know what they are really good at and we see those strengths throughout the game, but why can’t it improve more in the areas it has always been weak? After all these years they should have gotten better than they have.</blockquote>
One of the Hallmarks of the original games was the dialogue which was usually clever, witty, sharp and full of often dark, wry humour. Unfortunately, as someone who has played almost all of Bethesda’s games going back to Arena, this too is something they don’t do well. Their writers are at best competent, but there is little of the sparkling brilliance we have come to expect from a Fallout game. Most of the dialogue is pedestrian and some, when trying for humour, makes one want to cringe. I’ve seen high school students write better stuff. The conversation Skill checks are great, but the options, especially the ones using Intelligence are frequently pathetic and display more a lack of intelligence than a surfeit.
By now, you’re probably thinking I hated the game, but you’d be very wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was. I just wish Bethesda could learn to improve in the areas in which it has always struggled. We all know what they are really good at and we see those strengths throughout the game, but why can’t it improve more in the areas it has always been weak? After all these years they should have gotten better than they have.</blockquote>
