E307: Fallout 3 First Impressions

"The Best Games Never Published " Link on Page 1 doesnt work for me, sends me to http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/04/do_the_new_19/in...

The link has been fixed. Sorry for the error, guys!

I am not really thrilled with this "new direction" Fallout 3 is taking. Why is it when there is a great game like Fallout 1&2 the new developer has to rework the F'ing wheel when they make the new sequel? The same thing happened with Masters of Orion III and we ended up with a graphical spreadsheet game.

There is nothing wrong with the SIMPLE system and the turn based combat in Fallout 1&2. That is what made Fallout, well Fallout. I don't want a Oblivion/Fallout 3 mod and I am pretty sure most fans of the Fallout games don't want that either.

If this game is a flop Bethesda will have essentially killed the Fallout series, unless the obivous is pointed out, and that is, its not a Fallout game unless its really a Fallout game.

Also, consoles are ruining PC gaming. Every great PC game is getting gutted and reworked so it can be played on a console and in effect ruining that game.

I have a tough time trying to figure out how to respond to this new Fallout.

On the one hand I glad the series isn't dead. But on the other hand I pretty much know what we're going to get: A simplistic game with simplistic combat and simplistic situations... but with REALLY NICE graphics (that probably won't run decently on any current machine except for an Xbox 360).

Can you really get through this new Fallout without firing a shot, just with pure charm? I have to admit I never accomplished that in Fallout, but I heard it was possible.

Can you create a stupid grunt who can barely understand simple questions but can use his fists to bash his way through the game? That I did accomplish. My guy was so dumb he couldn't even talk to certain people (my response choices were just grunts).

Or is every character pretty much going to be tied to the same gameplay with some cosmetic differences?

I can certainly understand your reservations, guys. I had the same concerns. I don't want Fallout to be another shooter. And i don't think it will be. A lot of the demo was about building up unique skills and using them to get around combat and avoid conflicts. Sure, for console shooter junkies, they will probably blast their way through Fallout 3. Good for them, I suppose. But after seeing the game for 45 minutes, I really think there will be plenty to keep the Fallout faithful happy.

I totally agree with this statement. However, I daresay they have been since 2000.

For those who are going to just blast their way through Fallout 3, I sincerely hope that Bethesda will "punish" those type of players, i.e. really bad karma, lack of skill points, and say combine it with an AI that appears to have some kind of word-of-mouth spread about in the world if you do go silly-buggers with laser rifle.

Is it me, or does it seem that they are not willing to use actual weapon names, specs, etc in this version? One of the unique facets of this game was the feel that there was a huge variety of 'pre-war' weapons, tools, and whatnot floating about the world you explored, but that they were based on reality. You needed to have 14mm ammo to use with with the 14mm pistol or 5mm JHP for the mini-gun.

Having "mini-nukes" to kill a boss, to me, seems much more far fetched than a laser rifle (as odd as that sounds, it IS possible to fire a laser pulse to destroy an object, you'd just have a helluva hard time holding in 2 hands). The ability to possess something that shoots nuclear material comes across like the old adage "ooh, its a sequel! Lets amp everything up just for sake of being bigger, badder, more more more and ....'kewlz'. "    

On the positive side, I am curious to see how in-depth the AI is for NPCs, special characters, and whether or not we can see the actual items laying out on say, a table, or in a locker. Further, will the game be coy about how to use items, or will it be just a "plug-n-pray" action?

Guess we gotta wait for a demo to be released...

I can't agree with you all any more. Consoles have always in my opinion dumbed down the gaming industry and continue to do irreparable damage to our gaming experience to this day. I wouldn’t be so annoyed if they took a PC title and reworked it for a console but it seems these days that consoles are the priority and so they take the console game and rework it to make a PC game….

When I first heard they were turning Fallout into a FPS I immediately thought of all of the other FPS games that I buy that have a total of 8 hours worth of content. Like the other poster mentioned, REALLY GOOD GRAPHICS but with questionable and lacking content.

I have played Oblivion and I will say that there may be a small glimmer of sunshine here. It seems like with this engine there will be at LEAST the possibility of a lot of content. I just don’t want an 8 hour Fallout game that is all about hack n’ slash… Though I’ll have to admit that most of Oblivion was hack n’ slash so …. I don’t honestly know what to think here.

If there was one message I could give to Bethsda it would be “WE AREN’T ALL 13 YEAR OLD CONSOLE GAMERS YOU A$$HATS!”

Thank you  


BTW, anyone have enough money to bail out Interplay? I wish they would take this game back  

I must say, I looked at the interviews, and other game play footage available online and it doesn't look, nor possess the essence o,f the other fallouts. Granted, the older versions were 2D, had their own share of issues and bugs (although the fan community have made mods to address them in Fallout2), and is stale, but fancy graphics and gee-whiz effects do not make the game.

What makes an RPG fun to play? The freedom to develop your unique character in a broad, at-your-pace, plot driven interactive environment. I feel Bethesda hasn't grasped this concept very well.

There appears to be too many cut scenes to motivate the user through the plot, and the user just sits back and watches. Boring, imo.

The VATS system seem to be a lot of cut scenes of bullet time-esque effects that take about 7 seconds each time you use it. For those who want to use it, it will frustrate both players of the old series and kiddies who want accuracy, as it will take too long for each shot. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" applies here.

One of developers, who name eludes me, feels that the users "want to BE the character, not just control it" NOT SO. If I want that, I'll play any other 3D shoot em up set in a futuristic time.

For me, taking out the narrative console is another negative feature. I liked knowing I caused x points of damage in combat, or I received x number of experience without having to check the character page each time. I feel Bethesda has left that out. I suspect they won't even have a status feature to show what quests you need to complete.

Overall, Bethesda has performed a doctor skill on this with a percentage of 30% and actually ended up killing its patient. They failed their quest.

Bail out interplay? Why they were a porly managed sink hole for money. They just happen to have some of the best IP's out there. Instead of bailing out interplay someone should reserect Black Isles studios who not only made the original fallouts, but the highly underated IceWind Dale Series could use a revisit.
If Bioware can return to it's Baldurs gate roots with Dragon Age, I see no reason why IceWindDale can't resurface

Piracy has killed PC gaming guys! The reason why no one wants to make PC games first is because most people don't want to play for games unless they have to. That's why MMO's are all over cause multiplayer checks stop piracy (for the most part) and make the company tons of money (which they need to fatten their pockets AND MAKE NEW GAMES). And you have all the idiot pirates who blame everyone or everything else except the most simple answer.

Anyway you guys all seem very negative and are making prejudgments on a game that doesn't even have a playable demo yet. Relax guys maybe Bethsda has a game that can be multi playable. Satisfy the hack and slash gurus, but leave the RPG elements intact. I think in the article it also said you can go back to the previous B E perspective that was in the original game. Overall there are a lot of good games coming out to satisfy our needs and maybe this one can add to it *crosses fingers*

Oh and to the guy who said that this may be the death of the series. Why not most good things are trilogies. Besides maybe with another long wait people will get this excited again.