Fallout 3

I don't know if we've got any computer game threads and understandable, they aren't exactly vintage fare, but i bought this game when i came back home about a month and a half ago and have been totally.. dangerously hooked ever since. Basically, if you aren't familiar with the series its a role playing game taking place 200 years after nuclear war destroyed the world and you're a survivor in a bomb shelter. It is absolutely incredible in terms of detail and depth, you really have free reign to deal with situations as you wish, and situations aren't always morally clear cut (quests are many times, very open ended as to how you can react to them.)

The reason i figured i'd post about this here is the game's deliberate "retro futurist" aesthetic. While its set in the future, its view of the pre nuclear holocaust past seems to stop in the 50s, the music, the pre war clothing, the advertisements and posters that are all over the wasteland all reflect the style popularity associated with the 1950s. Everything "futuristic" in the game, even like the abandoned cars, look like those "future space" cars you'd see at an old World's fair, likewise for the alien zappers and certain guns. And of course, one can find fedoras far more commonly than one would expect. Despite the benefits of armor, i've played the whole game with a character in a suit and tie + fedora.

example:

Used to be my favorite game. I like anything Bethesda makes, for the most part. Stopped working on my computer after a couple years of good service, and I can't be bothered to jump through hoops to fix it. Had to reformat my harddrive and never put it back on - didn't even bootcamp the windows partition into my harddrive this time.

You just reminded me of how entertaining this game was. I too have it, but for the Xbox 360, not PC. The type of character I often found myself playing was one, a guy in a suit and fedora combo like your's did, two, a greaser with the leather jacket you got in Vault 101, and three, an old west type cowboy character (with the hat of the sheriff of course). I also tried my hand at trying to recreate some of the characters from Star Trek, such as Kirk, Spock, and Picard. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is another great one from Bethesda, although it's a fantasy game unlike Fallout. In both of these games, I have a tendency to play myself, somewhat, and a morally inclined character at that, or an anti-hero, but rarely a genuinely evil villain.

Hmm, maybe I should give it another go tomorrow.

I know I've heard of Fallout 3, but I've never actually looked into it, let alone played it. I may need to check it out. It sounds truly intriguing.

Here's another link to a longer thread on Golden Era based computer games. There are some discussions of real winners in there.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3775

Fallout: New Vegas

Another Fallout game by Bethesda is scheduled for release this fall (Amazon lists 10/19/2010). Fallout: New Vegas. I've already got my pre-order in for the collectors edition.

SkullCowboy said:

Another Fallout game by Bethesda is scheduled for release this fall (Amazon lists 10/19/2010). Fallout: New Vegas. I've already got my pre-order in for the collectors edition.

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Yes, I may hold off on buying it simply because i know what this fall out has done to me (before getting this game i'd be inclined to leave my house but now.. i'd rather stay in than see people face to face).

I don't know about playing morally, my first act was setting off a nuke in Megaton and joining sides with the Slavers. But the fact that you can do that, and also that it has consequences that affects the game is what makes it so compelling.

The first two fallout games are supposed to be very good as well, in terms of storyline and aesthetics, but I've seen the gameplay and i'm not sure i can get passed its somewhat dated overhead style.

I wasn't aware Bethseda had this kind of reputation for games, i was under the impression that most of these games (icewind dale, fallouts, etc) were Black Isles studios games.

I really wanted to like Fallout 3, as I absolutely adore Elder Scrolls III, and to a lesser extent IV.

It just felt like they had rather haphazardly remade Oblivion with firearms and what have you. I also didn't like how many parts of the ruined cities were absolutely intransitive, and forced you to take the subways (some say it makes you appreciate the destruction that occurred, I say it's just lazy level design).

Nothing will ever surpass ESIII: Morrowind in my book, in terms of RPGs.

Great game, it ate a huge chunk of my life via my XBox360. Thanks to the expansion packs, I know there is still a lot of game left in it, but I daren't get sucked back in at the moment.

DerMann said:

I really wanted to like Fallout 3, as I absolutely adore Elder Scrolls III, and to a lesser extent IV.

It just felt like they had rather haphazardly remade Oblivion with firearms and what have you. I also didn't like how many parts of the ruined cities were absolutely intransitive, and forced you to take the subways (some say it makes you appreciate the destruction that occurred, I say it's just lazy level design).

Nothing will ever surpass ESIII: Morrowind in my book, in terms of RPGs.

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I did notice that in the cities, but i figure, with all the game gave otherwise, it was a minor complaint. You can't make everyone happy all the time. I honestly hate taking the subways here and there, i find them annoying, and i wish there was a form of travel developed (for example, imagine the dynamics of the game if they gave you at least, a motorcycle or something a la mad max and therefore fuel became a factor in gameplay). Another thing that would be nice is if the NPCs were able to interact more with your companions. It is a bit annoying to add extra dialogue i imagine, but it certainly would make a big difference and give you a dynamic- (for example, having charon the ghoul as your companion when you enter tenpenny tower).

Honestly, while i love this game, i find that the RPG really can't be changed- i was playing Might and Magic 6 a decade ago and aside from graphics, alot of what i see here i saw in that- choices, dialogue, etc. the only difference is here you are given more dialogue options, and they affect your game more than they did then, but really, i don't think RPGs can really change too much from the usual formula. for better or worse.

DerMann said:

I really wanted to like Fallout 3, as I absolutely adore Elder Scrolls III, and to a lesser extent IV.

It just felt like they had rather haphazardly remade Oblivion with firearms and what have you. I also didn't like how many parts of the ruined cities were absolutely intransitive, and forced you to take the subways (some say it makes you appreciate the destruction that occurred, I say it's just lazy level design).

Nothing will ever surpass ESIII: Morrowind in my book, in terms of RPGs.

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Right, I have had many fond memories of Morrowind back in the day. It's been a few months since I've touched, but it was great. If there's a game I wish I could forget anything I knew about it and just start all over, this one would be it. At this point, I know far too much about it to really enjoy it as well as I have several years ago, even though it's still great. Starting a new character and going through the motions of collecting all of the money-making loot feels repetitive, especially in Seyda Neen.

Anyway, this thread has inspired me to give Fallout 3 another go today. My new character (because my old ones were before any potential updates, didn't want a crash to occur) wears a fedora and suit also, but when he's not in that getup, he's pretty much a leather jacket wearing greaser type, complete with pompadour and sideburns. I like the 1950s-esque retro futurist aesthetic of it. I actually saved Megaton from that bomb and the man with the plot against the place, but I haven't progressed very far with the main quest yet. Just raided the Super-Duper Mart and the abandoned school. Not much else.

Regarding the overall design of Fallout 3, I agree that it resembles Oblivion a bit too much, but with a more dreary, grey landscape for the most part, and a confusing system of streets and subways in the city.

J B said:

Right, I have had many fond memories of Morrowind back in the day. It's been a few months since I've touched, but it was great. If there's a game I wish I could forget anything I knew about it and just start all over, this one would be it. At this point, I know far too much about it to really enjoy it as well as I have several years ago, even though it's still great. Starting a new character and going through the motions of collecting all of the money-making loot feels repetitive, especially in Seyda Neen.

Anyway, this thread has inspired me to give Fallout 3 another go today. My new character (because my old ones were before any potential updates, didn't want a crash to occur) wears a fedora and suit also, but when he's not in that getup, he's pretty much a leather jacket wearing greaser type, complete with pompadour and sideburns. I like the 1950s-esque retro futurist aesthetic of it. I actually saved Megaton from that bomb and the man with the plot against the place, but I haven't progressed very far with the main quest yet. Just raided the Super-Duper Mart and the abandoned school. Not much else.

Regarding the overall design of Fallout 3, I agree that it resembles Oblivion a bit too much, but with a more dreary, grey landscape for the most part, and a confusing system of streets and subways in the city.

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Good show, but tenpenny tower fits my style more . Plus watching that nuke detonate really is epic, they do an incredible job of it, and the after effects when you visit the ruins of megaton are really eerie, the green haze, Deputy Weld's scrambled welcome, etc. I got every male under 30 in my family and most of my friends back in the hotseat for this game too. I sold one on it simply by telling him he could literally be Lord Humungous from Mad Max (with the hockey mask, weird bondage armor and of course, the scoped 44 magnum).

Maguire said:

Yes, I may hold off on buying it simply because i know what this fall out has done to me (before getting this game i'd be inclined to leave my house but now.. i'd rather stay in than see people face to face).

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I hear that. I had close to 300hrs invested in Fallout 3 and the 4 DLC packs. But, as my wife says, at least she knows where I am...

Maguire said:

I don't know about playing morally, my first act was setting off a nuke in Megaton and joining sides with the Slavers. But the fact that you can do that, and also that it has consequences that affects the game is what makes it so compelling.

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I had characters in all three moral bents (good, evil and neutral). Some of the moral choices were a bit ambiguous, but some of them spawned some lively debate, such as your choice to side with the slaves or the slavers in The Pitt. Or siding with the ghouls or Tenpenny. I really liked those and other choices that split the fine line between good and evil.

Maguire said:

The first two fallout games are supposed to be very good as well, in terms of storyline and aesthetics, but I've seen the gameplay and i'm not sure i can get passed its somewhat dated overhead style.

I wasn't aware Bethseda had this kind of reputation for games, i was under the impression that most of these games (icewind dale, fallouts, etc) were Black Isles studios games.

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The first two Fallout games are fantastic. True, the graphics and interface are a bit dated, but they are still very playable AND enjoyable. I would recommend them. Once you get drawn in you won't notice their age.

Black Isle Studios under Interplay did indeed do the first two Fallout games. Bethesda picked up the rights to the Fallout brand (except for rights to make an MMO) sometime after Interplay shuttered Black Isle. There is a bit of a legal spat going on over that still, with Interplay claiming they are going to release a Fallout MMO, while Bethesda says they forfeited that right because they hadn't actually done it yet. Lawyers. Don't ya love em?
Fallout: New Vegas is being published by Bethesda, with Obsidian Entertainment developing it. Obsidian has several of the original Black Isle Studios folks working for them.

I recently started playing Fallout 3 this week. The art and design is amazing -- post-apocalyptic meets 40s/50s. I have yet to get all the DLC. It was very frustrating until I learned how to use the V.A.T. system.

I read that they're releasing a Fallout: Las Vegas at some point this year.

velvetongue said:

I recently started playing Fallout 3 this week. The art and design is amazing -- post-apocalyptic meets 40s/50s. I have yet to get all the DLC. It was very frustrating until I learned how to use the V.A.T. system.

I read that they're releasing a Fallout: Las Vegas at some point this year.

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apparently in the new one you can choose to make it super realistic so you actually need to eat and sleep and drink. I was thinking that food and such would be alot more significant to the game (along with the issue of radiation) if you actually had to drink water simply to survive, rather than to heal. This would give it another dynamic (ie you need water to survive, but have to balance out what you eat and drink to avoid radiation poisoning.).

I don't use VAT unless i'm dealing with stronger enemies. I find that once you get companions (without glitches, i managed to get three followers right now as relatively permanent company) the only real threat is high level opponents who can potentially kill them off.

J B said:

Right, I have had many fond memories of Morrowind back in the day. It's been a few months since I've touched, but it was great. If there's a game I wish I could forget anything I knew about it and just start all over, this one would be it. At this point, I know far too much about it to really enjoy it as well as I have several years ago, even though it's still great. Starting a new character and going through the motions of collecting all of the money-making loot feels repetitive, especially in Seyda Neen.

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Haha, running around Seyda Neen looking through all the storage barrels around houses and huts taking literally everything, after doing the same for the immigration and excise offices (lighthouse was really good) - knowing that no matter what, you could get at least 1 gold for everything that you sold him. Perfect.

Oblivion disappointed me, and to an extent Fallout 3, because of how different it was from Morrowind. There was almost no depth compared to Morrowind. By making everything in the game relevant to your level in terms of difficulty, you could beat the game by level 4 or 5. If you even attempted the quests in the middle part of the story in Morrowind as a low level (<10) you'd get murdered (without cheating). Fast travel made it feel really cheap, too. The immensity of Vvardenfell was mind blowing (but to be fair, pretty mind numbing at parts), but with fast travel, you don't get to experience the areas between towns, not to mention the world was much smaller and less diverse in Oblivion compared to Morrowind. There's fast travel in Morrowind, to, and it manages to enhance immersion as opposed to ruining it. By having to discover which boats/siltstriders travel to which locations, you are working much in the same way one does with public transit. Sure they didn't travel to every city, but you could get close enough to walk a short distance from a destination (better hope there aren't any cliff racers on the way, but there probably are SSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCREEEEEEEEEEE.

Oblivion was sooo much shorter than Morrowind and the story much less interesting. While the Oblivion story was repetitive at best (close that gate! oh and that one too! guess what, you need to close yet another one), the Morrowind story forces you to learn the lore behind the game and immerse yourself in the world. People say how amazing the quests for the Assassins Guild and Dark Brotherhood were in Oblivion, but compared to Morrowind, they're mundane and workaday.

People who have played Oblivion prior to playing Morrowind miss out on so much. By playing the newer version first, you become overly occupied on the game's shortcomings due to its age, and completely miss out on a game that may very well be the epitome of a fantasy RPG. And of course, if you play Morrowind first, usually Oblivion is quite lacking.

Sorry for the rant, but I do love the game, perhaps too much.

I do see what you mean about the "fast travel" option but can you imagine how it would feel to have to spend hours traveling from point A to point B to complete even the most simple quest? I think fast travel may be the easy way out, but perhaps something like the caravan system of might and magic may have proved handy (a specific, weekly schedule where a caravan can take you from point A to point B). It would force you to idle in a particular place and explore the surrounding region until the next caravan came into town, rather than just teleport yourself anytime anywhere.

I never played Morrowind, I think I might have to get it now. I played Oblivion, the main reason I got it was all the folks saying that Fallout 3 was Oblivion with guns. I really enjoyed it.

The fast travel thing is an ongoing debate where games have large worlds. Typically I don't use it when first exploring. And Fallout 3 had a nasty habit of dumping you out of fast travel right in a pack of something unfriendly. But once you have walked a piece of ground and found all there is to find, it becomes a question of do I feel like fighting imps/raiders/pseudo-dogs/nameyourbeastie this trip? I like what they did with the Stalker series by instituting guides that, for a price, would take you back and forth. One of the pre-requisites was that the area had to be 'friendly' to the faction the guide belonged to or he wouldn't take you. That way you had to have cleared that area before you could be guided through it.

I've been lurking this thread since it started, but I finally have to comment. I was obsessed with Fallout3 for quite a while and managed to obtain nearly every weapon, bobble-head and unique item. In fact, the only reason I stopped playing was because I had maxed out my levels so soon AND *spoiler alert* after I'd progressed so far in the game, I couldn't go back, i.e. once you beat it, you can't roam anymore. I must admit, however, I took pleasure in stockpiling all manners of weaponry in my lockers at home JUST IN CASE I needed to do any repairs. I think I had 20 of every weapon. And my fridge/coke machine - stocked full.

Had they allowed for considerably higher levels, as well as potential to continue playing even after completing the story, I would STILL be playing.

The 40's/50's Americana theme was really magical for that game, giving it a spooky touch that I believe increased its appeal greatly. I would be inclined to purchase a new release, especially in hopes that one could progress in better fashion (I was maxed out only halfway through the story).

Undertow said:

I've been lurking this thread since it started, but I finally have to comment. I was obsessed with Fallout3 for quite a while and managed to obtain nearly every weapon, bobble-head and unique item. In fact, the only reason I stopped playing was because I had maxed out my levels so soon AND *spoiler alert* after I'd progressed so far in the game, I couldn't go back, i.e. once you beat it, you can't roam anymore. I must admit, however, I took pleasure in stockpiling all manners of weaponry in my lockers at home JUST IN CASE I needed to do any repairs. I think I had 20 of every weapon. And my fridge/coke machine - stocked full.

Had they allowed for considerably higher levels, as well as potential to continue playing even after completing the story, I would STILL be playing.

The 40's/50's Americana theme was really magical for that game, giving it a spooky touch that I believe increased its appeal greatly. I would be inclined to purchase a new release, especially in hopes that one could progress in better fashion (I was maxed out only halfway through the story).

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The release of the Broken Steel DLC pack changed the ending, allowing you to keep playing after completing the main quest, and upped the level cap to 30 from 20. Depending on your play style, it is still easy to max out your character, but you can stay in the CW for as long as you like.

My favorite series had to be "enter the Matrix" Fallout 3 sounds really good though. Maybe I'll give it a spin.