Post by Max "Lone" Raine on Nov 3, 2008 17:44:55 GMT -5
When I first heard that Bethesda Softworks (BethSoft) had bought the rights to the Fallout series I was skeptic. Despite all the praise it's got I kinda loathe the Elder Scrolls series you see. Fond memories of the first two Fallout games made me fear that BethSoft would make Fallout 3 (F3) an Oblivion set in the future. In short... I was WRONG!
In full, F3 is all I could ever have hoped for and more. The story is great, the game play is awesome and the humor is still there. Just like it's predecessors F3 is highly dependent on your personal skills. If you have 10 skill points (of 100) in your Small Guns skill you can't hope to hit anything with a gun. This affects both manual aiming and that of the automated V.A.T.S. function. VATS was a genial addition to the game. When you activate the VATS system time freezes and you zoom to an enemy, you can then choose what body part you wish to shoot at and you see how likely it is for you to hit it. When you've chosen your targets and accept them the game switch to a slow motion cinematic view where you see yourself fire at the enemy. How many shots or attacks you can make this way is determined by your AP amount and what kind of weapon you use.
The game world is HUGE(!), sure there is a fast travel system like in oblivion but only to landmarks you've previously visited and at times you'll find yourself running through the wasteland for what seems like hours, fending off ferocious animals, raiders, super mutants and more to the best of your ability. And as this wasn't enough there's tons of underground tunnels, caves and old Vaults for you to explore. The main story is interesting and keeps you wanting to know more all through the game. There's also tons and tons of optional side quests for you to do.
How people treat you and what factions you end up fighting depends on your actions. When you first leave the "safety" of Vault 101 you find the settlement called Megaton, named after the undetonated nuke the town is built around. After some chatting with the town Sheriff/Mayor, Simms, you find out that he's willing to pay you for disarming it. On the other hand there's that mysterious gentleman, Mr. Burke, in the local bar that offers you a much better deal for installing a detonation device in the bomb and remove the town from the map. (I recommend doing this at least once, it quite an AWESOME sight xD ) You'll get other choices like this all through the game and depending of your choices you'll end up Good, Neutral or Evil. And if you're Good or Evil enough you'll start getting chased by people who doesn't like your existence much.
Some stuff are quite different from the old games though. In my opinion most of them are for the better though not all. Tagging a skill now only grants you an additional 15 points in it, and the maximum skill level is 100. Lockpicking and Science (for hacking) have set needed values now, Easy = 25 SP, Medium = 50 SP, Hard = 75 SP and Very Hard = 100 SP. And even then the success is all depending on your real life wit. Locks are quite simple to crack but hacking computers requires thinking. You don't get any starting traits in F3, but you get a new perk, of your choice, each level. Melee weapons actually have a value in F3, since you don't use any AP to move around in battle you don't risk ending up running close to the enemy and finding yourself out of AP and completely vulnerable. It's actually even a good idea to run up and hug enemies with missile launchers and mini-guns now as these people can't hit you then. Depending on your choice with the bomb in Megaton you also get a home in the wasteland, where you can store stuff and rest. You can redecorate the place for cash as well as installing some more or less useful appliances.
To sum it up, if you liked the old Fallout games do give F3 a chance. If you like the other Action RPGs BethSoft has made do give F3 a chance. At least rent it if you have a PS3 or 360.
From me Fallout 3 get a smashing 5 Super mutants out of 5.
Lone out!
In full, F3 is all I could ever have hoped for and more. The story is great, the game play is awesome and the humor is still there. Just like it's predecessors F3 is highly dependent on your personal skills. If you have 10 skill points (of 100) in your Small Guns skill you can't hope to hit anything with a gun. This affects both manual aiming and that of the automated V.A.T.S. function. VATS was a genial addition to the game. When you activate the VATS system time freezes and you zoom to an enemy, you can then choose what body part you wish to shoot at and you see how likely it is for you to hit it. When you've chosen your targets and accept them the game switch to a slow motion cinematic view where you see yourself fire at the enemy. How many shots or attacks you can make this way is determined by your AP amount and what kind of weapon you use.
The game world is HUGE(!), sure there is a fast travel system like in oblivion but only to landmarks you've previously visited and at times you'll find yourself running through the wasteland for what seems like hours, fending off ferocious animals, raiders, super mutants and more to the best of your ability. And as this wasn't enough there's tons of underground tunnels, caves and old Vaults for you to explore. The main story is interesting and keeps you wanting to know more all through the game. There's also tons and tons of optional side quests for you to do.
How people treat you and what factions you end up fighting depends on your actions. When you first leave the "safety" of Vault 101 you find the settlement called Megaton, named after the undetonated nuke the town is built around. After some chatting with the town Sheriff/Mayor, Simms, you find out that he's willing to pay you for disarming it. On the other hand there's that mysterious gentleman, Mr. Burke, in the local bar that offers you a much better deal for installing a detonation device in the bomb and remove the town from the map. (I recommend doing this at least once, it quite an AWESOME sight xD ) You'll get other choices like this all through the game and depending of your choices you'll end up Good, Neutral or Evil. And if you're Good or Evil enough you'll start getting chased by people who doesn't like your existence much.
Some stuff are quite different from the old games though. In my opinion most of them are for the better though not all. Tagging a skill now only grants you an additional 15 points in it, and the maximum skill level is 100. Lockpicking and Science (for hacking) have set needed values now, Easy = 25 SP, Medium = 50 SP, Hard = 75 SP and Very Hard = 100 SP. And even then the success is all depending on your real life wit. Locks are quite simple to crack but hacking computers requires thinking. You don't get any starting traits in F3, but you get a new perk, of your choice, each level. Melee weapons actually have a value in F3, since you don't use any AP to move around in battle you don't risk ending up running close to the enemy and finding yourself out of AP and completely vulnerable. It's actually even a good idea to run up and hug enemies with missile launchers and mini-guns now as these people can't hit you then. Depending on your choice with the bomb in Megaton you also get a home in the wasteland, where you can store stuff and rest. You can redecorate the place for cash as well as installing some more or less useful appliances.
To sum it up, if you liked the old Fallout games do give F3 a chance. If you like the other Action RPGs BethSoft has made do give F3 a chance. At least rent it if you have a PS3 or 360.
From me Fallout 3 get a smashing 5 Super mutants out of 5.
Lone out!