This is my first review for the site so be gentle. My intial impression is perhaps a bit too wordy, so maybe cut it down to a 1000 words or thereabouts. Feedback appreciated
Fallout 3 Review
Fun Facts;
- The idea for the design of the Super Mutants came to the developers when one of them had a dream in which Wayne
Rooney and The Nemesis conceived a love child.
- The Bethesda Ruins in the game was a glimpse into what could have happened if Fallout fans were unhappy with the
game.
- Customisation options were limited in the game when Bethesda realised that too much customisation would result in
too many players running around in their underwear, thus spoiling the mood of the game.
- Fallout is set in a post-apocalyptic 1950's because the developers really, really hate Leave It to Beaver.
- Anybody who doesn't want to slaughter at least one of the inhabitants of Little Lamplight hasn't been to Little
Lamplight.
It's a rarity when a genre defining game comes along, a game so good that it becomes a sign for what could be achieved in future games as well as a benchmark for the current crop. Fallout 3 is one such game. This fact is made even more impressive because of the rich legacy that the game has had to follow and the potential that older fans may turn their noses up at the new style of play, this sometimes proving to be the case. However, anybody that chooses to ignore Fallout 3 over their desire for it to be Fallout 1 or 2 will be doing themselves a huge disfavour as this game definitely stands on its own and yet, though different in many ways, can also be considered a successful follow-on to the first two games.
Graphically Fallout 3 is right at the top of the heap. For a world so vast its simply astounding that the level of graphical detail apparent in the game could be kept consistent, however Bethesda have done a great job invoking both the spirit of the 1950's and the complete ruination that the apocalyptic events leading up Fallout 3 would look like. The fact that these stylistic and graphical elements have been merged so successfully is a testament to Bethesda, and is a theme that runs throughout the game. Despite this, glitches can still occur, with the occasional texture being unmapped or simply disappearing. It is also possible for some enemies to merge into an element of their surroundings, especially in the Wastelands where a player may occasionally see Radscorpions stuck in the ground and unable to move. However, these small glitches are easily forgiven when the player realises the sheer scope of the world that has been created for them.
Scope is a word that should easily be associated with Fallout 3, as the game is absolutely immense in size. There are well over 100 locations to explore amongst a huge wasteland environment, which leaves a depth that few other games can compare to; with perhaps the notable exception of Bethesda's other killer app Oblivion. However, there is a definite sense that the Fallout 3 world has definitely been trimmed down in comparison to Oblivion, and this works in the game's favour as the player no longer feels completely overwhelmed by the scale of the game world, yet at the same time there is still more than enough for the adventurous player to explore.
Unfortunately this comparison to Oblivion may lend credence to the often touted line that Fallout 3 is just "Oblivion with Guns", and in some ways this could be considered true. The games certainly play quite similarly, and a number of the more disconcerting traits of the Oblivion engine, such as centring a character's face into the screen whenever they are being spoken to, and the robotic features they often display during this, are still present. Yet Fallout is a much more streamlined experience than Oblivion ever was. There is a larger sense of focus to the game, without losing too much of the depth prevalent in Oblivion and this balancing act has worked in favour of Bethesda.
There are still moments when the freedom to explore can cause problems. It is after all, entirely possible to completely miss out on the first two main storyline quests in the game if a player is adventurous enough to find a certain location and talk to a certain character early enough. An argument against the games testing process could be levied, however there are few games on the market that are as ambitious as Fallout and it would be nigh impossible to find every possible thing that could go wrong and still be able to actually get the game out at all. In comparison to what Fallout 3 eventually became, these glitches and errors are again something that, although irritating, are also relatively minor in the grand scheme of the game and also easily fixable via patches.
The main storyline is serviceable to drive the player along, but nothing more. The opening tutorial is extremely inventive, and much more interesting than the standard "Press this to do this" tutorials of many other games, however the storyline as a whole offers few twists or surprises and essentially exists to give the players exploration some more focus. However there are definite highlights in the narrative but these are the exception rather than the norm in a main plot that can be blasted through in a couple of hours if a player is so inclined.
To do so would be to entirely miss the point of the game in the first place though. It could be argued that more can be gained from exploring and completing the games many side quests than playing through the main story, and there are certainly plenty of flashes of inspiration for the more intrepid gamer to discover (Andale, The Dunwich Building and The Republic of Dave all being highlights). Sadly though some players will simply play the game to see it through and if this is the case they will both miss out a huge amount of the game and also probably be disheartened by a relatively thin storyline.
One thing that does help to convey the story is the quality of the voice acting. Where Oblivion had Patrick Stewart, Fallout gets Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman and this quality is relatively consistent throughout all audio sections of the game. As already mentioned the voice acting is top quality, with even the minor NPCs managing to sound convincing and relatively human. Unfortunately some voices are repeated for the lower ends of the Wastelands citizenry, but this is surely to be expected with a game of this size, and it certainly isn't as bad as, for example, Shenmue's constant use of the same voices for just about every character on the street. This serves as an example of just how far the Sandbox genre of games has come over a few short years, and perhaps is an indicator that further improvement will come in future releases.
If the occasional repeated voice could help towards ruining the sense of immersion, the excellent radio stations do a great job of catapulting the player right back into the post apocalyptic 50's atmosphere that they are in. Galaxy Radio has a great mix of contemporary recordings, broken up by the charismatic Three Dog giving general bits of banter as well as the occasional report on the player right or wrong doings within the Capital Wasteland. The Enclave station on the other hand, provides the both the perfect counter point to Galaxy, as well as giving the player a sense of the conformity and ignorance of a situation that had probably led to the disaster area that DC eventually became.
Choice is also a massive portion of the game, with the positive or negative karma gained from these choices having a large effect on how the people in the game perceive your character, as well as occasionally having a bearing on which NPCs may be willing to become your comrade in arms. However, like many games that attempt to integrate choice into the gameplay mechanics, Fallout just falls short of really providing consequences to the player for their actions, with the only really major choice being the fate of a particular area. Everything else is pretty much limited to sarcastic comments and obviously Good or Evil choices. It is worth considering that the idea of morality is still a very new concept in gaming and is still evolving and developing. Though it hasn't reached its full potential yet, Fallout stands alongside Fable 2 as possibly the best display of a system of morality being integrated into a game but there is still much work to be done on the evolution of this concept.
Speaking of the underdeveloped, it could also be argued that the FPS portion of the game is very much overshadowed by the RPG elements. Specifically the inclusion of the VATS system points to a definite preference for one over the other, however to criticise a game that sets out to be an RPG with FPS elements for having less solid FPS elements than RPG ones would be disingenuous and would also completely miss the point of the game. In other words, Fallout was never meant to be a game for FPS purists. The FPS elements are simply used to help convey the world to the player, and to provide a means of combat that isn't a traditional turn-based system.
To miss out on Fallout 3 would be to miss one of the premier gaming experiences of the current crop of consoles. Though much of what is in the game has been done before, few, if any, pull off all these concepts so well. There are certainly not many games around that can weave so many ideas into something so wholly cohesive and enjoyable as Fallout 3 and so the game receives a hearty recommendation.
Rating - 9/10
Fallout 3 Review
Fun Facts;
- The idea for the design of the Super Mutants came to the developers when one of them had a dream in which Wayne
Rooney and The Nemesis conceived a love child.
- The Bethesda Ruins in the game was a glimpse into what could have happened if Fallout fans were unhappy with the
game.
- Customisation options were limited in the game when Bethesda realised that too much customisation would result in
too many players running around in their underwear, thus spoiling the mood of the game.
- Fallout is set in a post-apocalyptic 1950's because the developers really, really hate Leave It to Beaver.
- Anybody who doesn't want to slaughter at least one of the inhabitants of Little Lamplight hasn't been to Little
Lamplight.
It's a rarity when a genre defining game comes along, a game so good that it becomes a sign for what could be achieved in future games as well as a benchmark for the current crop. Fallout 3 is one such game. This fact is made even more impressive because of the rich legacy that the game has had to follow and the potential that older fans may turn their noses up at the new style of play, this sometimes proving to be the case. However, anybody that chooses to ignore Fallout 3 over their desire for it to be Fallout 1 or 2 will be doing themselves a huge disfavour as this game definitely stands on its own and yet, though different in many ways, can also be considered a successful follow-on to the first two games.
Graphically Fallout 3 is right at the top of the heap. For a world so vast its simply astounding that the level of graphical detail apparent in the game could be kept consistent, however Bethesda have done a great job invoking both the spirit of the 1950's and the complete ruination that the apocalyptic events leading up Fallout 3 would look like. The fact that these stylistic and graphical elements have been merged so successfully is a testament to Bethesda, and is a theme that runs throughout the game. Despite this, glitches can still occur, with the occasional texture being unmapped or simply disappearing. It is also possible for some enemies to merge into an element of their surroundings, especially in the Wastelands where a player may occasionally see Radscorpions stuck in the ground and unable to move. However, these small glitches are easily forgiven when the player realises the sheer scope of the world that has been created for them.
Scope is a word that should easily be associated with Fallout 3, as the game is absolutely immense in size. There are well over 100 locations to explore amongst a huge wasteland environment, which leaves a depth that few other games can compare to; with perhaps the notable exception of Bethesda's other killer app Oblivion. However, there is a definite sense that the Fallout 3 world has definitely been trimmed down in comparison to Oblivion, and this works in the game's favour as the player no longer feels completely overwhelmed by the scale of the game world, yet at the same time there is still more than enough for the adventurous player to explore.
Unfortunately this comparison to Oblivion may lend credence to the often touted line that Fallout 3 is just "Oblivion with Guns", and in some ways this could be considered true. The games certainly play quite similarly, and a number of the more disconcerting traits of the Oblivion engine, such as centring a character's face into the screen whenever they are being spoken to, and the robotic features they often display during this, are still present. Yet Fallout is a much more streamlined experience than Oblivion ever was. There is a larger sense of focus to the game, without losing too much of the depth prevalent in Oblivion and this balancing act has worked in favour of Bethesda.
There are still moments when the freedom to explore can cause problems. It is after all, entirely possible to completely miss out on the first two main storyline quests in the game if a player is adventurous enough to find a certain location and talk to a certain character early enough. An argument against the games testing process could be levied, however there are few games on the market that are as ambitious as Fallout and it would be nigh impossible to find every possible thing that could go wrong and still be able to actually get the game out at all. In comparison to what Fallout 3 eventually became, these glitches and errors are again something that, although irritating, are also relatively minor in the grand scheme of the game and also easily fixable via patches.
The main storyline is serviceable to drive the player along, but nothing more. The opening tutorial is extremely inventive, and much more interesting than the standard "Press this to do this" tutorials of many other games, however the storyline as a whole offers few twists or surprises and essentially exists to give the players exploration some more focus. However there are definite highlights in the narrative but these are the exception rather than the norm in a main plot that can be blasted through in a couple of hours if a player is so inclined.
To do so would be to entirely miss the point of the game in the first place though. It could be argued that more can be gained from exploring and completing the games many side quests than playing through the main story, and there are certainly plenty of flashes of inspiration for the more intrepid gamer to discover (Andale, The Dunwich Building and The Republic of Dave all being highlights). Sadly though some players will simply play the game to see it through and if this is the case they will both miss out a huge amount of the game and also probably be disheartened by a relatively thin storyline.
One thing that does help to convey the story is the quality of the voice acting. Where Oblivion had Patrick Stewart, Fallout gets Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman and this quality is relatively consistent throughout all audio sections of the game. As already mentioned the voice acting is top quality, with even the minor NPCs managing to sound convincing and relatively human. Unfortunately some voices are repeated for the lower ends of the Wastelands citizenry, but this is surely to be expected with a game of this size, and it certainly isn't as bad as, for example, Shenmue's constant use of the same voices for just about every character on the street. This serves as an example of just how far the Sandbox genre of games has come over a few short years, and perhaps is an indicator that further improvement will come in future releases.
If the occasional repeated voice could help towards ruining the sense of immersion, the excellent radio stations do a great job of catapulting the player right back into the post apocalyptic 50's atmosphere that they are in. Galaxy Radio has a great mix of contemporary recordings, broken up by the charismatic Three Dog giving general bits of banter as well as the occasional report on the player right or wrong doings within the Capital Wasteland. The Enclave station on the other hand, provides the both the perfect counter point to Galaxy, as well as giving the player a sense of the conformity and ignorance of a situation that had probably led to the disaster area that DC eventually became.
Choice is also a massive portion of the game, with the positive or negative karma gained from these choices having a large effect on how the people in the game perceive your character, as well as occasionally having a bearing on which NPCs may be willing to become your comrade in arms. However, like many games that attempt to integrate choice into the gameplay mechanics, Fallout just falls short of really providing consequences to the player for their actions, with the only really major choice being the fate of a particular area. Everything else is pretty much limited to sarcastic comments and obviously Good or Evil choices. It is worth considering that the idea of morality is still a very new concept in gaming and is still evolving and developing. Though it hasn't reached its full potential yet, Fallout stands alongside Fable 2 as possibly the best display of a system of morality being integrated into a game but there is still much work to be done on the evolution of this concept.
Speaking of the underdeveloped, it could also be argued that the FPS portion of the game is very much overshadowed by the RPG elements. Specifically the inclusion of the VATS system points to a definite preference for one over the other, however to criticise a game that sets out to be an RPG with FPS elements for having less solid FPS elements than RPG ones would be disingenuous and would also completely miss the point of the game. In other words, Fallout was never meant to be a game for FPS purists. The FPS elements are simply used to help convey the world to the player, and to provide a means of combat that isn't a traditional turn-based system.
To miss out on Fallout 3 would be to miss one of the premier gaming experiences of the current crop of consoles. Though much of what is in the game has been done before, few, if any, pull off all these concepts so well. There are certainly not many games around that can weave so many ideas into something so wholly cohesive and enjoyable as Fallout 3 and so the game receives a hearty recommendation.
Rating - 9/10
, but thanks for the feedback
