Poll: Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas

[stroopwafel]

Fallout NV had much better writing. Story wise the wooden facial animations in Oblivion and Fallout 3/NV really detracted from the experience for me. Not that any of those stories were good to begin with except for NV with its plethora of choices and dilemmas to progress the story. It really felt like a transition from the chaos of the Wastes to a more 'orderly' society dictated by factions of which none were particularly sympathetic.

Fallout 3 however, while lacking in story, I found more interesting to explore. It felt much darker as well, with an often creepy vibe that reminded me of Silent Hill. I just loved exploring the Capital Wasteland. I never played any Fallout game before though so I just enjoyed it on its own merit.

So in all I found the main story of NV much more engaging but the world of FO3 more interesting to explore. Both are great games though but I think FO3 has my slight preference.

 

[AuronFtw]

Both have merits, I'm not sure either is "objectively" better than the other. Fallout 3 felt far more open, bigger world, more places to explore - and scrounging was a really big part of gameplay, adding to the feel of struggling to survive in a post apoc wasteland.

FNV features better combat, more coherent story, wider gun selection (and melee weapons being actually viable), but its world feels much less open and the scrounging is quite a bit easier (especially since you can make repair kits out of trash items and there's a perk that lets you repair stuff with a gamebreakingly wide range of items instead of requiring the same type of item).

I also liked the DLC in FO3 a bit more, on the whole. HH in FNV annoyed me from start to finish and I had to mute voice sounds because the retarded scientists in OWB made me want to punch my monitor (which is unfortunate, because the rest of OWB was quite well done).

All in all, you will want to get both; with all DLC included. Seriously, they're on steam sales every few months, grab them for $5 each.

 

[rayen020]

here Shamus Young (of Experienced Points) has you covered on his Blog.

Fallout 3
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=18242

New Vegas
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=11281

Seriously though, go watch Spoiler Warning. Insightful commentary and absolutely hilarious.

 

[william12123]

I'd recommend new vegas. I played FO3 and never actually finished unfortunately... After 20 hours I just felt like "whats the point" and went to do something else. However, I know quite a few people who prefer it over new vegas, so this is kindof a crapshoot. Pick whichever's cheaper I guess, since you clearly seem to need the money and they are very similar games. Still, wait a few more days, and it should be back to 75% off on steam.

 

[BrotherRool]

I think I need to give New Vegas another chance. It felt much more linear to me, the storytelling is ass in Bethesda games period, only this time it's the focus,

New Vegas isn't a Bethesda game though. It's an Obsidian game and their track record with stories is ...pretty good. Their creative director just wrote almost all of Planescape: Torment

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

*Looks over at calendar*

Hmmmm... Yes, I suppose it has been a while since this site had another hate-induced ragefest over the trivialities that make what are superficially similar games either the shining Godchild Messiah of video gaming or the impudent scum of the earth fueled by the wailing and bitching of all "true" Fallout fans.

So, yes, I prefer what is widely considered the latter in this little dichotomy, Fallout 3, for reasons I have stated many times before and thus will just copypasta for the simple reason of laziness:

New Vegas had a great story that branched with twists and turns depending on the choices, but the Mojave can't hold a candle to the Capitol Wasteland in terms of atmosphere and genuinely being a far more interesting place to just explore on your own rather than where the quest markers take you. I don't really count the innovations to the gameplay New Vegas added since they basically just used the more popular mods from 3 anyway.

A fusion of both NV's writing and 3's world would create a perfect Fallout game, but as it stands, I prefer Fallout 3.

There. My opinion. Now that that's done...

Alright gents, let's keep this a clean forum argument, no flamming, insults, or screaming out "BETRAAAYAAAL!" this time.
And I swear, if I see a single argument made in a numeric list format, I will eat my tea cup.

Don't test me. I seriously will. It's made of white chocolate, it will be deliciously delightful.

 

[The Danger]

New Vegas suffered from too many game mechanics and a faction system that effectively locked out quite a bit of content depending on a few choices, as well as its assumption that you'd be a good boy and did what you were told. I sequence broke like a champ, because it's a free roaming game and shut up Obsidian, and as a result some sequences clearly assumed that I had not already heard about, solved, and cemented over certain quests. In its favor, there is a lot more world building and characters are better developed.

I could come to terms with (and then ignore almost entirely) a lot of the new game mechanics because they built on Fallout 3, but I imagine that mess would be incomprehensible to someone who did not already go through Fallout 3 and know the ropes. Fallout 3 is a simpler game, but in my opinion that works in its favor. Characters aren't as developed as in New Vegas, and many are simply two-dimensional, but they still stand head-and-shoulders over the Elder Scrolls series. Sequence breaking isn't really possible, as the game responds appropriately if you, say, skip Moriarty and go straight to Rivet City.

They are both great games, and you should honestly play both at some point. I would definitely start with Fallout 3, though.

 

[the7ofswords]

You should buy them both. (They're what? $5 a pop?) Then play them in order.

They're both quite enjoyable worlds to explore. FO3 had some areas that were difficult to navigate, but the exploration was fun. And while New Vegas does have areas locked off early on, it's still a big open world, and once you unlock them, you can run about doing whatever you want.

Have fun!

 

[ringwraithv]

I think FO:NV was probably a better game at the margins than FO3, primarily due to the "Shandification" reference above. Your actions have many more (and annoyingly compelling) consequences in the world of New Vegas. As an aside, NV actually feels like a more vibrant place (both in terms of life and color(!) than the Capitol Wasteland, and seems more in keeping with the "The War Is Over, Let's Start Rebuilding" feel of the Fallout universe.

Having said that, though, Fallout 3 felt...better somehow. It creeped me out constantly, the subways -- while occasionally annoying -- seemed to work. It's a much more grim setting and has a completely different feel that worked better for me.

I'm more of a jazz fan than a country fan, so the radio in FO3 also worked better for me, but the music in NV is spot on for the setting.

You can't lose with either one, honestly. I'd start with 3, then move to NV when you have the time/money and make your own comparison.

 

[Zenn3k]

I want to know whether or not I should buy Fallout 3 or New Vegas? I plan on buying the game from steam and I can only buy one, well for now at least.

Most FO fans consider New Vegas the superior title.

FO3 is okay, its just a bit too watered down for my taste. New Vegas feels like Fallout, while FO3 fells like Oblivion/Skyrim with everything destroyed.

The plot of New Vegas makes more sense as well, its been 200 years, the bombs didn't fall yesterday.

 

[Sunrider]

New Vegas is pretty much superior from a technical standpoint. More polished mechanics, improved leveling / perk system and so on, but I always liked Fallout 3 more. I prefer the post-apocalyptic feel to the post-post-apocalyptic feel, if that makes any sense.

Not to mention, I felt way more attached to my character in Fallout 3, and I suffered quite a bit from the "Post-Benny syndrome" in New Vegas.

As a huge Fallout 1 and 2 fan, however, I do feel like New Vegas is a bit closer to home, with some of the improvements I previously mentioned.

EDIT: The songs on the radio in Fallout 3 were way better!

 

[IronMit]

Even though I think NV is slightly better, you should definitely play Fallout 3 first. Otherwise you won't be able to appreciate it, especially after experiencing much of the improvements of NV

Oh and the FWE mod and other mods really improve the game

 

[foxlovingfreak]

Wail you can't go wrong with either I think overall I enjoyed new vegas more I recomend that.

 

[SoraOhmsford]

I say both are good, but if you are like me, playing NV first might sabotage playing FO3 later. Case in point, there are some perks and mechanics introduced in NV that are not in FO3, which for me made playing FO3 a bit more tedious and overall less fun, but I still liked it. Also to me it felt like FO3's locations did not have a whole lot of variety to them, but that's just me.

Also of note, for whatever it's worth, FO3 uses Games For Windows Live, which is on the disc version of the game and I'm pretty sure it is on the steam version as well

 

[IronMit]

I say both are good, but if you are like me, playing NV first might sabotage playing FO3 later. Case in point, there are some perks and mechanics introduced in NV that are not in FO3, which for me made playing FO3 a bit more tedious and overall less fun, but I still liked it. Also to me it felt like FO3's locations did not have a whole lot of variety to them, but that's just me.

Also of note, for whatever it's worth, FO3 uses Games For Windows Live, which is on the disc version of the game and I'm pretty sure it is on the steam version as well

Windows games for live is awful.
You need to sign in to play your dlc. If you don't your saves don't show. If you played half your game offline because you don't have dlc and decide to get it or 'activate' it later. You can't. Because the saves won't show.

Luckily there's a simple mod of Fallout-nexus that transfers the dlc to a differently folder or something and stops the windows live pop-up

 

[Smiley Face]

Really, you ought to get both of them, but assuming you really only can get one, then I would probably suggest Fallout 3. New Vegas is the better game, but it might be more daunting to newcomers.

 

[kouriichi]

Both are amazing, both have amazing DLC, and both are great choices to sink your time in. As my grandfather always says, flip a coin, because both heads and tails are winners in their own ways.