Zero Punctuation: Fallout 3

[D64nz]

I had the same thing, On pc too I didn't get the option to put him in there though??

Either way it's there to get you to the end game sequence. It's not like you can do anything past that. But you can get the brotherhood armour and then leave the pryde hanging while you go back out into the waste land. As urgent as they make out, they don't seem to be in any hurry to complete it by themselves. Mean while, you can have Dogmeat, Fawlkes, and the two kids from Bigtown running riot through the wasteland lol.
I will say I was disappointed that Mr Gutsy didn't like me though. lol

 

[Grampy_bone]

"Yeah, it's pretty good."

Never thought I'd hear Yahtzee say those words.

 

[FalloutJack]

Alright, time for a few words from me.

First impression of the review: Funny as hell.

Last impression: Pretty accurate, but it's missing something.

Okay, so I've been skimming the thread and keeping in mind what Yahtzee said, and I just wanna set the record straight. I've been playing Fallout 3 since the release date (with the other games under the belt as well), so understand when I say...DAMN! Now, I haven't played Oblivion, but I still have a ton of other games that involve being a lone wanderer, killing and exploring and whatnot. This is the one I'll have the most fun in, hands down. Personally, I was worried about Yahtzee reviewing the game, but it turned out mostly alright. I would, however, like to comment on a few points.

The V.A.T.S., for openers. Okay, granted that this one seems a little like cheating, but I like that feeling. There's roughly a million bad guys out there, some of whom could tear you apart even if you're at the highest level (which I am). The character should probably have an edge based upon the skills that he (or she) has acquired that you can't do through active aiming. Rather, the CHOICE should be there, in case the tiny crosshairs aren't enough. Yes, those things ARE tiny, and that bugs me, so let's hear it for called shots with cinematic scenes of body parts flying. Actually, the crosshairs are a pain sometimes for picking up items more than my aim. My aim is realistically inaccurate at times.

I'm hearing some talk about the views, first and third respectively. It can't be helped. You need them both. First-person makes it easier to get a closer look at things and for better aiming. Third-person always keeps an eye on your surroundings, and to see if anything is coming in BEHIND YOU. I was crouched in some dingy building full of super mutants, sneaking around, when one of them happened to walk in behind me. I didn't notice on my radar, of course, and I didn't hear him. Fortunately, he missed ME and I DIDN'T...when I shot him. Each view has their place, in my opinion.

Now ummm...here's a little thing that I've run into, a bug in the system that can cause problems for your character in a tight spot. You could be moving around some place with enemies nearby and suddenly, the game will materialize them RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. Now, this is a handy thing if you just shoot them first, but it is not a happy time for people that are using stealth, sniping enemies, or running the hell away.

All in all, this is an awesome game to play. I'm actually having the hardest time looting people, but the killing is always good, the ammo is plentiful, and the violence...is FUN. Yes, there's a story and yes, it's pretty good, but I actually put it off since - unlike the first two games - there's no constraint in time. You guys understand? It's not like where you have to go find some incredibly-obscure-and-hard-to-find-item-for-your-friends-or-else-they-die. That is one thing I find enjoyable. You really CAN do whatever the hell you want.

Thanks for not calling it crap, Yahtzee. I love the show.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Oblivion sucked and fallout 3 is just a bit better than Oblivion. Do the math.

 

[raphah uchiha]

yuck relish XP... anyway good vid

 

[FalloutJack]

Oblivion sucked and fallout 3 is just a bit better than Oblivion. Do the math.

Excuse me, I was told there wouldn't be math?

Then again, according to my calculations...that statement doesn't add up. Strange, no?

 

[Copter400]

Oblivion sucked and fallout 3 is just a bit better than Oblivion. Do the math.

The math says your post needs more content to stop being redundant. No offence.

 

[Pablosdog]

Yes because finding the Geck was really that hard.


Anyways, its just all this unadulterous praise for a game with so many problems is not exactly healthy for the gaming industry, much less the rpg genre, a genre that(at one time) prided itself on it's complexity. Doing what you want is fine, but I still don't think that was the whole intent behind the creation of Fallout. Hell, even the creators themselves felt that it wasn't right that bethesda got to make this game, considering they made it, it just so happend that interplay owned it, changed hands, screwed up and had to sell the i.p.

To bethesda, a company not exactly famous for storytelling.

Even finding the waterchip wasn't really that hard.

Oh yeah, you must have never actually finished fallout 2, because well, the time limit, is 13 years.(Which in itself would require you to cover the entire map multiple times, giving you more than enough adequete time) Fail.

Again, can someone explain to me how a game gets so much praise for having horrible ai, a bad storyline that is just a rip off of fallout 1, illogical item placement, dumbed down mechanics and quit honestly a bad ending. Graphics are mediocore except for the great enviroment.

I still had fun with the game( I've invested over 65 hours into the game), but it doesn't deserve the amount of critical acclaim it has been getting.

 

[Digitalpotato]

ACtually Eternal Sonata tried turn-based combat with real-time crosses but it mostly just meant one character runs over, you repeatedly hit the attack button and get a special move done during their turn and then another character or an enemy gets their move and they run up and smack you while you just stand there watching the Northern Lights.

Valkyrie Profile also had it to some extent even though that was mostly getting muscle-memory to mash buttons in the right order so you get the most number of hits.

 

[Kermi]

Oblivon bored me and I never got into it, so I haven't spent my time playing it making the comparison. I also didn't care much for Fallout 2.

So, Fallout 3 rocks as far as I'm concerned. The game does feel a little spread out, but I like it that way. It gives me more time to reflect on the wasteland and appreciate the potential horrors of nuclear apocalypse.

 

[S.T.U.D.]

The last line had me laughing so hard, and I don't even know why.

 

[TerraMGP]

Ok I didn't take the time to read all the pages of review so please forgive me.

First off I am glad that Yatzee was at least allowing himself to not be that guy. You know the 'I have to bash everything out of every game and get less and less funny and insightful about them when I review so you never know what I want from a game' guy he has kind of drifted into. Hes gone away from that a bit and for that I'm glad.

Now to the people who hate fallout 3, get over yourselves.

First Oblivion was a good game. If you really can't allow yourself to have fun in an expansive world where you go around doing quests and accept that maybe they don't want to hire a voice actor for every single sprite then you really are too uptight to play video games in the first place. But Fallout 3 was not Oblivion. It was massive, It borrowed on a couple of bits of the elder scrolls formula but the combat, the story, the level design, all of it felt different and made for a totally different game. Fallout 3 does a good job of mixing the Tabletop inspired mechanics of the past two games with a mostly real time combat and interaction engine. Yes its going to look similar to Oblivion because it uses alot of the same components and has alot of the same people making it but its still a vastly diffrent game.

Now on to those who have played the other Fallout games. What more do you want exactly? I still got the same gritty hopeless distopian feel from Fallout 3 that I got from 2. Sure the difficulty curve isn't the same but if it was most people would be complaining about that anyways. Yes they could have made it a third person point and click and skinned the items a bit closer to the older Fallout games but at that point your ignoring a well done Fallout story, faithful continuation of the setting and solid gameplay mechanics because your upset black Isle is gone. I'm upset too. It pains me to see what the Baulders gate games have become. That Diablo keeps going while the more complex and well designed over the shoulder games have fallen at the wayside simply because the designers want to put as little work as possible into a well rounded system. But your all holding Fallout 3 to an unrealistic Idealization of what the game should be. They could have used the same engine, the same sprites even pulled in Mister Dorn to play the end boss again so we could fix the boss fight by making it seem more 'in place' and It wouldn't change a thing. Try to go into the game objectively and see the game as a Fallout game in and of itself rather than demanding some imaginary fallout standard.

If you really have that much of a problem with it, well you know GURPS was going to be the mechanic system for the first game...

As for Mister Crowshaw, I am glad to see you finally break out of that little shell yovue put yourself in since.. I think it was about Mario Galaxy. After that you seemed to be acting more like a contrary indie reviewer and less like a designer giving a review. Its been hard to tell where on the radar you were in terms of games after shooting down Hidio Kajima's attempt to finish what we shall call his 'high budget Chzo series' for lack of a better term and your notes on the prince of Persia series didn't help too much.

Very good review and I would agree. I understand that you feel games like this should be the norm and as such make that known but you have to encourage the industry to make more games like it before you get better new ones.

 

[Schizzy]

I just want to cry cause I want to play Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Spore and Call of Duty: World at War, all at the same time.

To think Total War: Empire is coming out in two months.

 

[Doug]

I'd like to point out that this game is going to recieve a mixed reaction no matter what it was actually like. Personally, I enjoyed it, although I agree with all Yahtzee's points.

Anyway, the fact is there are a fair number of Fallout 1/2 fan(*cough-fanboys-cough*) who've evalated those games to perfection in their minds. Frankly, I don't think either of those games where massively complex as they want everyone to believe. Not to say they weren't good (I enjoyed 2 more myself).

Anyway, the fanboys would only EVER like a 2D isometric view with purely turn-based combat in an apparently open world that was really more like a linear trip in terms of the main plot.

I just want to cry cause I want to play Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Spore and Call of Duty: World at War, all at the same time.

To think Total War: Empire is coming out in two months.

I hate to tell you, but I think its 3 months mid-February! Got it pre-ordered with Steam.

 

[TerraMGP]

I'd like to point out that this game is going to recieve a mixed reaction no matter what it was actually like. Personally, I enjoyed it, although I agree with all Yahtzee's points.

Anyway, the fact is there are a fair number of Fallout 1/2 fan(*cough-fanboys-cough*) who've evalated those games to perfection in their minds. Frankly, I don't think either of those games where massively complex as they want everyone to believe. Not to say they weren't good (I enjoyed 2 more myself).

Anyway, the fanboys would only EVER like a 2D isometric view with purely turn-based combat in an apparently open world that was really more like a linear trip in terms of the main plot.

Heres the thing, I love those kinds of games. The 2D Isometric ones. I adore them and I think they are way better than alot of what we have now. Thats not me being nostalgic because I have alot of them on my computer.But while I fit, for the most part, into that grouping you just mentioned I find it sad when people can't enjoy other games that are well done.

In the end none of it is the same as a night at the gaming table, Fallout 1 and 2 were close though. Fallout 3 was not AS close but its still an amazing game for what it is and people need to just broaden their horizons.

 

[Blixt]

The beginning caught me off guard and I laughed so hard!

 

[Doug]

I'd like to point out that this game is going to recieve a mixed reaction no matter what it was actually like. Personally, I enjoyed it, although I agree with all Yahtzee's points.

Anyway, the fact is there are a fair number of Fallout 1/2 fan(*cough-fanboys-cough*) who've evalated those games to perfection in their minds. Frankly, I don't think either of those games where massively complex as they want everyone to believe. Not to say they weren't good (I enjoyed 2 more myself).

Anyway, the fanboys would only EVER like a 2D isometric view with purely turn-based combat in an apparently open world that was really more like a linear trip in terms of the main plot.

Heres the thing, I love those kinds of games. The 2D Isometric ones. I adore them and I think they are way better than alot of what we have now. Thats not me being nostalgic because I have alot of them on my computer.But while I fit, for the most part, into that grouping you just mentioned I find it sad when people can't enjoy other games that are well done.

In the end none of it is the same as a night at the gaming table, Fallout 1 and 2 were close though. Fallout 3 was not AS close but its still an amazing game for what it is and people need to just broaden their horizons.

I more meant people who would call Fallout 3 an awful game no matter what because it is in 3d, not 2d iso. I don't think you fit into that group. I use the definition:

Fan: Someone who enjoys a game or series of games without being blinded to their faults and/or competition.

Fanboy: Someone who thinks there game of choice is 'the best game EVAR!' no matter what. Any sequel that isn't the exact same thing is automatically 'moving away from its roots'.

 

[Jaythulhu]

Now to the people who hate fallout 3, get over yourselves.

First Oblivion was a good game.

This is your opinion only. After having played arena, daggerfall and looked at morrowind, all I can say is, wow, same game, slightly better graphics, more bugs, less stability. Oblivion had really no story to speak of, what was there was exceedingly derivative and unoriginal. Bethesda should never have been given the rights to fallout 3, they're just not up to the task.

Back on topic, F3 is a good game, quad-core memory leaks aside, it's just not fallout. It's far more like an upgraded stalker, or an oblivion total conversion than a proper addition to the fallout universe.

Since I don't really want the banhammer to slap down on me for not mentioning yahtzee, he was spot on with his criticisms. Just a damn shame he didn't give bethesda a bit more of a serve for their tonka-toy/duplo handling of what should have been the gaming equivalent of a lego technic big rig.

 

[paliente]

I absolutely loved FO3. GOTY for me. I'm a massive fan of the originals and found this new step up graphics/gameplay wise fantastic. FO4 will be mind blowing!

World At War next please Yahtzee. Does Yahtzee ever read these forums?

 

[Jennacide]

When I first saw the link to Fallout 3 I thought to myself "uh oh, this could be bad." Glad to see our favorite overzealous critic actually didn't despise it. Also nice to see the only real qualms he had were the same few as me that I can easily ignore for the rest of a great ride in the game.

Let's just hope this time around Bethesda tools on thier models/animations and interaction scenes including said models/animations and actually uses animation on the scenes.