Fallout 3

[Kat]

Wow.  Just... wow.  There's lots of stuff to like in Fallout 3, but I think the thing that strikes me the most is how engrossing an experience it is.  This is the kind of game you can lose yourself in, only to look up at the clock three hours later and kick yourself for missing bedtime... that's pretty rare outside of the strategy genre.  Fallout 3's post-apocalyptic DC landscape is beautiful and unique.  It's a joy to quest or just explore familiar and unfamiliar landmarks, dodging mutant and raider gunfire as you go.  There are tons of different ways to solve every quest, and most of the quests have a surprising amount of depth.  NPC death is permanent and may come as quite a shock when your choices have unexpected outcomes.  The desperate setting comes across nicely- you will rarely have enough ammunition to truly feel comfortable, but dedicated scavenging will keep you from resorting to fisticuffs.  Your weapons and armor will always be in some state of disrepair- everything in Fallout 3 comes second hand, and maintaining your equipment is a critical part of surviving the Capitol Wasteland's myriad horrors.  You are not an invincible supersoldier, immune to the hardships suffered by DC's other residents.  You are a Wasteland warrior, battling rivals for resources, as charitable or mercenary as you please, struggling to survive in a hostile world that may (at least at first) frequently succeed in killing you.

It's astonishing just how much there is to see and do.  I've spent somewhere in excess of 7 hours on the game now and haven't progressed the main quest at all, aside from speaking to some people in the local shantytown.  The leveling system is much improved over Oblivion: virtually all the available skills are immensely useful, and you can select a new feat-like "perk" whenever you gain a level.  Perks range from the practical ("strong back" increase the amount of salvage you can carry) to the vicious (the "bloody mess" perk results in exactly what it sounds like) to the bizarre (the "mysterious stranger" perk randomly summons a silent gunslinger who fights at your side, then disappears).  It's quite possible to develop a character perfectly tailored to your playing style.

I can't comment on whether Fallout 3 is as good as its predecessors, but I came to Fallout 3 with high expectations... and they have been exceeded.  Like RPGs?  Like first person shooters?  There's a little bit of something for everyone in here... except for kids.  Whatever you do, don't let children anywhere near this game.  It may be awesome but it definitely earns its 18+ rating.

[Hunchback]

I can't wait to go back home (on vacation atm, no PC ) to try it.
It's getting uber scores all over the net, but i am still sceptic about it - it has HUGE shoes to fill in. The idea of making it in first person perspective and being able to play the combat in real time scares me.  Also, if i saw right in the clips available on the net, even when you fight in the standart turn based combat, it only applies to you, your enemies don't have action points. If that really is the case it's kind of pointless, removing completely the huge tactical element of combat, typical for Fallout 1/2...
In the end, no matter how much Bethesda might have fucked it up as gameplay, the most important remains weather they have managed to preserve the unique post-appocaliptic, brutal and slightly cheesy atmosphere  of the Fallout world. Will see all that when i get back home. If it rally IS a worthy succesor in the series i might even buy the collector's edition.

[Kat]

Yeah I gotta say, I'm not super crazy about the combat.  Using VATS mode is fun and very cool, but outside of VATS the game feels a little clunky.  It's pretty much impossible to use cover, so you basically wind up charging in as close as you can get without dying so you can efficiently pull off a devastating VATS shot.  This is less severe a problem as you progress in levels and become more accurate at greater ranges, but fighting outside of VATS isn't quite as fun as it should be.

Not that combat in Fallout 3 is bad mind you, but they could have split the difference between RPG and FPS-style combat more effectively.

[Hunchback]

imho there should be no combat outside of "vats"

[Nasojiti]

No combat outside of vats? That'd be annoyingly shit.

Oh, and motherfucking death claws.

 :poo:

[Mandie]

Tim wants this game.

How much of the game is FPS? What would you score it on a scale of 1-10?

[Hunchback]

I am still buying it online atm, so i can't tell anything but according to major sites it rates between 8 and 9

[Auryn]

Seems pretty good.  Haven't played much yet outside of the vault, but it seems to have enough depth to keep interest.  You can just go around like in a FPS, or you can take automatic aimed shots with percentage chances to hit like traditional Fallout.  Often extremely graphic aimed shots...

I think I'd give it a 9 in terms of gameplay, but it has crashed a couple of times on me which was annoying.  Can't really rate the plot this early.

[Kat]

I'd give it a 9 out of 10.  It would get a higher score from me except for the aforementioned clunky feel of the combat.  Everything else about the game: graphics, setting, sound, etc is terrific.  As for how much is FPS, I would say it mostly plays like an FPS, but it's structured like an RPG.  Tons of quests and people to talk to, with great voice acting and more than just "good" and "evil" ways to resolve quests... you might find yourself surprised sometimes at how things turn out (who else accidentally got Megaton's sheriff killed?)  There's also plenty of humor involved, albeit of the dark variety.  So far the game only crashes when I exit the game, which is about as benign as a bug can be. 

The game does really lather on the gore... it's mostly over the top and cartoony, but if blood & guts bother you I'd suggest staying clear of Fallout.

[Hunchback]

it's awesome so far

btw Dead Space is even MORE gore, but it's a horror action after all :}

[Chris]

I have to say the game is quite spectacular. I recently switched from PC to console due to $$ issues and was worried at first but that didn't take away anything. I would give it a 10 out of 10. I am very addicted at the moment. Been staying up late playing and then going to work tired.
 The last 4 bethesda RPGs I played have had pretty clunky combat but have been getting progressively better. This one is the best so far. I think vats really just gives you the upper hand. It doesn't really add a turn based type combat to the game really. Just helps me score head shots when I need them. But really, who needs head shots when you have a flame thrower?

[Hunchback]

I played a bit last night and got out of the vault 101. Inside i played at almost all the graphics at max, with 8 anisotropic and 2x AA, the game ran perfectly well. Once i got out the FPS drop was DRAMATIC, up to the point of textures going queer and eventually my PC freezing. I tried playing a bit with the settings, but it didn't really change anything. Will try to set everything to LOW now, just to test if it will actually help or not.

It's quite weird since my PC ain't that bad, i have an Intel E6750 running on 2.66Ghz with 4GB DDR and a GeForce 8600 GTS(256mb ram). In short, my GPU is the only "weak" point, but it should hold the front still. Otherwise i am running winxp 64, but i doubt that matters much. And yes, i have the latest drivers
Anyone else having similar problems?

[Deus]

No, Im running everything fine on a pc that's generally slower than yours except for the 8600, I have an 8800 GTS...
I do have slightly lower aliasing though (4x)...

[Kat]

I'm running it on a slightly better computer than Deus' on the highest graphical settings.  Dunno what's slowing Hunchie down.

[Julius]

Noobness.

[Auryn]

Runs fine on my iMac with ATI HD 2600 or whatever.  Don't think I changed the graphics detail from what it selected as default but it all looks fine.

[Hunchback]

tried putting it on low, i still get graphics lag outdoors. wtf?

[Auryn]

Upgrade your graphics drivers.  That fixes everything.  EVERYTHING.