Fallout 3 - Today's the day!
Getting it after work. Totally pumped. Been a long time since I played Fallout and Fallout 2!
By the way, quick question to anyone who might know - can you play a female character? I can't remember if that was an option in the first two installments. I ask because my wife's recently gotten into RPGs and usually has more interest when she can customize her character a little bit.
By the way, quick question to anyone who might know - can you play a female character? I can't remember if that was an option in the first two installments. I ask because my wife's recently gotten into RPGs and usually has more interest when she can customize her character a little bit.
Psionicist
Explorer
I've been looking forward to this game since 1998, so my expectations are high. I re-played Fallout 1 and 2 earlier this year for the first time since the early 2000's, and I'm really looking forward seeing the next installment. (By the way, regardless of the relative eye candy of modern computer games, the graphics of Fallout 1 and 2 surprised me - both games look excellent.)
I have to update my computer before I can play Fallout 3 though. Intel is releasing a new processor series - Core i7 - next month, and reviews should start popping up next week. This hardware will be really expensive unfortunately (especially now after the USD rally), so unless it gives extraordinary performance I'll build a new Core 2 system instead.
I have to update my computer before I can play Fallout 3 though. Intel is releasing a new processor series - Core i7 - next month, and reviews should start popping up next week. This hardware will be really expensive unfortunately (especially now after the USD rally), so unless it gives extraordinary performance I'll build a new Core 2 system instead.
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My mini-review follows:
In a nutshell, Fallout 3 is the kind of game that makes me want to just lie down in a pile of game CD's and roll delightedly around in them. Metaphorically. The storyline is simple but compelling out of the gate, using family ties with a hint of darker mysteries and hidden agendas to drive the plot forward. However, the game's true strength is the 'genuine' feel of just being able to pick a direction and stride out into the wasteland, looking for trouble.
The graphics are gorgeous in the sense of openness the landscapes convey, and the level of detail they provide of this broken, scarred world. Granted, the scenic grassy forested vistas of Oblivion are gone, replaced by barren brown earth, scorched grey and black building husks and granite outcroppings...but this relative lack of color is more of a feature than a bug in my view. The world of Fallout is not a beautiful fantasy kingdom. It is an ugly, torn up, dead place...rendered in loving, awful detail. One thing I appreciated very much was that there's no 'backdrops.' When I climb a hill and look out and see the Capitol Dome way off in the distance, I know that if I spend enough time...and brave enough horrors...I can get there. This is probably old news for gamers nowadays, but I still remember when 3D games were built in "boxes" of closed space, with distant details just painted on the sides.
The appearances of creatures and characters have the same good points and bad points as Oblivion, unsuriprisingly. The details of textures are excellent. The animations...less so. Faces have limited range of expression, which jumps out a bit more since the voice acting is generally very good. To hear expressive voicing and not have it echoed on the faces is a little jarring, though this is not what I consider to be a major issue.
Gameplay is easy, especially for Oblivion grognards. The game can be played more or less identically once you learn the new hotkeys and get accustomed to the heavy involvement of firearms. The much-ballyhooed VATS system does add an entertaining new mechanic to the mix. I don't use VATS for every fight, but I find it invaluable against tough foes at relatively short ranges. When a supermutant with a two-by-four in its hands charges you, bust out VATS. The system offers some continuity with previous Fallouts, but more importantly, it automates the otherwise frustrating difficulty level of trying to fight in melee when you're being whaled on and knocked around and you can't aim your return blows. VATS works even with melee weapons, though you can't target body parts with it then. Sorry guys, no more punching mole rats in the eyes and making them explode.
The details of SPECIAL and perks and so on should be familiar to Fallout fans, and work the same way, with adjustments to fit the new mechanics. Perks are gained every level now, which I rather like. Certain skills are innately useful...noteably Repair which is used not only in many quests, but can also disarm traps (the components of which are sometimes very useful) and allow you to maintain your weapons by cannibalizing other weapons of the same type. This is a clever mechanic that means you'll always want to collect the weapons of your fallen foes, even if you already have one of the same kind. It also means that while you can find a laser pistol early in the game, you may only get a handful of shots out of it until you can get it fixed up. Repairs to weapons and armor are available from vendors too, but will cost ya. On a similar note, Speech is useful for unlocking quests and getting better rewards, and Science can get you all kinds of juicy info from the frequently encountered computer terminals you'll find. Sometimes those terminals also allow you to take control of nearby security systems, like robots or automated turrets. Doing this can turn a difficult area into a cakewalk.
One unusual mechanic is radiation. The area you're in isn't radioactive anymore, but most of the water table is contaminated. This means that most food and water also has low levels of radiation in it. In game terms this means you can't just regain hit points for free. Stimpacks are safe, and can be found or bought. Sleeping is free, but not always safe, and you can only do it when you find something to use for a bed. You will find LOTS of food and drinks that heal you...but increase your radiation count. As your radiation count increases to toxic levels your attributes are penalized. If you rack up a big enough count, you'll die. Radiation doesn't go away unless you take a drug called RadAway, or get purged at a doctor's clinic. The system isn't too draconian...it takes a fairly large amount of consumption before you start getting penalties...but it makes resource management trickier and more interesting, as well as fitting the survival theme of the setting rather well.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable game.
In a nutshell, Fallout 3 is the kind of game that makes me want to just lie down in a pile of game CD's and roll delightedly around in them. Metaphorically. The storyline is simple but compelling out of the gate, using family ties with a hint of darker mysteries and hidden agendas to drive the plot forward. However, the game's true strength is the 'genuine' feel of just being able to pick a direction and stride out into the wasteland, looking for trouble.
The graphics are gorgeous in the sense of openness the landscapes convey, and the level of detail they provide of this broken, scarred world. Granted, the scenic grassy forested vistas of Oblivion are gone, replaced by barren brown earth, scorched grey and black building husks and granite outcroppings...but this relative lack of color is more of a feature than a bug in my view. The world of Fallout is not a beautiful fantasy kingdom. It is an ugly, torn up, dead place...rendered in loving, awful detail. One thing I appreciated very much was that there's no 'backdrops.' When I climb a hill and look out and see the Capitol Dome way off in the distance, I know that if I spend enough time...and brave enough horrors...I can get there. This is probably old news for gamers nowadays, but I still remember when 3D games were built in "boxes" of closed space, with distant details just painted on the sides.
The appearances of creatures and characters have the same good points and bad points as Oblivion, unsuriprisingly. The details of textures are excellent. The animations...less so. Faces have limited range of expression, which jumps out a bit more since the voice acting is generally very good. To hear expressive voicing and not have it echoed on the faces is a little jarring, though this is not what I consider to be a major issue.
Gameplay is easy, especially for Oblivion grognards. The game can be played more or less identically once you learn the new hotkeys and get accustomed to the heavy involvement of firearms. The much-ballyhooed VATS system does add an entertaining new mechanic to the mix. I don't use VATS for every fight, but I find it invaluable against tough foes at relatively short ranges. When a supermutant with a two-by-four in its hands charges you, bust out VATS. The system offers some continuity with previous Fallouts, but more importantly, it automates the otherwise frustrating difficulty level of trying to fight in melee when you're being whaled on and knocked around and you can't aim your return blows. VATS works even with melee weapons, though you can't target body parts with it then. Sorry guys, no more punching mole rats in the eyes and making them explode.
The details of SPECIAL and perks and so on should be familiar to Fallout fans, and work the same way, with adjustments to fit the new mechanics. Perks are gained every level now, which I rather like. Certain skills are innately useful...noteably Repair which is used not only in many quests, but can also disarm traps (the components of which are sometimes very useful) and allow you to maintain your weapons by cannibalizing other weapons of the same type. This is a clever mechanic that means you'll always want to collect the weapons of your fallen foes, even if you already have one of the same kind. It also means that while you can find a laser pistol early in the game, you may only get a handful of shots out of it until you can get it fixed up. Repairs to weapons and armor are available from vendors too, but will cost ya. On a similar note, Speech is useful for unlocking quests and getting better rewards, and Science can get you all kinds of juicy info from the frequently encountered computer terminals you'll find. Sometimes those terminals also allow you to take control of nearby security systems, like robots or automated turrets. Doing this can turn a difficult area into a cakewalk.
One unusual mechanic is radiation. The area you're in isn't radioactive anymore, but most of the water table is contaminated. This means that most food and water also has low levels of radiation in it. In game terms this means you can't just regain hit points for free. Stimpacks are safe, and can be found or bought. Sleeping is free, but not always safe, and you can only do it when you find something to use for a bed. You will find LOTS of food and drinks that heal you...but increase your radiation count. As your radiation count increases to toxic levels your attributes are penalized. If you rack up a big enough count, you'll die. Radiation doesn't go away unless you take a drug called RadAway, or get purged at a doctor's clinic. The system isn't too draconian...it takes a fairly large amount of consumption before you start getting penalties...but it makes resource management trickier and more interesting, as well as fitting the survival theme of the setting rather well.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable game.
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