Review The Life-Affirming Smell of Fallout 3

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIEqcRtVVpk
Priceless!

Edit: From the comments...

""In many respects, it’s a far better game than Bioshock..." whoever wrote this piece of trash, are you out of your goddam mind??? Bioshock is , in my opinion, the most enjoyable game that has ever been released in this decade yet! Its what helps me find my identity as a xbox gamer,of which i am proud, and glad that i wasn't a ps3 loser. thats y i got so pised off when 2k announced a ps3 version of bioshock. if you only cared about the bonus or salary from writing this shit, u as good as declare ur absence of knowledge about sophisticated games and respect for reader's right to read unbiased view on these games. i would ve thought thats an advertisement for fallout 3 had i not realised i as reading this on ign!" "

 

[kris]

By the time the next Bethesda game comes we will begin to hear about the "flaws" of this one.

But strangely enough I feel like trying this to see if it is any good. I'd still wish it wasn't called "fallout", but maybe it is worth a try.

 

[Rohit_N]

From the video, it looks like the interface isn't much improved.

 

[Wyrmlord]

A full Fallout 3 walkthrough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC7qavrKQr4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59p_L8-Cteo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V93k4mEprQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr1f0rcYLx0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YijALB-fYtc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GmW7oX96W0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrzpAU0hQ4w

 

[SlavemasterT]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIEqcRtVVpk
Priceless!

He was probably shooting .22 shorts.

 

[Vault Dweller]

GameSpy gives it 5/5 - one of the finest games of this generation!

We've mentioned Oblivion quite a few times in the span of this review, since it's impossible to write about Fallout 3 without comparing it to its technical predecessor. Yes, Fallout 3 is a lot like Oblivion (with guns!), but it's a superior game in nearly every way, as it features a more engaging storyline, impeccable presentation, and hundreds of hours of addictive gameplay. While the jury is still out on whether or not hardcore Fallout enthusiasts will accept the game as part of the storied franchise, Fallout 3 is a must-have title for most RPG fans, as well as one of the finest games of this generation.

 

[Rohit_N]

Do you have the game yourself, VD? I'm waiting for your review.

EDIT: Gamespy link isn't working. Add an 'l' at the end.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Do you have the game yourself, VD? I'm waiting for your review.

Will pick it up after work. First impressions will be posted tomorrow.

EDIT: Gamespy link isn't working.

Fixed.

 

[Herbert West]

""In many respects, it’s a far better game than Bioshock..." whoever wrote this piece of trash, are you out of your goddam mind??? Bioshock is , in my opinion, the most enjoyable game that has ever been released in this decade yet! Its what helps me find my identity as a xbox gamer,of which i am proud, and glad that i wasn't a ps3 loser. thats y i got so pised off when 2k announced a ps3 version of bioshock. if you only cared about the bonus or salary from writing this shit, u as good as declare ur absence of knowledge about sophisticated games and respect for reader's right to read unbiased view on these games. i would ve thought thats an advertisement for fallout 3 had i not realised i as reading this on ign!" "

I can already picture the next episode in the everlasting console wars. It will involve gibbering, brainless hordes of xbocks vs. paystation fans clashing in epic battles filled with murder, anal rape [since there will be no women among them], pain and blodshed.
Sony and Microsoft will subsequently arm them with knives, arguments supported my marketing hype and tactical nukes and the world shall end and only Cleve will survive.

 

[Vault Dweller]

1UP: Even numerous flaws can't reduce the awesomeness of Fallout 3 - A+

You can only carry out so many actions at once in V.A.T.S., though, so some real-time combat in between V.A.T.S. attacks is inevitable. Here, Fallout 3 feels very much like Oblivion; it's less precise and polished than a dedicated first-person shooter such as Call of Duty 4. Distractingly bad character animations -- I'm talking man-on-the-moon jumps and running that looks suspiciously like ice skating -- and occasional camera problems, especially when you have an A.I. companion, make third-person view an option for Fallout series-nostalgia fetishists only (of which exist plenty).

Fallout's heavy emphasis on wholesale slaughter combined with a relatively small variety of enemies makes for combat that can get a wee bit predictable at times. The ubiquitous Super Mutants and Feral Ghouls both suffer from the same brand of chemo brain and love to charge into melee range.

 

[tunguska]

Isn't there even a single unbiased reviews site that hasn't been bought off by Bethesda? I would like to point out that this game should be judged as a FPS, not as an RPG, since it really isn't one. I found the graphics in the screenshots at Eurogamer to be impressive. As always Bethesda does better at pretty scenery than anything else. It is Oblivion with guns, but I am currently downloading it to see how it holds up as a vanilla shooter with an interesting setting. That youtube video doesn't make it look too promising in that regard though. Looking forward to a well written codex review. In the same vein as the excellent Oblivion review. Couldn't a well written Oblivion mod have accomplished something much like this "Fallout"?

 

[entertainer]

http://www.gameplayer.com.au/gp_documen ... lout3.aspx

Make no mistake, Fallout 3 stays true to the edgy source material - and if you thought the dismemberment in Brothers in Arms was vicious, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. It’s so deliciously gory in fact, that it is quite possible that the turn-based haters out there will come on over to the dark side, just to watch enemies get shredded into chunky kibbles.

R00fles!

 

[Jason]

Alec Meer on his IGN UK review:

It’s a review I’ll admit I struggled with, finding myself caught between the rock of real excitement at all the options the game offers and the hard place of extreme annoyance at some of the decisions Bethesda made - many of which are direct hangovers from Oblivion and are a bit more galling second time around. Particularly, I’m hyper-sensitive to not-quite-there characterisation in RPGs, and tend to feel that if you can’t make the acting absolutely spot-on, you’re better off with subtitles. (On that note, I enjoyed the Witcher EE quite a bit more with the still-awful English dialogue turned off in favour of subtitled Polish.) While it’s the 360 version I reviewed, I wrote and scored with the PC version (and this ol’ platform’s vast RPG heritage) in mind, which is possibly one reason I’m a little less super-enthusiastic than consolefolk, for whom this’ll be a bit more of a diamond in the rough.

I’ll talk more about it here later I’m sure, but short answer - a fabulous world and certainly not the mindless action game the more vocal anti-Bethesda lobby had pegged it has, but some of the lousy production values and the absolute necessity for ultra-violence keep me from truly loving it. A unquestionable must-play (even, I think, for the most rabid anti-Oblivion AIM) and a gift to explorers, but God, what a bit more slap’n'polish could have done for it. I absolutely cannot wait to see what the mod community manages to do with such a great world design, though.

edit:

I did complete one quest by repeatedly punching a child in the face.

There are some truly great moments, honest. I just can’t share ‘em without going all spoileriffic. It’s sort of like Vampire Bloodlines, in that there’s some superb setpieces and quests stacked alongside a fair bit of treading so-so combat-centric water.

 

[tunguska]

From the eurogamer review:

In any case, I'm scraping the barrel for things to pick holes in. Fallout 3 has been by some margin the most enjoyable game I've played since BioShock - a game with which it shares a similar artistic vision and ambience.

Classic. Bethesda aimed high this time and almost managed to reach...Bioshock. Next time maybe they should target an actual RPG instead of a shooter.

 

[Rosh]

From the eurogamer review:

In any case, I'm scraping the barrel for things to pick holes in. Fallout 3 has been by some margin the most enjoyable game I've played since BioShock - a game with which it shares a similar artistic vision and ambience.

Classic. Bethesda aimed high this time and almost managed to reach...Bioshock. Next time maybe they should target an actual RPG instead of a shooter.

Unfortunately, for most of the X-Box retards, BioShock is considered an RPG, because you play around with different stats, abilities, and all that fun bullshit that fools all of the stupid crack babies born in the late 80's and early 90's. They are too ADD to pay much attention to the game except go from one shiny effect to another, and too mentally challenged to fully understand game mechanics.

OMG! You cans save or kill teh little sistars! Choice and consequences, see! Then the hype mongers like Pete Hines come along and try to redefine the meaning, and the ignorant kiddies in the gaming press doesn't help much, either. They don't know any better, so instead go with whatever they were told.

 

[Zomg]

I was really behind the times when I predicted the FO3 review template where they'd feign objectivity for a few paragraphs and recall the original games. They just go straight for fellation and don't stop for pages.

 

[Melcar]

From the eurogamer review:

In any case, I'm scraping the barrel for things to pick holes in. Fallout 3 has been by some margin the most enjoyable game I've played since BioShock - a game with which it shares a similar artistic vision and ambience.

Classic. Bethesda aimed high this time and almost managed to reach...Bioshock. Next time maybe they should target an actual RPG instead of a shooter.

Unfortunately, for most of the X-Box retards, BioShock is considered an RPG, because you play around with different stats, abilities, and all that fun bullshit that fools all of the stupid crack babies born in the late 80's and early 90's. They are too ADD to pay much attention to the game except go from one shiny effect to another, and too mentally challenged to fully understand game mechanics.

OMG! You cans save or kill teh little sistars! Choice and consequences, see! Then the hype mongers like Pete Hines come along and try to redefine the meaning, and the ignorant kiddies in the gaming press doesn't help much, either. They don't know any better, so instead go with whatever they were told.

Thank God I was born in the early 80's then. Was this close to being a retarded ADD crack baby.

 

[Claw]

People who want to write it off as less than a 10 after first impressions, that's fine

Less than a 10 = writing off

 

[Herbert West]

People who want to write it off as less than a 10 after first impressions, that's fine

Less than a 10 = writing off

9 is thew new 1

 

[Geofferic]

You're either a complete fool or simply misguided. 10 of 10 means perfect in every case, every time. Why? Because we're not discussing a "subjective opinion" here. The score is not a summation of the review, but rather, a separate perspective on the game. It's akin to assessing anything else. For instance, a car. You can say, that's a 10 of 10 star car, which anyone would take as your acceptance of the vehicle as perfectly suited to your tastes. Then again, you could review it, talk about the aerodynamics and engine or whatnot.
Even so, should you desire to debate that, we are still discussing a very distinctive, fixed scale. It's not being presented as "10" with no upper limit on the scale or with a tag such as "Good," but a simple, un-ambiguous 10/10. You can argue about the levels between 1 and 10, however, each polar aspect of the scale encompasses the absolute best and worst. That, mate, is undeniable.

Uh, no that's not undeniable. lol When blokes give a lady a 10, they are not by any stretch suggesting she is perfect, mate.

A 10/10 for a video game simply means it is one of the best and its achievements and good qualities far outstrip its shortcomings - not that it has no shortcomings. Regardless of your phoney philosophical perspective on game ratings, no ratings magazine or website even hints that a 10/10 or 100% or whatever means the game is perfect. So reality trumps your silly rules.

 

[elander_]

Reality a few years ago was much different than reality today. That's the real point here. I don't believe games have made such a great progress that now we have 10/10 scores everywhere.

Granted a game that has such a score isn't perfect, but a magazine that has found flaws in it should not be giving the game a perfect score otherwise they are contradicting themselves.

 

[Drakron]

Uh, no that's not undeniable. lol When blokes give a lady a 10, they are not by any stretch suggesting she is perfect, mate.

Actually yes, they DO mean she is perfect that is why she is a 10.

 

[Drakron]

Granted a game that has such a score isn't perfect, but a magazine that has found flaws in it should not be giving the game a perfect score otherwise they are contradicting themselves.

Yes, its like a judge giving a 10 to gymnast that tripped and fallen on the rug during their exhibition.

 

[Thrasher]

mmmmmmmmm lots v level scaling like a troo ARPEEGEE!!!!!

 

[Volourn]

Codex = Obsidian forums