Fallout 3 - Official Thread

[XBOKS]

Is it possible to kill everyone in the game? As in completely empty the wasteland?

[Unofficial Who]

Is it possible to kill everyone in the game? As in completely empty the wasteland?

Mutants will respawn as do monsters. But in my last playthrough there was one township I razed to the ground as I could literally not suffer them to live.

[Unofficial Who]

btw Edge recently revisted some of their old reviews with what they got right and wrong.

About Fallout 3 they said http://www.edge-online.com/features/ten-controversial-edge-reviews?page=5

Reviewed in E196, Christmas 2008

What we said: "Gormlessly unsympathetic to the player’s needs, the game is cumbersome in design and frequently incompetent in the details of execution….But then submersion in this world means that you quickly look past the many frustrations – the uncanny NPCs, the occasional broken quest, the ill-conceived interface, the dozy voice-acting. It’s a game that rewards the long-haul with deep, inventive missions which eschew the usual fetch and kill structure, ensuring that the many hours spent in Fallout 3’s wasteland aren’t wasted." [7]

What we got wrong: To focus on Fallout 3’s lack of polish in the details misses the point. Bethesda’s game offers a richly imagined, blackly comic dystopia – and what it lacks in slick realisation it makes up for in scope. The ruins of DC, the isolated communities sprinkled across the wasteland, the alternative history filled in by picking through the blasted shells of buildings and vaults; Fallout 3 rewards time spent in its world by constantly revealing new parts of it.

What we got right: Imagine a Fallout 3 where individual NPCs didn’t move and behave like clapped-out animatronics, or a Fallout 3 that ran without quest-stymieing bugs and offered freedom from glitchy, unaccountable behaviour from the environment and enemies. Fallout 3 can be simultaneously engrossing and infuriating – the cost of its unrivalled ambition being a rather rough-hewn feel. Bethesda’s game offers much for those prepared to look past its clunkier aspects, but would be even more involving if you didn’t have to in the first place.

To be fair the two reviews you do not want to rush are sims or rpg's. If you don't spend enough time with it then 7 (the score of the devil) is going to be the score you give.

[Wiper]

You want to play Fallout 3... without any quests?

Exactly! Just the option to explore the wasteland without humans getting in the way. Claw your way out of your abandoned vault and roam.

Can't you just play as a serial killer taking out everyone? Megaton itself isn't too hard to take out, neither is Tenpenny Tower.

But that would ruin the ambiance - I like the idea of a truly desolate environment, with no communities to discover or interact with: just ruined cities and shattered landscapes. And mutant scorpions and malfunctioning robots.

[Curtis]

Anywhere doing this cheap on PC? I fancy another playthrough with some of the mods listed above.

[SozzlyJoe]

I'm not loving that Edge feature. I thought it would be a mea culpa on what they got wrong, but they basically just nitpick a bit and essentially agree with what they said the first time.

They bring up the infamous talking to the monsters Doom review, and then DO IT AGAIN

"What if you could speak to the creatures?"

[Spacehost]

Anywhere doing this cheap on PC? I fancy another playthrough with some of the mods listed above.

You just missed a Steam sale for the GotY edition I'm afriad.

[Spacehost]

I'm not loving that Edge feature. I thought it would be a mea culpa on what they got wrong, but they basically just nitpick a bit and essentially agree with what they said the first time.

They bring up the infamous talking to the monsters Doom review, and then DO IT AGAIN

"What if you could speak to the creatures?"

I don't think you're ever going to get a bunch of journalists sitting down and apologising for what other journalists wrote a decade before. I quite liked it, in so far as they looked at the reviews and picked out the obviously silly bits.

[Gabe]

So I've finished this today with 102 hours on the clock...and I feel fatigued. The first 50/60 hours were great, I enjoyed exploring the desolate and ravaged DC and I really bought into the world they created. I also loved just picking a direction, going off and exploring the various buildings and settlements I pass by. It was a world that felt lived in (something that I can't say I've felt at all from Dragon's Dogma, as an aside) and sometimes the only semblance of a 'story' about a given building was from what was left behind, others from the desperate notes left by the last survivor. There were some really interesting quests, too, and I liked that there were a range of tasks to accomplish. I also didn't mind that many locations were all the same after a while because, again, the detail was in the little things scattered around.

There was a big issue all the way through though; the combat. It grated more and more as I went along. It's atrocious outside of VATS, and not a great deal more fun with it. I rarely found it beneficial to target various body parts, for example (just going for headshots instead), so each encounter devolved into the same little dance. It all felt quite uninvolved, really, and soon became something to sneer rather than smile about.

And if anything, there was too much content. I've finished all the main, side and expansion packs and outside of places I needed to go on those quests I explored probably less than half the content in at least 6 or 7 of the 9 zones. This meant that the last 30-40 hours were - as silly as it sounds - rushed through just to finish everything. Mothership Zeta was obviously terrible, and whomever thought that focussing on the combat was a good idea was clearly an idiot (at least Operation Anchorage felt a bit more of a rounded experience). I liked the new setting brought about by Point Lookout though, and found the pier really quite atmospheric.

Also, both endings are utter rubbish (the main campaign and Broken Steel).

I liked it, certainly, but by the same token I also felt it long outstayed its welcome due to combat being completely disappointing - so it means that whilst I have New Vegas I'll neither be starting it soon nor buy all the expansions for it. Hopefully a smaller overall experience will be more palatable for me.

[George Clooney]

Hi! Bit late to the party, but I bought this game ages go, played it briefly and it didn't quite click, then my 360 went bump for ages. Then when I replaced it I was too busy with other games, so I've finally got round to giving it a proper go. And it has to be said, I'm loving it now. I've always had a fascination with "fall of humanity" type stories where the population is decimated by something, be it plagues, zombies or nukes, and is trying to survive and rebuild. And the world this creates is just so well done for that, I've really enjoyed just roaming around, soaking in all the little stories and atmosphere.

There are a couple of questions I have though.

First, the version I had has none of the DLC, is there anything that's a must have?

I also seem to always be low on caps, and tips on good ways to get some?

Also, New Vegas, worth getting? I'm sure I've seen some reviews saying it was a bit iffy.

And lastly, I've already found stuff off the beaten track that the game doesn't signpost at all, and cool little interactions that are like quests but not listed in the quest log, without spoiling anything are there any other cool things off the beaten track that are easy to miss that you guys could suggest?

Thanks in advance!

[Polmon]

Point Lookout is a must. The others are all OK, but Lookout is leagues ahead in terms of size and quality.

[dayte]

I'm all fallouted from playing New Vegas, but I've seen the complete edition cheap and am tempted. For those who have completed both, what are the main differences between them? I heard there are more mutants in this one, which I don't like.

[Polmon]

One of the DLC items (I think it's Broken Steel, though not certain) adds loads of new tougher enemies dotted around (Super Mutants, Radscorpions and Reavers from what I remember). They are massive bullet sponges, but they actually pose a threat even when you are max level.

The only issue I had with them was that you can encounter some of them at low-ish level (I remember bumping into a Super Mutant Overlord when I was level 10 or so, and having an insanely tough battle with him, where I had to stage loads of traps etc to take him down).

[Blu3Flame]

I also seem to always be low on caps, and tips on good ways to get some?

Sell everything and anything.

[Gabe]

As I said in my earlier post, none of the DLC is great.

- Point Lookout is the nicest new area to explore and has a different feel to the Capital Wasteland, though the quests are still the same stuff.

- Broken Steel is needed to up the level cap to 30, if you fancy it, and is essentially an extended ending.

- Mothership Zeta adds some very powerful alien weapons but depending on how you enjoy the shooting is either great or terrible.

- Operation Anchorage is also combat-focussed, but does add the Power Armour perk when you complete it.

- The Pitt is really just another area without much of interest.

Because none of them change the core game at all, they all really depend on how you feel about the game after 40/50+ hours - if you're still loving it, then you they may want to get Broken Steel so you benefit from the increased level cap (and get a different ending) and then any others you fancy.

From what I gather (I have the official guide and game, but am too Fallout-ed out to start it any time soon), New Vegas has more branching mission structures, a faction system and you can have a bit more customisation with your weapons. It's still the same style of game though, so don't expect a vastly different experience (I imagine).

[Unofficial Who]

From what I gather (I have the official guide and game, but am too Fallout-ed out to start it any time soon), New Vegas has more branching mission structures, a faction system and you can have a bit more customisation with your weapons. It's still the same style of game though, so don't expect a vastly different experience (I imagine).

Played both and there's some major differences.

Fallout 3 is a hell of a lot more claustophobic as there are lots of enclosed city spaces which are essentially canyons. It feels more lived in and the combat seemed a lot harder. Point Lookout really is the standout DLC, the others are ok except for Mothership, I'd skip that one entirely. Anchorage sort of breaks the game as you can get a stealth ninja suit and a ppower sword which means you can have fun sneaking into raider camps and taking them out one by one as they panic wondering why all their friends are being replaced by piles of ash!

New Vegas feels a lot more open, their is usually a lot of room to fight so you can't really get hemmed in. It feels a bit more flakey than 3 because the engine is struggling. It looks like there isn't much out there in the desert but there's lots of secrets to find even though most of it has been recalimed by nature. It does for the most part feel more sci-fi western than post apocalyptic. Vegas got off pretty lightly duriing the exchange for reasons that are revealed later. The faction system makes the game and you will have to pick sides and this will block off some quests. The DLC is head and shoulders above Fallout 3 and is possibly the best DLC I've ever played. Honest Hearts is the only weak link being a solid chapter, the others though are amazing in their story, their scope and their look.

So.....same but different. Both are amongst the best games ever made imho.

[Gabe]

The fighting isn't really any different though, is it? So if you think the combat in Fallout 3 is a bit rubbish (which I do) then NV isn't going to do much to improve that aspect?

[R0b]

Ironsights made the gunplay rather different for me. I barely used VATS compared to my usage of it in F3.

[Gabe]

Is it like Fallout though in the respect that outside of using VATS, every enemy becomes a bullet sponge/accuracy is complete pap?

[Unofficial Who]

Some of the weapon stats have been streamlined in New Vegas. For instance in F3 you have different stats for Small Guns and Big Guns. In F3 they are just the one stat.

With all the dlc you can max out some of the stats and become the best goddarn gunslingin' lockpicking scientist in the wasteland. Which I kind of liked

[ah]

It's an RPG so accuracy is still partly a stat/dice roll thing, not just reliant on pointing skill.

As for the DLC: Operation Anchorage and Point Lookout are both great for a second playthrough - Operation Anchorage is a bit weird because they gameplay's not very Fallout-y, but you get an awesome item at the end that allows you to essentially bypass any of the rest of the game's missions that you just find dull (including zooming through Zeta just so you can enjoy the silly story), and then you can go to Point Lookout for a miniature adventure in a different setting halfway through your game to freshen your palette.

the Pitt and Broken Steel are good if you love the game just because they're basically more of the same.

[Mentazm]

I cleared all the DLC for FO3, the only game with slews of DLC that I've ever done that for.

Certainly a top 5 game of this gen for me, despite the jankiness. Like it more than the other Bethesda games.

[George Clooney]

I cleared all the DLC for FO3, the only game with slews of DLC that I've ever done that for.

Certainly a top 5 game of this gen for me, despite the jankiness. Like it more than the other Bethesda games.

I still think I prefer the Elder Scrolls games, but only just. I agree with Gabe about the combat not being great, but it's no better in any of their other games. It's the setting, as usual that's drawn me in.

I love that all the locations seem to have a load of thought put in to them. Like Rivet City, which could have just stopped at "let's make a city from a battleship", but they've really thought about why people would make a city there and how it came about. There are loads of little things just dotted around where incidents have obviously happened, like a little army camp I found that had obviously come under attack at some point, but you're left to fill in the rest of the story. Or one of the vaults you go into to get an item, then a story of what happened there unfolding as you go through, but it's left for you to discover rather than being forced on you. It really felt like I was solving the mystery of what happened there but could have easily ignored all that story if I'd wanted - the mission would have been no different, it was just extra stuff on top.

It feels like there's less to do than Oblivion/Skyrim as well, but not in a bad way. It doesn't seem like there are that many missions to pick up from each location and I think the most I've had on the go at once is 6. Compared to about 20 in Skyrim. According to the wiki page as well, I've done almost all the side missions too, and I'm half way through the main quest. Like I said though, that's not too bad, as it feels like there's more to see that isn't mission based, and they seem to be more varied.

[Unofficial Who]

Some of the artificial life routines and scripts in Fallout 3 were amazing as well.

I still remember vividly shaking off some slavers at dusk and watching them from a distance try to find me.

I remember in part of the city seeing a raider run to attack a woman scavanging. I was too far away to intervene and thought she was going to cop a knife to the face. At the last minute she pulled out a flamethrower and roasted him. Gave his corpse a kick and muttered 'not so tough now, are ya.' Amazing stuff.

Oh! And who can forget finding out the hard way why you shouldn't use old cars as cover!

[Majora]

It feels like there's less to do than Oblivion/Skyrim as well, but not in a bad way. It doesn't seem like there are that many missions to pick up from each location and I think the most I've had on the go at once is 6. Compared to about 20 in Skyrim. According to the wiki page as well, I've done almost all the side missions too, and I'm half way through the main quest. Like I said though, that's not too bad, as it feels like there's more to see that isn't mission based, and they seem to be more varied.

There's less missions but they feel a lot more meaningful and varied than in Oblivion and Skyrim, and they nearly all offer branching choices. Personally I got fed up of all the meaningless little 'go and get this random item from this random cave that you won't even remember the motive for in 5 minutes' type missions in Skyrim. Too many quests just felt procedurally generated. And I personally find I start getting overwhelmed once I have more than 5-10 quests in my quest log, in any game.

[Unofficial Who]

There's less missions but they feel a lot more meaningful and varied than in Oblivion and Skyrim, and they nearly all offer branching choices. Personally I got fed up of all the meaningless little 'go and get this random item from this random cave that you won't even remember the motive for in 5 minutes' type missions in Skyrim. Too many quests just felt procedurally generated. And I personally find I start getting overwhelmed once I have more than 5-10 quests in my quest log, in any game.

Reminds me of the Hey Ash Watcha playing episode where Ash makes the case that Saint's Row 3 had more depth than Skyrim.

http://youtu.be/-0sECZgItEI

[dayte]

I remember in part of the city seeing a raider run to attack a woman scavanging. I was too far away to intervene and thought she was going to cop a knife to the face. At the last minute she pulled out a flamethrower and roasted him. Gave his corpse a kick and muttered 'not so tough now, are ya.' Amazing stuff.

Well that's sold it for me. GOTY Edition here we come!

Hang on, you're the same one who recommended Alice Madness Returns to me... you should be my personal games shopper

[Rayn]

When speaking of games released during this gen (PS3\X360 era), Fallout 3 is always one of the games I'm certain will end on my top 5 list whenever this gen comes to an end.

When I first played through it, before the DLC were released, I played as a good guy and enjoyed it immensely. On my second playthrough, now with all the DLC installed and a murdering bad ass as my main character, I was amazed to see how diffrent the game experience was the second time. I got new conversation options from key people, some feared me, others ran away. Heck, I even got some quests that had previously been unavailable. It was almost like playing a sequel, only on the same map.

This is also the only game of two in total where I've actively tried to get ALL achievements (the other being Borderlands).

[Unofficial Who]

Well that's sold it for me. GOTY Edition here we come!

Hang on, you're the same one who recommended Alice Madness Returns to me... you should be my personal games shopper

Might be worth buying on the next Steam sale. I bought Fallout 3 and all the DLC (except Mothership) at full retail price. Still worth every single penny.

[Rayn]

Might be worth buying on the next Steam sale. I bought Fallout 3 and all the DLC (except Mothership) at full retail price. Still worth every single penny.

Are you mad? The next Steam sale isn't until december.

I think it'll be easy to find it for cheaps in some shady retail store like Gamestop or something.