[Multiplatform] Fallout 3 - Guns with Oblivion

So both the regular and Collector's Edition strategy guides are out, and I picked up the latter (just because I find a professional compendium to be much easier to search through than sloppy online FAQs when it comes to large, non-linear games like this).

I'm trying to be careful about what I read in it, but seems like it's a pretty big game. The map that came with the guide is very large.

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so this has been out for a day or so now. I picked up the Collector's Edition for the 360. I love the tin, amazingly well done. the artbook is basically the Halo 3 CE one but fallout edition and the bobble-head is neat but don't look at it from a upward angle or it looks cheap.

Have yet to play it yet though as i have so many other games in my backlog. Anyone put any time into it yet? if so, do post impressions.

How ya doing, buddy?

I haven't played much past all the intro and tutorial stuff, but I did manage to get through the first dungeon the game throws at you, so I feel like I have a sense of it.

Oblivion with guns pretty much holds true, because, well, it was based on the same engine and uses a lot of the same tropes like fast travel, random encounters, and deathcam.

I feel like just the addition of the guns themselves as well as the VATS system makes this game play out a lot better, though. The Bethesda guys obviously learned from some of their mistakes in Oblivion and so some of the tedium is removed simply because you have an active role in the aiming department.

There are a couple of things people might have problems with-- first and foremost being the morality system. It seems fairly strict as to whether you're being good or bad, so if the main draw for you is the shades of grey, you might want to rent first. As a reference, the first morality choice I found outside the vault, I thought to myself "This could easily be a KOTOR quest."

Also, when it comes to melee, it's still pretty much the "hope and swing" of Oblivion, where you might end up catching the AI off guard, or you might end up swinging fruitlessly and getting potshotted to boot. Enemies tend to come in groups, so melee is obviously a last ditch thing, but I found myself using melee a lot at the beginning of the game.

I haven't made it to Megaton yet, so I haven't seen how the town or story parts of the game play out, but in general this is still a really good game. With a few key tweaks, they've managed to make Oblivion with guns seem a lot less like a dirty phrase, for me.

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Some more substance here... I'm loving this game. I was skeptical, I eventually fell into the dumb belief of "This will just be Oblivion with guns", but I'm willing to turn that view around and say this game is its own beast. I'll try to keep the comparisons to Elder Scrolls 4 at a minimum, but there's so much Fallout 3 gets right that Oblivion got wrong.

To get it out of the way, character models are presentable and actually look good. Your childhood friend is a girl with a butterface, unfortunately. But other than that, the base models look good.

The world environment/atmosphere has a lot going for it. If you've played Fallout 1 and 2, then there might be clashes over the "authenticity" of things, but the move to Capital area was the right thing to do. It lets this world still relate, but not have to worry about adhering to that frivolous fan canon bullshit. I loved going through mail boxes and finding letters from Vault-Tec or reading transcripts/emails on broken computers from various people. Going through the remains of houses and finding a corpse in bed, with a rejection letter from Vault-Tec in their mailbox just really gives a sense of how terrible the previous world was going into the new one.

I have only begun to get a decent foothold into the main campaign, but the world environment is eerie and frightening, but also engaging and meaningful from just what little foothold I've made. generally stuck to the East Coast and haven't ventured West just yet. However, I was greatly surprised and admittedly confused when I was told to go somewhere in the main quest and then by doing my own thing, I stumbled upon something that canceled that entire objective. It seems that things you're told might be actual information, and don't always have to be taken upon in order to progress through the game.

Skills are much more defined and the balance is great. Example here is how broken speech could be. If you have high speech you'll have greater success in general discussion, but it doesn't mean it'll universally translate to everything. If you have a low science rating, you cannot bullshit a scientist as it will have a huge impact on your percentage of success. You need to be able to barter if you want lower prices at shops, so it is entirely separate from charisma. I don't feel confused anymore about hacking or sneaking or what my skills do in relation to my stats and perks. Which has been great, as making that shit cumbersome and opaque has hurt similar games in the past.

There's a sense of freedom, but a good sense of structure. That "balance" that always gets talked about. Combat isn't perfect depending on what you're looking for, but it's still more engaging than what Bethesda had going on in Oblivion and Morrowind, not to harp on those so much, no one's perfect. The camera in V.A.T.S. has fucked up for me often, but I guess that's kept it from getting tedious, this shit has not gotten old.

Each weapon can have a certain effect on the camera and animation. From using a Combat Shotgun to a Hunting Rifle to a Power Sledge or even just regular melee, the impacts from those VATS animations are very satisfying. You won't always get the same animation on the same weapon in similar situations, but I'm sure it'll run out eventually. It's always a new animation if the camera gets fucked up, though! I've used a hunting rifle and sometimes it'll show the trajectory of the bullet before it hits the victim's head, other times it'll just show the shot being fired from my player character and then the victim getting blasted back.

Uh, I ended up using a Deathclaw and having the victim get tossed a good distance from me after a VATS combat engagement, so while it might not be kung fu awesome, I do like that good sense of blunt impact being in there as well. It only happened once, other times I've chopped off arms or exploded heads with basic slashes. Haven't fucked around with energy or heavy weapons yet, as my character is a scientist/sneak.

It's still a First Person Shooter/RPG mix, so your mileage may vary depending on your interest level. As a skeptic coming in, being coerced by a friend at the last minute (go peer pressure), I'm happy with the result. This game does so much right that the original games couldn't hope to do. With luck, the game will hold up to end game. Barring any unforseen flaws, this game has been great so far.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

SWEEET. I also got the hot metallic case and bobble head up next to my TV. I am resisting the urge to play it until I am done with Fable though.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-4

The world environment/atmosphere has a lot going for it. If you've played Fallout 1 and 2, then there might be clashes over the "authenticity" of things, but the move to Capital area was the right thing to do. It lets this world still relate, but not have to worry about adhering to that frivolous fan canon bullshit. I loved going through mail boxes and finding letters from Vault-Tec or reading transcripts/emails on broken computers from various people. Going through the remains of houses and finding a corpse in bed, with a rejection letter from Vault-Tec in their mailbox just really gives a sense of how terrible the previous world was going into the new one.

I think that's what really sells it for me. The basic change in scenery did wonders for both the combat and the gameplay.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

If there's something I had to gripe about at the moment, it's the hacking. It's literally a guessing game for me so far, I don't enjoy it at all.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-4

If there's something I had to gripe about at the moment, it's the hacking. It's literally a guessing game for me so far, I don't enjoy it at all.

That's because you suck at life.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'm not very far, but VATS more and more seems like it's one of the best alterations to real-time gameplay in quite a while. Makes it seem so silly that I put up with the mad swinging in Oblivion.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SCHWARZE-3

That's because you suck at life.

Okay, Deni, imagine you walk into a store. And you decide, "HEY! I want a soda! You know it's number one!", except in order to get the soda, you have to go into a green terminal screen and guess a secret codeword to both obtain the soda and make the purchase. Also, you only have 4 chances to guess the proper codeword otherwise you can never purchase a soda from that store ever again for the rest of your life.

But wait, you're a strapping young lad, and you know now that if you just leave the store and come back, you get 4 more guesses! Great! Oh... wait... you just realized upon your return that by leaving the store, the codeword has changed and then you have to go through the whole process of elimination ALL OVER AGAIN.

The codeword keeps changing... there's no logic or reason to the purchase of your soda.

You are in a video game.

You cannot die, the auto save keeps reviving you into this hellish hell of hell.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-4

Okay, Deni, imagine you walk into a store. And you decide, "HEY! I want a soda! You know it's number one!", except in order to get the soda, you have to go into a green terminal screen and guess a secret codeword to both obtain the soda and make the purchase. Also, you only have 4 chances to guess the proper codeword otherwise you can never purchase a soda from that store ever again for the rest of your life.

But wait, you're a strapping young lad, and you know now that if you just leave the store and come back, you get 4 more guesses! Great! Oh... wait... you just realized upon your return that by leaving the store, the codeword has changed and then you have to go through the whole process of elimination ALL OVER AGAIN.

The codeword keeps changing... there's no logic or reason to the purchase of your soda.

You are in a video game.

You cannot die, the auto save keeps reviving you into this hellish hell of hell.

I don't see how my love of difficult to obtain soda has anything to do with your utter lack of worth.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by SCHWARZE-3

I don't see how my love of difficult to obtain soda has anything to do with your utter lack of worth.

Can't say you liking crap ever surprised me!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-4

Can't say you liking crap ever surprised me!

But... but. I like you!



How ya doing, buddy?

Yes No [No Deni Club Member]

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-4

Okay, Deni, imagine you walk into a store. And you decide, "HEY! I want a soda! You know it's number one!", except in order to get the soda, you have to go into a green terminal screen and guess a secret codeword to both obtain the soda and make the purchase. Also, you only have 4 chances to guess the proper codeword otherwise you can never purchase a soda from that store ever again for the rest of your life.

But wait, you're a strapping young lad, and you know now that if you just leave the store and come back, you get 4 more guesses! Great! Oh... wait... you just realized upon your return that by leaving the store, the codeword has changed and then you have to go through the whole process of elimination ALL OVER AGAIN.

The codeword keeps changing... there's no logic or reason to the purchase of your soda.

You are in a video game.

You cannot die, the auto save keeps reviving you into this hellish hell of hell.

But are we talking about a soda he wants to buy or one he has to buy to progress because if it's the former he could always, you know, just not buy it.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I haven't hit a terminal I've HAD to hack in order to progress through the main game just yet, though.

How ya doing, buddy?

So you can save yourself the hellish hell of hell by just steering clear of terminals then.

I mean, I really like the game GRID but I'm not a big fan of the Le Mans races. Rather than force myself to play them I just skip them, making the overall gameplay experience that much better. I like GTAIV but I hate the street racing so again, I just don't do it. The chances of you liking every single facet of a game this big are pretty fucking slim so just enjoy the bits you do like and avoid the stuff you don't.

FELIPE NO

Oh you devil's fag-vocate you.

I said if I HAD to pick something I didn't like about this game, it'd be hacking. What fucking business do you have throwing in a "lesson" here when it was me making a concession to people who might have wanted to know about any negatives I found in the game? You're up on some truly asinine shit right now.

Moreover.

There's usually GOOD SHIT WHEN YOU HACK TERMINALS. You can shut off security in certain areas, or unlock hidden messages or doors, which usually lead to loot or cool story logs. You don't HAVE to successfully hack a terminal in a lot of cases, though not doing it would prove to be a pain in the ass because they usually lead to harder fights and expenditure of precious resources. Plus, hacking just isn't fun to do when it leads to awesome shit.

It sucks you have to play some stupid guessing game where your stat means nothing just do get to the goods. It's just a shitty part I wanted to point out. Honestly, what's your fucking point? I feel irate just reading that dumb shit.

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Sorry, I realised I was being a bit of an arse after I posted that.

As a matter of interest, does this work anything like KOTOR where adding skills makes you better at hacking (Obviously at the expense of other skills) or is it always the same mini-game no matter what path you're choosing for your character?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'd say the latter. From what I've seen, hacking and lock picking give you access to a mini-game where your skill doesn't seem to affect your success rate. I could be wrong, but I haven't noticed my stat making those lock picking or hacking mini-games easier. If a lockpick is "hard to pick" then you have the ability to simply attempt the mini-game with a high enough skill. Which is actually pretty cool when it comes to lock picking, if I do say so myself. That mini-game is very well designed.

Hacking... well, yeah, you're pouring points into a related stat to get the "privilege" of playing a less well designed mini-game.

How ya doing, buddy?

For the most part I didn't really understand the whole hacking system as it is anyway. From what I could gather the first time around, I thought I would have to put in four or five key codes, and when I figured them all out, the door would open.

However, I hit one word, and it automaically said 4/5 complete. Then after about several walkaways and coming backs, I hit ONE word and the vault opened. So from what I can guess, for each word you hit that ISN'T the password, it's more like a hint as to what the actual word is, and it's a sick game of hide and seek with a blindfold with someone telling you whether you are cold or hot.

That being said, I don't mind the hacking aspects of it, or any real part of the game for that matter, in fact I love every aspect. The gun models seem, at times, a bit clunky and oversized (Pistol and automatic rifle comparison) but other than that the game is gold.

How ya doing, buddy?

Chiming in to say that this game is fucking awesome. I love it <3

More to come once I can pull myself away for more than a few moments. And here I have a brand new desktop to install =x Hum.

How ya doing, buddy?

I can't seem to see the difference while adding points to Science. The hacking part remains the same no matter what it appears.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I looked into it and apparently I'm dumb. Go me!

Tutorial on Hacking. - Fallout 3 Message Board for PC - GameFAQs

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Thanks for the link, it seems the Science skill does not affect the actual hacking but only as a check to let you hack it or not.

FELIPE NO