Fallout 3 - Worth buying?

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Now that the first (only?) patch is available for Fallout 3, have opinions changed about it? When it launched, critics rated it positively, but player reviews were mixed. The general consensus seemed to be that it was Oblivion with a re-skin and guns. Does this hold true? Is the story line better than Oblivion's, which sucked horribly?

What about memorable/interesting characters? In Oblivion, there were none. All interesting characters in Oblivion were added by modders through companion mods and the like.

Mods? I see a some graphics enhancement mods for Fallout 3, but haven't seen much else. Granted, though, I don't hang out at many Bethesda fan sites.

What about models and voice acting? My understanding is that its like Oblivion, where there are 3 voice actors and 4 models populating every population center in the entire game.

Is Fallout 3 today worth buying?
 

PhatoseAlpha

Platinum Member
Apr 10, 2005
2,131
21
81
It was always worth buying. Not game of the year material, but certainly worth $50. Re-skin of Oblivion with guns is probably closer to the truth then Bethesda would admit, but let me be blunt and say Oblivion desperately needed guns. VATS changes a bunch, but don't let anyone tell you it's an equivalent of turn based combat. VATS is really a superpower akin to FEAR point man's slow mo, not an alternative game mechanic.



The game is full of flaws, but the first time through, you won't notice them, and it will be a blast.

The thing is, the ending is an outright kick in the teeth, and after it, all those little flaws that were forgiven the first time through will instantly be un-forgiven. Which is why the fan reviews are so mixed - the ending is so god awful insulting, it makes you instantly 10x harder on the game.





The are more voice actors then oblivion, but obviously there is some repetition. It's much more a problem with ghouls then humans - there are only 2 ghoul voices in the game.

The are interesting characters, but true to Bethesda, no character is around all that long, so there's nothing like you'd be from modern bioware, much less old school bioware or black isle.

Plenty of mods out there. Fallout3nexus.com.



Oh, yeah, and the obvious question: Have you played Fallout 1 & 2, did you enjoy them, and are you going to judge Fallout 3 as a sequel to those games or as a stand alone? It does much, much better as a stand alone then as part of a series.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,189
184
106
Good points mentioned by PhatoseAlpha, I would add however that the modding scene/community saved the day already (yes, because there was a day to be saved for Fallout 3 out of the box, of course in my opinion). I still prefer vanilla Oblivion than vanilla (even patched) Fallout 3, but I could have never thought that Fallout 3's modding would be that much present so fast and in already so good quality after so little time since its release. By the same time after Oblivion's release I swear I was using about four or five small mods (textures mostly), but now in Fallout 3 I'm already using 26 mods without counting the textures that don't have separate .ESP's (plugin files). I'm a modder myself and I already published my own Fallout 3 mod, and I don't intend to stop there.

So, to answer your question directly, patched or not yes Fallout 3 is worth buying, but mostly (if not only, for me) due to the modding community. You should see some of the personal/custom Vaults projects already out there, and there's also a mod which is already building itself to become the OOO incarnation for Fallout 3 (basically a MASS of countless different mods all merged together one way or another into a single bad ass mod). And perhaps more importantly there's already an Unofficial Patch in the works by the exact same author/team responsible for the Oblivion's and Shivering Isles' UP's (which are fixing more than 4,000 bugs literally, no less than that, from simple misaligned objects to quest-breaking bugs). Clearly Fallout 3 has more potential and a brighter future for modding than Oblivion ever did (also because the GECK is a little more "capable" than the TES Construction Kit is thanks to some fixes and enhancements).

In other words, without mods I would simply return it for a refund, I would have no interest.
 

ibex333

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2005
4,086
119
106
Fallout 3 was worth buying right from the start. It's an awesome game. I thoroughly enjoyed it and beat the whole thing. Now I am planning to play through the 2nd time.
 

TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
24,254
4,076
136
I love it so far .. though I haven't finished it yet. Who knows when I will now that I've got my GTX 285 and the 181.20 drivers are absurdly unstable with Fallout 3.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,189
184
106
Originally posted by: TheVrolok
I love it so far .. though I haven't finished it yet. Who knows when I will now that I've got my GTX 285 and the 181.20 drivers are absurdly unstable with Fallout 3.

Are you also getting nv4_disp.dll crashes like I do? I just switched from 181.20 to 181.22 (just released, they're WHQL), I haven't tested them, but I can say that I've been having drivers crashes in Fallout 3 (and only in Fallout 3, out of my 30+ other games) with the 181.20 and all other previous versions I had since Fallout 3 came out.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
Totally worth buying. I think the vanilla game w/out mods is great with many of the things I ended up modding in Oblivion being changed or not an apparent issue any longer. There are a few things I don't like about it, like having a lot of these 'open areas' force you into the subway and tunnels because of the debris blocking any other route. Very bad choice IMO for what's supposed to be such a free form game.
 

450R

Senior member
Feb 22, 2005
319
0
0
Take a gander at the official forums before you buy to save yourself a potential headache. Lots of problems for lots of people, myself included. The game consistently (as in, 100%) crashes on me within 10 minutes of stepping outside the Vault. I think you would be better off waiting for the next patch to see if the major issues get ironed out.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
It was boring to me. Many sensless missions that just felt unconnected to things. I didn't have any crashes or anything but it just got boring for me.
 

TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
24,254
4,076
136
Originally posted by: Zenoth
Originally posted by: TheVrolok
I love it so far .. though I haven't finished it yet. Who knows when I will now that I've got my GTX 285 and the 181.20 drivers are absurdly unstable with Fallout 3.

Are you also getting nv4_disp.dll crashes like I do? I just switched from 181.20 to 181.22 (just released, they're WHQL), I haven't tested them, but I can say that I've been having drivers crashes in Fallout 3 (and only in Fallout 3, out of my 30+ other games) with the 181.20 and all other previous versions I had since Fallout 3 came out.

I haven't had any of the nv4_disp.dll BSODs, and like you, Fallout 3 is the only game with issues. I've played hours of WoW/Crysis Warhead/Far Cry 2 without any problems.

Edit:

Just installed the 181.22 WHQL's and I played Fallout 3 for a good 15 mins or so with no problems. It was crashing after 30 seconds or so with the 181.20's so hopefully they fixed the issue.
 

PClark99

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2000
3,824
68
91
the ending sucked but the ride to the ending was fun.

Definitely worth the money and there are some expansions/extra content coming soon.

 
Nov 5, 2008
25
0
0
The ending nearly ruined all possible chance of replayability for me. Recommend it though, for the modding community has indeed saved the day.
 

acheron

Diamond Member
May 27, 2008
3,171
2
81
Only had crashes when sometimes trying to alt-tab to another program. If I just stayed in the game I never had a problem.

Game was awesome, no mods needed. Though the ending was kind of meh; don't rush to get there.
 

Ganeedi

Senior member
Jul 7, 2008
258
0
0
If you played Oblivion and enjoyed just wandering around, exploring different areas, you will like Fallout 3. If you fixate on the story and NPC interaction, you will be disappointed.

The mod community is big plus for this game - as mentioned earlier.

On a side note - I had one CTD at the very beginning but its been smooth as silk since then with about 100 hours in.
 

CrackRabbit

Lifer
Mar 30, 2001
16,641
58
91
I enjoy the game, though it is missing a lot of the dark humor that I loved about the first two.
Hints are still there, like finding a Protectron hiding in one of the street corner fallout shelters.
I also ended up skipping half the story accidentally by finding a certain location by just exploring.
On my second play through now with a "good" character I plan on playing through once as a "bad" character as well.
What I really can't stand is the crashes, they seem totally random. Sometimes I can play for hours with no issues other times it crashes every 10 minutes.
 

Darklife

Member
Mar 11, 2008
196
0
0
I found it rather bland. At first it seemed quite immersive, but much like Oblivion I saw through the facade and realized how limited it really was. Apart from utterly butchering the old Fallout content just to satisfy the fans. Bethesda gives us a huge world. but there's nothing to do in it. A bland and cliche storyline doesn't help much. In my opinion things went down the drain after Morrowind. . I think what sums up both Oblivion and Fallout best was when I found out the rest of the script. Upon reading about the endings, which usually make me gasp my reaction was limited to "oh".
 

Lazlo Panaflex

Platinum Member
Jun 12, 2006
2,355
0
71
Will somebody please tell me why so many games have sh!tty endings? Why is it so difficult for devs to spend some quality time creating a good ending? WTF? :disgust:

Apologies for the OT rant...
 

Darklife

Member
Mar 11, 2008
196
0
0
Ahh I see one more brave soul has decided to vote against the tyranny of the masses. Huzzah!
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,152
17
81
Originally posted by: zerocool84
It was boring to me. Many sensless missions that just felt unconnected to things. I didn't have any crashes or anything but it just got boring for me.

My exact sentiment about this game. I rented it, played it for a few hours and returned the game. The plot's weak, the characters are soulless, and everything just got too repetitive.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Originally posted by: Baked
Originally posted by: zerocool84
It was boring to me. Many sensless missions that just felt unconnected to things. I didn't have any crashes or anything but it just got boring for me.

My exact sentiment about this game. I rented it, played it for a few hours and returned the game. The plot's weak, the characters are soulless, and everything just got too repetitive.

I thought doing all the missions would make the game more fun help but I guess I should have just stuck with the main missions to keep the storyline going and feel some connection.
 

garkon

Senior member
Aug 13, 2004
608
1
76
I have to say i think the game was worth buying, even without the mods. I had fun all the way through the end(of the main quest) and i'm still having fun roaming around(at around 39 hours play time). Gonna have to do an evil character pretty soon, or just become evil, who knows...

I dug the scavenging, post apocalyptic world. I feel like this is a game that people just love or hate.
 

Borealis7

Platinum Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,914
205
106
i loved the game. just give me a Lincoln's Repeater and a box of 0.44's and off i go to smack all that stands before me.
it'll be a while before i replay it though, i want to give it some time to settle in my memory and make it become nostalgic :)
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Well, I bought Fallout 3 off Steam with funds from my birthday. I'll see how it goes early next week when I'm between classes and not on call. :)
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
I left it alone for about a month. Its like Oblivion but MUCH worse.
Just for fun I checked some mod sites and found exactly what I needed: A 50K weight mod.
No more wasting time running back and forth between ruins and stores.
Also found the cheat code to make my character run faster.

Its not cheating.
Its making an annoying game barely playable.
Poor decisions in combat will still get you killed.

Also, with the increased weight capacity I am LOVING the Rock-It Launcher.
I had forgotten how much damage it does at close range. And ammo is laying all around you. First time you clear out a building with 50 cups and 50 plates you will be doing very nicely.
 

ibex333

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2005
4,086
119
106
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Originally posted by: Baked
Originally posted by: zerocool84
It was boring to me. Many sensless missions that just felt unconnected to things. I didn't have any crashes or anything but it just got boring for me.

My exact sentiment about this game. I rented it, played it for a few hours and returned the game. The plot's weak, the characters are soulless, and everything just got too repetitive.

I thought doing all the missions would make the game more fun help but I guess I should have just stuck with the main missions to keep the storyline going and feel some connection.

Ahh... but you are very wrong. I cant help but ask if you even played the game. Like really played it? It is exactly the side missions that make the game so amazing. Not the main story which still great, but too short, and with a unsatisfying ending IMO.

I am very glad that I didn't follow the main story at all and instead decided to just wander around and do side quests. It was a blast and I enjoyed every second of it. I uncovered/completed about 80-90% of all areas and quests in the game, got to level 20, and only then continued the main quest and finished the game. I was very surprised by how fast I was able to finish the game once I continued the main storyline, that is one of the very few things that I have a problem with in Fallout 3.

You mention that the quests are not connected to anything. Well let me ask you then.. What do you think they should be tied to? See.. That is the beauty of it. This is the post apocalyptic wasteland. There is no sense, no meaning, no purpose, unless you make a purpose for yourself. You are FREE in every way one can be free. (something that we don't have in RL)

You can follow the story to find out what happened to your dad... but what if you don't care about him? What if you suddenly decided to live your own life? You are just wandering the wastes.. exploring. Maybe even looking for trouble. or something else... You dont have to "get a job".... or go to "college" or get married.... Unless you want to! No one gives a damn. No one will tell you what to do. No one will even dare to, unless they want a bullet in the face. You choose what you want to do.

It just so happens that you sometimes stumble upon people in need of help, or an adventure, or a conflict in which you might decide to take sides. That's how these quests are. They don't have to be tied to anything. But what's awesome is that as you play through the game you will discover that many side quests are in fact connected to the main story! Not only that, but they help you better understand what's going on!

I gotta say though.. It's interesting how you don't like the game for the reasons that many people like me absolutely love it. I enjoy the feel of a chaotic but free world. You on the other hand need a sense, or a purpose. Maybe even "order"...
Ok I'm going to stop now, because I'm about to start a philosophic discussion here.... ;)