Personal Pros and Cons about Fallout 3

[RJJacob101]

I've never really posted anything on the Nexus Forums, however I've been a visitor to this amazing site for years so I thought I'd finally give a little of my own input. Now I'm sure the topic of pros and cons has been argued, but aside from that I'd like to express how I feel about the game.

 

Let’s get the bad out of the way first…

 

Cons:

Honestly, I could never get into the 1950's view of what the future would look like. Despite the year being 2277 in the game, as I believe I read in the Fallout Vault Wiki, I walk around the ruins in DC and it feels like I'm in the post-stages of the cold war gone hot. Like if the Russians actually did attack the United States during the 1950's, 1960's with nuclear weapons. Frankly, I don't like it at all. I find the 50’s style bland and repetitious. I’m more into medieval/ancient, modern or futuristic styles. When I bought Fallout 3, I knew it was going to be a futuristic type game, however playing the game tells a completely different story in light of its chosen style. I was hoping for a game with a future of tomorrow that most people today would consider the strongest possibility. But seeing wrecked cars on the roads of the wasteland that look as if they came off the assembly line in 1956 as well as the pathetic display of antiquated technology and the derelict nostalgic style of generic buildings was more than disappointing. The weapons, including most of the “future” energy weapons are completely useless at times, unless you contend to use most of your skill points raising your energy, small, melee, and big weapons skills, while sacrificing other just as important skills. No matter what small amount of futuristic tech you find, you are still left feeling like the known world ended before the 21 century. Sure, I’ll accept that it’s my own doing for not checking into the game a little more, but I didn’t want to spoil the experience by inadvertently reading a spoiler for the main quest, a side quest or misc. quest. I was hoping for the game, although still in destruction, to have a more modern/futuristic feel to it. Something that this generation of game players could relate to. A world that we are more familiar with and a world that we would think to be our future world… in technology, weapons and architectural style that is. While the DC monuments are absolutely beautiful, if you can look past the decay and damage, the generic buildings and houses are disappointing. And while the GECK and many other forms of currently non-existent futuristic technology can be found, it’s completely unfitting to its environment, and vise-versa.

 

Now with that aside, I’m not the kind of guy that criticizes something with out ending my argument on the brighter side. Which brings me to the pros.

 

Pros:

Although the leveling system is limited to 20th level, 30th level in the one of the upcoming expansions I believe, it is still a great setup. The perks are awesome, the skills are fairly leveled (in some instances, in order not to contradict myself), and the fact that you can gain experience points for leveling up through defeating enemies, unlike vanilla oblivion, is a breath of fresh air. The interactions between the npc’s are realistic, and I find myself getting lost in deep conversations with the residents of the wasteland. The animations, for the most part, are exquisite. The quests are fun, inventive and interactive with some having multiple outcomes. And the ability to be “the bad guy” is something that most goodie-two-shoe games lack. Although I can’t relate to the world style, I can relate to some of the characters in the game. I find myself admiring, adoring and even respecting some of the people in the game, while detesting, disliking, or otherwise loathing other people within the game. Which to me proves that the game in itself is entrancing none the less. The loot, although damaged, provides a believable abundance of supplies (hard and/or dangerous to acquire, but doable). I like the fact that some of the creatures and areas of the game instill fear and a creepy feeling. How some characters, although nice, seem disturbingly odd. How people like Dr. Li, Chief Harkness, and a few others have a rough exterior, but are good people working for a better tomorrow. Its small, but important details like these that sink me into a game.

 

Aside from my various dislikes about Fallout 3, it is still a beautifully done game, with open choices and consequences. I love playing it, I will continue to love playing it, and I probably will never stop playing it (when I have free time that is :P). Bethesda Softworks is my favorite game designer/producer/whatever, and with Fallout 3 released, they have only gained face in my eyes.

 

To those to hate Fallout 3, I understand probably most of your jeers.

To those, like me, who find faults with the game, but still enjoy it to the fullest, I completely understand.

And to those who love it and find nothing wrong with it, have fun!

 

Thanks all, your opinions are welcomed and respected, as I hope mine are as well.

[Mattlock737]

Doesn't pro normally come before con?

Other than that, most of the pros and cons exist in many games. But fallout seems to be a game with less annoying cons (my opinion anyway)

[RJJacob101]

Doesn't pro normally come before con?

Other than that, most of the pros and cons exist in many games. But fallout seems to be a game with less annoying cons (my opinion anyway)

 

Haha yes pros normally come before cons, but I wanted to end my argument on a lighter side, get the bad out of the way. Yes, there are more pros than cons with Fallout 3 in my opinion as well, which is why I still enjoy playing it. But more or less, I wanted to see if people feel similarly, or differently about how I feel about the game. Just a way for me to see the game from other people's point-of-view. Thanks for you input.

[OMH]

May i jsut say I think you where expecting fallout 3, to be in a setting the fallout games have never been in...

[RJJacob101]

May i jsut say I think you where expecting fallout 3, to be in a setting the fallout games have never been in...

 

 

Well the first fallout games were released before I even had a computer so I never played them. As I stated, it was my fault for not looking into it better. Overall I'm not disappointed in the game itself, just various aspects there of. Yes, maybe I should have played the first two but honestly I've recently seen the games graphics, in their time they were probably on the top tier of graphics, but here and now when I'm first exposed to Fallout, they pale in comparison. Just like daggerfall and arena as opposed to morrowind and oblivion. I still applaud Bethesda for a job well done, I love Fallout 3. So yes maybe my cons are unfounded but none the less they are still my opinions. Thank you for pointing that out respectfully and not shooting me down. Many others probably would have... that is unless you were being sarcastic.

[Frodric]

Just wanted to toss out that the game actually gets the general DC building type pretty square. Some oddball issues like grocery stores etc but all in all the "bland" thing is pretty much DC. You see the Govt. typically dedicates buildings to VIP's and then moves in some mass of fed worker drones. Once they start using it a building is rarely given up, almost never sold, and even then rarely demolished once the feds have it. This tends to date the buildings pretty solidly. I've lived in the DC metro area and within the Beltway for 30 years or so all told and the only thing I would change is to make more of the houses brick. Oh, and a better since of scale and distance, its 64 miles around the beltway so why does it feel like walking around the block.

[Freols]

The game is part of a series of games with a common theme of a fictional 50's style apocalyptic future. Frankly, the whole idea IS that the world never progressed beyond the 21st century. It's exactly what the devs were after, and it creates a unique atmosphere.

 

It's not really something you can complain about, if they wanted to make something that was totally different, they wouldn't have used the franchise... you have to remember when you buy the third game in the series, the developer assumes people at least know roughly what the series is about - unfortunately this was not the case for you.

 

Anyway, personal preferences aside, surely you can see the interest and uniqueness created by the Fallout world?

 

Out of interest, did you dislike Bioshock as well?