After that pile of liquidized hate and loathing that was my Gears of War 2 'pseudo-review', let's cheer things up with a game that is 900 times better.

Fallout 3.

Now, ignoring all the Van Buren fanboys for a moment, this game is god-tier.

Of all the games I've played/rented this generation, on each console, this has got to be the best of them all.

Before going any further I'd like to say SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILERS AHEAD because I know some of you will be dumb enough not to expect them.

The game has a ton of mind-bending quests that far outdo anything you'll see/have seen in Oblivion. TESIV:Oblivion generally boiled down to 'Go here and kill 10 Goblins' or some other WoW-esque quest. Not Fallout 3.

Fallout 3 quests are wide ranging, from saving a kid from a group of cannibals, to risking death from fire-breathing ants to save some guys 'Sexy Underwear' he keeps in a Subway workstation safe, to deciding the fate of a local shanty town by deciding whether or not to destroy it with the unexploded nuclear ordinance resting in its center.

While I don't want to spoil all the quests for you, I feel that the only way to truly show how godlike this game is is by the ingenuity of most of the quests.

One of the main-quest line missions, for example, requires you to break into some old Vault (nuclear fallout shelters) and save your father from the crazed virtual reality program based in a 1950's Subdivision (and its founder) there.

This level truly emphasizes not only Fallout 3's strange, interesting missions, but also demonstrates its ability to let you solve quests in multiple ways, depending on your character.

An evil character, for example, would've told Little Timmy his parents were divorcing because they didn't love him (you could also find a Military School pamphlet on their Kitchen Table and tell him they were sending him away), then steal some provocative underwear and lay them on this one guys bed, and not only convince the wife he was cheating, but convince her that he is a tranny and HE was wearing those.

Then, you can rig the oven to explode, killing some other lady, or cause the chandolier to fall on her head, or even just stab her and the rest of the subdivision to death with the 'Little Serial Killer' or w/e it's called kit you find in the dogs house.

Or, be a good guy and complete a 'musical minigame' quest in the abandoned house to unlock an emergency failsafe terminal, and cause a scripted Chinese invasion, killing everyone and allowing you to escape with your father.

Or do a little of both.

Weapon variety is also good, falling somewhere between Fallout 1 and 2 in the number of weapons available. A lot of them still retain the classic Fallout 'feel' to them, like the 'Railgun', a steam-powered railway spike launcher that whistles like a train every time it's fired. Or the 'Nuka Grenade', a molotov cocktail-esque weapon made out of a bottle of soda, a tin can, and some laundry detergent that explodes in a bright blue ethereal flame upon being thrown. Or even the 'Shiskabob', essentially a red-hot steel rebar that you can thrust into your opponents, lighting them on fire.

The graphics are also top-tier. Walking around the Capital Wasteland, you'll get a lot of moments where amazing vistas and views are available, really demonstrating the detailed scope of the land.

Another improvement over Oblivion (hate constantly comparing this to it, but it's the closest Xbox 360 alternative, and I doubt half of you have played Fallout 1-2-Tactics) is the addition of much more varying 'dungeons'.

No longer will it simply boil down to Oblivion's 3-tier system of 'Ayleid Ruins', 'Old Castle', and 'Cave System' that really over-simplified Oblivion. The areas you'll find yourself in are nearly always different, and nearly always unique. From old supermarkets, to creature-infested Memorial grounds, to a destroyed aircraft carrier being used as a city.

The only problem with this game, and the only real complaint I can muster, is the Achievements (Xbox 360 version). They're extremely generic and boring, being mostly 'Pick 100 locks', 'Complete X Quest', 'Achieve X Karma', etc.

But that's really the only complaint I can muster. Fallout 3 is truly an amazing game, and you're doing yourself a disfavor by not playing it (assuming you haven't yet). It is truly the best game I've played of this entire console generation.

Nice overview, however what's there to do after you "beat" it?

And one more question, let's say you go to one of those regions where it's packed with monsters, after killing them all and you explore another region, once you go back to the monster region, are they still there or is it left just as you left it (I'm assuming it's like this).

If I had money, I'd buy this, fable 2, and GoW 2.. I don't care if you didn't like GoW 2 or not, I'm still getting it..

Anyway, by the sound of it, Fallout 3 is going to be hectically good...

And just curious, how big is the map? or the traversable land mass? Is it only one solitary state of America? Or is it the WHOLE of America?

greatest game of our gen? i dont know about that... i would say its freakin awesome. but... i mean its a "real" fallout game (not counting fallout brotherhood of steel). i just one of those fans that wish it was a new fallout game with the same engine and style as the previous fallout 1 and 2.

I've already been looking forward to this game so much. You have no clue.

I was hyped for it, but closer to release I lost interest, again with Gears 2, I may get this next year, when it's cheaper, I'll only get bored of real quick i imagine, so I'd rather pay half price.

(11-16-2008 10:35 AM)DeathNoteL Wrote:  I was hyped for it, but closer to release I lost interest, again with Gears 2, I may get this next year, when it's cheaper, I'll only get bored of real quick i imagine, so I'd rather pay half price.

Believe me, you wont get bored of it any time soon. This is the only game (that isn't composed of 90% level-grinding) that I've been able to play non-stop since release... that was a month ago. I still haven't completed half the side-quests (which make up 99% of the game, main quest is short-ish).

Truly though, that isn't completely due to the depth of the quests (while some are quiet deep), it's actually due to the fact that if you, like me have a relatively short attention span, you'll find yourself unable to just quest-grind. I can't recall the metaphorical metric ton of times I've been on a quest, and just found myself raiding some old schoolhouse full of raiders and a hidden ant cave. Then when I try to get back on task, I end up finding some abandoned vault full of clones named Gary (that, coincidentally, can only say 'Gary', but in different tones to demonstrate anger, frustration, confusion, and so on).

It's honestly the longest I've stayed constantly interested in one game. Normally after a few weeks of non-stop playing, I'll quit for a week and play something else. Not with this. The most I've gone without playing it has been two days. I've put in almost 100 hours of play time, and I still haven't scratched the surface of the game.

Get it. If you like Fable II or Oblivion, or any free-form 'Choose your destiny' type of game, you'll absolutely orgasm over this.

... and if you don't, you're a backwards subhuman Pollock. YOU HEAR ME POLSKI! Just kidding.

(11-17-2008 03:37 AM)SnakeTheFox Wrote:  

(11-16-2008 10:35 AM)DeathNoteL Wrote:  I was hyped for it, but closer to release I lost interest, again with Gears 2, I may get this next year, when it's cheaper, I'll only get bored of real quick i imagine, so I'd rather pay half price.

Believe me, you wont get bored of it any time soon. This is the only game (that isn't composed of 90% level-grinding) that I've been able to play non-stop since release... that was a month ago. I still haven't completed half the side-quests (which make up 99% of the game, main quest is short-ish).

Truly though, that isn't completely due to the depth of the quests (while some are quiet deep), it's actually due to the fact that if you, like me have a relatively short attention span, you'll find yourself unable to just quest-grind. I can't recall the metaphorical metric ton of times I've been on a quest, and just found myself raiding some old schoolhouse full of raiders and a hidden ant cave. Then when I try to get back on task, I end up finding some abandoned vault full of clones named Gary (that, coincidentally, can only say 'Gary', but in different tones to demonstrate anger, frustration, confusion, and so on).

It's honestly the longest I've stayed constantly interested in one game. Normally after a few weeks of non-stop playing, I'll quit for a week and play something else. Not with this. The most I've gone without playing it has been two days. I've put in almost 100 hours of play time, and I still haven't scratched the surface of the game.

Get it. If you like Fable II or Oblivion, or any free-form 'Choose your destiny' type of game, you'll absolutely orgasm over this.

... and if you don't, you're a backwards subhuman Pollock. YOU HEAR ME POLSKI! Just kidding.

that sounds good but... im still not convinced. something deep down inside is saying... "dont play this... youll regret it"

(11-17-2008 08:12 AM)Side_Scroll'R Wrote:  that sounds good but... im still not convinced. something deep down inside is saying... "dont play this... youll regret it"

That's satan, bro.

In reguard to Snake and his Fallou 3 review/info he is correct it is a orgazmic game of epicness. It is very hard though, which is good, not many games have challenges theses days.

But as for Gears 2 it is also Epicness as it was the most anticipated game of 2008 and yes it did win 30 game awards.

Both games are great, bottom line.

Sorry for the spelling!