Fallout 3 reviews round-up #13

[Per]

Game Informer, 9.5.<blockquote>While I found scavenging to be oddly satisfying, the true heart and soul of Fallout 3 is how player choice is incorporated into the questing and combat. Every mission puts your alignment in the world on trial. Given how tough some of the choices are, it’s difficult to play the entire game with the ideology of “I’m a good Samaritan” or “I’m a ruthless killer.” I entered the game with the hope of being as evil as possible, but ended up being a gray in-betweener. This falls squarely onto the shoulders of the phenomenal writing. The dialogue is brilliantly penned, some of the situations couldn’t be more precarious, and the game has a knack for making you feel guilty and/or foolish. Unfortunately, as strong as the dialogue is, it’s hard to embrace its emotional moments as all of the acting is incredibly wooden.</blockquote>Gamekult, 7.<blockquote>Although the overall graphics and their brown/grey tones typical of Next-Gen games leave a bit to be desired, some environments are truely magnificent, despite a technical proficiency clearly outdated. The graphics engine shows its age, with disgraceful textures and rough modeling not very successful, which is even more annoying as the game slows down heavily during loaded scenes. We also experienced few graphical bugs and occasional crashes, sadly something quite usual from games of this studio, even if they're scarce enough. Let's finish on a more positive note with a special mention for the excellent 40s and 50s musics that one can hear on the Pip-Boy radio, that give the game a nostalgic feeling that neither art direction nor dialogue seem to be able to convey. Definitely a plus to the atmosphere that remains one of the strong points of Fallout 3. </blockquote>GiantRealm, 81% (and a fairly damning list of gripes).<blockquote>When venturing into the vast wasteland that is Fallout 3, there is only one important thing to remember: This is not a Fallout title. From the offset, it's very obvious that this is a reskinned Oblivion. From the absolutely gorgeous, if destroyed, vistas to the somewhat clunky, borderline dysfunctional AI, it shares all the problems and glory that came with its predecessor. If you can put that aside, which I have, by giving it another name (for the record, I call it "Trashland," but that's an appealing name to me as that's how I see a post-apocalyptic world), you will find yourself enjoying the world much, much more.

I can't stress it enough, the world should be what you're after here. if you're looking for amazing story, memorable personality, NPCs you really, really want to kill (or save, I guess, if that's your style), or anything else, I'd honestly suggest you look elsewhere.</blockquote>ScrewAttack, 8.5/10.<blockquote>Everything that Bioshock got wrong Fallout 3 gets right. Your weapons and armor degrade with use and have to be repaired by either you or a shopkeeper. Fail to maintain your gear and you'll lose your gun midway through a firefight or end up with armor that offers no protection. If that wasn't bad enough you have to pick and choose what skills you want to use and *gasp* actually play the game that way! Focus on Speech, Barter, and Sneak and you'll be a well-informed consumer that can talk his or her way out of almost any situation, should you get caught. The whole game is built around the idea that anyone can get out of almost any situation. The downside to this is that you cannot be the supreme badass you played in Bioshock. For example, on one mission I was pinned down by the Enclave and, had my Science skill been high enough, I could have sealed them in a room and moved on. Instead I had to shoot it out with them because I focused more on guns than Science.</blockquote>In bonus minor news, Sarcastic Gamer posts two Survival Guides to Fallout 3, here and here.

 

[Simeon]

Hmm, captivating.
It seems as time passes, or as the reviewers become farther from the big mainstream gaming sites, the scores seem to drop.
Very interesting.

 

[Ixyroth]

I can't stress it enough, the world should be what you're after here. If you're looking for amazing story, memorable personality, NPCs you really, really want to kill (or save, I guess, if that's your style), or anything else, I'd honestly suggest you look elsewhere.

What is the "world" without a story, characters, or anything else?

Garbage heap simulator with mutant gibfest?

 

[kikomiko]

I can't stress it enough, the world should be what you're after here. if you're looking for amazing story, memorable personality, NPCs you really, really want to kill (or save, I guess, if that's your style), or anything else, I'd honestly suggest you look elsewhere.

I disagree completely with this statement, except for the praise of the game world.

 

[Bowyerte]

Gamekult, 7.<blockquote>Bien que les décors de surface et leurs tons marrons/gris assez typiques de la Next Gen laissent un peu à désirer, certains environnements sont réellement splendides, et ce en dépit d'une technique franchement à la ramasse. Le moteur graphique accuse un peu son âge avec des textures disgrâcieuses et une modélisation à la serpe pas toujours heureuse, ce qui est encore plus pénible lorsque le jeu se permet de ramer copieusement lors de séquences chargées. Notons au passage quelques bugs graphiques et quelques plantages inopportuns, hélas assez coutumiers des jeux du studio même s'ils sont relativement rares. Terminons sur une note plus positive avec une mention des excellentes musiques typées années 40 et 50 que l'on peut entendre sur les radios du Pip Boy, et qui donnent au jeu un cachet nostalgique et suranné que la direction artistique et les dialogues peinent à retranscrire. Un complément pour l'atmosphère qui est décidément un des points forts de ce Fallout 3.</blockquote>

For those of you who don't speak french, here's a rough translation of what Gamekult said in this extract :

Although the overall graphics and their brown/grey tones typical of Next-Gen games leave a bit to be desired, some environments are truely magnificent, despite a technical proficiency clearly outdated. The graphics engine shows its age, with disgraceful textures and rough modeling not very successful, which is even more annoying as the game slows down heavily during loaded scenes. We also experienced few graphical bugs and occasional crashes, sadly something quite usual from games of this studio, even if they're scarce enough. Let's finish on a more positive note with a special mention for the excellent 40s and 50s musics that one can hear on the Pip-Boy radio, that give the game a nostalgic feeling that neither art direction nor dialogue seem to be able to convey. Definitely a plus to the atmosphere that remains one of the strong points of Fallout 3.

Hmm, captivating.
It seems as time passes, or as the reviewers become farther from the big mainstream gaming sites, the scores seem to drop.
Very interesting.

I can't speak for the other gaming sites, but gamekult actually uses the full 10 points scale to rate games, 5 being average and 10 perfect (no game has received this honor yet). So a 7/10 from them means the game is good, above average but not excellent. It's actually a pretty good score considering the many, many flaws the review lists in its text and its pro/con summary.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

1. I did not care about the NPCs.
2. I did not care about the story.
3. The writing is a cheap imitation of the previous Fallout titles.
4. The NPCs are pretty stupid and the AI is completely wonk.
5. Mobs can get caught on the smallest bit of geometry.
6. The quests are binary, as mentioned, and that's annoying.
7. I didn't really care about finding my father.
8. There's too much "junk" in the world.
9. Some of the support systems (engineering and lockpicking for example) aren't really support. They're necessary and core for the development of your character and totally key in succeeding.
10. The inventory is clunky and over-designed. Hell, the pip boy itself was left in the oven way too long (which is somewhat ironic considering how quickly this game came together).
11. Perhaps the greatest fault of the title (as a Fallout game), I felt no great connection to the people in the world or my actions.
12. The VATS system makes the entire game, assuming you haven't specced yourself into gimpville, way too easy.

I notice that every one of these complaints was a concern before we even saw and gameplay videos and have gradually turned into complaints.

That said, none of those things take away my desire to explore the world even more. It is truly an expansive post-apocalyptic paradise and is far more compelling than Oblivion (or it's predecessors) could ever have hoped to be. In the same way as Fable it seems as though the game succeeds in spite of itself. I can see a lot more people divided on this than there was on Oblivion.

At this point though, I feel like I'm walking in circles. If exploring an alternate-reality post-apocalyptic D.C. sounds appealing to you, this game delivers in spades. I'd go as far to say that this may be the best game of the year for you (it isn't for me, but then, I get hung up on the small things more often than not). However, if you're looking for something deep and life-altering - something that really makes you question how you think about games (like Fallout 2 did), I'd highly recommend you look elsewhere - unless you are very, very easily entertained.

Looks like they created another successful wondering sim. Interesting that he says that he felt that it succeeds in spite of itself and that he thinks that fan reaction will be even more divided than on Oblivion. I wonder if that's because of the franchise it claims to be a part of or if it's because of the game itself.

I thought it was a good review and it's pretty much exactly what I think the game is like (though I get fed up with endless wandering much faster than this guy).

 

[Brother None]

Hmm, captivating.
It seems as time passes, or as the reviewers become farther from the big mainstream gaming sites, the scores seem to drop.
Very interesting.

That always happens. To every AAA game. The score starts out high and then slowly starts dropping. Saints Row 2 started at MetaCritic 90 and has now dropped to 82. That's pretty drastics, but they all drop (Bioshock from 98 to 96, or something). Fallout 3 will probably lose some more points on average, it's what happens.

 

[Josein]

I've always seen the reviews something meaningless, for me at least. It's like a roller coaster of personal opinions and hype, gets me on my nerves already. I noticed long time ago that the games I enjoy more usually don't sell well and don't get high reviews.

 

[Yellow]

I've always seen the reviews something meaningless, for me at least. It's like a roller coaster of personal opinions and hype, gets me on my nerves already. I noticed long time ago that the games I enjoy more usually don't sell well and don't get high reviews.

Well, duh. Good review scores mean It's good for everybody. Your personal, refined tastes are almost always going to lie in the games that are not loved by the masses.