What Fallout game has the best 1st act? What makes it your favorite?

Potatoroid

First time out of the vault
Last night, I noticed that almost every Fallout game lets you skip through the first part of the main quest to find the plot item (Water chip in 1, GECK in 2, James in 3, Benny/Platinum Chip in NV) if you know where to find it. But when you're first playing through the game, you don't know where it is and you're following a breadcrumb trail of information through various towns. Said towns typically provide side quests and other activities to get sidetracked on.

Whenever you go back and play through Fallout 1/2/3/NV, what is your preferred routing? Do you skip through to the plot item, follow the breadcrumb trail, or forge your own path before deciding to get the plot item?

In New Vegas, I prefer taking a northern route because the side quests with the Fiends, Freeside, etc are more interesting than those along the southern U-shaped route. Sometimes I'll rush in to confront Benny, other times I will wait so I can screw around before getting that NCR + Legion pardon.

Also realized: Even when the location is obvious (of course Benny is in New Vegas), the final destination will through up additional obstacles to ill-prepared players. In New Vegas, being forced to disarm inside a guarded casino really throws off your plan unless you have the evidence, a high speech skill, the Black Widow perk, or are willing to take an infamy hit by going in guns blazing. In my first play through, I didn't have those and Benny was able to escape to the Fort.

In Fallout 1, super mutants guard the entrance to the Necropolis sewers and will rip through low level characters. I had to sneak past them.

Am not sure about Tactics or 76, but 4 is the only one I know of to buck this trend. You can only skip as far as meeting Nick. Until you do, Kellogg won't be accessible, Virgil won't be present, and you can't simply dig a hole to reach the Institute. I've been thinking of ways to improve Fallout 4, and I felt the Institute's location under the Commonwealth Institute of Technology's campus was too obvious for a breadcrumb trail. In light of that, I'm brainstorming alternative locations for the Institute, or challenges for players who just planned on digging a hole in the ground.
 
In Fallout 1, super mutants guard the entrance to the Necropolis sewers and will rip through low level characters. I had to sneak past them.
You can immediately access the sewers from the first map when you first arrive in Necropolis. Unless you mean the entrance to Vault 12, then before interacting with Harry, the Super Mutants will remain neutral to you, and will not be hostile unless you fail to fool Harry into thinking that you're a ghoul (I watched a video where a dumbass character can 'fool' Harry into a conversation consists of only 'Huh?!' or something like that, and Harry ended up ignoring you altogether).
 
I'd say my favorite two Fallouts have them. 1 and NV. I like how 1 takes you to V15 yet shows you Shady Sands, simple yet effective. Which sends you to Junktown and so on. I thought it was simple but not boring which makes good use of the open map while never being restrictive.

New Vegas I liked because of how it feels like a chase (though it never is) when you first play it. People said he went this way then this way and you're like dammit. And those quests are fun to do to get favor with people for the info on Benny. Vegas was an obvious location but it's more fun to be introduced to the world on that backwards C shape on the map on your way there.
 
NV is the best on the first 2 playthroughs. Fallout 1 is the best spanning multiple playthroughs.
 
I really like the start in Fallout 1, just sets you out into the wasteland

I don't like fallout 2 opening: first of all fuck the temple of trials... the fact that you ultimately need 3 to 4 skills is just bullshit..... never really cared for the tribal stuff.... klamath is meh.... but the Den is perfect... drug addicts, criminals, slavers.... just dark stuff

Fallout 3: I like the opening... you being born, life in the vault, the crazy outbreak, getting out of the vault.... but after you play it once it's just boring to replay it

Fallout NV: the opening is fine, you get the option to skip the tutorial wich is good

Fallout 4: I really like that you start before the war, but it should have lasted longer, missed opportunity.... you have the same bethesda family dramatic bullshit.... what's next, finding your granny in Fo5??
then you get power armor and fight a deathclaw in the first 10 minutes.... just bullshit
 
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