Why 3 was better than 4

[Throatpunch]

I am angry with Bethesda, because Fallout 3 was such a wonderful game for so many reasons.
It was different to all the other RPGS, not just a far cry clone. I used to feel constantly on edge while playing it, with the creepiness emanating from every corner, it just felt really shitty. Like, it seemed normal but you knew inside once you scratched below the surface something really fucked up was going on
contributing factors:

• The general catastrophic feel of the wasteland, it felt like a proper wasteland with the bombed out rock and green clouds.
• Vault Tecs sinister lunacy
• the awesome story
• the karmic system
• there was always someone/something out there who wanted to kill you
• the cool dungeon crawling, with the metro stations etc
• all the grey moral choices you had to make.
• the badass places like megaton, tenpenny tower, republic of dave etc

with Fallout 4

• the story was like the story of some b rated hollywood romcom/action
• it was very sunny, all the time. its not skyrim, sunny isnt east coast fallout
• the villains were like those bad James Bond ones from the 1970s who weren't even villains when it came down to it, just some random dick for the protagonist to smash, or join up with
• they got rid of karma
• the gutting of the speech and voice acting
• all the annoying characters, like kid in a fridge etc. all the random events in fallout 3 were well thought out and cool, the ones in fallout 4 just seemed to be placed in the game to annoy you.

i used to enjoy it because people would call it a normal game, and then you would tell them about all the Vault tec experiments and the enclave, and they would be weirded out, disgusted, and they always left really creeped out by it. that is gone.
its not even an RPG, its a far cry style shoot and loot clowncar ride.

Fallout 3 was the epitome of gaming brilliance, fallout 4 was this tepid replica that wasn't even the same genre.

 

[DirtyOldShoe]

There is a flaw with your article, that being, most of what you mentioned was done better in other Fallouts. So I will fix it for you

Fallout 1, 2, NV

• The general catastrophic feel of the wasteland, it felt like a proper wasteland.
• Vault Tecs sinister lunacy.
• The awesome story.
• Karma.
• Reputation.
  
• There was always someone/something out there who wanted to kill you.
• Dungeon crawling, with anything but metro stations.
• Grey moral choices you had to make that actually changed the outcome of the game or DPA-RPG.
• Badass places like Reno, New Vegas, Mariposa, etc.

Fallout 3/4

• The story was like the story of some b rated hollywood romcom/action but worse.
  
• No reputation
• No DPA-RPG elements

Fallout 1, 2, and NV are the epitome of gaming brilliance, fallout 3/4 is a tepid replica that isn't even the same genre.

 

[kraag]

• the awesome story

Storytelling isn't one of Bethesda's strong suits, the rest of what you said about 3 I tend to agree with. I've made my opinion on 4 and don't wish to get into it again, the Pigs said if I kill any more people over it I might go to prison this time.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

Look, I hardly mean to fire shots at a fellow fan of Fallout 3, seeing as I enjoyed the game very much, but...

• The general catastrophic feel of the wasteland, it felt like a proper wasteland with the bombed out rock and green clouds.
• there was always someone/something out there who wanted to kill you
• the cool dungeon crawling,

This kind of got succeeded by STALKER long before. I didn't know at the time, but that was true for a lot of games, especially for me back in the late 2000s. Horror isn't my preferred genre, so I never got far into STALKER, but it did succeed Fallout 3 in many ways shortly before Fallout 3 roared into release. Too bad that it fell out of popularity, because STALKER was the series that really deserved an AAA boost into fame.

• the karmic system
• all the grey moral choices you had to make.

Fallout 3 and grey morals? We definitely played different games here, because the Fallout 3 I remember playing had a very black-and-white, good versus evil view on morality. It was (metaphorically speaking) either be a saint who loved everyone and saved everyone, or the devil that ate children and tortured kittens. That's about as grey as a rainbow.

Fallout 3 was the epitome of gaming brilliance

It was pretty good, yeah. Excellent for console standards. Memorable for its gameplay, even if not so much for its writing.

But I would hardly call it "the epitome of gaming brilliance". An average open-world survival shooter with decent atmosphere for higher (or PC) standards, and probably a litre of cold piss for most of the classic Fallout fans.

Besides, console standards at the time basically peaked at "Whack-a-Mole from chest high walls in grey, grimy environments, then get dragged to the next objective, while being babysat by checkpoints", so Fallout 3 raising the bar then wasn't exactly a superb achievement.

 

[Jogre]

I agree with you that 3 is better than 4 in all possible ways, however I disagree with the reasons for it.

• The general catastrophic feel of the wasteland, it felt like a proper wasteland with the bombed out rock and green clouds.

Many folks argue that Fallout isn't supposed to be a proper wasteland. Fallout 1 and 2 had themes of it being a new world, the likes of which hadn't been seen before, and small communities rebuilding the world. 3 felt too much like people were still fighting over scraps when the world should, by now be much better. Although I'll admit, at least Fallout 3 attempted to have an atmosphere, unlike 4.

• the awesome story

If you look in to the story a lot more, it doesn't really make sense. Super Mutants that band toghether for no reason, A faction that's entirely dead fighting in a war, a village full of children, that after 200 years haven't grown up.

• there was always someone/something out there who wanted to kill you

Same could be argued about Fallout 4

 

[Spacemunkey]

3 was better than 4 in everything outside of combat, that said I think they're both horrible games.

 

[Sergeant Politeness]

I agree with you that Fallout 3 is better than 4, but...awesome story? Grey moral choices?

 

[R.Graves]

I agree with you that Fallout 3 is better than 4, but...awesome story? Grey moral choices?

I agree. that game has a story that falls apart if you sneeze On it.

 

[Kohno]

3 being better than 4 or vice versa doesn't make either better as an individual game. Both are utter garbage.

 

[Izak]

The general catastrophic feel of the wasteland, it felt like a proper wasteland with the bombed out rock and green clouds.

After 200 years the whole place is still covered in a green filter, there's no central government and, the atmosphere doesn't even near that of Fallout 1 & 2.

Vault Tecs sinister lunacy

Vault Tecs largely nonsensical lunacy, "Uh, let's fill a vault with hallucinogenics, that'll really help out our plans for space colonisation."

the awesome story

Yes! Such memorable and completely original ideas like, um, the Enclave? No thats been done before, the Brotherhood? Nope. Huh.

the karmic system

Were you Jesus or Satan in your playthrough?

there was always someone/something out there who wanted to kill you

This really exemplifies the lack of civilisation after 200 years.

the cool dungeon crawling, with the metro stations etc

Oh man, all those dark metro tunnels that were filled with orcs! And who could forget all those broken down buildings that were filled with orcs! And those broken down buildings filled with ghoulified olympic athletes, those were my favourite.

all the grey moral choices you had to make.

What was your favourite grey moral choice? Was it the one where you either nuke a city or choose not to, yeah that was a really hard choice.

the badass places like megaton, tenpenny tower, republic of dave etc

So the really "badass places" were a town built around an unexploded A-Bomb, a hotel established by a British migrant who somehow made his way to America and, a town that by all rights, shouldn't exist? Do you also like Little Lamplight?
Fallout 3 was a step down, it was drivel that didn't manage to capture the greatness of the originals. "Epitome of gaming brilliance" bah! It was Oblivion with guns. The best thing I can say about 3 is that it's better than 4 and that's not saying much.

 

[R.Graves]

Thanks.. I... I was too lazy... To correct him.

 

[R.Graves]

I least the commonwealth has somewhat of a history. we have with Fallout 3 is a world where the bombs dropped and then people left the vaults and then nothing happened for about two hundred years. 200 f****** years!

I am not defending Fallout 4 I'm just saying they both suck

 

[Millim]

Eh...
I used to love F3 back in the day, but going back to it is like going back to that one friend who you used to go parties with, where you would get drunk and high together and he'll always get laid or something, but now you've matured and got a job and family and they are still drinking and getting high with a few kids he never sees. (This has no relation with my life what so ever).
So yeah, I'm still a little biased towards 3, but even I admit, there's not much substance to it. I tried playing it for a review and I don't think I can complete it this time round. Knowing what we know now, I can't humour it anymore. I recently went through New Vegas and loved every minute of it, but F3 just feels way too... outdated(?) which is sad, as I don't like using that as a reason to not play a game. I like older games, I could pick up and play nearly any PS1 game I own without a problem, yet I have problems taking F3 seriously.

That being said, F4 creates problems that F3 didn't even have. While there is a bit more substance, it's still not very good.
It learns from a few of the mistakes 3 has, but like I said, it also creates more.
F4 is like that one disappointing son who can't even kill himself properly, he just can't find the right area to slit his wrists and instead just ends up scaring himself.

What I'm trying to say is, F3 is better, but only because it was once I game I did enjoy for a lot longer. It took me years to really get me turned off it. F4 on the other hand, took me a few months to get downright angry.

 

[Izak]

Oh, by the way you shouldn't have really made this thread, one already exists on the exact same topic (though that thread's less reverent of Fallout 3). You should ask Hassknecht to merge it with the older one.

 

[Sn1p3r187]

In my opinion they both suck. Fallout 3 was only better in the regards that it tried to be an RPG while Fallout 4 tried to be STALKER. Other than that, story sucked, characters sucked, gameplay sucked in a lot of regards, the only thing 4 did better than 3 was really the gunplay. I do admit the only thing good about Fallout 3 was the setting. But every time I think of a reason to re-download Fallout 3. A small spot in my mind says "what the fuck are you thinking? This game honestly sucked ass".

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

^^^^^^

I know that feeling, I have tried several times now to play Fallout 3 again just to play the Pitt and Point Lookout.
But the damn game becomes so boring and such a chore to get through, always halfway I get sick of trying to find all the locations on the map because they are so damn pointless and boring.
So what if there is useful crap such as munition, caps, and stimpacks, it is honestly not worth the hours of wandering around.

And yes, I put in several mods to make the game more tolerable such as weather mods, classic weapons, and other such.

Fallout 3 and 4 are just boring, plain and simple. Yes, Fallout 4 has better shooting mechanics than FNV but at least combat is only part of FNV where as it is one of the main points of Fallout 4.
Bethesda tried to much to turn Fallout into a Borderlands clone and Fallout 4 is the result.

Fuck them, their crappy designers, their marketing team, and their damn greedy CEOs.
I hope Bethesda burns one day.

 

[0wing]

Fallout 4 on par with STALKER? That's funny. STALKER even had better gunplay more similar to ARMA 2 but not too realistic to cause troubles.

Fallout 3 and 4 are just boring, plain and simple. Yes, Fallout 4 has better shooting mechanics than FNV but at least combat is only part of FNV where as it is one of the main points of Fallout 4.

Ugh, I know this is topic derailing but can anyone explain why the flying oblivion combat in F4 is much better than NV? At least classic unmodded.

 

[mrchaos]

• The general nonsense feel of the wasteland, it felt like nothing made sense with the bombed out rock and green clouds.

• Vault Tecs sinister insanity

• the terrible story

• the awful karmic system

• there was always someone/something out there who wanted to kill you

• the pointless dungeon crawling, with the metro stations etc

• the lack of moral choices you had to make.

• the idiotic places like megaton, tenpenny tower, republic of dave etc

I fixed it.

 

[Izak]

I get the feeling that Doomsday will make a very passive aggressive reply to all these posts making fun of Fallout 3, when he comes back online.

 

[Risewild]

I do admit the only thing good about Fallout 3 was the setting. But every time I think of a reason to re-download Fallout 3. A small spot in my mind says "what the fuck are you thinking? This game honestly sucked ass".

^^^^^^

I know that feeling, I have tried several times now to play Fallout 3 again just to play the Pitt and Point Lookout.
But the damn game becomes so boring and such a chore to get through, always halfway I get sick of trying to find all the locations on the map because they are so damn pointless and boring.
So what if there is useful crap such as munition, caps, and stimpacks, it is honestly not worth the hours of wandering around.

Best way to enjoy Fallout 3 is using the Tale of Two Wastelands Fallout New Vegas mod .

I do agree that Fallout 3 was better than Fallout 4, but only because 3 tried to be a RPG while 4 just didn't even try (although it is sold on Steam using only one genre: RPG).

I think Fallout 3 would have made a bit more sense if it was happening 15 to 25 years after the bombs fell or something, definitely not 200 years.

Also Fallout 3 made a vault have FEV, a British guy reaching America somehow, resurrected the Enclave and gave them more numbers than they ever had, distributed a lot of Chinese weaponry in Washington DC for some reason, made the GECK which is the most advanced terraforming device in the prewar world into a water purifier part (Vault city was made using a GECK, it made the soil fertile and pure and also purified all the water sources in the area too just by itself) and worst of them all, Fallout 3 made Aliens being canon .