Will Fallout 3 be remembered?

[Falloutvet]

fallout 3 is a disposable game made in an environment of disposable entertainment. much like the music scene nowadays, video games today are meant to be consumed rapidly so the hungry youngins can return to eagerly claw at the cages of fresh game turkeys.

 

[Commiered]

I've forgotten most of Fallout 3 already, and only finished it a couple weeks back. All I have is a lingering festering hatred of it, but for the life of me I can't remember almost anything about it in any detail. Whereas I still remember whole quest dialogues from the originals, the characters etc.

Not just from Fallout, but other memorable games too: Gothic, The Witcher, Planescape Torment.

I'm actually finding it hard to know what some of the guys here are talking about regarding Fallout 3 cause I can't even remember it. I'd reinstall the thing just to refresh my memory but it seems to be too much effort to do so.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

I wouldn't call it the best system out there (not by a longshot) but the worst? God no. And I do in fact think it's a pretty good RPG. It's worth playing just for the depth of the lore, the size of the world, and the variety of the environment. The gameplay itself is only so-so.

The world and lore were certainly the selling point. However, the article in question was about RPG systems, and the games discussed were IWDII, NWN, VtM:B and Morrowind, Morrowind being the prime example of how an RPG system should not be. We're talking the times before Oblivion was ever made, here.

 

[Roflcore]

Is anybody actually still playing it? I stopped some three weeks ago and I really don't know if I ever will. Modding is really some piece of work and the main game is not worth wasting any time on..I think many people feel the same way, many forums already moved on

 

[Ausdoerrt]

I uninstalled it after I got to Rivet City, because I didn't feel like randomly running around, and had no incentive to start *yet another* dungeon crawl for the main quest.

That opened up some time for me to play the Witcher's "price of Neutrality", King's Bounty and the new modpack for Temple of Elemental Evil.

 

[Commiered]

Price of Neutrality is good. It's an example of how much care the developer gave even a small 3 quest free add on, more care and detail in creating an entire map and dialogues and even this tiny addon had multiple endings!

 

[UncannyGarlic]

I think it'll be remembered by fans of BS's FO franchise but not by most gamers and not played much which is why I voted "rather not." I think that it'll really be embraced as a spritual brother to the TES serries (the entire FO franchise from 3 on will likely be) but whether or not it'll be played depends on the modding community. My guess is that it won't end up with a mod community like Oblivion (which has some beautiful graphics mods, can't speak for the gameplay as I was disgusted by it to the point of uninstalling it [I borrowed it from a friend who I no longer live by]) and will likely be abandoned in favor of Fallout 4 or possibly partially even TESV (how much will depend on how popular TESV is). Will it be remembered as a great game? Doubtful. Will it be remembered as a milestone? Certainly not.

Later I got my hands on Tactics, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I think it gets a bad rap and I'm not really sure why. Fun game.

It takes a giant shit on canon, has equipment that doesn't fit the setting (Fallout 2 had this to a lesser degree), and isn't a RPG (as well as having skill balance problems worse than Fallout 1&2). That said, I like the game for what it is, a spin-off.

I think everyone should at least be glad for Bethesda keeping it alive.

I was quite content with it being dead, similar to the way that I was content with there only being three Indiana Jones films.

And three Star Wars movies (the Ewok movie and xmas special don't count) and one Matrix movie.

for example if you take a university course in science fiction today you'll probably talk about Alien, The Matrix and maybe Jurassic Park. all three had countless terrible sequels but they're ignored. it will be the same with fallout.

I actually like Aliens (which was a different genre, action instead of suspense) myself but after that it became ass.

I guess I don't understand this idea that seems to say, subsequent games in a series can't change anything about the basic game type or play mechanics or they're no longer true ____ games.
<snip>
I guess for me the important thing is that the setting and feel are the same, not so much the play mechanics or camera view.

You mention a lot of spin-offs which are not sequels and not part of the main series (though sometimes the events are). SC: Ghost, WC: Adventures, and WoW were all spin-offs created by Blizzard and while events may or may not be canon (WC: Adventures is and was even canceled), Blizzard is clear that they are spin-offs.

I think the video game consumers HAVE already spoken on where they generally stand. The sales of the Wii somewhat prove that. People who like the Wii like gameplay before graphics.

Wait a minute there, they like more physically interactive gameplay and affordable prices more than $400-600 super graphic boxes. Games like DDR and, even more so, Guitar Hero and Rockband are what "people" want because it appeals to the casual crowd. The Wii is designed to be a family entertainment center and has something that most people will like. I like the Wii and all but the reason it did so well was because they saw the writing on the wall and knew that if they wanted more customers that they would need to expand the market into more physical interactivity (which has always been popular). The Wii shows that a varriety of gameplay (including traditional console gameplay) is the most profitable route.

Mmm, maybe I've been too hard on PS:T, with that line of thought I just realized that there's a bit of thoughtful and eloquent game design behind a game that can offer a different experience with the same exact character each time through. However, I still hold it against the game that you cannot make a viable fighter or thief without having them being especially useless.

Actually, PS:T would be a game that might benefit from not granting the player the power over stats and having no fighter or thief classes offered. Editing is a powerful tool and great for enhancing the experience (StarWars Episode I: The Phantom Edit shows how less can be more), the question in games, RPGs in particular, is when has the editing gone too far?

However 'first open-world RPG' for most of the modern gamers would rather be Oblivioin. And Fo3 is just an Obliv derivative.

It might end up being the second major bridge, bring in gamers who don't find a medieval fantasy setting appealing.

The world and lore were certainly the selling point. However, the article in question was about RPG systems, and the games discussed were IWDII, NWN, VtM:B and Morrowind, Morrowind being the prime example of how an RPG system should not be. We're talking the times before Oblivion was ever made, here.

What's worse than Morrowind and Oblivion's system? Running, jumping, sneaking, and falling everywhere while traveling just to level up skills is pretty shitty and the speech skill in Oblivion (can't speak for Morrowind as I got caught in so many seems and had little more enjoyment than Oblivion [enjoyed exploring more] in the 9ish hours I played it that I quit) was painful (the first character I made was a speech character and I played about 20 hours of talking to people and upping my speech skill before creating a new character which I played for another 10-20 hours before being done with the game for life). VtM:B had terrible combat but otherwise I thought that the skill system was fine, NWN is fine (though the campaign doesn't use many of the skills), and I haven't played IWD2 but unless it did something crazy (which I doubt) it's system should be fine.

All of this talk of FFVII makes me want to contribute my thoughts on that. FFVII is a great all around game, it does everything well (gameplay, characters, plot, setting) with the plot and setting (latter of which is arguable) being what really elevates it. I personally found FFVIII's characters more interesting/engaging and FFIX's gameplay to be better (I'd say that FFIX is arguably the best FF game [top for me] along with VI and VII). Why FFVII was/is so big I have no clue, nor did I know it was huge at the time (I'd played and enjoyed FFIV and FFVI so I naturally got FFVII for PC).

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Mmm, maybe I've been too hard on PS:T, with that line of thought I just realized that there's a bit of thoughtful and eloquent game design behind a game that can offer a different experience with the same exact character each time through. However, I still hold it against the game that you cannot make a viable fighter or thief without having them being especially useless.

I did not really feel that Fighter class is useless. Thief pretty much was though. On the other hand, it does not matter much which class you choose, because it does not define who you are much, and there is little to no fighting involved in the game.

What's worse than Morrowind and Oblivion's system? Running, jumping, sneaking, and falling everywhere while traveling just to level up skills is pretty shitty and the speech skill in Oblivion (can't speak for Morrowind as I got caught in so many seems and had little more enjoyment than Oblivion [enjoyed exploring more] in the 9ish hours I played it that I quit) was painful (the first character I made was a speech character and I played about 20 hours of talking to people and upping my speech skill before creating a new character which I played for another 10-20 hours before being done with the game for life). VtM:B had terrible combat but otherwise I thought that the skill system was fine, NWN is fine (though the campaign doesn't use many of the skills), and I haven't played IWD2 but unless it did something crazy (which I doubt) it's system should be fine.

This was exactly my point. I was responding to someone who was trying to disagree.

IWD2 shares the system that is by and large the same as BG2.

All of this talk of FFVII makes me want to contribute my thoughts on that. FFVII is a great all around game, it does everything well (gameplay, characters, plot, setting) with the plot and setting (latter of which is arguable) being what really elevates it. I personally found FFVIII's characters more interesting/engaging and FFIX's gameplay to be better (I'd say that FFIX is arguably the best FF game [top for me] along with VI and VII). Why FFVII was/is so big I have no clue, nor did I know it was huge at the time (I'd played and enjoyed FFIV and FFVI so I naturally got FFVII for PC).

I'm not sure which talk of FFVII you are referring to. If you mean the usual fanboi speak, well, I find FFVII fanbois worse than Bethesda fanbois, the same kind of people who are unwilling to accept obvious flaws. IMO FFVII is the worst of FF series, with the horrendous graphics and stupid story (only marginally better than FO3). The materia system is pretty much the only thing that saves it from being absolutely horrible. For me, the ratings would be FFTA, FFIII, FFVIII, FFV (in that order) in terms of gameplay, and FFIX then FFVIII then FFIII in terms of story. I am yet to play FFVI.

BTW, this here is arguably the best review of the FF series: http://warmech.fantasyworldxd.co.uk/warmechsmall.html Gives exactly the reasons why I find the FFVII plot and characters subpar.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

This was exactly my point. I was responding to someone who was trying to disagree.

IWD2 shares the system that is by and large the same as BG2.

Gotcha, my bad.

I'm not sure which talk of FFVII you are referring to. If you mean the usual fanboi speak, well, I find FFVII fanbois worse than Bethesda fanbois, the same kind of people who are unwilling to accept obvious flaws. IMO FFVII is the worst of FF series, with the horrendous graphics and stupid story (only marginally better than FO3). The materia system is pretty much the only thing that saves it from being absolutely horrible. For me, the ratings would be FFTA, FFIII, FFVIII, FFV (in that order) in terms of gameplay, and FFIX then FFVIII then FFIII in terms of story. I am yet to play FFVI.

FFVI is great, the best of classic Final Fantasy (I-VI). It has a solid system, a good-great plot, excellent pacing, and is all around well designed. I haven't played much of FFIII (you are talking about the one for NES and not SNES, right?) so I can't say anything about it other than it looks promising with it's job system.

I don't consider the FFT games FF games as they are spin-offs. That said, I think that FFT is far superior to FFTA with the only major flaw being that you end up only using special characters. FFTA had too few classes, jobs were a pain (spend the entire game fucking running from job to job instead of playing through the plot), and hidden characters were a bitch (because of the jobs, felt like work to get them).

I haven't gotten around to finishing up FFV yet, I'm about 3/4 the way through but it's biggest flaw is the plot and story, which is just bad. The next biggest flaw would be that some classes are strictly better than others, which would be fine if you got the best classes last and the worst first but it's all mixed up.

There is a certain amount of taste involved when it comes to plot and characters (writing quality is not), I personally really enjoyed FFVII's plot, setting, and characters a great deal but I'd agree that it really doesn't do anything new in that department, it just does it well. The materia system is great with the only flaw is that it makes characters more mechanically similar (it's been awhile since I played it but that's what I remember from my second play through).

I really need to give FFVIII another shot but drawing was probably the worst mechanic in any FF game, ever, mostly because it was just too slow and turned into a grind, especially with having it have such a huge impact on stats. The underlying idea of stealing magic from enemies wasn't bad, it just needed to use a more traditional casting system (MP) and cut out the stored up spells.

FFIX is all around good, I particularly like it's character and skill system (learning from equipment) but it really didn't capture me as well as FFVII and FFVIII with it's characters and story (which is a taste thing rather than it having problems).

BTW, this here is arguably the best review of the FF series: http://warmech.fantasyworldxd.co.uk/warmechsmall.html Gives exactly the reasons why I find the FFVII plot and characters subpar.

I'll check that out.

 

[rcorporon]

Is anybody actually still playing it? I stopped some three weeks ago and I really don't know if I ever will. Modding is really some piece of work and the main game is not worth wasting any time on..I think many people feel the same way, many forums already moved on

I toss it in my PS3 here and there out of a sense of obligation to the $60 I spent on it... then I play for about an hour, and stop.

I then usually put Little Big Planet back into my PS3 and play that, remembering how fun games can be.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

FFVI is great, the best of classic Final Fantasy (I-VI). It has a solid system, a good-great plot, excellent pacing, and is all around well designed. I haven't played much of FFIII (you are talking about the one for NES and not SNES, right?) so I can't say anything about it other than it looks promising with it's job system.

Yes, the Japan-only FFIII for NES. It does have a fan-translated ROM though. It's basically like FFV but with fewer jobs and a slightly better story. It's also a spiritual predeccessor to FFIX. And it does have an NDS remake, but I have not tried that.

I don't consider the FFT games FF games as they are spin-offs. That said, I think that FFT is far superior to FFTA with the only major flaw being that you end up only using special characters. FFTA had too few classes, jobs were a pain (spend the entire game fucking running from job to job instead of playing through the plot), and hidden characters were a bitch (because of the jobs, felt like work to get them).

Well, they are spinoffs, of course. I do rate FFTA over FFT though, just personal preference. I'm not sure what you're talking about, but FFTA had a huge number of jobs (as many if not more than FFV or FFT), and also had 4 different races with different jobs for each, which I found interesting. The battle was pretty much the only fun thing, thus I liked the side quests, but the main story was just kind of there for the hell of it, or maybe just to let you steal cool equips from special characters

I haven't gotten around to finishing up FFV yet, I'm about 3/4 the way through but it's biggest flaw is the plot and story, which is just bad. The next biggest flaw would be that some classes are strictly better than others, which would be fine if you got the best classes last and the worst first but it's all mixed up.

They overdid it with the number of jobs in FFV; there are too many, and you pretty much also finish the game with everyone in the Mime class so the rest of the jobs are kind of there only to train skills. That's why I think FFIII is better, give it a shot.

There is a certain amount of taste involved when it comes to plot and characters (writing quality is not), I personally really enjoyed FFVII's plot, setting, and characters a great deal but I'd agree that it really doesn't do anything new in that department, it just does it well.

I liked the setting but not really the plot or the characters because there was comparatively little character development, and it all felt kind of static.

I really need to give FFVIII another shot but drawing was probably the worst mechanic in any FF game, ever, mostly because it was just too slow and turned into a grind, especially with having it have such a huge impact on stats. The underlying idea of stealing magic from enemies wasn't bad, it just needed to use a more traditional casting system (MP) and cut out the stored up spells.

IMO most FF games eventually turn into a grind. FFI is probably the worst by far in the department, followed by FFIX, FFV and FFVIII. in FFVIII you pretty much find that one monster that gives you the right magic and draw until you're full, and then move on to the next... Some of the GF "refinement" skills are useful for getting higher level spells. It took me three tries and total of two or so years to finally finish FFVIII lol.

FFIX is all around good, I particularly like it's character and skill system (learning from equipment) but it really didn't capture me as well as FFVII and FFVIII with it's characters and story (which is a taste thing rather than it having problems).

It felt more traditional FF-like, and I found the story more profound and touching, unlike the 'big bad guy who wants to destroy the world because (s)he is evil/angry' story of FFVII or FFVIII. But, opinions, opinions.

 

[Public]

Is anybody actually still playing it? I stopped some three weeks ago and I really don't know if I ever will. Modding is really some piece of work and the main game is not worth wasting any time on..I think many people feel the same way, many forums already moved on

I'm not playing it anymore, just waiting for Construction Set... I mean GECK to be released.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Garden of Evil Creation Kit?

 

[Tourdion]

I'm not playing it anymore, just waiting for Construction Set... I mean GECK to be released.

I will never play the main quest, watched endings and all other things on youtube. just going to wait for Geck and good mods, but i guess that things aren't going to change drastically. its a shame.

 

[Public]

Garden of Evil Creation Kit?

that's a good one

I will never play the main quest, watched endings and all other things on youtube. just going to wait for Geck and good mods, but i guess that things aren't going to change drastically. its a shame.

I've seen and read the ending and all that before playing the game...heh.

 

[marko2te]

Only way Fallout 3 will not be forgotten is by work of modders who could make this game actually playable but without mods this game would have been forgotten with a release of a shinier A title.

 

[MedX]

Who remembers Fallout 1 and 2?
Fallout fan boys.
Who will remember Fallout 3 in 10 years time?
Fallout fan boys.

Off topic throw in;
Arcanum is better then Fallout 1, 2, or 3 in the way people on these boards tend to judge RPGs.

 

[jamesmcm]

Absolutely.

It's up there with Morrowind and Oblivion in the greatest games I have ever played. Bethesda did a great job and I eagerly await Fallout 4.

 

[Public]

Oh shit...

 

[rcorporon]

Absolutely.

It's up there with Morrowind and Oblivion in the greatest games I have ever played. Bethesda did a great job and I eagerly await Fallout 4.

He's everywhere!

MW is one of my favourite games of all time, I'll give you that.

Oblivion was a shallow, soulless version of MW that is best forgotten, if only for the "Persuasion" mini game.

FO3 is even more forgettable than Oblivion.