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 Not my cup of tea Jan 06, 2009
This game got such great reviews that I asked for it as a christmas present. I played it for about a total of 10-15 hours and didn't like it very much. I have never really played an RPG before but could stand the talking with people. I found some aspects of the game very annoying though.
I don't know how far in you have to get to get some cool weapons but after approx 15 hours of play I was still a long ways from being able to pick the lock to the armory. All the other weapons you pick up from dead people don't have much ammo and are usually in bad condition.
Also, not enough ammo was readily available. You have to waste ammo on mutated animals as you investigate the wasteland who are good for nothing except radioactive meat.
Vats is cool at first where the player can freeze the game and aim for a certain body part with a percentage that your shot will hit. However after a major fire fight it gets annoying having to freeze the game every 5 seconds to shoot. Shooting without Vats is damn near impossible.
Couple things I did like were
The graphics and sound are good. I like the slow motion kill shots. However some of the shots are a little too much I didn't need to see a angry dogs head fly off.
I liked having a pet dog though who can be your buddy as you investigate the wasteland. That was cool sorta like I am Legend.
Overall I could see why some have rated this well. If you are like me somewhere between a casual gamer and hardcore than this game may not be for you. I like to sit down an play video games for a little while this game requires a lot of time that I was not willing to invest. If you have the time to play you will probably enjoy this game. I gave it 3 stars cause overall the quality of the game was good but the fun aspect of the game was lacking for someone without major time to play.
 Fallout 3 is simply awesome Jan 06, 2009
This game is the best one I have on PS3. Previous posts mention bugs, but I have not encountered any, and I've played it for probably 60+ hours so far. The artwork is simply breath-taking as you explore the ruins in D.C. The options and missions and side-missions are seemingly endless and the wide variety of skills and weapons make the experience even better. It would be perfect if it had a multiplayer, online option, but that may be asking too much. Highly recommended, especially if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic stuff, like me.
Game. Of. The. Year. Jan 06, 2009
And if some noteworthy website/publication didn't give Fallout 3 the nod for g.o.t.y, they're crazy.
**Minor Spoilers**
Fallout 3 is one of the best games I have ever played, and I've been an avid gamer since the Atari 2600 days. There are a few reasons why this game resonates with me. First, the game plays out like those old D&D or Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80's. Remember them? Well if you don't they were basically books which gave you choices in certain situations on what to do next. (Kill the man? turn to page 33) Fallout 3 gives you choices upon choices, which in and of itself wouldn't mean much. However, since every choice you make has the potential for long lasting effects (some are felt for as long as you play the game), you feel as though you really need to choose carefully. You're invested deeply in the character and the story because of this.
As an example, there is a man in the first hour of the game who is dying and needs purified water, not the irradiated water that infests the land. You can find him the water he needs, tell him you don't have any, or even shoot him to put him out of his misery. Each choice can be looked at as good, neutral and evil (though they're never labeled that obviously). My first go around, I shot him right between the eyes. It was clear from the jump I was on the road to pure evil awesomeness. Fun right? Problem is, the more you go down that evil path, the more you begin to question "hmm, should I do this? That's really messed up." And you can do it all you want, but the point is, the future repercussions are there in your mind as you contemplate your next move. Take the good path? Easy right? Well not really. Some folks in the wasteland don't like your high and mighty behavior and put a price on your head. You'll constantly be dodging bullets the further you go in the game retaining angelic status.
Another area the game excels is in scope. You'll see the partially destroyed Washington Monument off in the distance. Far off. And you can walk there. You can walk anywhere you can see, and farther. There are old sewage plants, schools, towns and caverns just waiting to be traversed. There are rumors of a downed UFO, beasts with foot long claws, water people and zombies. And you'll look all over the map for this type of stuff, not because it's a mission, but because it's unknown, and exploring is the best part of the game. And just about every time you travel off the beaten path, you'll find something cool, and it keeps you hooked. You can hack computers and read what was happening when the war began. You can read the history of the brotherhood of steel. You can go to the Museum of History and collect Abraham Lincoln memorabilia and sell it to the highest bidder. You can lead factions against the pseudo government faction, or vice versa or even somewhere in between, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The main story is pretty good, and if you just follow that thread, you could finish the game in 15-20 hours, like I mistakenly did. However, I'm now on my second go round and I'm 29 hours in, and I'd say I still have another 5-7 hours on just the main story. Right now I'm just traveling the map trying to find new locations, and it's the most fun I've had. I just freed some slaves, but I also have the option, for quite nice pay, to capture some myself. I pick pocketed someone and put a grenade in their pocket! (lost karma for that one) I made peace between two super hero wannabes that were waging war in a town causing the entire population to hide indoors. See how much there is to do? If you only stick to the main quest, you're doing yourself a huge disservice.
The battle system is really phenomenal once you get it down. I've never seen such grisly deaths captured in a game, all in bloody slow motion. But you don't have unlimited VATS abilty, no, those are connected to a point system. Once the points run out, you have to battle straight up shooting, no frills, and it's a bit clunky. But the points do regenerate, and there are plenty of chems to aid you in that area. Just watch out or you'll become addicted!
There are some quibbles, such as pop up in the distance, but that is forgiven considering there's nary a load screen as you walk across this huge wasteland. In fact, there's only load times when you walk into certain doors, and even then, it's less than 7 seconds.
One last bit of advice: Always roll your save files three deep. Don't go off one save file or you might get caught in a glitch which you can't get out of. I tend to save before I get into a major offensive, or do something dastardly as you never know what will happen. I tried to shoot up a slaver camp, and while taking heavy fire, I ducked into a building. Problem is, the game autosaved when I walked in (and out), writing over my one save file. So every time I left the building, there were 6-10 slavers firing mini guns and shotguns right at me. I died endlessly and each time had to start at that stupid door because I didn't have another save file and I had to start over.
To button this up, Fallout 3 is one of the most wide open adventures out there with so many missions, and so many unofficial missions to discover, that you could easily spend 40 hours playing this game without touching the main quest. The recently introduced trophies are a godsend, the graphics, minimalist sound scape and gameplay are all top notch, and while there are some glitches and oddities, they never keep you from dying to put the game back in and give it another go.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Not for someone who doesn't know what they're getting in to. Jan 05, 2009
I picked up this game because of a huge sale at Target. I knew a few people who were big fans of the game. My primary experience with rpgs is Final Fantasy, and I have played a small amount of text based games. I haven't liked a FPS in years, but this isn't much of a FPS. I'm just putting this review up to let people know that not everyone finds this game fun. The action part is boring, there's not really any variety to the way a fight goes down. The rest of the game involves continuously talking to people who are rarely useful, and occasionally give you a few choices which can change your character into one stereotype or another. I haven't got very far out of the vault yet - if I can manage to keep playing maybe my opinion will change. If you're someone who needs to read the reviews, then I suggest you find some way to play a demo or a friend's copy.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Fun but Flawed Jan 04, 2009
I agree with much of what other critics say about the positive qualities of this game; it really is fantastic and enthralling and expansive and utterly brilliant. But....
Dear Lord for the love of all that is holy, PLEASE FIX THE CONSTANT CRASHING AND FREEZING AND SLOW FRAME RATE ISSUES!!!!!
Such a well-made game does not deserve so many seemingly minor glitches; they conspire to destroy the pleasure of this very great game and make me want to toss my PS3 out of a window.
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