Post by Val on Nov 5, 2008 9:19:58 GMT -5
A VERY promising game, featuring some of the most beautiful, frightening and fun images that I have seen in ages. If any of you have had the pleasure of playing the previous iterations, you understand that the placement of a mood and setting is amazingly important. I absolutely fell in LOVE with the combat system, V.A.T.S. is amazing, the skill and perk system is amazing, all of it works out JUST as promised, never before has killing Super Mutants in a post apocalyptic Washing D.C. Area been this much fun. All of these things are accomplished with grade A quality and a TON of re playability, with the big exception...
The ending sucked.
The ending sucked so bad.
The whole time I followed Fallout 3's development, they discussed the impact of character in the main story.
I'm not going to ruin anything, but, they do NOT accomplish any sort of character immersion, I did not feel anything for my character by the end of the game, I felt like my character was streamlined and expected to come out a certain way, at one point I actually dumped points into a skill that I never used, just so I could feel SOMETHING like my character, which was a waste of a level. I felt no leniency, I didn't feel like I got to be the wander wasteland badass with a Combat Shotgun that I was promised to be. This is an immense letdown, considering how much they hyped character immersion. There is a certain point in the game where it's approval rating in the Valand's Standard Method of Gaming or VSMG shot from around a 90% (or A) to about a 40% ( F ), I actually had to put the game on the shelf for a week and stop, because it suddenly became very boring.
The main storyline grips you and drives you for more for a large portion of the game, my main gripe being that it almost seems like they payed way to much time developing the setting and some of the really non important characters of the game ("The Family"-play it to understand- was more developed than some of the major NPC's) The outrageous claim they made that there would be "over 500 different endings" was so unbelievably false it hurts. There are FOUR main endings, and little stupid things can change about them, nothing important changes.
After the mess that Bethesda made of The Elder Scrolls (Oblivion was a mess, too much time spent on shiny graphics, not enough time spent on meaningful content, although the Shivering Isles was a HUGE success and I loved it, not as much as Morrowind, but... far better than Oblivion.)
Bethesda, in my opinion, started out the game with an amazingly promising setting and story, but the game's ending is a deal breaker for me. Fallout deserves better.
Final Grade.
Sound - 10/10 - The radio system adds one HELL of a level of immersion and mood. The sound effects and ambience are key on, as is voice acting, all of these things are expected from Bethesda.
Graphics - 9/10 - The beauty that can be found in the rubble of a 1920's style home, blown to smithereens is something that confuses me immensely, but is still awesome to look at. The only point docked is because the hair styles available to your main character, and some of the vaunted Power Armor you can get later in the game look more than moderately retarded, at least in my opinion.
Gameplay - 10/10 - Amazing blend of FPS and RPG system, something we're accustom to seeing, but not seeing perfected the way Bethesda did.
Story - (Part One) 10/10, beautiful and very VERY deep. Addresses some of the influences isolation will have on the human mind, also nice to feel like I could be The Fonze.
(Part Two) 2/10 - Only gets Two points because of Liberty Prime, which was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Overall - 8/10
I'll play it again, maybe actually buy the game, I'm just glad I retracted my pre-order for the Collector's Edition. Bethesda doesn't deserve 100 bucks for that.
I just hope Bethesda releases an expansion and your character wakes up from a dream and goes OH IT WAS JUST A SHITTY ANTICLIMACTIC RUSHED OUT DREAMLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.
On a side point, there is a large community of modders that are anticipating putting work into many user-created expansions, which hopefully treat the wound, but the sad excuse for a main story is a permanent scar.
The ending sucked.
The ending sucked so bad.
The whole time I followed Fallout 3's development, they discussed the impact of character in the main story.
I'm not going to ruin anything, but, they do NOT accomplish any sort of character immersion, I did not feel anything for my character by the end of the game, I felt like my character was streamlined and expected to come out a certain way, at one point I actually dumped points into a skill that I never used, just so I could feel SOMETHING like my character, which was a waste of a level. I felt no leniency, I didn't feel like I got to be the wander wasteland badass with a Combat Shotgun that I was promised to be. This is an immense letdown, considering how much they hyped character immersion. There is a certain point in the game where it's approval rating in the Valand's Standard Method of Gaming or VSMG shot from around a 90% (or A) to about a 40% ( F ), I actually had to put the game on the shelf for a week and stop, because it suddenly became very boring.
The main storyline grips you and drives you for more for a large portion of the game, my main gripe being that it almost seems like they payed way to much time developing the setting and some of the really non important characters of the game ("The Family"-play it to understand- was more developed than some of the major NPC's) The outrageous claim they made that there would be "over 500 different endings" was so unbelievably false it hurts. There are FOUR main endings, and little stupid things can change about them, nothing important changes.
After the mess that Bethesda made of The Elder Scrolls (Oblivion was a mess, too much time spent on shiny graphics, not enough time spent on meaningful content, although the Shivering Isles was a HUGE success and I loved it, not as much as Morrowind, but... far better than Oblivion.)
Bethesda, in my opinion, started out the game with an amazingly promising setting and story, but the game's ending is a deal breaker for me. Fallout deserves better.
Final Grade.
Sound - 10/10 - The radio system adds one HELL of a level of immersion and mood. The sound effects and ambience are key on, as is voice acting, all of these things are expected from Bethesda.
Graphics - 9/10 - The beauty that can be found in the rubble of a 1920's style home, blown to smithereens is something that confuses me immensely, but is still awesome to look at. The only point docked is because the hair styles available to your main character, and some of the vaunted Power Armor you can get later in the game look more than moderately retarded, at least in my opinion.
Gameplay - 10/10 - Amazing blend of FPS and RPG system, something we're accustom to seeing, but not seeing perfected the way Bethesda did.
Story - (Part One) 10/10, beautiful and very VERY deep. Addresses some of the influences isolation will have on the human mind, also nice to feel like I could be The Fonze.
(Part Two) 2/10 - Only gets Two points because of Liberty Prime, which was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Overall - 8/10
I'll play it again, maybe actually buy the game, I'm just glad I retracted my pre-order for the Collector's Edition. Bethesda doesn't deserve 100 bucks for that.
I just hope Bethesda releases an expansion and your character wakes up from a dream and goes OH IT WAS JUST A SHITTY ANTICLIMACTIC RUSHED OUT DREAMLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.
On a side point, there is a large community of modders that are anticipating putting work into many user-created expansions, which hopefully treat the wound, but the sad excuse for a main story is a permanent scar.