Fallout 3 - Summer Break Review

[Insane Serini]

So. I've been let out of school and now it's time for the summer! Of course, I will be playing multiple video games because I need to keep my screen-kissed glow. Anyway, here's a good one I replayed during my first week off called Fallout 3. I played it on the PS3 on your standard big screen TV and I finished the story mode along with most of the side quests.

For my character, I played as a female traveler called Kino. Blah blah blah I tagged Small Guns blah blah Lockpick and Science... Ok. The first couple of quests pretty much deal with your early life in the Vault, which really gives you an idea of how life is like there and also is a nice device for allowing you to choose stats and learn the basic mechanics of the game.

The gameplay is your normal Oblivion gameplay, except with guns. If you've played Oblivion, you'll probably have a good hook on it. But it doesn't mean that it's all good. It still has the problem of making you go through samey "dungeons" (subways, buildings, etc.) and walk through identical enviroments searching for new areas to fast travel to. Of course, this didn't bother me as much as in Oblivion since the game is just so damn immersive. When you first step out of the Vault it DOES feel like you're a sheltered teen from underground finally seeing what's out there. And as you scavenge for ammo and food amidst Raiders and mutated wildlife while listening to Ella Fitzgerald it feels like it should: a post-nuclear world stuck in the 1950's.

Speaking of Ella Fitzgerald, the soundtrack is amazing. With the radio turned off, it's more of a dark, ambient sort of deal. The Enclave Radio has tradition Sousa marches and a jingoist DJ. But, the shining moment for me was Galaxy News Radio. The voice acting in the game is good, but Three Dog's is great. Even if there was no Three Dog, it'd still be good. There is a good assortment of music from the 40s and 50s ranging from the aforementioned Ella Fitzgerald to The Ink Spots.

The graphics are well done from a technical standpoint. From an aesthetic standpoint, they are good. But what really bothered me was that a lot of it looked the same. It gets boring after a while wandering through the same subways and buildings and since the developers threw a sepia toned overlay on it it's even more boring. What happened to color? Even the blood looks brownish when it should be brighter. I know that after a nuclear war the world isn't going to look like a finger painting but if you're going to have similar subways it wouldn't hurt to have some color. The main world I can understand being dully colored, but when everything is just neutral it's just boring.

One more complaint: hacking is a little weird at first. It'd be better if there was more explanation. Oh, and another, the main wallbanger: The ghouls and the hotel mission. WHAT THE HELL. It gives you a couple of sympathetic characters such as Herbert "Daring" Dashwood and then BAM!

But, for all my complaints the game redeems itself. The controls work well, the gameplay isn't bad but with the immense attention to detail it turns into a very good buy for the summer.

Score? Buy it. For all it's pimples it has parts that really redeem itself: the story is unique, the presentation really immerses you into the game, and wandering is rewarded with quests and new items.

So, that's my first review. If there's anything I can improve on, please tell me.

 

[megapenguinx]

Not too bad, but you should always assume people are brand new to gaming and have no idea what Oblivion is. Talk about the V.A.T.S system, and maybe the various weapons in the game as well.

 

[MrBrightside919]

(If I were a newb)

What's Oblivion? Small guns? Pimples? Huh?

(Back to the real me)

You didn't really explain a whole lot about the game itself, which isn't a good thing to do, especially with a game as huge a Fallout 3. I mean, what about VATS and the karma system? What about the perks and the inventing? What about anything?!?

I think you are really relying on the reader's knowledge of OBLIVION a tad too much. If the reader doesn't know what OBLIVION is then the whole point of this review is pretty much gone. Luckily for you, I do know what OBLIVION is (I pretty much played the game to death, I'd better know what it is).

Not a bad review for your first, so you get a thumbs up for that. BUT, you get that thumbs up taken away because of your lack of explaination of ANYTHING other than the soundtrack (it was great, but it shouldn't have been the meat of your review).

You get some LOLCATS for your efforts...

 

[PhantomCritic]

Not bad for your first review, but as a bulk of the comments have said, you rely a tad too much on the readers' "knowledge" of oblivion, but seeing that pretty everyone here who has commented has played Oblivion, you got lucky but next time you make another review though, don't make the bulk of it on the soundtrack, but rather the gameplay or develop on your explanations of the said game's pros and cons, or add what makes the game so immersive, follow these pointers like everyone has mentioned, and you'll get yourself a good review. Hope that helps, nice job and keep up the good work.

 

[Octorok]

It could have been worse. But, you explain absolutely nothing about the gameplay, other than comparing it to a game I've never played. You don't mention really major things like VATS, storyline or characters. It was really sparse, and very short. There were other things like spacing, grammar and such things but they can be ignored in the face of such gleaming errors.

You mention some things like Small Guns, Herbert Daring Dashwood and ghouls. Eh? What if I'd never played Fallout before? I'd know bog all about the game. You explain virtually nothing about the game's level system, perks, combat (and no - saying Oblivion with guns does not describe it). Mutants... hell, if I'd never plated it I wouldn't even know what the game was about. Nuclear wasteland? You don't say how that happened, you just insert it. You must break things down more, and mention everything major in a game, then analyse that thoroughly, but impartially. You just glance over some things and cut off.

A first attempt is just that - a first attempt. You should learn from this.

 

[Zydrate]

This 'review' seemed more like a rundown of what you do in the first 2 hours of gameplay. You didn't really elaborate on what was good or bad.

But it took me a longass time to figure out hacking, too. But I'm still bad at it. Sometimes I just spam 3 of the words, exit, rinse, repeat. Unless I get a lot of the letters right within those 3.

 

[Gunner 51]

It was a little basic, but I feel you could have commented more on VATs and some of the negative aspects of the game. (Not that there were many IMO.)

But I should also point out that this is a pretty good review.

 

[Time Travelling Toaster]

Be sure to talk about all the DLC too... Oh wait.

Oh burned.

Fallout 3 is an amazing game; I feel like your review sells it a little short. I agree with the need to mention V.A.T.S and the quality of the missions, etc. instead of just referencing one.

Good first review, though.

And this.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Not bad,but theres like a million critics or people who think they are critics but only some are generaly accepted,but still nice thing to read,although id prefer if it was longer and more informative,with some funny comparations hehe.

Fallout 3 was cool,but i hated the setting,50s in the 23rd century,who knew,and the world is over and all the people seem really happy,silly,and unreal,like its national fair not nuclear war,and mixing vats with rpg and fps was pure fail. Still anything with Liam Neeson and Malcolm McDowel,made by bethesda is pure win,with all the flaws

Being fair, it is 200 years after the bombs fell, and nobody is going to continue to be despairing that long. People are going to find something to be happy about, it's human nature. And besides, the '50s culture mixed with the post apocalyptic setting makes it truly bizarre, in a good way.

Anyway, good review, far better than my first one (which I sure as hell am not linking to. Nobody will see that abomination ever again). One thing: you talk about the Tennpenny Tower quest with the ghouls, but you assume people know what you're talking about when you bring up the ghouls and Daring, which you should never do. That's like giving away the ending while trying to get people to buy the game: it builds on knowledge that they shouldn't have.

 

[Scobie]

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