Is Fallout 3 really not a proper Fallout game?

[HHammond]

I'm kind of sick of this whole "FALLOUT 3 IS NOT A FALLOUT GAME" argument that often crops up whenever Fallout 3 is brought up. In my opinion, this argument is ridiculous. What I feel it really feel the argument should be is: "Fallout 3 is not Fallout 2."

I'm not talking about the gameplay here, I'm talking about the atmosphere and story. Fallout 3 is very different to Fallout 2 in it's tone. Fallout 2 was much less serious and had a lot of dark humour compared to Fallout 3 which had a few moments but not as much as it's predecessor. However, when we look at the original Fallout, 3 has a very similar tone. Fallout 1, again, had it's moments of humour but was mostly a serious dark game. It wasn't full of laughs or light hearted antics like Fallout 2 or New Vegas. 3 was very similar to 1 in my opinion.

I think Fallout 3 is a fantastic game and just as valid member in the Fallout series as any of the others.

 

[Dogstile]

I think fan's of any game that scream at fan's at the new game need to grow the fuck up and let people have their fun. It's getting tiring being yelled at for liking a game.

Hell, lets apply that to everyone who does that in general, because its not exactly good practice. I mean hell, I can't go on nomutantsallowed anymore because I liked fallout 3 and if I said it i'd get flamed to hell. Since when is that considered acceptable.

 

[Bluntman1138]

I liked Fallout 3 a lot. As someone who has played the Fallout series since the beginning, i thought it was a great addition to the series. Fallout 1 had humor in it, but was also a dark game with a good story, Same with 3. Fallout 2 seemed to go to the extreme on the humor IMO. I mean come on, you could become a "porn star" in 2.

I thought 3's story was great, though short. If Brotherhood of Steel should have been with release, no one would be having this "Fallout 3 sucked syndrome". But on the other hand, the story for vanilla 3 was still outstanding IMO. It had the dark humor and inside jokes like 1, but didnt go to the extreme like 2.

I view Fallout 3 more like a mix Fallout tactics and Fallout 1. Good story, light on the references and jokes, and just got to the meat of the gameplay and conflict in the region the game takes place. I dont mind the narrative in 3 is a little linear either.

I think what people forget to realize, is that Fallout 3 was the first of the new generation of Fallout games. Some people just cant accept that. They miss their top view turn based RPG games (i do to in some ways), but that didnt stop be from loving the visuals, and story of the game.

 

[number2301]

I loved Fallout 3 and just kind of barely enjoyed the older games, but I still say FO3 isn't a proper Fallout game. Why? It isn't the atmosphere, or the gameplay. It's the fact that the story makes no sense in the Fallout world and is poorly written to such an extent that it ranks alongside fan fiction.

Read up on the story of FO1, 2 and Van Buren. Then compare that to 3. 3 takes the headlines, puts them in a context that makes no sense and completely builds the stories around them.

 

[the spud]

I have played the entire series (excluding tactics and BoS) and it was my favorite of the entire series. The atmosphere was like a fat kid trying to smother you; it just wouldn't let up. It wasn't perfect, but what game is?

 

[StrixMaxima]

I liked Fallout 1, 2, and 3. Despite changing the POV and some game mechanics, I do believe that Fallout 3 is very true to the spirit of the franchise. Galaxy News Radio, while a little too repetitive, is awesome. That music selection fits so perfectly over the Wasteland.

The beauty of it, at least for me, is that while the main story isn't great (as some others pointed out), the game does not depend on it to bloom. There are many things to do and see, and frankly, I spent a very, very little amount of time doing the main quest.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Aside from the change to 3rd person from isometric view, very little substantial changed from Fallouts 1 + 2 to 3. The milieu is more or less the same. The SPECIAL system is more or less the same. VATS is more or less the same. It was a very loving adaptation of Fallout.

If you want to see what a real savaging of a treasured IP looks like, check out XCOM.

 

[MarsProbe]

Is Deus Ex :Invisible War a Deus Ex game? Well, of course it is - it does have the words "Deus" and "Ex" in the title after all and follows on from the previous game in that series. All the "cool" people out there may wish to deny its existence because they don't agree with it but sadly for them, it's still out there.

Okay, that was meant to be my response to this topic in a roundabout way but may have got a little carried away. All these people that go "oh, this instalment of isn't a game" need to learn that they're not the ones who make the game, or get to decide what constitutes a Fallout game.

So, the answer of course is, yes, Fallout 3 is indeed a proper Fallout game. As is any other game that has happened to bear the Fallout name over the years. The people that are upset by this concept (or the continued existence of Invisible War) may as well cry themselves to sleep for all the good it will do them.

 

[Major_Tom]

Not sure. It was kinda off, but I still liked it. On the other hand, New Vegas was spot on.

 

[Rogthgar]

Says Fallout on the box, anyone who disagrees can start reading...btw the only game on my PS3 thats logged more hours than FO3 is Batman Arkham Asylum

 

[Bluntman1138]

Read up on the story of FO1, 2 and Van Buren. Then compare that to 3.

Well, since "Van Buren" was never made, than that point is moot. And considering ALL of 1,2, and VB takes place in California, and 3 In D.C then there will be differences.

Just how are they to "Sync up" story wise. Two different places seperated by 100 years and 3000 miles (some people forget to remember that fallout 1 and 2 have a time span gap of decades in between.)

 

[teh_Canape]

I think that it's mostly because of the writing

Fallout and Fallout 2 had brilliant writing
Fallout 3, not so much

 

[Lordmarkus]

Says Fallout on the box, anyone who disagrees can start reading...btw the only game on my PS3 thats logged more hours than FO3 is Batman Arkham Asylum

The new XCOM says "Hi".

Fallout 3 is "Fallout game" but to me it will never be true Fallout. To me, Fallout has always been 5 things. Story, atmosphere, dialogue, pop-culture references and exploration. Out of them, Fallout 3 only scrathes 2 of them. New Vegas on the other exceeds on all fronts because it was made partly by the brains of the original and its sequel. While it was badly hurt by using the same engine, it was still a better a better Fallout game. Not a better game mind you, but one that payed greater respect to the originals.

 

[number2301]

Read up on the story of FO1, 2 and Van Buren. Then compare that to 3.

Well, since "Van Buren" was never made, than that point is moot. And considering ALL of 1,2, and VB takes place in California, and 3 In D.C then there will be differences.

Just how are they to "Sync up" story wise. Two different places seperated by 100 years and 3000 miles (some people forget to remember that fallout 1 and 2 have a time span gap of decades in between.)

Far from being moot, Van Buren is the one that most convinces me that FO3 isn't a 'proper' Fallout game. With 1, 2 and Van Buren you can see where they are going with the story, they're exploring the world developing the story of rebuilding after the apocalypse. Betheseda just went 'Woo! Supermutants, BoS, Enclave, Vaults! Woo!'

 

[Staehrminator]

I think what people misinterpret as a "Fallout game" is in fact a Black Isle game. Bethesda are good at creating atmosphere and (barring Oblivion) making fun gameplay, but truly awful at building characters and writing dialogue. I can't remember one single memorable conversation or person from Morrowind, Oblivion or Fallout 3. They were all cut out of cardboard, and they all disappeared from my mind as soon as I was done getting items from them. That is what broke all of their games for me, no matter how many bump maps and shaders they used.

Black Isle on the other hand, were true wordsmiths. If you like the old Fallouts, do yourself a huge favor and play Planescape:Torment. I think you'll find it's a "Fallout game", maybe even more so than the original Fallout, as strange as that sounds. If you can stomach the clunky D&D-based combat, fire up Baldur's Gate 2 as well. It's good stuff. Fallout:New Vegas also carries a hint of the Black Isle magic, though it is full of bugs and Bethesda's bad choices.

I miss the way RPGs were developed 10 years ago, when the pen was mightier than the gun. That said, now I'm off to clock in 450 hours in Borderlands...

 

[Bluntman1138]

Far from being moot, Van Buren is the one that most convinces me that FO3 isn't a 'proper' Fallout game. With 1, 2 and Van Buren you can see where they are going with the story, they're exploring the world developing the story of rebuilding after the apocalypse. Betheseda just went 'Woo! Supermutants, BoS, Enclave, Vaults! Woo!'

Again they 1,2, and VB ALL happen on the West Coast, dealing with the Califonia Republic. The rebuilding of California will have NO impact on the rebuilding of Virginia when there is no communications, government, or even a real understanding on what the actual date is, and vice versa. I am sure you would be opposed to a Fallout game taking place in Britain, since it wouldnt be exactly how is was in California.

Fallout 3 explains the Difference in the Super-mutants. Both being created on thier respective Coasts, by the same means. Though West and East coasts super-mutants are both different in other ways.

BoS is pretty much the same in all Fallout games. Arrogant jerks who want to control all the technology, with one or two of them being kind of cool to hang out with.

Enclave. Well, again, there is 3000 miles seperating the 2 regions, with no real communications to be had between them. So there will be differences in the seperate factions representing that name. And different factions they are too.

And it was established in Fallout 1 that Vaults were everywhere in America, and in good numbers. With some of these Vaults having different functions as well.


So really, all your points are moot, because they wouldnt effect ANYTHING 3000 miles away.

 

[Crazycat690]

Meh, to me it's not a real Fallout game, and as a game on it's own, I think it sucks.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Fallout 3 is poorly written and is pretty much a rehash of the first two games main plotlines. Is it a bad Fallout game? Absolutely. Is it a bad game? Absolutely not. I love Fallout 3, but it feels really out of place with the rest of the series. It tries to be dead serious (Much more dark and depressing than any other game in the series) yet at the same time it tries to have a ton of goofy, out of place quests. (Mothership Zeta, Superhuman Gambit, The Replicated Man, etc.)

They explain why the super mutants and Brotherhood are in the East Coast, and explain why they are the way they are, but they're still lacking all the depth and interesting aspects of their West Coast counterparts and are extremely boring and stock as a result.

 

[FredTheUndead]

It's being serious that's the problem, it's being badly written with no connectivity in the setting.

I think what people misinterpret as a "Fallout game" is in fact a Black Isle game. Bethesda are good at creating atmosphere and (barring Oblivion) making fun gameplay, but truly awful at building characters and writing dialogue. I can't remember one single memorable conversation or person from Morrowind, Oblivion or Fallout 3. They were all cut out of cardboard, and they all disappeared from my mind as soon as I was done getting items from them. That is what broke all of their games for me, no matter how many bump maps and shaders they used.

Black Isle on the other hand, were true wordsmiths. If you like the old Fallouts, do yourself a huge favor and play Planescape:Torment. I think you'll find it's a "Fallout game", maybe even more so than the original Fallout, as strange as that sounds. If you can stomach the clunky D&D-based combat, fire up Baldur's Gate 2 as well. It's good stuff. Fallout:New Vegas also carries a hint of the Black Isle magic, though it is full of bugs and Bethesda's bad choices.

I miss the way RPGs were developed 10 years ago, when the pen was mightier than the gun. That said, now I'm off to clock in 450 hours in Borderlands...

Well Morrowind had that Telvani wizard guy that lived in a tower with a bunch of opposite sex clones of himself, the last of an apparently extinct and technologically advanced lost race, hordes of experimental subjects for him to practice all kinds of experiments on, and a treasure maze he made as a contest for thieves to amuse himself with. That dude ruled. Can't remember his name though because Morrowind NPCs have that "fantasy name generator problem" where they all sound like gibberish.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I don't know and I don't really care, I loved FO3, as the guy a few posts above me said, the atmosphere and gameplay were great, I don't really care about the story and dialogue because it's always someone else's story and dialogue, the only computer RPG that I ever liked was Neverwinter nights. I liked the fact that the main story was comparatively unobtrusive and you could go out and do whatever you want to a fair degree. It wasn't perfect but I still prefer it to New Vegas.