Please explain to me the appeal of Fallout 3

[imnot]

I killed a Super Mutant Behemoth with a Teddy Bear and a lump of my own brain.
This alone validates my purchase of Fallout 3.

WOAH! what explain, i wish to know more!

 

[DementedSheep]

Exploring is fun, I like finding random cool things like the domino trap in gold ribbon grocers but I agree the majority of the game is bland. The exploding body parts things got old after the 1st hour and it doesn't make sense (yes that dose matter to me, I'm strange) If I shoot a super mutant in chest with a pistol his head should not randomly fall off!

It's not brilliant but it's huge and I can mod it. The fact that it can be moded is half the reason I bought the game to be honest

It's pretty much for me just a time wasting 'dick about' game. I suppose I play it for the same reasons allot of people play MMO's. It's just something to do...and you can be an evil SOB and do things like blow up megaton with an atomic bomb and put live landmines in people?s pockets

 

[godofallu]

All of your points are valid. I still really enjoyed the game though, I just can't remember why.

I guess it's because 60 hours later I finished enough to consider myself done, and 60 hours of gameplay is a pretty good start to a game. I know I will one day go back to it and play it for more time, so it was a good buy.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

I only got about 10 hours into the game because I just couldn't bare to see anymore of the same gray buildings with the same brown mutants and various Giant Rats. The shooting mechanics, VATS included, were pretty subpar, and the only real saving grace for me in FO3 was the customization options. Everything else, I feel Borderlands did better. The world, the shooting mechanics, hell, even the story (though neither game has much story that's worth mentioning).

10 hours? Really? There's your problem.

There are around 160 map locations to find in the game, all with a different little backstory or encounter, and that's not to mention the hundreds and hundreds of random encounters and hidden areas.

You can play F3 for 300 hours and still not find everything.

It's not to everyone's taste which is completely fair enough, but I can only guess you got unlucky with the first few areas you explored. The area around Vault 101 and Megaton is pretty empty, it's when you wander off further you start finding amazing little secrets.

You're right about Borderlands having better shooting though - much, much better.

Here's my question then: is it OK for the first 10-20 hours of a game to be ridiculously boring if there's theoretically 300+ hours of mindless wandering to be found in the game? I'm not saying the game doesn't get better the longer you play it, but is it really OK for there to be NOTHING interesting in the first 10 hours of gameplay? 10 hours is a pretty long time to be bored.

I agree, there is no game that EVERYONE can like. People have different tastes. I get bored relatively easily, so maybe FO3 just isn't my type of game. I'll stick to my BioWare and Blizzard games I think.

 

[MONSTERheart]

And this is why you should always get the PC version: so you can have mods.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Good actions are harder to perform

And right there I call bullshit. I wasn't even trying to be good and half way through the game I was made into Jesus. Still, I was even pretty much maxed on good after I shot up and stole everything out of a city. The "good" karma things are way too easy to do and I actually had to try one time when I was playing through as evil (which required destroying Megaton and shooting up pretty much every city I came across).

Oblivion had more variety in its combat.

Combat option 1: Spam Melee weapons
Combat option 2: Spam Destruction spells
Combat option 3: 1-hit kill with Bow & Arrow, collect Arrow, repeat.
Varied? Yes.
Fun? No.

Combat option 1: Spam VATs with light weapon
Combat option 2: Spam VATs with heavy weapon
Combat option 3: Spam VATs with energy weapon

You get the picture. VATs looked cool, that's for sure, but that's all it did. What we have here though is a gross oversimplifying of both games combat. In Oblivion you'd often be mixing a variety of spells into the combat to help out. Every character would use aspects of magic to buff/debuff, not just spamming their weapon, and indeed on higher difficulties this would be crucial to survive.

Fallout just seemed to sacrifice many gameplay aspects just to fit in with the theme. In Oblivion there was alchemy and enchanting, as well as many types of magic to use alongside your physical attacks. In Fallout there was just...VATs.

Like I said, I don't dislike the game, I just didn't find nearly as much depth as Oblivion.

You know, they invented this thing called iron sights and scopes. I always love that people say Fallout 3's combat sucked because they didn't like VATS, but they acted like it was the only option for combat. Get some skill and use real time aiming? It's a hell of a lot more fun.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

You can play F3 for 300 hours and still not find everything.

Did it all in less then 100 hours...

I very much doubt you did it all in 100 hours.
Everything in 100 hours?

I'm pretty damn close to everything and xfire says 189 hours on Fallout 3. I haven't always played online, so it might be a little off, but at the same time I've played through the game 3 full times and another half time before I reformatted. But anyway, most the bobble heads, all the DLC fully complete (minus Broken Steel, still have a quest or two there), and only a quest or two in the main game left. I'd say less than 100 hours on that play through.

 

[Life_Is_A_Mess]

Well, it has a big open world that has trillions of locations, interesting NPCs, and side quests.

The V.A.T.S. targeting system makes your target's head fly pleasingly off.

Oh, and it can be modded like hell, and that keeps the game going.

 

[DoctorObviously]

With many things, the OP is right; Fallout 3 had too many samey areas, the quests felt tedious and the game does not require strategy. But still, I liked it at a certain respect. It had a beautifully destroyed and expansive world, one of the biggest I've ever seen. Many locations in the game were interesting, wheras some huge places (like the world in Just Cause 2) in videogaming weren't so interesting.

I'd say that it is overrated, but every game with a touch of hype these days gets 10/10!!!OMGWTFBBQ!11SUPREGAME!!PREFECT!!! reviews. I'd say it's a good game, but not great. It's entertaining, but not fascinating.

 

[Terminate421]

Because there was motivation to explore the world, surviving in a nuclear wasteland, and the VATS combat was fun as hell (Along with real time)

 

[Continuity]

Yeah, I'm sure that this topic has already been done, but bugger me.

So what IS the appeal of Fallout 3?

The appeal of FO3 is that it is the sequel to two of the best games of all time, other than that it's a bit average. Bethesda didn't do the series justice, hopefully vegas will be better.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Here's my question then: is it OK for the first 10-20 hours of a game to be ridiculously boring if there's theoretically 300+ hours of mindless wandering to be found in the game? I'm not saying the game doesn't get better the longer you play it, but is it really OK for there to be NOTHING interesting in the first 10 hours of gameplay? 10 hours is a pretty long time to be bored.

I agree, there is no game that EVERYONE can like. People have different tastes. I get bored relatively easily, so maybe FO3 just isn't my type of game. I'll stick to my BioWare and Blizzard games I think.

Yeah I think that's the best solution, cos to be honest I was utterly enthralled with Fallout 3 right from the first 5 mintutes and loved every minute of the 300 hours I spent on it, so it prob just comes down to taste.

The only game I've enjoyed as much this generation was Mass Effect 2!

 

[kidwithxboxlive]

3. The graphics bugged me. I'm not a graphics whore but everything felt brown and green and grungy. This would be fine if there was some occasional contrast but most areas feel the same, even the buildings. I guess this is what the new Vegas will be for? But I dunno...

well you OBVIOUSLY didnt pay attention to ANYTHING...normaly, nuclear war DESTRYOS everything and make water radiated,dirty, millions die, building get destroyed and stained BY the thrown ash...
so i dont think it would be all rainbows and happy people with colourful buildings...

 

[Unesh52]

I really liked it. Yes, the subways in particular just felt samey and tedious, but I could really get on board with the comedic effect stemming from the juxtaposition of campy, alternate/old-perception future elements such as the pip boy with the stark, unforgiving post apocalyptic aesthetic. The wasteland is a brutal, desolate, and depressing place, but then you stumble on an idyllic suburban community in the middle of nowhere populated by

Spoiler

psycho cannibals

that place immediately set my hair on end and made me feel out of place

and the you're too busy going, "lolwut?" to feel the way you'd normally feel in this type of situation.

In other words, the humor and variety kept me going. Not aesthetic variety, mind you, but there were loads of people to talk to who generally all had interesting things to say, and crazy shit like the flame sword and the teddy bear launcher to pick up and play with that kept the room lively. There's just little else like it.

Yes, I see... it's not often we get someone with quite your level of insight here on the Escapist. Excellent post sir.