Should I play through Fallout 3 before starting NV?

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salfiert

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Jul 30, 2011
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yes because fallout 3 is worth playing and the improvments in mechanics make it hard to go from playing NV to 3 if you are gonna play both at least play through the main quest of 3 first
 

wyldchyld337

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May 24, 2011
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I'm in the same boat as the OP. Never played any of the Fallout games, but couldn't pass up a $5 deal for a game that, from everything I've read, is an awesome experience.

As far as mods go, which ones should be priorities? Not looking to go mod-crazy, but I've seen that the NV community has some decent fixes to the game.
 

Fayathon

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Nov 18, 2009
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ZombieFanatic said:
Dirty Hipsters said:
I wouldn't touch Fallout 3 on the PC with a ten foot pole because I don't want to interact with GFWL in any way. So no, you probably shouldn't play it.
I actually found a mod that just removes GFWL from the game completely. Since it has no online component, there are no negative side effects. It's pretty much the greatest mod ever, and I really wish it could be applied to more things.
I require a link, as GFWL is the only reason I don't have a PC copy of FO3, and I would very much like to run A Tale of Two Wastelands.

OT: FO3 is a great game itself, with some control issues, basically I run it down as such, 3 has the better story, NV has the better controls.
 

DatedSandwich

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Fayathon said:
ZombieFanatic said:
Dirty Hipsters said:
I wouldn't touch Fallout 3 on the PC with a ten foot pole because I don't want to interact with GFWL in any way. So no, you probably shouldn't play it.
I actually found a mod that just removes GFWL from the game completely. Since it has no online component, there are no negative side effects. It's pretty much the greatest mod ever, and I really wish it could be applied to more things.
I require a link, as GFWL is the only reason I don't have a PC copy of FO3, and I would very much like to run A Tale of Two Wastelands.

OT: FO3 is a great game itself, with some control issues, basically I run it down as such, 3 has the better story, NV has the better controls.
A Tale of Two Wastelands packs all of the games files of FO3 into the New Vegas directory, you can actually uninstall Fallout 3 after you've installed a tale of two wastelands, it's a mod. GFWL never need appear
 

Kyber

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Both are amazing, and Fallout 3 is a game you should definitely play in my opinion, but keep in mind, if you're using Windows 7 you might not be able to play it, and even if you can, it might have serious issues. The game isn't optimized for windows 7.
 

Two-A

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Aug 1, 2012
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Is not necessary, there's only a couple references to it. The game acts more like a sequel to Fallout 1 and 2.

As for hardcore mode, the game is rather easy (even on Normal), So yeah, go for it.
 

xshadowscreamx

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Dec 21, 2011
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Oh I love fallout 3, stepping out of that vault the 1st time I member I will never forget. The nuclear 50's appealed a lot to me.
NV thankfully introduced a challenge system so every kill/eating and etc counts for something.

Since I did not play f1 and f2 I don't have lore criticisms with 3 .
 

Odbarc

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New Vegas seems to add a lot of content that feels like it should have been in Fallout 3 all along. If you played 1 and 2, 3 really feels departed where NV recovers.

Story wise, independent. You basically save the world (or area) by either being a villain or personal hero to people you come across for arbitrary good/evil alignment and eventually decide to suicide or coward the ending.

There are some interesting spots but you can just as likely visit them via youtube videos and get the same idea.

Game play wise, it's very much a watered down FPS in exchange for some tactical and/or stealth mechanics. I frankly never gung ho the game (which I assume is possible) for a persistent stealth/spy style of play.

One major problem with FO3 is that skill requirements seem to be either 25, 50, 75 or 100 to break locks/computers/persuade ect. where as VN has random intervals of 5. You may come across something early that requires a lot (Grenade skills for Old Pete) where if you specialize in something early there are early benefits and a lot of low~medium skill requirements as you go.

What does suck is the beginners trap at the beginning that kills you almost guaranteed if you go north. You gotta go around to the first main objective by following the highway/road for whatever reason. From there, the game opens up to let you do whatever.
In general, I'd recommend NV first and if you really like it, go back for FO3.
If price is a concern, get the cheaper one and decide if you want the other.

P.S. I never found the dog in FO3. I kept hearing about people who had him and cried when he kept dying. lol
 

Tactical Pause

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Jan 6, 2010
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Thanks for the replies everyone, much appreciated. I think I'll give Fallout 3 one more shot, but if that doesn't work out, at least I'll know I'm not really missing anything by skipping to New Vegas.
 

Smeatza

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If you're anything like me, when you play New Vegas you'll think to yourself "Wow, this game is like Fallout 3, but fun, with atmosphere and real choices."

It's weird, but even though I never played a Fallout game before Fallout 3, I could still sense that something was very wrong with Fallout 3. Something that wasn't wrong with New Vegas.
It just shows how much better a franchise can be when it's in the hands of someone who knows how to, and is experienced in, handling it.
 

scorptatious

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May 14, 2009
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New Vegas is only $5 on Steam?

[small]Must resist... Must resist...

...
[/small]

GAH!

*Buys game*


OT: It doesn't really matter. The games aren't too related to each other story wise.

And yeah, definitely play the game on Hardcore mode. Makes things more interesting.
 

lacktheknack

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Dirty Hipsters said:
I wouldn't touch Fallout 3 on the PC with a ten foot pole because I don't want to interact with GFWL in any way. So no, you probably shouldn't play it.
Install the script extender, and BOOM. No more GFWL.

And then install ALL THE MODS.
 

lacktheknack

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Dirty Hipsters said:
ZombieFanatic said:
Dirty Hipsters said:
I wouldn't touch Fallout 3 on the PC with a ten foot pole because I don't want to interact with GFWL in any way. So no, you probably shouldn't play it.
I actually found a mod that just removes GFWL from the game completely. Since it has no online component, there are no negative side effects. It's pretty much the greatest mod ever, and I really wish it could be applied to more things.
I don't care if I can mod it, if GFWL is a requirement I just won't play the game. There's no way I'm going to buy anything that uses that "service" since my using it would be seen by Microsoft as an endorsement of that abomination.
No it wouldn't, because they wouldn't even notice. You wouldn't have a GFWL account for them to track.
 

Locutus9956

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Nov 11, 2009
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Well I've not read any of the replies (I skimmed the thread a little out of curiosity but this is my unbiased reply):

Go right ahead and play NV. New Vegas has alot more of a proper old 'Falloutey' feel to it like FO1 and 2 which I somehow felt was lacking in FO3. In particular at times theres that dark sense of humour and craziness that FO3 just lacked at times not to mention the desert setting rather than the ruins of Washington just feels more 'Fallout' somehow.

The other thing I would say is turn hardcore mode on and never look back, it VASTLY improves the game imho by adding lots of little survival elements to the game and making ammo a more tangible commodity that you cant just carry around unlimited amounts of.

The story isn't really tied to FO3 in any way shape or form (no more than any other fallout game anyway) and you wont be missing out on anything if you don't play FO3. Personally I cant go back to FO3 now as NV is just better in every way.
 

happyninja42

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May 13, 2010
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ZombieFanatic said:
The point of this thread is pretty much in the title. I picked up Fallout: New Vegas for $5 on steam the other day, since it was a pretty great deal and I'd heard lots of good things about the game. The only problem is... well, I didn't really like Fallout 3. For some reason I just couldn't get into it. I tried playing it multiple times, but never got more than five or so hours in before giving up.

Now, there's no guarantee that I won't do this with NV (hey, $5), but assuming I will enjoy it, should I try to play through Fallout 3 before starting New Vegas? Is there any major reason to play 3 before NV, or are they only tangentially related?
Nah, they're not really connected story wise at all. In fact, I don't think any of the stuff that happens in Fallout 3 is even mentioned in game, and if it is, its just in passing. If you didn't enjoy playing F3, then you won't lose any enjoyment of NV if you skip it.



ZombieFanatic said:
(Bonus question: When I do play New Vegas, should I start on hardcore mode? It seems rather interesting.)
YES! Without doubt. I played NV on Hardcore mode from the first time I played it, and I loved it. It's really not that much harder than normal mode, but the added layers of realism (eating, sleeping, injuries) really helped keep me immersed in the game, helped make it feel more real.
 

OCAdam

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Oct 13, 2010
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wyldchyld337 said:
I'm in the same boat as the OP. Never played any of the Fallout games, but couldn't pass up a $5 deal for a game that, from everything I've read, is an awesome experience.

As far as mods go, which ones should be priorities? Not looking to go mod-crazy, but I've seen that the NV community has some decent fixes to the game.
I'd say Project Nevada as top priority. If that 5 buck deal is the Ultimate Edition of FONV, then maybe look at Mission Mojave: Ultimate Edition. Supposedly it fixes a lot of stuff, but while my crash rate has gone down, it's still not perfect at all. Any case, Project Nevada.

You might also like RobCo Certified if you think you'd like to employ robots and/or cyborgs as your way of fighting. New Vegas Bounties I & II and The Inheritance are nice quest mods that are nicely implemented, though the quest Lioth Biosas (or something like that, but it's part of NVB2 as a single bounty) might make you stumped for a while until you figure it out. Weapon Mods Expanded might be worth your time as well, and somewhat by extension you'd like to get The Weapon Mod Menu, especially if you go with adding specific custom guns. Powered Power Armor adds in more to do with power armor and makes the stuff more complex, yet more rewarding (and make sense why you'd actually need training to wear power armor due to the increase in complexity!).

Keeping the mod list I gave you simple, go only with Project Nevada. The rest are nice, though it might start to get you to go mod-crazy after a short time.
 

wyldchyld337

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May 24, 2011
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Yosharian, OCAdam, and all of the others, thank you all. Did not intend to threadjack, but I am glad I chimed in, even just the little bit. As was said, $5 was too good to pass up for the Ultimate Edition of a game that has awesome word of mouth.
 

thehorror2

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Jan 25, 2010
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Fallout 3 is noticeably easier than New Vegas, but if you didn't really like it, don't play it. New Vegas is both more and less focused than 3. There's a definite main quest to follow which I found to be much more engaging than Fo3's, but there are a bunch of faffing about sidequests as well. (And there's more than a little overlap. One branch of the main quest turns something like 80% of what would otherwise be mandatory content into optional sidequests that will only drag you in if you get really immersed into the world. From the sound of things, though, you don't want the kind of unrestricted sandboxiness that Bethesda-style games hallmark. (Which is more than reasonable; if a more focused, linear RPG narrative is more to your liking, may I suggest the Mass Effect trilogy?)