Fallout 3 - or - gaming for the Time-Poor Crew

[inertianinja]

I never have time to pound through games the way i'd like, so i'm just really getting into Fallout 3 now.

(Note, being this behind the curve has its advantages - by the time i get to a game, there are plenty of used copies for cheap)

I'm just reaching Level 9, and I'm continually blown away by it. the depth of the story, the amazing world - the SIZE of the world, etc. just staggering. I was initially really frustrated with it, because the curve for the first few levels is too steep. i couldn't kill anything, i had to save every 5 minutes, all my weapons were breaking, and i had no ammo. now things are looking up.

one dangerous thing - I gave in and did what i always do in open world games, which is just travel around and marvel at the world.
On one hand, this was great. Everything was new to me; i could see that lots of things had happened here long before me (the war, boarded-up houses, cars set on fire, camps set up...people were in their cars when the bomb went off, etc) and everything was new. EXACTLY like it would be if i literally grew up in a vault and walked out for the first time.

on the other hand, we have the Assassin's Creed problem. that game looked so amazing when i first popped it in, that i spent a lot of time just running around and jumping around on the buildings, climbing to high points, surveying the land, and jumping down. THEN when i got back into the missions, i realized that i had already done everything the game had to offer, and got bored.

so i'm going to stop screwing around and keep with the story. and then get the DLC.

[dolson]

I put about 120-150 hours into Fallout 3 and got the Platinum trophy (my first and only). I loved it. I don't think I saw everything the game had to offer, but I saw a lot of it. I did walk around a lot, but I tried to stay within certain sections of the map, so as to not see too much, too quick. But it's so easy to do with the compass you're given - it has indicators as to map markers you are near, but have not yet discovered. That's handy.

I don't know if you played Oblivion, but they are similar in some ways. Though I loved Fallout 3, and consider it GOTY 2008, I still prefer Oblivion. If they put the V.A.T.S. stuff into an Elder Scrolls game, I'd be really happy. Oblivion's world is much bigger, though even that is smaller than the previous Elder Scrolls games by a lot.

EDIT: I don't know which system you're playing it on, but you may wanna consider getting Broken Steel before too long, as I believe that's the DLC pack that raises the level cap by 50%.

[masherscf]

I love Fallout 3. I've played through a half-dozen times already. But, I've only reached level 30 once. I'm replaying it now with bad Karma to collect the bad karma achievements. I have few complaints about Fallout 3. The major complaint is that it is very, very glitchy. But, it is a very complicated thing.

My other observation is, a lot of the depth people attribute to Fallout 3 is not actually depth but breath. The breath of the world is amazing. But, after living in the world for awhile, I find the world very unfinished. I won't spoil the exploration by explaining my feeling too much. There's a lot of narrative fragments that you can discover, but there isn't much pay-off for doing do. I feel that they should have knitted together these fragments into a richer collection of optional side-quests. I love the way most of the side-quests boot strap on each other. That is, discovering a lead to one side-quest while completing another. I just wish there was more of that.

The villain, I think, is the level cap. There's more than enough experience in side-quests up for grabs to reach the level cap. I think the game designers decided that meeting a release schedule was more important than the practically unnecessary fleshing out of their world. The result is an experience that can seem almost shallow sometimes. The world is quite a sandbox, but the sandbox is actually quite sparse compared to games like Oblivion.

There is some fun to be had for various collection quests. Finding all the bobbleheads is particularity challenging without help. Some bobbleheads are in places that become inaccessable as the main plot progresses. Others are in far flung and deep buried dangerous places.

[inertianinja]

i get what you're saying about the game being too broad.

as i'm playing more and more of these big games, i think i'm learning that i get too ambitious at the start and then fizzle out. i'll be all psyched to discover every location and find every little item, and then i lose interest eventually - i'm a little OCD, but not enough to be all pokemon about it.

[az0madman]

Yeah, it's best to save the wandering for last. Not only will you eventually get paid to do it, but there's a perk when you hit 20 that puts all the locations on your map (with unexplored icons). It's a lot more rewarding when you have a purpose in mind.

[masherscf]

Yeah, it's best to save the wandering for last. Not only will you eventually get paid to do it, but there's a perk when you hit 20 that puts all the locations on your map (with unexplored icons). It's a lot more rewarding when you have a purpose in mind.

*** Mild Spoilers ***

There's certainly a pay-off for accomplishing some side-quests early on. I would do the better part of the Wasteland survival guide ASAP. However, I would avoid visiting Rivet City until you complete the Galaxy New Radio Quest. GNR is one of the best parts of the main quest and you miss it completely if you visit Rivet city too soon.

[tokenuser]

(Note, being this behind the curve has its advantages - by the time i get to a game, there are plenty of used copies for cheap)Nothing to be ashamed of ... I do the same. I either buy used or wait for the "Platinum" editions to come out at half price.

Some popular games are hard to find used - I needed to visit game stores in 4 states before I found a used copy of DiRT.

[bobafettjm]

I just started playing the Mothership Zeta DLC and I love it. It is a totally different environment than the rest of the game has been so far. Plus the new weapons are really fun.

[masherscf]

I just started playing the Mothership Zeta DLC and I love it. It is a totally different environment than the rest of the game has been so far. Plus the new weapons are really fun.

Mothership Zeta is fun, but ultimately short. I finished in about two hours. Most of the area become inaccessible after you finish the quest. That's sort of a fail. But, the weapons are hard core. There's a NPC with a 100% repairing skill...Alas, she vanishes after you finish the quest.

I think Point Lookout is much more worth the extra $10.

Nothing to be ashamed of ... I do the same. I either buy used or wait for the "Platinum" editions to come out at half price.

Some popular games are hard to find used - I needed to visit game stores in 4 states before I found a used copy of DiRT.

I feel bad now. I paid $60 each for both the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions of Fallout 3 and $10 for each of the 5 DLC packages. This makes it the most money I've ever spent on a single game.

[tokenuser]

I feel bad now. I paid $60 each for both the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions of Fallout 3 and $10 for each of the 5 DLC packages. This makes it the most money I've ever spent on a single game.Nothing to feel bad about. After the hype of a new game has died off ... a good game is still a good game, and that game that was good at $60 is even better at $30 :D

[dolson]

I'm reasonably sure I'm going to buy the GOTY version and re-play the game as well as all the new areas.

I sold my copy after getting 100% complete and Bethesda was still adamant that the DLC wouldn't hit the PS3. Not even a week after that, they announced the DLC coming to PS3 as well as the GOTY version that includes it all.

[inertianinja]

as an unsolicited update - i'm now level 18 and i'm constantly finding more in the game.
a couple of things:

the initial curve was steep, but 17 levels later i'm finding it very manageable to get by in the world. the hospital mission loaded me up with stimpaks, selling virtually everything i find keeps me full of caps, and high repair skill keeps my stuff in good shape. i can't remember the last time i died - i just save often in case i make a decision that i really regret.

the moral/immoral decisions in the game have become more difficult. it's not simply "steal or don't steal," it's complex issues that really take some thought. best example so far has been the SPOILER quest at the Oasis with the guy who turned into a tree. he begged me to kill him, but after talking to the townspeople, i decided that it was more important that the trees spread. turned out that it was the right choice.

i'm almost too gripped by the world - i find myself just aching to get back into the game when i'm not playing. i've been doing some thinking about it - maybe its just that the world is deep enough that its actually formed a connection with me, rather than just being a game that i play when there's time. maybe this is gaming's answer to Harry Potter or LOTR - extreme depth and escapism. luckily, my girlfriend is an avid reader, so my admittedly high # of hours in the game isn't a problem.

for the first time, i don't mind checking a wiki every once in a while as i get through the game. there's too much interesting stuff in the game that one can literally NEVER come across unless you happen upon it by chance...unique weapons, unique characters, paths of action that just don't make themselves apparent.

my concern is that i'm going to do the same thing that i did with Fable 2 - play it to ~100% - and end up missing out on playing the 20 or so games that i have queued up to play next. DLC in september, then the november games, then 1Q 2010...

[masherscf]

If you're careful with ammo, buy stimpaks whenever you can and try and minimize damage during fire fights. You'll end up with thousands of rounds of ammo and hundreds of stimpaks. The "scrounger" perk is good for that.

[everybodystalking]

I'm playing it again in preparation for the DLC coming to PS3, and because my last save was broken when my system spontaneously stopped working completely and got replaced. Went with a female character because most enemies are men, so took Black Widow perk, extra 10% damage to the majority of enemies? Yes!

Also did a workaround glitch to get all the followers (except Butch, I killed him, the dick) following me, so that I can cover ground easier and save more ammo while I get all the locations fast travel enabled again. Helps too to have them hold all kinds of stuff while we continue on.

Didn't do this the first time, but like I said my save broke, so now I'm gunning to get back to 20 and have all the things I had before more or less. Don't know if I'm going to bother finding all the skill books again to max stats out, but who knows. Still plenty of time.

[masherscf]

Followers? Charon is pretty easy to get early on. Equipe him with some Power armor and he's quite the bad-ass.

[gabrie11e]

I'm also one of those explore-every-corner type and, while I found Fallout 3 much richer (vs. Oblivion) in terms of things to do, I found the very monochromatic, post-apocalyptic landscape a burden (visually) to be in.

QUESTION: Is anyone aware of any interesting glitches in the PS3 version of Fallout3? There was a cool one for Oblivion (Xbobx 360) that allowed you to access a test environment with various strucutres/landscapes - which I found super interesting. Hadn't heard of anything like that for Fallout yet.

I don't like perfect games. So long as a glitch does not work against the player, I love finding these little oddities and quirks in games. They give it charm.

[tokenuser]

I'm also one of those explore-every-corner type and, while I found Fallout 3 much richer (vs. Oblivion) in terms of things to do, I found the very monochromatic, post-apocalyptic landscape a burden (visually) to be in. Is a post apocalyptic world supposed to be filled with rainbows and unicorns? If you found it a visual burden to be in, I think the folks at Bethesda could pat themselves on the back for creating the right environment.

[gabrie11e]

Is a post apocalyptic world supposed to be filled with rainbows and unicorns? If you found it a visual burden to be in, I think the folks at Bethesda could pat themselves on the back for creating the right environment.

Exactly. I think they did a great job!
I play Peggle when I want rainbows and unicorns. :-)

[lavahot]

Exactly. I think they did a great job!
I play Peggle when I want rainbows and unicorns. :-)

And I play Peggle orange box when I want both.