RPGWatch Feature - Fallout 3 Review: txa1265's View

Brother None said:

Indeed, the PC version looks better, while the PS3 version looks worse (slightly). Regardless, they do not look or run the same.

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Right.... So I guess they should have crippled the PC version, so it would look the same? The PC version of any game(not including ports) is always going to look and run better on a high level PC. The devs are well aware of that, that's why I think their quote was probably taken out of context. They obviously weren't implying that the PC and console versions were going to be 100% identicle. I suspect they were refering to actual game content, rather than resolution or framerate.

Unfortunately, they also referred to the interface, which should have been modified for the PC version, but wasn't.

Ausir said:

Unfortunately, they also referred to the interface, which should have been modified for the PC version, but wasn't.

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Well in that case I guess they were telling the truth. :lol:

You're right though, it definitely should have been improved for the PC, although at least it was better than Oblivion.

Still, their last game with an interface that was actually made for use with mouse and keyboard was Morrowind.

Brother None said:

You misunderstood him. He meant "the idea of giving it a 5/5 was abandoned even before I left the Vault". Which is fair enough, you can tell this is no 5/5 game that early, pretty much.

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Ah, got it.

i still can't believe the amount of soiled undies over the inventory. sure it could be better but i think they were trying to implement the pipboy as more than just a 'skin' on the screen. did people not notice how your player pulled up the pipboy along with your arm everytime you looked at it. occasionally there was a flicker delay, etc. as well which added to the realism. just like when you load your computer it will always startup in the same manner, or if you're using a handheld gps, or nearly every other electronic device you will have to go the same start screen every time.

people want realism, but they don't. holy shite gamers be needing their bipolar meds in a bad way.

by the way i myself might need medication if i keep on having to play defense for bethesda.

curious said:

people want realism, but they don't. holy shite gamers be needing their bipolar meds in a bad way.

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Realism? Modders have easily proven that with even small adjustments - change would be too big a word - the PipBoy interface can be greatly improved. This doesn't even have any remote relation to realism.

by the way i myself might need medication if i keep on having to play defense for bethesda.

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Unfortunately, there is no cure for idiocy.

I do regret that I wasn't more clear in the summing up ... heck, I didn't hold words elsewhere!

When I said it didn't matter about comparing FO3 to the actual Fallout franchise, that wasn't really what I meant - I could have said that it doesn't compare because it really isn't a good Fallout game, but really didn't want to get into what makes it a Fallout game or not (because then I'd have to argue both sides of the 'he who owns the IP' thing as well ...)

Thanks again for all the interesting comments.

Superguest said:

Unfortunately, there is no cure for idiocy.

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Come now, Bethesda isn't perfect, but they've made some great games.

Despite the flaws, Daggerfall and Morrowind were damn fun to play, at least for a while. Oblivion isn't bad either, as long as you add mods to get rid of the level scaling and crappy console UI. There really aren't that many games that are better if you're the "explorer" type.

You know what really cracks me up though? I find it ironic that many of the people who constantly bash Bethesda also played those games all the way to the end.

Actually JDR, many of those people played those games more than once. Now what does that say about them!!

Corwin said:

Actually JDR, many of those people played those games more than once. Now what does that say about them!!

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That there aren't a lot of good games out there for SP-RPG aficionados, so they have to make due?

I never finished Oblivion, I could not, too boring. I did finish Fallout 3, and think it's a good game. I've finished bad games before, tho', I never realised that invalidates my opinion on them.

Brother None said:

That there aren't a lot of good games out there for SP-RPG aficionados, so they have to make due?

I never finished Oblivion, I could not, too boring. I did finish Fallout 3, and think it's a good game. I've finished bad games before, tho', I never realised that invalidates my opinion on them.

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I think that that there are gray areas like most things - most of us have played these things because we love the genre and want to give stuff a shot to see if we can find a fun experience in there. Sometimes we can despite the flaws, and other times it is just too much.

However, offering up my own history with Dungeon Lords as an example, folks who have played a game multiple times and then are claiming 'worst ever' put themselves in some sort of odd position ...

JDR13 said:

You know what really cracks me up though? I find it ironic that many of the people who constantly bash Bethesda also played those games all the way to the end.

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For the record, I got Oblivion (along with a $350 video card + $100 power supply, that's how much I was looking forward to it) the week it came out. Played it for a few hours and got completely bored. It just didn't hook me.

Over the next 2 years I've started over at least 8 times - the furthest I've gotten in the main quest is getting Martin to that fort up North. Did a few of the side quests.

The combat was a whole lot better than in previous games and I appreciated that NPCs didn't just stand around (also thought it was cool that once in a while I'd find guards out in the wilderness fighting it out with bandits, or each other, lol).

But the The game just didn't hook me like Morrowind did. The world felt sterile, dull. The limited number of voice actors killed immersion (Hear me, I'm a high bred, upper crust princess. Hear me now, I'm an old hag!) not to mention poor voice acting. The Oblivion gates was such a simplistic and generic concept. Throwing off immersion even more was the whole WORLD IS BEING INVADED but nothing is actually happening and everyone goes about their business.

But really, the game let me down right at the beginning. In Morrowind you were thrust out into this unknown world with limited instructions. The Main quest made sense and established itself at a slow pace. It was like an investigation.

In Oblivion the Emperor's best guards can't save him and you, a level 1 nobody are entrusted with his amulet and a task more suited to someone with experience. The Emperor must have had close advisors or friends. It just made little sense that you could become Arena Champ at level 2.

So I never played Oblivion to the end, barely even started the main quest I would say. All in all I probably played each time for about 5 or 6 hours before quitting.

The side quests were mildly enjoyable but that was it - not much payoff though.

Payoff to me is a special, rare piece of armor, an intriguing story tidbit, a touching, dramatic resolution that perhaps affects the world around you or leaves you thinking.

Not just a check on a list.

And why do I keep restarting? To give it a chance. Perhaps I was too hard on it.

Maybe I want to make the most of my $500 purchase!!!

Brother None said:

I've finished bad games before, tho', I never realised that invalidates my opinion on them.

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Excellent point.

I thought both your reviews were tip-top. I am glad tobe a part of this community although I do more reading than writing. However, I gotta tell you Mike that we aint gettin no luv at the codex-I would post a quote but I believe we have standards here against that sort of filth.

redman5427 said:

I thought both your reviews were tip-top. I am glad tobe a part of this community although I do more reading than writing. However, I gotta tell you Mike that we aint gettin no luv at the codex-I would post a quote but I believe we have standards here against that sort of filth.

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I have replied in threads at both NMA and the Codex - I don't disagree with their statements in general, but feel that they saw the score and felt the need to pick apart the review just to jusdtify their disagreement with the score.

I have been at both places before, and have been around this long enough to have a thick skin

txa1265 said:

I have been at both places before, and have been around this long enough to have a thick skin

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Same here, hehe. You will always have those childish angry posters.

The funny thing is you get all these guys there that have just joined in the last few months talking about, "We here at the Codex, blah blah blah". It's silly really the mentality but come on, you can't lump an entire community together, there are some sensible and intelligent posters on there.

Relayer said:

But the The game just didn't hook me like Morrowind did. The world felt sterile, dull. The limited number of voice actors killed immersion (Hear me, I'm a high bred, upper crust princess. Hear me now, I'm an old hag!) not to mention poor voice acting. The Oblivion gates was such a simplistic and generic concept. Throwing off immersion even more was the whole WORLD IS BEING INVADED but nothing is actually happening and everyone goes about their business.

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You make valid points that I won't argue, as I already said, the games have flaws. Oblivion doesn't represent the entirety of Bethesda though, and you even mention how Morrowind had "hooked" you. I agree Oblivion could definitely have been more immersive, but it was still a very fun world to explore.

Oblivion is easily the weakest of Bethesda's modern titles.

JDR13 said:

Oblivion doesn't represent the entirety of Bethesda though, and you even mention how Morrowind had "hooked" you. I agree Oblivion could definitely have been more immersive, but it was still a very fun world to explore.

Oblivion is easily the weakest of Bethesda's modern titles.

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I never said otherwise though - Morrowind is probably one of my favorite RPGs of all time, even with its flaws. I loved it and was completely enthralled. Even loved the Tribunal expansion pack (didn't get too far in Bloodmoon though but just recently reinstalled the game to play it again).

I guess what angers me the most is they fixed a few things in Morrowind that were pretty glaring like NPCs standing around all day, the dull combat, and even as generic as Oblivion looked it was still beautiful, less "jaggy", more realistic and ran smoother than Morrowind did.

So imagine a Morrowind caliber ES (writing, lore, mystique, complexity of the region in terms of political and cultural differences, varied and fascinating locales/architecture, etc.) with Oblivion's more polished engine & battle system, Radiant AI (wasn't perfect but was a huge improvement over Morrowind's) and not dumbed down in terms of classes/skills and without the awful level/item scaling.

The fact that Oblivion has pretty much made Bethesda a household (now along with Fallout 3) pretty much ensures they keep their current design model for continued success.

Of course you're right that Oblivion is their weakest title. I'm just not sure I'll be looking forward to ES V.