The best RPGs ever #1 :Fallout 3
 |
| Scenic Overlook indeed |
Fallout 3 came out in 2008 and instantly blew me away. A nuclear wasteland may not seem like the most varied of settings but exploring the ruins of post-apocalyptic Washington D.C armed with a snooker cue, Abe Lincoln's repeater and a portable nuclear missile launcher (AKA the Fatman) is a great experience that all should try.
I like RPG's as much as the next man. In fact, probably a lot more than the next man, but I knew little about the Fallout universe and as such, I didn't have any preconceptions. I was pleasantly surprised with the adult setting, humour and elder scrolls style gameplay.
 |
| I said in the face dammit! |
The game does have a number of bugs which do break immersion to an extent, such as enemies falling through the floor, broken quests and save file corruption but the core mechanics are second to none. I easily spent over 200 hours playing the vanilla game alone, combing through buildings and shooting raiders in the face. With VATS. Repeatedly.
Even with the wasteland setting, there is a lot of variety in the landscape, especially if you include the DLC and numerous character builds available to the player. The expansions take you to Pittsburgh, aboard an alien spacecraft and through other surreal scenarios tinged with a hint of darkness.
Despite being released over five years ago, the game still holds up well graphically in comparison to later releases. This isn't to say there aren't any issues, with some NPC's looking plain creepy and body models leaving a lot to be desired, but mods can rectify the small graphical glitches.
 |
| I did it all for you, pops |
Some may ask why I didn't choose Fallout: New Vegas instead, but for me it just made improvements to an already great base game. The connection your character has to the story is way more personal than in New Vegas, especially without the Lonesome Road DLC.
You can tell that a lot of hard work and effort went into producing this game (despite the bugs) due to the sheer amount of detail there is to be found. Endless logs, transmissions and dialogue add extra layers to the story, as opposed to the 'radiant quest' style of side missions found in Skyrim (ie go to place x and collect x/deliver x for x gold) and I think this helps to draw you further into the game, as you explore vaults and unravel the mysteries inside.
Some aspects of the game did leave a bad taste in my mouth, such as the original ending and level cap, but at least these issues were fixed with DLC. Although the DLC itself was hit and miss the locations added by Point Lookout and The Pitt gave the game even more playability, especially for higher level characters.
 |
| Zombies! |
The game can be overwhelming at first, but as you level up and get to grips with the mechanics you'll soon be scavenging ruins for bobbleheads, unique named weapons and custom schematics, whilst fighting off deathclaws, super mutants and ghouls.
Fallout 3 is a great game that only gets better with mods and DLC and it really does the post-apocalyptic setting justice. The game gives you choice, but is slightly more rewarding for players with good karma (except the great pay-off if you agree to help Mr Burke with the Megaton 'problem').
 |
| When all else fails, Mini Nuke |
Little gameplay gems, such as finding the body of Argyle in the ruins of Rockopolis (next to the unarmed bobblehead no less), or discovering the reason why Arkansas was sniping up in his bolt-hole, make Fallout one of the most memorable games of this generation and one of my favourite RPGs of all time.
Verdict: If it ran perfectly it would be a 10 in my mind, but the glitches and bugs take the gloss off an impressive game. Even so, it's still a masterpiece. 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment