Fallout 3

[Andrew]

Weren't the original games produced by someone else?

[Lean]

Interplay made Fallout 1 & 2, in which Feargus Urquhart made another developer sub-group, Black Isle.

Apparently the Bethesda people are Fallout fans. They didn't actually desert the retro look. Maybe because of the third-person perspective that's why it has a different feel. And besides, how would something look retro if the entire Wasteland literally became a wasteland?

[Andrew]

I think it has to stand as a tremendous game whether or not you've played the originals but I suppose any differences could easily be disappointing to fans of the first two.

[Lean]

Still it's a great game even if the original isn't there anymore. I like it personally, even if I'm a fan and have played the previous games.

[Andrew]

It's a tough situation for game developers. If it were too much like the originals, they'd probably receive their fair share of criticism for failing to try new things.

[NovU]

Originally, it was Black Isle but I guess Bethesda bought off the license and changed the whole concepts of the game. It's true that Black Isle pretty much got lazy and made some couple failed follow up games that didn't live up to it's previous ones. It was time change was needed and Bethesda has really done a good job. However, I also would like to see sequel that is more like previous sequels as well. It'd be awesome for fans like me.

Well, mostly it was fan based games, but now fall out 3 is for everybody.

[Andrew]

Not such a bad thing. If you can make a game that is at least satisfactory to fans of previous incarnations as well as find a whole new audience, you've done pretty well. That said, I'd be interested in playing the originals having gotten into the series for the first time with Fallout 3.

[Andrew]

Looks like The Pitt DLC will be available pretty soon as they just pushed a new update which is supposed to be in preparation for it. Broken Steel (April) is the one I'm most looking forward to though.

[Lean]

Me too. I'm preparing to re-install F3 in my unit since I'm done with Mass Effect (although with one playthrough only).

I read somewhere that Broken Steel is the canon continuation of the Fallout 3 campaign.

[Andrew]

I heard that too and not a bad thing. The original ending was OK but I guess I'm used to the more open-ended games like the GTA series and the options were fairly limited. And if nothing else, new quests and some extra gameplay is fine by me. As it stands I've got 52/54 XBL achievements (48 of the original 50 and the four for Operation: Anchorage), just need to go pick up the remaining 10 Bobbleheads and create the remaining custom weapons I haven't already made. I assume it will then just be finishing The Pitt and Broken Steal and I'll actually have 100% completion of Fallout 3...kind of. Still some areas I haven't explored but that'll basically be it.

[Lean]

The style of telling the ending of F3 traces back to how Fallout 2's ending was shown. Nostalgic, yes it was a great idea. But after having a visually-appealing battle against the Enclave towards, the game will show us a slideshow of images. The in-game hype suddenly dies. But it's still a great RPG.

[Andrew]

Not just that but there's not a huge variation in the endings. The "multiple endings" that were alluded to is a bit misleading as when it boils down to it there's only two (pre-Broken Steel) with some slight variations in the epilogue depending on your choice and karma level.

I've read complaints about the ease of the ending but I didn't think that was too bad, the game gets easier the more you play it not only because you develop a strategy but if you take the time to level up, pick the right perks and make sure you have a ridiculous amount of ammo and diverse range of weapons in case you run out or one of them breaks in the middle of combat then your character is going to be so much stronger than when you start out that it's going to seem a lot easier. That's just the way it works, it's more difficult at the beginning of the game rather than the end, where it becomes more about the story and your earlier actions and decisions coming into play.

[NovU]

Not just that but there's not a huge variation in the endings. The "multiple endings" that were alluded to is a bit misleading as when it boils down to it there's only two (pre-Broken Steel) with some slight variations in the epilogue depending on your choice and karma level.

Yeah, that was one of the biggest disappointment and the other one, story being too short and not giving us an option to keep playing after the ending or even carry out stats to the new game.

Anyways, some guys from Fallout 3 makers, said prior to the launch, something about # of endings being around 100z. -_-

[Patr1ck]

It's true, since technically each ending is different depending on which clips are spliced or not spliced into the ending video. You can't really call them liars, but I'm sure they knew what gamers would think when they read that.

[Andrew]

Exactly, it implies a wider variety of endings when really there's only three distinctly different outcomes that can occur regardless of karma.

[Andrew]

I went ahead and picked up the last of the Bobbleheads today and created the last of the custom weapons last night, giving me the final two achievements and more or less completion of everything for the moment (all quests, all XBL achievements, etc) so unless I hear about something cool I haven't tried yet, I'll just be waiting for The Pitt and Broken Steel to squeeze a bit more gameplay out of it.

[kibaxx7]

Hey Andrew, did you find the Alien Blaster at the Power Station?

[Andrew]

You mean at the UFO crash site north of the power station and west of Greener Pastures? Went looking for that last night and found it. That's one awesome weapon, makes Deathclaws a breeze.

[Patr1ck]

I got that weapon, too. I also got the other alien weapon that uses the same ammo. It's a random occurrence where an alien ship crashes and blows up. It drops a different, but similar gun and ammo that works for both. The difference between the random occurence gun is that it's slightly weaker, but puts enemies on fire after hitting them, lowering their hit points for a certain duration. I usually save them for certain situations or one shot disintegrations. I also got a weapon that shoots a bunch of lasers and does over 100 hp of damage in the DeathClaw lair or something. Been a while since I played it.

[Lean]

Is there such a thing as an Alien Rifle?

[Patr1ck]

It's probably the same thing as the Alien Blaster.

[Andrew]

That'd be the Firelance. Definitely not a weapon to use too often because it's so unique and therefore difficult to repair or stock ammo for but definitely good for getting out of a tough spot and taking on the Deathclaws, especially when you've got the Grim Reaper's Sprint perk at Level 20.

[kibaxx7]

Guys, any of you heard about the Fallout Wiki? Has all info about not only Fallout 3 but also the first two games.

[Andrew]

I discovered that not too long ago, it's a fantastic resource. Its administrators and frequent contributors have certainly done a great job with it.

[Andrew]

The Pitt DLC should be out tomorrow. I'm guessing Broken Steel will come about a month after that since it's slated for an April release.