Fallout 3: Mutants Allowed

[Antilles]

War.

War never changes.

 

Anyways, thought I'd make a thread about this highly anticipated game, maybe update it as new info comes along. But for now: If you haven't seen the trailer yet, go do so. If you have seen it, watch it again, 'cuz it's awesome .

Seen it? Good, now head over to here to read the page scans from the latest issue of Game Informer, with screens and lots and lots of juicy information  . Just don't enter their forums, though. That place is a wretched hive of scum and villainy angry, angry "fans".

[Wolverine]

Handheld...

...nuclear...

...catapult!

[Crafty_Pat]

Wow. The character creation process is pretty damn cool. Starting at birth? Literally? That's a first.

I'm really grooving on the fact that you can't be a super hero, that every choice offers a benefit and a limitation - that's my game design philosophy in action - and the game seems to offer a pretty deep character growth process, which is a stellar call in a world of shallow, railroading twitch-fests.

It's nice that they realize people prefer a third-person view, but I would have preferred an overhead option as well. It's Fallout, after all, the game series that perfected the overhead game experience (some might take issue with that, citing X-Com, and it's a valid argument, but not one that I share).

The period-appropriate music playing over the open airwaves is a spectacular touch. Good going, Bethesda.

The make-or-break part of the game will, of course, be the V.A.T.S. system. From the sound of it, I think most people will simply default to the FPS-style mode. I'm not sure. I'd rather not, as I'm not much of an FPS fan, but if it becomes annoying to use the thing, and if pausing becomes a split-second issue (making it a twitch game whether they want it to be or not), then I'll have to default as well, which would make me a lot less happy overall. Again, I wish they'd gone with a third-person overview option for those of us who deeply love the original two games, but doubling the engine work is probably too much to ask for. Damn masses and their twitch fascination. 

The ultra-violent screen shot on page 6 makes me giddy, though. That's what I expect from Fallout!

Nine to twelve endings? Rock ON!

The tree-like quest path structure is awesome, but like everything else it'll all come down to implementation. Scott can attest that I'm a fanatic RPG achiever when I play computer games (just like I'm a fanatic plot-driver when I play PnP games), but I dig the idea of a game evolving as a result of my actions. The problem is that all too often the mechanics of an evolving system are so obvious, so shallow and simplistic, that they become annoying rather than engaging. I was really impressed with the original Fallout quest trees. They weren't perfect, but they were pretty damn cool. That kind of depth requires a lot of content grinding, though. Let's hope Bethesda's up to it.

Based on this, I'd buy the game, which is a major step forward from my previous stance. I want to love this game. I really, really do.

[spinningdice]

Though the idea that it's an improvement on the Oblivion engine (please don't make me upgrade my PC again - I don't have the money) is somewhat scary. Provided my PC can run it without having to knock the detail down to bare minimums, I'll be picking it up.

Then again knowing me I'd probably pick it up anyway unless all the reviews I read mark it at less than about 30%

[Antilles]

Hey, you could always just buy an XBOX360 . Dunno how I feel about that... there have been some fairly ugly examples of games being simplified so they work better on a console, and then being released on the PC without changes (Deus Ex: Invisible War and Oblivion, I'm looking at you).

[spinningdice]

Hmm, £300 on a console, or I could pour £300 into upgrading my PC (I'm not that far behind the curve). I'd rather get my PC up to spec if I had the money.

The only console I've been tempted by is a Wii (or possibly some sort of hand-held).

[Antilles]

Veering wildly off-topic (but then again, how many threads on crafty forums ever stay on-topic?), I've got both a Wii and a DS Lite, and can heartily recommend both . Any particular games/genres you like?

[spinningdice]

I'm fairly flexible, but a proper console (to me) is for having 1 or 2 friends in front of the machine interfer... helping you - whether by actual multiplayer or just being the sort of game where people shout hints.

[Antilles]

Well, the Wii's got lots of 'party games' at the moment, like Wario Ware, Mario Party, Wii Sports is pretty fun, etc. Me and some friends are currently enjoying Mario Strikers Charged, which is kinda like insane, over-the-top soccer. Lots of fun. Excite Truck is also fun, in the over-the-top kinda way. Other than that, well... actual high-quality Wii games are a bit scarce at the moment, but Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl is due later this year, and they are expected to be of "killer app" quality. Also highly likely to be fun to play with more people, especially Brawl. Then you've got a pretty large selection of Virtual Console titles, of varying quality. If you've been a gamer for a while, you're almost guaranteed to find some had way back when and wanna try again, or didn't get a chance to play.

The DS has lots of good multiplayer games, but they all rely on your friends having DS' of their own, but there are so many good games on the DS you'd be almost assured to find games you'll love.

[Antilles]

Hoo boy. The handheld nuclear catapult was discussed in another board I frequent, and they discovered it was actually based on tech existing/being developed in the fifties. Links: Davy Crockett, W54.

I'm kinda glad they didn't follow up on those. Could you imagine the end of the cold war with most countries weapon storeholds filled with these kinda weapons, ripe for the plucking by the wrong people... It makes Fallout sounds like a plausible scenario.

P.S. Crafty guys, would it be possible to stat up these weapons? I think there's some characters out there who would love to wield a infantry-sized tactical nuke rifle .

[Mister Andersen]

Well, the Wii's got lots of 'party games' at the moment

If the rumoured forthcoming Star Wars game for Wii lets you duel a friend with light sabres, I may just finally find what could persuade me to buy a console.

[Gatac]

The Davy Crocket wasn't really man-portable...you had to set it on the ground.

Still, it's almost...semi-plausible. Crazier things have been developed. (Chicken-warmed nuclear mines, anyone?)

Gatac

[Crafty_Pat]

P.S. Crafty guys, would it be possible to stat up these weapons? I think there's some characters out there who would love to wield a infantry-sized tactical nuke rifle .

Sounds like the perfect starter material to continue the BSG-3000 thread to me.

[afrodave]

Favorite weapon developed during the Cold War. Nuclear Artillery Shells!
being tested:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cImwD_Vy7lI
Develpoed back before we thought this stuff was bad for us and just made ants really big?!  Then we started to figure out that we couldn't invade an area after hitting it with this weapon. Brilliant!

[TheAuldGrump]

Wow. The character creation process is pretty damn cool. Starting at birth? Literally? That's a first.

I'm really grooving on the fact that you can't be a super hero, that every choice offers a benefit and a limitation - that's my game design philosophy in action - and the game seems to offer a pretty deep character growth process, which is a stellar call in a world of shallow, railroading twitch-fests.

It's nice that they realize people prefer a third-person view, but I would have preferred an overhead option as well. It's Fallout, after all, the game series that perfected the overhead game experience (some might take issue with that, citing X-Com, and it's a valid argument, but not one that I share).

The period-appropriate music playing over the open airwaves is a spectacular touch. Good going, Bethesda.

The make-or-break part of the game will, of course, be the V.A.T.S. system. From the sound of it, I think most people will simply default to the FPS-style mode. I'm not sure. I'd rather not, as I'm not much of an FPS fan, but if it becomes annoying to use the thing, and if pausing becomes a split-second issue (making it a twitch game whether they want it to be or not), then I'll have to default as well, which would make me a lot less happy overall. Again, I wish they'd gone with a third-person overview option for those of us who deeply love the original two games, but doubling the engine work is probably too much to ask for. Damn masses and their twitch fascination. 

The ultra-violent screen shot on page 6 makes me giddy, though. That's what I expect from Fallout!

Nine to twelve endings? Rock ON!

The tree-like quest path structure is awesome, but like everything else it'll all come down to implementation. Scott can attest that I'm a fanatic RPG achiever when I play computer games (just like I'm a fanatic plot-driver when I play PnP games), but I dig the idea of a game evolving as a result of my actions. The problem is that all too often the mechanics of an evolving system are so obvious, so shallow and simplistic, that they become annoying rather than engaging. I was really impressed with the original Fallout quest trees. They weren't perfect, but they were pretty damn cool. That kind of depth requires a lot of content grinding, though. Let's hope Bethesda's up to it.

Based on this, I'd buy the game, which is a major step forward from my previous stance. I want to love this game. I really, really do.

From the Gamespot Preview_
First, here are some key basics about Fallout 3. Yes, it's a first-person game, but it also has a third-person camera if you like to play that way, and the camera can be moved so that it almost mimics the perspective of the original Fallout games. No, it's not a pure action shooter, though it can be played like a shooter in some ways, if you want.

So, you can get the overhead view, it just takes some work....

Such mixed feelings... it's not Troika, but Bethesda also does some fine work. I have had a blast with Dark Corners of the Earth....

The Auld Grump