Hey, fairly new to this forum but certainly not new to Bethesda games. I have mostly just been active in the Brink forum since joining, anyways..I am thinking about purchasing Fallout 3 or NV. I was curious if you guys could give me a better indication to which game suits my play-style better. Any help would be appreciated!

I extensively played Morrowind for over 200+ hours. I love games that don't really "baby" you and more-so let you do you're own thing. I wasn't really that in love with Oblivion, although I still played over 50+ hours of it.

I prefer games with multiple different ways to play them and at least 60+ hours I can put into 1 playthrough. I definitely like games with a LARGE variety in weapons/armor/items/etc. Oblivion really lacked that for me. Probably the most important thing is I want a great story, with a great ending or at least a fitting ending(challenging).

So, Fallout 3 or NV? Thanks guys!

Fallout: New Vegas offers four different "main storylines". That is to say, there is a war coming and there are four different sides to fight for. Each of the routes offers a different perspective on the factions, the people, and the area. You'll meet different people in each, and your friends on one side would be your enemies on the other.

Fallout 3 handles things differently. Here, there is also a war going on, but there are only two factions involved. You don't have a say in which side you choose, as you're forced to fight for the 'white knights' faction, against the bad guys. Fallout 3 offers little variety in its storyline, and is more black-and-white while New Vegas offers many different shades of gray to choose from.

However, while the focus in New Vegas is more on the story, FO3 is more focused on exploring. I have done many, many FO3 playthroughs and have played for countless hours. However, when I start up the game now, and play for some time, it's very likely I'll run into something or someone I've never seen before. FO3 offers many places to explore, and things to discover.

Last major difference in my opinion: Fallout 3 is dark. You have to understand, Fallout 3 is set in Washington DC, and that city got hit hard in the Great War (huge nuclear war 200 years ago, turned most of the earth to ashes and continues to poison people with radiation 200 years later). DC was hit hard, and the city's mostly rubble. There's a lot of radiation, a lot of messed up, mutated creatures and the atmosphere overall is a bit dark and depressed.

Fallout: New Vegas is, obviously, set in Las Vegas, and it offers an entirely different atmosphere. The city wasn't hit by the bombs directly. There's little radiation compared to DC, things are more civilized and the overall feeling of the game is more colorful and upbeat.
That's not so say New Vegas is more fun to be than DC, it's a matter of personal preference. I love FO3 and DC, but the New Vegas atmosphere suits me better.


Which one to choose? It's up to you. FO3 is an older game than NV, so many gameplay and graphics issues were solved in NV, so from a gameplay point of view you might like New Vegas better. However, if you decide to play them both I'd recommend playing FO3 first. FO3 is a step back in areas like gameplay, combat, graphics etcetera, so you'd better play that one first if you end up buying them both.

Overall, I liked New Vegas better. The story, the characters and the atmosphere are better than FO3's in my opinion. However, I played FO3 before I played NV, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. FO3 has some great characters (Butch, Sergeant RL-3, Clover, Desmond, Eden), some great DLC's (The Pitt, Point Lookout) and is a very fun game that you'll play for hours on end.

Thank you for the quick reply. One question though...which game is more difficult and which game has more variety in weapon/armor/items/etc?

Depends. NV has an optional mode called 'hardcoe mode', which makes the game more realistic. You need to eat, drink, sleep to stay alive. Ammo has weight, you heal HP over time instead of instantly. I personally don't use it, but this would make the game more challenging than FO3 I suppose. Both games aren't difficult, but I guess NV is a little harder since supplies are more scarce. You can change the difficulty at any time during play though.

I think New Vegas has a little more variety in armor as well. Especially since a lot of factions have their own faction armor, which you can even use to go into an enemy's camps or headquarters disguised. New Vegas offers more different sets of clothes and armors, but I think FO3 offers a little more weapons. Not sure about that though. I do know that in FO3 I usually use the same weapons (10 mm Pistols, Hunting Rifles, Chinese Assault Rifles) because they're more or less thrown into your lap. You might have to hunt or search for weapons in New Vegas more, but you often do end up with different kind of weapons in different playthroughs.

New Vegas has the most new items and armour but only because it borrows alot of models from FO3.

In terms of diffculty I would say Vegas is harder but you wont fight as much as you would in FO3

New Vegas is more difficult with features like hardcoe mode, and not as much handholding by that i mean the creatures dont scale to your level so you could go off and fight creatures level 30 with a level 1 character requires more intelligence, and it has alot more weapons, armor, items, and crafting etc... also a much better story, i would always recommend playing fallout 1 and 2 to start but most people cant get into to those games which is cool i would go with new vegas

You can still fight a lot in Vegas, but you often have to enter the enemy strongholds yourself (Deathclaw Promontory, Fortification Hill, Hidden Valley Bunker). There are a lot of good fights in Vegas if you look for them, but there are more random fights with two or three Raiders or Mutants in FO3.


By the way: Welcome to the forums!

There is choices to be made in the fo3 story that hugely sway the out come but not as many as fallout new vegas .
Fallout 3 will more than likely last you longer than fallout new vegas as the exploration is endless in Fo3 (i still find new stuff after 800 hours).
But fonv is the technically better game (as it should be it's a sequel ) but in terms of gameplay they are very similar and same with graphics .
There both amazing just get both there bargains.Like the new vegas hokers:wink:.

Thanks guys. It seems both games are great games from hearing your responses, gonna pick up NV then eventually FO3 when I save up enough money. Thanks again!

That's definitely the way to do it, people who play F3 first seem disappointed with F:NV. They're both brilliant games but F3 has more finished feel to it and is a lot denser in terms of locations and encounters, while F:NV has better plot lines and can replayed in completely different ways.

Why are you asking this in the F3 section? Won't the opinions be a bit biased? :vaultboy:

In any case, both are no doubt quality games with their own strentghts and weaknesess.

F3 is good in the sandbox exploring aspect with lot of dungeon grinding, but the plot and *ahem* choices are a big lackluster. Still nothing to be worried about.
NV on the other hand offers a very enjoyable plot, a VAST number of choices(even consquences), factions, superior gameplay mechanics and those little details like companions with personalities and quests etc.
But the exploration stuff is a tad weaker.

Welcome to the forum.
There are pros and cons to both games and you are unlikely to get them all in a few answers, and it depends on preferences as well.

Fallout 3 has multiple ways to play it, with a very large variety of armour/weapons and about everything else, quest line stories have multiple choices in how to play them for different outcomes, choices that are down to you and even morality choices and what outcome that is going to best suit the way you want to play the game, no easy choice mostly. A simple quest, take this letter to xxx evolves into a small game in itself, nothing simple about it. Those storylines are very good and can be quite some size, even quests within a quest. Game-play is excellent.

Challenging, I made my game hardcoe by my choices of play, and it remained that way throughout the game, I didn't like the hardcoe mode option that New Vegas had (must eat, must drink, must sleep) because that was how the role-play games of old were, and really were just an annoyance interrupting far more interesting and challenging role-play elsewhere in the game, but that's just my opinion.

New Vegas has quite a barren wasteland, Fallout 3 seems crammed with content and devastation, with content that can be dug out of the rubble as you would expect in a post-nuclear scenario, New Vegas is by comparison of a more civilised scenario. It's a matter of personal choice in the end of which you think would be best for you. Both big games, Fallout 3 measured in 100s of hours, depending on your choices of play of course, either will be way over the 60+ that you are seeking.

Both!

Start with Vegas, otherwise you are disappointed with Vegas. Fallout 3 is for me 10 times more open, smoother and satisfying than NV. There are 2 main mods for Fallout 3 which feature everything one could want, maximum textures and totally new game mechanics, NMCs_Texture_Pack_for_FO3 and FWE - FO3 Wanderers Edition. Most of NV new game mechanics are also existing in FWE, plus some real nice ones like sprint etc. and many more, all totally customizable.

I wouldn't worry too much about the bigger mods until you are sick of the basic game and DLs.

Both games are great out of the box and only get better with mods. FO 3 is the more finished game with more DLCs and mods, so if you are short of money start with that as it can keep you going for years. NV is basically the same thing except that it is mostly a multi option main quest rather than having the massive number of side quests as FO 3 does. I started with FO 3, i've played NV though about 3 times and I'm now back playing FO 3. In a few months when more DLCs are released and the array of mods is bigger, I will go back to NV again.

I would normally say Play them in order. 1, 2, (maybe tactics) 3 then NV (you can get Fallout 1 and 2 at http://www.gog.com for 5.99 each)
but i would get angry stares

but if you must Start with 3 (GOTY edition), it has all its DLCs done and if you play on PC a lot of good Mods finished (like FWE)
by the time you exhaust all the exploration and DLCs (depending on how many play throughs you do)
New Vegas's DLCs may be out and there may be a GOTY edition for it (saves you some cash on the DLCs) and by then Project Nevada should have all of its modules finished as well

Laughs, well you would get stares kinda, I would never say "work your way up to the best", I would start with the best. PhaYze9, Fallout 1 and 2 are board-game combat and very dated.

that doesn't mean they are not good fun games. they just arnt all shiny and new any more. they are 15 years old, if you can get your head around that then they are fine games.

No need to be smug about it, they aren't dated for many people.
So I hereby join the "start with F1 and 2 if ye want." crowd. :thumbsup:

Otherwise, I suggest getting the F3 GOTY edition. After you'll be finished, be sure to pick up NV(which should be already complete with the DLCs) and see how much better/worse it is. :fallout:

I would say start with Fallout 1 and 2 if you like turn-based top-down gameplay.

However, if you absoultely hate that style of gameplay and prefer more of the fps feel of Fallout 3 or New Vegas, then by all means start with them (personally had I not gotten started with Fallout 3 I probably would have hated the orginals, I'm very picky about turn-based gameplay :tongue: )

Between Fallout 3 and New Vegas though, it really depends on your style there as well. If you prefer quest-based gameplay along with New Weapons and such, go with New Vegas. If you prefer more open-world and exploration-based game-play, then go with Fallout 3 (which is my favorite style).

That's a good point about waiting for F:NV to come with the DLC's included.

Fallout 3 is better cuz I tried New vegas for awhile but didn't like it but Fallout 3 is totally epic. also I tried it at my friends house and he said I was right that he thinks it svcks to lol.

Didn't read any posts, just gonna put it in one expression,
Matter of opinion.

I'm simply going to say, this forum is biased.

Buy them Both but first buy Fallout, Fallout 2 and Tactics. They are cheap and come in a pack. Play them and then play Fallout 3 and New Vegas.

Still if you don't want to or don't have the cash for all that. Get New Vegas.