hey all, so i'll be perfectly honest, I came in on Fallout 3 like a lot of the gamers here no doubt did, and fell in love with it. Because of this, I followed FONV from the time it was announced up until the midnight release (my first one ever for a game). Knowing that the team from Black Isle developed New Vegas, and having read up on a bit of the lore from FO1 and FO2 (but not anything specific to each game), I can honestly say I want to try the two games out. Hopefully I'll get the games for Christmas, because I've actually seen a bundle of FO1, FO2, and Fallout Tactics at both the Walmart and Target near me.

So my question is, what should I expect to be different other than a perspective and graphical change, neither of which bother me? Please avoid story spoilers if there are any.

You can expect better stories, better writing, better voice acting and far more interesting characters, as well as more atmospheric music.

but this is just my opinion of coarse.

so basically expect the great elements of New Vegas with 1996 graphics? and wasnt some of New Vegas' music from the first two games?

Some music, yes. I'd also say prep. your self for the turn based combat and highly more skill/statdriven gameplay. If Fallout 3 is indeed your first game on the series, the importance of your characterbuild in the originals may come out as shock in some ways.

You should download the Fallout 1 demo just in case.

i kind of expected this to be the case, and I know there are some slight skill differences in terms of what there is to choose.

and where can I find the demo?

First off, congrats!

Second: be patient. This is the main key. There's no level scaling, just like FO:NV, so while you can go anywhere on the map, you had best be prepared! Speaking of maps, there's no "fast travel" either, so you had better make sure you're always packing Rad X, Rad Away and keep that water canteen in your inventory! You said the TB and ISO don't bother you? Great! That is the main hurdle for most people introduced to FO3. You won't have your hand held (no quest marker, uh-oh!) but The Vault Wiki is always there for you if you get stuck. Speaking of The Vault, it would be a good idea to read up on the SPECIAL pages before building your character, as the original design for SPECIAL was much different than FO3's--> http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_primary_statistics Expect not only a lot of dialogue, but a lot of different choices for your own character's responses - many of which are determined by what kind of character you build. Talk to every NPC you see, search ever inch of map (sometimes you have to scour the map, pixel by pixel, looking behind buildings at an area which was not visible until your character walks behind it), and never give up if you feel like there's something left undone! One of Tim Cain's design philosophies was that a character should be able to solve every situation with either violence, diplomacy or stealth. Keep that in mind when building your character!

Tip: There are no dump stats if you're making a specific character, but "Doctor" & "First Aid" are never really necessary.

I'd choose a combat character either guns or melee for your first round of Fallout. A team gunfighter or team brawler: a rather intelligent and sociable person with an emphasis on weapons, lockpick and speech, so you can bring friends along and you can solve most of the puzzles/quests. Diplomatic, stealth and special characters like jinxed/dumb are more for advanced players imo. But that's just my opinion.. hmm, what else? Oh yeah, the save option is ur most important friend. Like Whiskey Rose said: a little read up on skills, traits, perks and stats couldn't hurt because some of these options are great, some mediocre and some utterly useless.

What can you expect... just play the game! But keep in mind it's totally different from FO3. Lastly, Fallout Tactics is more strategy orientated but also a lot of fun if you can get into it.

thank you for the advice. i'm well aware that there isnt level scaling, or quest markers, or fast travel which is a good thing because i know what to expect going in. i know the games are going to be alot different than FO3 and FONV, but thats all good. if i can still play older PC games such as Morrowind (2002) and Far Cry (2004), and enjoy the hell out of the gameplay, games with older graphics arent going to phase me.




generally the first character i usually make is a guns and/or guns/melee hybrid so i should be good to go in that regard. i probably will read up on the SPECIAL/skills/traits when i get a chance (as right now i'm having a halo: reach marathon ). but what perks/traits do you guys personally like?