» Thu May 26, 2011 9:00 pm
I've played Fallout 1 & 2, and I thought the Vault to those memories had been permanently sealed long ago. My dad actually introduced his little girl to the series when I reached G.O.A.T.-taking age, so playing Fallout 3 has actually been an emotional experience for me. I moved to Europe from America four months ago to get a college degree and be with my boyfriend, and I've been missing home and family. All the nostalgic nods and the overall faithfulness to the spirit of the series has been really wonderful for me, and the entire sequence with your father being so important, raising you in the Vault and all, had this strange harmony with my life. Hell, even the fact that the manual was in Dutch was helpful, since I'm just at the right point where I can mostly read it, and it's a good exercise for my language class.
Oblivion paled after you got used to it. Too many big, empty spaces, not enough storylines and real characters. I think Bethesda has soundly kicked their own blockbuster's ass with this one. I'm not done the game yet, but it's my feeling so far that the bar has been raised. The difference between this and most games is like the difference between The Dark Knight and most movies. This is the kind of amazing depth, detail, and personality I would like to see find its way into the Elder Scrolls series. Also, V.A.T.S. rules. It's so ridiculously fun that I went back and pumped 10 points into Agility so I would have a scadillion APs.
Way to aim high and hit the mark. I hope Leonard Boyarsky and everybody, despite surely being justifiably disappointed that Interplay sold the license to their beloved and handcrafted series, feel like Bethesda has done them proud.