» Fri May 07, 2010 5:49 pm
I started playing Fallout again today, even though I finished it when it was first released almost 15 years ago.
One of the things that bothers me the most is the Fallout/Fallout 2 die-hards who are constantly disparaging Fallout 3. There's a reason Bethesda made the decisions they did. Let's face it: 3/4 perspective, turn-based games died a long time ago, about the time of the NHL lockout and the end of 16-bit consoles. For those too young to remember, yes, that was a LONG time ago.
Also, although these classic RPGs had some excellent writing, they were, by no means, Shakespeare. I hear a lot of complaints about Fallout 3's writing, but some of the conversations in the original Fallout aren't exactly memorable. As a recent example, my conversation with the female guard, Katrina, in Shady Sands is a perfect example. Yeah, go back and read it. Trust me -- completely uninspiring, especially for a character that could have been so much more. So, lay off Fallout 3's writing. Much like the original game, some of it is brilliant, some of it is generic and some of it is somewhere in-between.
I loved both Fallout and its sequel when they first came out, but having played Bioware games in the intervening years, plus a number of amazing Bethesda titles (Morrowind and Oblivion, for example), I've become even more irritated with the negative criticism directed to Fallout 3.
One thing in particular I wanted to mention is everything I hear about how much the most recent Fallout differs from its source material. So far, after going about 1/3 through the first Fallout, I find nothing so different. I'm guessing that those complaining are upset about barely discernible points that would mean nothing to a normal player. It was great to see Action Points, Stimpaks, monsters and weapons so perfectly transferred over to the most recent game.
Buying Fallout 3 was a risk for me. I'd heard so many negative reviews from people who, like me, played the first two games. I'm so glad I bought it and when I first started playing Fallout 3 I was pleasantly surprised how much flavor of its precursors was kept.
My only regret was listening to the naysayers to begin with!