This has become a typical F3 vs FNV thread. Ok, while there is nothing wrong with that in itself I do feel that the arguments for each have been well covered by now. Everyone here has their favourite and is unlikely to ever be convinced of the merits of the other. That's fine too, since we all look for different things in a game, and F3 and FNV, for all their visual similarities, are quite different.
I do hope that the game designers are reading all of these posts, as repetitive as they are, since Fallout 4 will most likely be heavily influenced by them. I also hope, quite sincerely, that F4 does not divide between 'true Fallout fans' and 'those who liked Fallout 3', as this seems to be the general way these threads seem to go.
Just remember, we are all on the same side. We all love Fallout, whichever version of the game it happens to be. We are also lucky that these games are so well designed that it's possible to see different things in them, rather than being linear, with no variation.
I like to immerse my self in the Universe the games I play create.
I have Spent thousands of hours in Fallout 1 and 2. I love the story and the characters in those games (and they were released over 10 years ago)
I have spent hundreds (if not thousands) of hours in Fallout 3. (if it was a horrible game i wouldn't have done that) I like it (for the most part) but see room for improvement. (mostly story related but some in regards to the gameplay mechanics)
I have spent so far only 417 hours in Fallout New Vegas, (im pacing my self for the DLCs, I do tend to get burnt out on games sometimes) I do think they did a Much better job with the story in NV. the game mechanics are still a problem IMHO though,
do I hate Fallout 3, No. do I think bethesda did somethings wrong Yes. do I think they can Learn from their mistakes? i wouldn't be posting this in their forums if I didnt.
Does Obsidian do a better job at feedback, yes the lead designer is in the forums daily talking with the players. when was the last time you saw Todd Howard make a post? I cant even seem to find his forum account.
Im just not of the camp that think Fallout 3 was the 2nd coming, and that every game needs to follow its mold. Lowest Common Denominator Logic is killing the game industry. EA, Blizactivision, Ubisoft and all the other BORGaming companies are going to cause another gaming crash (like in 86).