Bluey wrote:

I never personally liked Fallout 1

BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!
Just kidding, I would suggest you give it another shot, it certainly shows its age, but there are few crpgs which are/were able to surpass Fallout 1's atmosphere, setting, and storyline. All things considered though, game play wise I find Fallout 2 to be much more appealing (except for the fucking temple of trials, every time you play the game...)

As for Fallout 3, there is no hope. I realize that I am basing my opinion off of a few shorthand interviews, some magazine previews, and screenshots + developer quotes, but let's look at a couple of things:

Bethesda seems to want to emphasize Fallout's setting (which they are arguably failing to grasp as well) more than its game play mechanics; they are taking what I see as the path of least resistance: they are essentially creating an "Oblivion with guns" so that it can appeal to the widest audience, and then slap on a "Fallout setting/post-apocalyptic retro-future" so that they can attempt to appeal to the few Fallout fans who have some memory of playing the first two games.

They are taking Fallout 3 in the direction of 1st person, real time combat. Some people claim that this drastic change is "evolving" the series in lieu of modern crpgs, but all it really is is an attempt to appeal to a wider audience who have read reviews about how "ZOMG AWSUM" Oblivion was. You see, the Fallout series has always been a fringe, cult-favorite series, it never sold particularly well, and the whole turn-based octagonal-grid thing was based off of the GURPS Table-top experience. Even so, Fallout's turn-based, tactical combat was seen as a step-back for RPGs in a time where people were all hyped up about Diablo and Baldur's Gate, both real-time RPGs. Even in terms of setting, Bethesda ain't doing a great job so far, the more hardcore fans are already upset at how they've butchered the Brotherhood of Steel into a bunch of JUSTICE TECHNO PALADINS running around the Wasteland so that they can kill mutants. Also, the Enclave is back, apparently killing the President of the United States in Fallout 2 wasn't enough.

TL;DR

-No eye shots/groin shots
-Unkillable NPCs, Unkillable children
-1st person real time with pause combat (aka VATS - OMGZ SOOO INNOVATIVE)
-FATMAN NUKLEAR LAWNCHER SOOO HARDCOAR FOR HALO GAEMERZ
-You play as a whiny little faggot who leaves the vault to look for his father played by Liam Neeson... I'd rather find the Waterchip/GECK over this emo bullshit any day

Fallout 3 will fucking suck. Go play Fallout 1 & 2. Hell, go play Fallout Tactics.

Knyte wrote:

Odds are that they are basing this off a version of the Oblivion engine. Which means..... MODS. Lots and lots of mods! Don't like the game? Wait about 6 months, and you will be able to turn it into a completely different game. One that may be a lot more closer to Fallout I & II.

Yeah, Beth has indirectly confirmed that mod tools will be released a month or two down the road after release... but see, for me that eliminates the original purpose of releasing this game: it should be good due to its own merits. On top of that, I haven't updated my computer in almost 5 years, and considering the system requirements are going to be killer, there's no way I'll be able to download mods for Fallout 3 even if I wanted to. I'm sure many people are in the same situation as I'm in (even if your comp's a year old, its still too old for the requirements of Fallout 3), further proving that Beth is hoping to sell this to console people who think "BIGG GUNZ SO KOOL KILL MEWTANTS." They're planning on creating downloadable content for this game as well, which is total fucking nonsense (now I can ride my majestic horse through the wasteland - just liek in Oblivion gaiz!!!11!1!). Also confirmed are mini-games: in order to "hack" into computers, you gotta play some ridiculous image matching lock-switching mini-game... if you tagged science as a skill, the mini-game becomes more compact (i.e. less images to match/locks to push around).
Fucking. Lame.

All things considered, I'm sure the game will be decent, but ultimately not deserving of the "Fallout" title. Fallout 3 will be forgettable and not worth replaying 5 or 10 years down the road. Both Fallout games have a timeless appeal, and while they're not necessarily the most graphically advanced, bug-free, mechanically innovative games, they haven't quite been surpassed in terms of depth, diversity, and uniqueness for crpg gaming.

On another note, with the slow revival of Interplay, it seems people are turning to "Fallout Online" as the team has a few developers and artists who worked on the original Fallout games... don't keep your hopes up too high however.

Just Thank God Bethesda hasn't bought up the Planescape license to make Torment 2.

Murdar Machene wrote:

Smurfsrdead wrote: octagonal-grid hexagonal sorry just nerding out