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Living in a Wasteland

So, we’ve had Fallout 3 for a few weeks now and everyone I’ve talked to loves it. I have read comments on reviews here and there and I’m surprised by their disparaging nature. The most common complaint seems to be, “It’s just Oblivion with guns.” If that’s a bad point then I think I must have played a different version of Oblivion than them. Mind you, I don’t think that’s true at all. Sure both are RPGs and they both use the Oblivion Engine, but to me that’s where the similarities end.

I play tabletop RPGs, so I was very interested in the VATS system for battles. This system is obviously very much taken from the pen & paper RPG games where in some you can call shots and use your skills to hit them. Add into that the use of skills for things like sneaking and picking pockets and I’m one happy bunny. Finally your skills aren’t just for combat, but have been taken to be part of the game and actually make a difference.

I’d like to see more games taking that extra step when they make an RPG game. Fallout 3 is a game that truly lives up to the RPG genre.

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Donna

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7 responses to “Living in a Wasteland”

  1. URABUTLN avatar
    URABUTLN

    RPGs sure have come a long way since the days of Wasteland. That game was so fun. 🙂

  2. Tony avatar
    Tony

    Oh thank God I didn’t buy Fallout 3!

    I saw a video and didn’t realise it was an RPG.

    I can’t stand RPGs so it was a near miss for me…

  3. Dave avatar
    Dave

    Spot on Donna, I think VATS is a great system and the whole ‘Oblivion with guns’ arguement doesn’t fly with me at all.

    I reckon this is a serious contender for GOTY.

  4. Donna avatar
    Donna

    I agree Dave. I’d certainly vote for it as GOTY. This is the first game in a while that I’m actually planning and looking forward to playing it through multiple times.

  5. Laura avatar
    Laura

    The reason I want Fallout 3 is cause it’s “Oblivion with guns!”

  6. Tim avatar
    Tim

    It does feel a lot like Oblivion, For the first few hours I was finding it hard to find something other than guns and vats that distinguished the 2 games apart. The animations are all the same, the character faces still look the same, blink at the start and the moment when you come out of the vault could easily be the start of Oblivion though obviously with less trees. Heck they even reused some of the same voice actors. The guy who wants you to blow up Megaton? Why it’s Lucien Lachance, head of the Dark Brotherhood. Even firing the guns in first person mode isn’t too far removed from the fireballs in Oblivion.

    A few hours in though these niggling similarities were gone and I was fully immersed in what is a wonderfully realised and amazingly detailed world. Characters now have much more depth and more to say than they did in Oblivion, I absoloutly love the different speaking options you have available, you can be a real dick in this game, and my god it’s a lot of fun! I don’t usually play evil characters in games, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to blow up Megaton, and I haven’t looked back since. Somebody look at me funny? They’ll be a pool of blood and limbs on the floor minutes later. Good times!

    Certainly up there for GOTY

  7. Lorna avatar
    Lorna

    Am really looking forward to olaying this, though I am making myself wait until i have completed fable 2. The VATs thing doesn’t sound so great to me but maybe giving it a go will change my mind and I believe it’s optional? I tend to like my battles in real time…lets just hope I actually get to have some before Christmas! *slopes back to Albion*

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