Fallout 3
Not only is this the third game I’ve bought in three months, it’s the first I’ve pre-ordered. (And considdering how much of a gamer I claim to be….that’s pretty sad!)
I’ve been playing it pretty much for a week-and-a-half, in between working my ass off, so I haven’t gotten that far. But, good old Aleph is still alive and well in the wasteland, and I am still vastly entertained. This first run, like most people’s, will be a good-ish character with some charm, smarts, and quick talking skills. Let’s just hope super mutant behemoths speak english….
The one major thing I am glad for is that it is not Oblivion with guns. More so, it is Fallout with the perks of Oblivion graphics. While the combat is not turn-based like the old Fallouts, there is still enough reasons to use VATS during combat that it makes it very worthwile. Heck, even the original Fallouts were not fully turn-based, just the combat was.
The leveling system and experience does not focus soely on killing things. You get XP from lots of other things that can make combat a more expensive options. Hey, stimpacks and bullets aren’t free, you know. (Well, limited at least.) Plus, the stats and skill system is alot simpler, and entirely Fallout driven. There’s only 20 levels, maybe 25 skills, and a smalelr focus on leveling over surviving and getting the better shot off in the end. Plus, skills only go up when you level, not by using them, so you won’t be jumping everywhere you walk anymore! (No atheltics skill either!)
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One of the curious things I’ve found, given that I have a medium-low-end computer, is that the PC version is very crashy when using VATS or the Pip-Boy. Surprsingly, this seems to be VERY common, and I’ve come across the weirdest solution: stop using fullscreen. This actually works! I get better performance and NO VATS/Pip-Boy/Chest crashes! Bloody odd! I hope they fix this soon!
The other weird thing is that there is no editor…yet. There are some mods, but mostly peopel are still trying to add mod support for others. Considdering it’s running the highly-moddable Oblivion engine, I find this very odd. It even uses the same ESM/ESP data files, just of a different version, and has options for adding Data Files! They better release an editor, or at least some good add-on packs. Or some lovely expansions….Bethesda should hook up with Steven King and add Maryland to the world! That’d be hilarious…and hopefully very freaky.
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I have a bunch more points and stuff, but for the sake of SPOILERS I’ve hidden them behind the break. Pretty much game tips and silly things, but hey, it’s a game worth playing so I won’t spoil it.
Here’s a bunch of little tid-bits I’ve learned…most of the the hard way.
- Don’t forget to get the Bobblehead from Dad’s desk in the beginning! I am a total moron and missed it! (I *ahem*no-clipped*cough* got back into the Vault and got it.)
- Ammo weighs nothing, grab it all! Even if you never use it! It dissapears really really fast!
- Sweet talking people into getting what you want is a great way to do things!
- Lock pick, hack, speech skill, all good sources of XP. Quests are the best, but everything you hack, pick or do gives you XP. Thus, combat is not always the best way to level…and uses more bullets then hacking. Just don’t get caught.
- The Karma system is great. You don’t have to be a perfect angel to be a perfect angel. Picking a few locks is easly balanced by kissing a few babies.
- The Oblivion grab is there. So if you want to steal something that is guarded, grab it and walk away! Great way to get the super-shotty at the Metro Station when doing Blood Ties. (Same room as the Ghoul that wants Sugar Bombs)
- Opening Nuka-Cola bottles gives you one cap! (No, really?)
- Vendor Caps do NOT replenish by waiting 24 hours. But, you can sell them just enough to get all their caps, then use them to repair things. This rebuilds their caps, which you can then get again by selling them more stuff! Almost like getting free repairs!
And yes, most of these are pretty obvious if you’ve played the game at all.