Fallout 3 Pre-Review: CanardPC

[CptStern]

So, the answer is to dumb ourselves down the to level of casual players???

.

yes ...actually I want you to go to the mirror and punch yourself in the face because you and people like you (gamers) let this happen when they chose console games over pc games ...you/we/they allowed games to be dumbed down to appeal to the masses. Fallout 3 isnt as in depth as fallout 1 or 2? well no shit sherlock! it has to appeal to much bigger audience in order to return on the investment ..both fallout 1 and 2 budgets combined probably doesnt even cover marketing costs for Fallout 3 much less development. You want a rollsroyce when the industry can only produce loud obnoxious suv's that appeal to everybody

 

[Tagaziel]

Only thing that can save this game for me is if the story turns out great. Oh and the art direction is amazing.

The story is retarded. We've seen it with our own eyes and WISH we didn't.

yes ...actually I want you to go to the mirror and punch yourself in the face because you and people like you (gamers) let this happen when they chose console games over pc games ...you/we/they allowed games to be dumbed down to appeal to the masses. Fallout 3 isnt as in depth as fallout 1 or 2? well no shit sherlock! it has to appeal to much bigger audience in order to return on the investment ..both fallout 1 and 2 budgets combined probably doesnt even cover marketing costs for Fallout 3 much less development. You want a rollsroyce when the industry can only produce loud obnoxious suv's that appeal to everybody

I doubt FO3's devleopment budget equals it's marketing budget.

And no, I didn't contribute to the Fall of Gaming, so I can complain.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Wasn't guy to buy this because I'm not an Elder Scrolls / Bethesda fan by any stretch of the imagination. The most awkward thing about the videos isn't the fact that it's too much of anything, but that it seems stuck between a shooter with RPG elements, and an RPG with shooter elements. It's the same damn balance issues that made Oblivion a bloody chore to play.

 

[CptStern]

my biggest gripe about FO3 is the character models ...I cant comment on anything else because I HAVENT PLAYED THE GAME ..the character models I can see, I dont have to play to know they look crappy. anything else I could possibly say about the game would be pure speculation because I havent played the game ..just like you havent, and you and most especially YOU

 

[Tagaziel]

my biggest gripe about FO3 is the character models ...I cant comment on anything else because I HAVENT PLAYED THE GAME ..the character models I can see, I dont have to play to know they look crappy. anything else I could possibly say about the game would be pure speculation because I havent played the game ..just like you havent, and you and most especially YOU

BUT I SAW how the plot unfolds, what it is made of and how the voice acting sounds. Live gameplay streams FTMFW.

 

[MultiVaC]

All I know is that if this game has failed to get Asuka hyped, it must REALLY suck.

 

[VirusType2]

All I know is that if this game has failed to get Asuka hyped, it must REALLY suck.

lol

I was thinking the same thing, but honestly, I don't think I like any of the games he likes, with the exception of HL2, I'll assume.

 

[CptStern]

BUT I SAW how the plot unfolds, what it is made of and how the voice acting sounds. Live gameplay streams FTMFW.

get back to me when you're played the game from start to finish ..till then it's second hand at best

 

[Deleted member 56031]

All I know is that if this game has failed to get Asuka hyped, it must REALLY suck.

This

 

[Tagaziel]

get back to me when you're played the game from start to finish ..till then it's second hand at best

Seriously, the story is ****ing retarded.

Whether or not I saw it first hand is irrelevant. What is retarded, stays retarded.

 

[CptStern]

Seriously, the story is ****ing retarded.

have you just started playing video games? I cant think of a single video game plot that wasnt retarded ..seriously it's not even on the same level as comic books ..bad comic books like Archie or Scrappy Do meets the werewolf ..really video game"story" is always cringeworthy and occasionally even lol worthy

Whether or not I saw it first hand is irrelevant. What is retarded, stays retarded.

this makes no sense to me

 

[Eejit]

have you just started playing video games? I cant think of a single video game plot that wasnt retarded

Lemmings!

 

[Tagaziel]

have you just started playing video games? I cant think of a single video game plot that wasnt retarded ..seriously it's not even on the same level as comic books ..bad comic books like Archie or Scrappy Do meets the werewolf ..really video game"story" is always cringeworthy and occasionally even lol worthy

Fallout 3's is especially retarded. BoS trekking across the entire US to activate a giant robot that shoots lasers?

As for good plots: Planescape: Torment.

this makes no sense to me

Playing the game won't make FO3's plot any less retarded.

 

[morgs]

PC games are dumbed down just as much as any these days, it's not just a console thing.

 

[Mirage]

I wonder if F3's sidequests are any good...

As for video game stories in general, one has to look with a little effort to locate those with a good story. I'd reference The Blackstone Chronicles but I don't think many ppl have played that game. And I agree with PS: T, there are others as well.

Half-life 2 is another good example, it isn't the best story ever, but it is well above average and most certainly not retarded.

EDIT: Also, Vampire: The Masquerade certainly qualifies as a "good story."

 

[Paulaner]

You have to play adventure games if you want some really good stories. Overclocked, The Moment Of Silence and Perry Rhodan come to my mind. When a game is not "distracted" by action, the story is all that remains. In my opinion, actual RPGs are too action oriented to have good plots too.
The best plot in a modern action oriented game? Bioshock, hands down.

 

[Tagaziel]

Considering that Bioshock ripped off System Shock 2's story, the honour should go to SS2.

As for actual RPGs, Fallout has a good, player-driven story. It's an example of how a free-roaming game should be done.

 

[VirusType2]

This probably deserves its own discussion thread, but the problem with video game stories is that, well...

Let's look at this.

For a movie,the entire script (story) is written along with a basic, or even advanced idea of the setting. Movies are sometimes even derived from books which may have taken years to attempt to perfect.

When it comes to video games, it's completely different. They have a main idea of a plot, and/or they have an idea of what type of game they want to make, and the story is often an after thought, i.e. - how can we justify what the game is about?

If I want to make a First person game where I shoot aliens, well, I do it, and then the plot/story is made from there.

I think, with technology as advanced as it is, there needs to be a fundamental change in the way video games with a story are made. In the past 15 years or so, it has evolved so much further than "The Princess is in another castle."

The technology to do whatever they want is now there, so if they want to realize its potential, they will need to hire expert writers. A game designer is not usually going to be great at writing a story.

I'm sure it's obvious and well known that the budget involved in making modern games has gone from a few thousand dollars to several millions of dollars in the past decade. I think some of that money needs to go to professional writers who have a good understanding of how video games work.

That's another problem. You can have a fantastic writer but who doesn't know the first thing about video games, and it's just not going to work.

A video game story generally needs to be short, sweet, and to the point. This isn't going to be a 1,000 page novel, it's more like a short story.

 

[Krynn72]

Which makes it even worse that Fallout 3 will likely fail at making a video game story.

 

[VirusType2]

For years I've been saying that if you want a great story, then read a book, because you will rarely find it in a game.

That was just an excuse. Maybe people were expecting too much, I thought. It's just a game. The story is an afterthought, and often just interrupts the fun of it.

My opinion has changed since then. It's wasn't that I don't enjoy a game more if it has a good story, but I would rather no story at all, then a long and bad one.

I think the greatest video games the future will offer will have a compelling story that you can get absorbed into, much like a favorite movie or book may have affected you.

I think we are all getting a little impatient for the future to arrive. That's the carrot on a stick. The future will never arrive; it will always be the future.

No really, the last sentence, those were just some words I put together because I found it intriguing.

Really, what I mean is that it won't be a sudden change, but a gradual one. People will come to expect more and more. I think we already do expect more, hence people are often disappointed. Case in point: Fallout 3.

 

[Jintor]

Torment was good though.

 

[Mirage]

And VTM!

 

[CptStern]

but, I dont really care about story in video games ..I dont play games for the story telling, I'd read a book/watch a mvie/make up my own pew pew story. They're all far better at conveying and even presenting a story. Sure it'd be nice to have some nicely thought out twists and turns here and there but who ever pays attention to the plot? general whatshisface is poised to take out the sun and it's your job to stop him ..it's what you do from point a to b that's the heart of the plot; a device to take you from newb to defender of the sun in 8 short hours ..with obstacles thrown in there to justify the 8 hrs of course as well as cut scenes to string you along from one set piece to the next. ..the plot is secondary at best


games dont need to mimic film or literature. and I'm ok with that

 

[MultiVaC]

but, I dont really care about story in video games ..I dont play games for the story telling, I'd read a book/watch a mvie/make up my own pew pew story. They're all far better at conveying and even presenting a story. Sure it'd be nice to have some nicely thought out twists and turns here and there but who ever pays attention to the plot? general whatshisface is poised to take out the sun and it's your job to stop him ..it's what you do from point a to b that's the heart of the plot; a device to take you from newb to defender of the sun in 8 short hours ..with obstacles thrown in there to justify the 8 hrs of course as well as cut scenes to string you along from one set piece to the next. ..the plot is secondary at best


games dont need to mimic film or literature. and I'm ok with that

That's a perfectly valid position, but if you feel that way then Fallout is most certainly not the series for you. In fact, you should probably just ignore the RPG genre altogether. The problem is that fans of games like Fallout or Planescape DO play games for storytelling, and will rightly be upset if Fallout 3 fails miserably in that regard.

 

[VirusType2]

I'm sort of on the fence. Some games benefit from a good story, and some don't need one at all.

A problem with a great story in a game, it doesn't do anything good for the replay-ability IMO. You end up skipping annoying cut-scenes, and continuously pressing the A button to skip the force-fed text.

On the other hand, a story that is different each time you play the game, that's good stuff. I don't mean something simple, I mean, just, everything happens differently, depending on your actions, character selection (if applicable), and your route through the game, particularly, who you speak with.

This is a big draw of MMORPG's. Never know what someone will say, but on the other hand, that's not always a good thing, in this case. ;P

 

[Kyorisu]

The problem is that fans of games like Fallout or Planescape DO play games for storytelling, and will rightly be upset if Fallout 3 fails miserably in that regard.

Hasn't it already been established that the nobody gives a shit about these so called fans? Oh noes they'll be upset, cry some more.

 

[Jintor]

lol it's all about the sales figures

sad but true.

 

[Tagaziel]

Hasn't it already been established that the nobody gives a shit about these so called fans? Oh noes they'll be upset, cry some more.

Good developers care. Bethesda is NOT a good developer.

 

[Kyorisu]

I agree with you there. Just getting tired of hearing the same old junk about how some minority of people won't enjoy the game.

 

[GreatEmperor]

but, I dont really care about story in video games ..I dont play games for the story telling, I'd read a book/watch a mvie/make up my own pew pew story. They're all far better at conveying and even presenting a story. Sure it'd be nice to have some nicely thought out twists and turns here and there but who ever pays attention to the plot? general whatshisface is poised to take out the sun and it's your job to stop him ..it's what you do from point a to b that's the heart of the plot; a device to take you from newb to defender of the sun in 8 short hours ..with obstacles thrown in there to justify the 8 hrs of course as well as cut scenes to string you along from one set piece to the next. ..the plot is secondary at best


games dont need to mimic film or literature. and I'm ok with that

But there are many other points that should be well developed like setting and enemy design that cannot help but affect everything(in a broad sense, not really talking about Fallout 3).

No matter how much story i fill in the blanks with, angels with gears for heads and other things that are not too interesting will jar me enormously back to the poor design

 

[Tagaziel]

Then build up the willpower to ignore.

Or have Beth change "3" in the title to "FPS".

 

[Eejit]

Why would that matter?

 

[Tagaziel]

Because then none of our complaints would apply and we'd drop them.

 

[Eejit]

Why would none of your complaints apply? It'd be the same game. It would still have "Fallout" in the title.

You're not making much sense atm.

 

[Warbie]

I don't play games for the narrative (but do appreciate when one is above average) and agree with Stern in that pretty much all video game stories suck balls compared to a good book/movie. They just have to be adequate - enough to keep you wanting to see what happens next. It's the gameplay that makes you part of the gameworld - that takes cliche and hamfisted dialogue and turns them into epic deeds and events.

I don't give a crap if Bethesda alter the Fallout lore so long as the game is fun. I see it as a reimagining, a different telling. Think of it like a folk tale if it helps - same basic premise, but subject to creative license over the years.

 

[Paulaner]

games dont need to mimic film or literature. and I'm ok with that

It's a matter of personal taste and different genres. I love adventure games and interactive fiction
In Space Invaders or Team Fortress 2 the story doesn't matter. In System Shock or The Secret Of Monkey Island or Tunguska, well...

 

[VirusType2]

Why would none of your complaints apply? It'd be the same game. It would still have "Fallout" in the title.

You're not making much sense atm.

That is a good point.

I think what he is getting at, is that the 3 should indicate a continuation of the story.

This isn't always the case though, often in games, it's just a newer version of the same thing, or another game using the same theme.

If it was called something else, like Fallout FPS, that would indicate a spin off from the series, like Final Fantasy Tactics is to the Final Fantasy series, for example.


I believe that he is annoyed that the story doesn't make sense compared to the previous story. And that they just changed it for no good reason.

 

[Kyorisu]

I think what he is getting at, is that the 3 should indicate a continuation of the story.

No the 3 states exactly what it is, the third Fallout game. It does not have to imply anything else.

 

[Gargantou]

No the 3 states exactly what it is, the third Fallout game. It does not have to imply anything else.

It isn't the third Fallout game.. It's the fifth..

Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood Of Steel and Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel both came out before Fallout 3.

 

[Jintor]

It's kinda like the difference between "Half-Life 2" and "Half-Life: Decay", if that is a valid comparison.