Fallout 3

This one's been out a while but I haven't gotten around to playing it till a little while ago. Fallout 3 is a post-holocaust game where a futuristic 50s world launched World War 3, and you'll find plenty of info out there about the game. This post is just some of my notes.

First things first - look up "Fallout 3 perk: Wired Reflexes" on the net and make sure you get this when the opportunity presents itself. It's one of the few things in the game that you can't go back and get later. In fact, if you are a completionist, look up all the "quest perks" and make sure you are aware of them.

Its a nice story and a fun game despite all it's flaws. I find that's almost always how it is with Bethsoft RPG games - I hear about it, I'm wowed by what they say you can do, I'm wowed by what you actually can do, and then I am wowed by all the bugs. I play on despite them, until eventually the bugs overwhelm the desire to play. It's been that way since The Elder Scrolls: Arena way back.

Fallout's not the most polished game, with computer characters randomly dropping out of the sky on top of you, (Hello Paladin Hoss) and your follower suddenly appearing in rooms ahead of you. (Hello Charon)

The zoom in the VATS targeting system doesn't target properly - If you go behind cover but have a clear shot, half the time VATS will reposition you enough that your shots are blocked. Don't queue up multiple VATS strikes if you are behind anything that might block your target, whether it's a wall, hull-down cover, or too much rubble in the way, as you will just waste all of the action points shooting the same bit of blockage.

Sometimes the NPC comments really are irritating. If you stop with your crosshairs on any owned, locked container in the game, you can be sure someone will insult you with a "Yes thats locked for a reason, and yes I can see you eyeing it" within 3 seconds. That's one of the milder comments. Sometimes you are minding your own business when someone will walk by and say stuff like "You better not cause any trouble, or you'll answer to me." It's dialogue that make you want to ask them "Is that a threat?" while cracking your knuckles.

Tenpenny Tower was really bad for this stuff, so many people there will insult you out of the blue, no matter if I'm dressed in a business suit or a suit of powered armor. There's characters around who don't understand that insulting the wrong person means you pay with your life. The AI really needs to accommodate what they see you wearing. No one should be rude to a jetted out, heavily armored wasteland mercenary with a mini-gun strapped to his back, unless they think that they (or their guards) can take him on and win.

Another irritating spot was this one NPC called Herbert Dashwood - he holds a key you need for one of the quests. He tells you that you should try and steal it off of him and he wont tell anyone about it - but his perception is so high I couldn't do it - and he tries to shoot you in the face when you fail to steal the key, instead of letting you steal it while he looks the other way like he said. Wonderful programming. Of course, you can ask him for the key, and he'll call you uninteresting for not playing his game. Why add in that little "game" when the system just makes him shoot at you like any other NPC?

Anyways, this one location seriously make me stop being a do-gooder in the game and switch to just blowing anyone away that is too rude.

The conversation system is so filled with contradictions. Some characters will greet you warmly and then when you initiate conversation, they tell you to screw off. Others tell you to mind you own business and then have a whole dialogue tree available when you do talk to them. Get it straight Bethsoft. :P

Despite all this stupidity, it's still fun to play. So far.

Upsen.