OK, I figured I was on the verge of giving out too much information on the review topic and others will start playing soon. So, to try and keep game play discussion under the firm control of the spoiler gods I present to you the Fallout 3 Thread of DOOM! *Echo*

Non spoiler hints I've so far come across to help in game play:

~Melee is ok against light arms and saves ammo
~Save the junk you come across, they can sometimes be assembled into devastating weapons


Go to it troops, we're in this together...

Patch Link: FALLOUT 3 PATCH US ENGLISH v 1.0.0.15

I was mildly skeptical of the Fallout 3 world before I bought the game yesterday -- mainly due to the dated animation, the same seen in Oblivion -- but I've found my doubts to be generally ill founded. The developers have done a brilliant job of creating a believable world and setting. Sure, the enemies still look sort of silly whilst attacking you and there are odd, conflicting moments in terms of character interaction. For example, I accidentally got someone killed and only moments after it happened, I was forced to talk to their child, who seemed far too accepting of what just happened, completely ignoring the corpse on the floor and instantly pushing the tragedy aside.

Apart from those initial gripes, I'm finding it to be a ridiculously engaging and addictive game. I've done things that have led to some "unwanted" events, but I've forced myself to carry on anyway. Very interesting indeed.

Welcome to Gameboomers orient! So when you say you've "done things that have led to unwanted events" are you saying that there are different story paths in the game?

Cheers nickie

Yeah, here's how it's structured: there's a main quest and a multitude of side quests, much like in any other RPG. However, in Fallout 3, you can choose whether to be good, bad or neutral through your actions (killing, not killing, helping, not helping etc.) and this is usually facilitated through dialog. Dialog trees usually give you the option of being very helpful, being very nasty or being helpful, yet wanting money for your services. There are also options that require you to persuade the person you're talking to and how successful you are is determined by your speech attribute (which can be raised like every other attribute when you gain a level).

People react to you differently and different things will happen to you depending on your karma level (a measurement of your goodness/evilness). Some decisions you make are permanent and will affect the world in a significant way. The best example is your choice to blow up a town at the start of the game, or disarm the bomb and save the town. The moral choices are surprisingly interesting to make.

Be aware that the "good vs evil" aspect isn't as night and day as it may sound. It's all in the background really and your character's development feels more genuine because of this. There isn't a bar on the screen telling you how bad/good you are, although gaining/losing karma does feel like a suitable reward/punishment, depending on how you see it.

Sorry for blabbing on a lot To answer in short -- nearly every character can die in this game, so depending on your actions, your story will pan out differently than other people's and you will gain different side missions. However, I can only assume that the main mission stays relatively the same for everyone, with maybe the ending being different depending on your karma level, but I'm not totally sure.

Yesterday, there was Fallout 3 in the mailbox! It sounds more like an undertaking than a game. Can it become a "comfort" game like Oblivion? Why did they use Oblivion graphics rather than newer - like in Heaavenly Sword? This setting is intreging - life after the nuclear. A good game for Oldfeeble.

Thanks for the explanation orient - I think it's more interesting when games give you moral choices. Seeing it more and more in RPGs.

Bethesda seems to have gone back to the roots of the RPG and has done a nice job in melding their own particular style with that of the Fallout theme and traditional character traits, attributes and alighnment. Like Fallout 2 "Karma" comes into play indicating the character's good vs. evil alignment, but the over all advantage is towards the good.

Like Orient mentioned most characters in the game can be killed, this can result in "Quest Breaking" similar to the earlier RPG's where your actions can have consequences that will resonate through out the game.

I did some experimental game play last night and found that the environment is a bit more interactive than in Oblivion. Which makes sense, I'm sure there have been advances in the Gamebryo graphics engine since Oblivion used it. Combine that with the now well known Havoc physics engine and a post apocalyptic backdrop and you have one cool, but dangerous playground...

Edit: As I play through this I'm glad that the Gamebryo engine was used. It has a slightly rough look to the graphics that seems more natural than might be accomplished with the more glitzy engines and it fits the Fallout theme very well in my opinion. Not saying this couldn't have been accomplished with the Unreal engine or something similar, but this one just has a more earthy feel to it.

Thanks TM - you answered my question. Started Fallout 3 and still hopelessly running around the vault trying to escape. But I did manage to punch out 2 guards and 1 bully! And I have a bad-boy reputation. Those posters take us back to an era don't they. I'm going to like this game alot when I'm more comfy with it - not too cognitive sometimes.

I finished the supermart quest and got used to the VATS system. I don't think I would have survived without it. I like it. I found a few meds but they didn't seem to fulfill that part of the quest. Couldn't find any more. Did the radiation quest and am off to the landmines. It's a tough life.

YC, I thought escaping the vault was very confusing.

Pokey,
Personally I was finding the battles a bit too harsh on the default difficulty setting so I put the game on easy I'm not used to first person shooting, especially on a console. I'll probably crank the difficulty back up when I get used to it.

I'm in the town near the supermart now fending off fire breathing ants.

Thanks, orient.

Just a quick note. I've had two crashes so far, and historically my machine is pretty stable, except with the occasional crash while playing Oblivion. This tells me that Fallout 3 has inherited that tendency. So, save often, especially after critical points. It gets really easy to become immersed while running around the carnage and forget to save. Nice thing is that the game retained the F5 Quicksave key.

I found the key to the pharmacy (it wasn't on a body) and collected a lot more loot. Is there someplace to store some of the heavy stuff I might use later? Can I drop it on the floor in the Megaton supply store will it still be there when I return?

Where on earth is that key? I didn't find it on a body either! Should I search the shelves for it?

I've already been back to Megaton, but as I was overloaded anyway, I don't mind doing a return trip. I'll go check for you if stuff that I dropped is still there, Pokey.

Key location:



For storage:



I haven't done it yet because my skills are too low so I just sell off the more common stuff and figure I can go back to the pharmacy later to pick more up. Not sure if things stick around when dropped.

Thanks for the tip about storage. I'm probably not ready for that yet. How about the houses that can be lockpicked but you get bad karma for doing so? Is is worth it or will there be consequences? I took stuff from the containers in the common house, so those should be usable. I do want a house of my own, though.

Ok, thanks, Trail, got the key.

I actually restarted the game, this time as a man, with slightly different skills and stats. I got rid of all my goodies before I went to the Mart this time, so I'm sorry, Pokey, I still don't know if your stuff remains where you leave them.

Btw, have any of you tried to tell the Sherrif about the guy who wants to blow Megaton up? I did, just to see what happens and - oops!

The stuff I left on the floor of the supply shop is still there today. I left some things in the container in the common house too. I'll try that with the sheriff. Where do I find him?

Hey folks, I seldom get game guides, but I made an exception for Fallout 3 because a friend of mine told me that it was as nice as the big ones they originally produced for Morrowind and Oblivion. Well I just got my copy of the hardcover Collectors Version guide in the mail and is it nice For about $20.00 it's a good deal considering that's only a few bucks more than the usual type. Here's the link to Amazon where I ordered mine so you can take a look:

Fallout 3 Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide

Sorry guys. I could've sworn I found the key on a body...

I have the house now, which is cool. Moondancer, I told the Sheriff about the man I kept going, though.

I had my first crash, strangely enough, in the minefield. It is a long trek out there and the navigation was feeling a bit sluggish. It seems to get that way after playing a long while.

That's what happened to me when I tried to use the VATS system. My PC is fairly fast so I was surprised when it dropped to a crawl as soon as I activated VATS. Haven't used it since so I just do a lot of bashing

Got to Megaton and met sheriff - meandering around town. Am playing game on PS3 and it's playing smooth - no stops, crashes etc. I used VATS and all fine. Oblivion blacked out upon occasion when on PC but on PS3 never a problem. Just might get to Fry's and get a guide.

Hi-

Okey, this game interests me, but is it a point and click? I also checked out the Strategy Guide and it looks great.

Thanks

maggie

Sorry Maggie, cotrols are keyboard and mouse, almost a duplicate to Oblivion's commands.