So I dont have the money to buy Skyrim so I decided to play Fallout 3 because it's really cheap. But I'm at Rivet City, I'm almost level 8 and and this game is BOOOORING as hell. I know people have said that the game takes a while to pick up so I pushed on, but if I am not having fun by now do you think I should just stop or am I missing something? I just dont want to waste more time if I am never going to like this game.

I loved Fallout 3. Don't know why you found it boring but if you did, then just stop. No one's forcing you since you chose it to scratch your skyrim itch.

You should probably stop, sounds like it just isn't the game for you.

Depends what it is you find boring, or what you want to happen. Maybe the game isn't for you. It is an incredibly dreary, depressing game though.

Go get a refund.

If you don't like Fallout you probably won't like Skyrim, due to Skyrim being MUCH closer to Fallout than Oblivion in terms of design.

Nope. If you're still bored at that point, you'll probably continue to be bored throughout. Honestly, New Vegas is a far more interesting game than Fallout 3, but neither of them has an especially high Thrill/Hour ratio.

I enjoyed Fallout 3, but I found the few hours of Fallout: New Vegas to be really boring. Still haven't gone back to it. If you're bored with Fallout 3 at this point, you probably won't be enjoying it much more later on with the exception of some particular segments like the abandoned vaults.

@DoctorWelch:Well some games aren't for everyone but I assume you made this thread to get it off your chest.But yeah it would have been smarter to just save up for Skyrim.

New Vegas was better.

But neither are boring by any stretch, so yeah it probably just isn't your thing.

Fallout 3 is one of my favourite games this generation, but it just doesn't seem to be the game for you, dude.

Game's not for everyone, duder. I played over 100 hours, but my brother couldn't get out of Rivet City. If you're not enjoying it at this point, push the eject button now.

Fallout 3 isn't Modern Warfare 3. It's about exploration and atmosphere, not a bunch of scripted set pieces and intense action. Having said that, I don't think you'd like Skyrim either.

New Vegas wasn't much better. I felt in a lot of cases that they limited exploration with cliffs and invisible walls at every turn. The world itself isn't an empty wasteland. Frankly, I don't know what it is. There's a bunch of things crammed in that just feel so out of place. Neo-Romans who wear baseball helmets and carry around knives while the rest of the world carries guns, perfectly intact flashy skyscraper hotels and gambling casinos surrounded by crumbling one story buildings and run-down town homes, recycled art assets from Fallout 3 scattered throughout the world, etc. Everything about the Mojave "Wasteland" just feels inconsistent and confusing. Makes the whole game look silly. Maybe that's why you think it's less boring, but I say it's stupid.

if you you dont like fallout 3 dont waste your money on skyrim. very simliar games.

skyrim is more well made and bigger but the gameplay is very similiar.

i loved fallout 3. much more than new vegas. and i just got skyrim today. its awesome.

Its not for you, dude. You can try modding it though...that may help.

I've played it 12 times and it never seems to get old for me. Love it every time. And I'm being redundant here by saying if you don't like it by now, don't bother with going on.

it's not for you i guess.  you probably wont like skyrim either.

I'll answer the OP... I found Rivet City to be the most boring part of Fallout 3, and I sunk 140 hours into the game. If I wasn't on a second wind with that game at the time, Rivet City might have been an interest killer. But I came to love Fallout 3 otherwise, and did the Main game and 2 of the DLC's. Pretty much also did most the side quests except for a few..in Rivet City for example...

But to emphasize, Rivet City was not riveting to me, I guess it was the missions there and the confined layout. Do what you need to do there, main mission and as much as the side you can stomach, and move on, get the hell out and explore..soooooo much more on the map and fun.

@AlisterCat said:

Depends what it is you find boring, or what you want to happen. Maybe the game isn't for you. It is an incredibly dreary, depressing game though.

I find almost everything boring. The way I am just doing the same thing over and over combat wise: Go to vats, Aim for head, Enemy Down. The way the entire game looks exactly the same and there seems to be almost nothing to do. Even some of the quests actively make you waste your time. I went to deliver a message to this one girls family, found the were dead, and spent about a half hour or more looking at the three locations for the people that killed them. I went online and apparently none of those places I was exploring that the game told me to go to were correct. I found the entire trek to Rivet City extremely dull, uneventful, and annoying. So yeah, probably just isnt for me, but I just want so desperately to understand how people enjoy this game.

@Canteu: @deathstriker666: @MistaSparkle:

I would say you may be correct, but I know after watching some of the Skryim marathon that I will like that game more. I just find the setting more enjoyable, I would much rather do fantasy style combat than use VATS, and there are plenty of other smaller things that are going to make the game more enjoyable. I love Dark Souls and ever since playing that for about 70 hours or so I just want the same type of fantasy (swords, magic, ) like world with different RPG elements.

I tried playing Fallout before and didnt like it but I thought I'd go back after a few years and a different mind set. The thing is, the game was actually awesome right up until I left Megaton. After I did the first quest of going to the grocery story the game seemed to fall off a cliff. Thanks everyone though, I guess I'll just stop playing cause it's probably not for me.

@MistaSparkle: Well I'm playing on the 360 so idk what I could do. I was thinking that if I just didnt have to worry about stupid things like health and economy and other annoying gameplay parts I could enjoy the story but yeah.

@bybeach said:

I'll answer the OP... I found Rivet City to be the most boring part of Fallout 3, and I sunk 140 hours into the game. If I wasn't on a second wind with that game at the time, Rivet City might have been an interest killer. But I came to love Fallout 3 otherwise, and did the Main game and 2 of the DLC's. Pretty much also did most the side quests except for a few..in Rivet City for example...

But to emphasize, Rivet City was not riveting to me, I guess it was the missions there and the confined layout. Do what you need to do there, main mission and as much as the side you can stomach, and move on, get the hell out and explore..soooooo much more on the map and fun.

That's the thing. I'm not sure whether I just simply dont like the game, or somehow it just ramps up and stuff actually starts happening and it actually gets interesting. Everyone seems to love it so I want to find why, but at the same time if I'm gonna hate it I dont want to waste any more time.

@DoctorWelch: I'm in the same boat as you with Fallout 3. I tried like 5 different times to get into the game and I just couldn't do it. No matter how bad I wanted to like the game the atmosphere was just too bland and depressing for me. I do love TES so maybe you will to.

I was bored the first time I played too...you really have to be in the right mindset to play those games. New Vegas is way better, so that's something to consider.

I hated the game the first couple of times I tried it. After a while I just began to really enjoy it. The combat and leveling is pretty shit, but the side quests are fun, especially if you don't rush them.

Although the games are similar in design, I find Skyrim way more vibrant, which makes sense since it a lively medieval style world while fallout is post apocalyptic. I had a great time with fallout 3, but going back after playing skyrim I bet I would enjoy it a whole lot less. So if you are not enjoying it I doubt you will start the more you play. Save up, get Skyrim, the whole world in that game is alot more exciting with varied locations and a ton of ambient activities. I am interested to see how they would make a Fallout 4 with this engine though, maybe the wasteland isnt fun anymore.

@DoctorWelch said:

That's the thing. I'm not sure whether I just simply dont like the game, or somehow it just ramps up and stuff actually starts happening and it actually gets interesting. Everyone seems to love it so I want to find why, but at the same time if I'm gonna hate it I dont want to waste any more time.

Fallout 3 is about:

1.) Seeing weird, weird things. (Exploring)

2.) Building your own personal character with its own personal journey.

3.) Talking to people and learning all the nuance of how the world still manages to scrap by after the apocalypse.

There is no adrenaline rush. No desperate moments where you just barely make it. No punishing difficulty to test your gaming skills. Fallout 3 is a game about allowing yourself to become immersed in a brilliantly crafted world. I didn't think Rivet City was all that interesting at first either, but then that's just a small location in a much larger world teeming with unexplored destinations and odd-ball characters. Fallout 3 is a fantastic game, but if those things don't interest you, it isn't a game for you.

I tried to get into Fallout 3 on more than one occasion, but after getting to about where you are, I just had to set it down. That game just wasn't for me.

To be honest if you're not enjoying the game so far well your not gonna like it that much better however many hours in.

@DoctorWelch: Keep in mind I am pretty much only referring to Rivet City...still the best thing for you is maybe put it aside and start Skyrim. You can pick back up Fallout 3 later. I agree with other posters saying Fallout 3 is a great game. But maybe in your heart of hearts you just arn't into it right now..you secretly wants to be spending time with that other game.....

I'll say one other thing, what i saw of Skyrim during the marathon and QL, the graphics arn't fantastically better than Fallout 3, though they are better. I don't think it will be too hard to go back.

I found Fallout 3 extremely boring, but loved Skyrim, couldn't tell you why though.

@DoctorWelch said:

@AlisterCat said:

Depends what it is you find boring, or what you want to happen. Maybe the game isn't for you. It is an incredibly dreary, depressing game though.

I find almost everything boring. The way I am just doing the same thing over and over combat wise: Go to vats, Aim for head, Enemy Down. The way the entire game looks exactly the same and there seems to be almost nothing to do. Even some of the quests actively make you waste your time. I went to deliver a message to this one girls family, found the were dead, and spent about a half hour or more looking at the three locations for the people that killed them. I went online and apparently none of those places I was exploring that the game told me to go to were correct. I found the entire trek to Rivet City extremely dull, uneventful, and annoying. So yeah, probably just isnt for me, but I just want so desperately to understand how people enjoy this game.

You're actually supposed to go to the subway station; through one of those, you can get to the Meresti Trainyard that you actually find them in. You can also stumble upon Meresti on your own, but the subway station they tell you to go to will totally lead you there. There are a couple of ghouls selling stims there that'll send you on a shortcut.

I think you might just be focusing on doing "what other people like" rather than trying to find your own fun. Everybody likes different things about Fallout 3, so just go do what seems interesting to you. Fallout 3 is one of the least constrictive games on the market, so you should probably just do what sounds appealing to you. Also, it's worth noting that only a few of the side quests give you awards for completing them that you couldn't obtain normally; a few perks here and there, but those even only occur if you complete the quest the right way.

If you find the environments boring, though, the ones you'll find along the main storyline are all very similar (barring a couple of sections.) I suggest simply exploring the Capital Wasteland for a while, filling out some spaces on your map that are mostly empty right now. There's a bunch to see in Fallout 3, and some of it is a bit hit or miss.

For me, almost everything hits in Fallout 3, so I'm incredibly fond of that game. I will agree with the sentiment that Rivet City is not super-interesting; the best thing about it is that it's close to the Jefferson Memorial, which is also not in an especially interesting part of Washington D.C. If you haven't explored around the Capital Mall yet, that might be a good starting point. North of there is a pretty different color palette as waaay more buildings are redbrick there, and the North is hilly and wild.

I'm sorry the game doesn't have more constant explosions.

@Korwin said:

I'm sorry the game doesn't have more constant explosions.

I digress. Cars make for some fantastic explosions, city buses are even better. D.C. in particular is chalk full of them. The highway that leads directly into the West (industrialized) side of the city just outside of the Red Racer factory is fucking fantastic. Very disappointed with how little cars there were in New Vegas. VERY disappointed.

@DoctorWelch said:

That's the thing. I'm not sure whether I just simply dont like the game, or somehow it just ramps up and stuff actually starts happening and it actually gets interesting. Everyone seems to love it so I want to find why, but at the same time if I'm gonna hate it I dont want to waste any more time.

The story really picks up once you find Dad and fight the Enclave. Here's a little tip: head toward Smith Casey's Garage. It's directly Northwest of Evergreen Mills and due south of an old military checkpoint with a Mister Gutsy/Sentry Bot guarding it. I'd recommend all new FO 3 players to do this first thing and skip all the early game bullshit. Fuck Megaton, Fuck Springvale. You won't find anything good there. D.C. is a small fraction of what the Wasteland has to offer. An even smaller fraction is Rivet City.

@AlisterCat said:

It is an incredibly dreary, depressing game though.

If you've got in on PC, get the mod that removes the green tint from everything. A simple palette-change makes FO3 much less oppressive-feeling.

@DoctorWelch: Go back to Megaton and do all of Moira's quests. She's my favorite character in any Bethesda game and the quests send you to some pretty diverse places where you'll probably pick up some more sweet quests.

Rivet City is snore-town, keep exploring!

@DoctorWelch:

If you think it is boring then it is boring to you. I don't know what you think any of us can add to your experience that will make you feel any differently.

Fallout 3 is just boring.

New Vegas is awesome. That's why I thought, anyways.

I loved Fallout 1 & 2 because the combat was worthwhile and the immersion was far beyond anything in Fallout 3.

I hated Fallout 3 with a passion. I bought it day 1 and was so excited cos I also love the TES games. I just found the game mind numbingly dull and they had replaced the fantastic tactical combat from the first two with some some dreadful cheat code mode. Fallout 3 was my biggest disappointment of the last half decade.

Love Skyrim, though. Fantastic game. Here's hoping they skip Fallout 4, they ruined a wonderful franchise for me.

Have a nuka cola and a smile.

I love Fallout 3. I find it vastly superior to New Vegas. The quests are more entertaning (not better written however, NV has that over 3) and the world is denser and has more to do.

Try playing a melee character perhaps? You pretty much never use vats plus its goddamn hilarious.

I just wish 3 wouldn't crash after about 15 minutes of play when NV works fine forever even though theyre on the exact same engine.

Fallout 4 will rock my socks.

I found Fallout 3 dreadfully boring. But I found New Vegas to be a much better game, you should try that game instead.

It just isn't your particular cup o' tea. I loved it.

@Ravenlight: Yeah, I did like three of them or so (actually on one I completely lied to her and told her I did it when I didnt and she believed me which was pretty cool) and I thought those were really cool. But like I said, I did the grocery one, some stuff within Megaton, and then the game just dropped off of a cliff for me. I've decided that there might be some good stuff in there but its just not worth my time to put up with all the aspects that I find boring or annoying.

Okay, so basically I'm getting some people that say they liked New Vegas way better and they found Fallout 3 boring like I did. So I might pick that up and see if I like that game. Thanks guys.

Just get a job and buy Skyrim.