So as you've probably guessed by now, I picked up Fallout 3 the morning it was released. I've been playing it ever since, and I've officially beaten the game as of an hour ago. I clocked in at about 43 hours or so, and I had a pretty good time playing it. But for someone who was ecstatic about the game before its release, I didn't really have the blast of a time I was expecting to. Hear me out here. Comparisons to Oblivion are very easy to make, so this is how it's going to work. I know a lot of people who didn't care for Oblivion somehow love Fallout 3, which boggles my mind...but anyway.
The 3rd person view, still crap.The World
It's not very alive, which obviously it wasn't intended to be, as it's a post-apocalyptic wasteland. I never really have an enjoyable time traversing the world. There's not enough in the way of locations to visit, and generally when I discover a new city I'm disappointed as it's nothing near the spectacle of a city in Oblivion. The environment is initially shocking and awesome when you exit Vault 101, but once again -- nothing like the brick-shitting time I had when I exited the sewers in that other Bethesda game. If you hated Oblivions happy-go-lucky fantasy setting, then you'll probably really enjoy the change of scenery here. But if you're like me, you might be a bit bummed out.
The Quests
Most people will say that they were overwhelmed in Oblivion, and that too many people gave you too many quests, yadayada. Well, it's clear to me that there just aren't enough quests in Fallout 3, and for the most part they are very similar in how they play out. There are of course the awesome exceptions like blowing up Megaton, raiding Tenpenny Tower with an army of ghouls, and...well. nevermind, that's about it. You'd imagine there'd be some sort of factions to join, like there were guilds in Oblivion; but you'd be wrong. I think it's safe to say that The Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild were the most exciting parts about Oblivion, and that there's nothing like this in Fallout 3. [SPOILER] At the end of the Thieves Guild quest-line, you BECOME the Grey Fox! You are the master thief! And yeah, Dark Brotherhood, you murder people in cold blood, which includes staging an accidental death by loosening the bolts on a mounted animal head above someone sitting in a chair. [/SPOILER] Fallout 3 really won't ever grab you like this.
The People
The people visually look better, have better animation, and dialogue in Fallout 3. They really immerse you in the world, for whatever that's worth. But the moral choices you make have less bearing on how they treat you, and you can pretty much get any information from any person at any time. There's also no racial division, as there was in Oblivion. That made it more interesting because it directly effected your status as a civilian, and other races of elves might hate you for being an Imperial -- etc. The AI still falls into the same loops here, as they get stuck on objects from time to time and behave erratically. Pretty much a wash here.
The Combat
The combat is pretty boring. The normal shooting is almost useless, as every bullet fired rolls the proverbial dice to determine whether it hits its target or not. The V.A.T.S. is a pretty neat concept, but in practice it boils down to running up in a dudes face and blowing their head off in slow motion...over and over again. You'll find that you run out of ammo relatively quickly, and are constantly scavenging for it because of it. This is maybe the most interesting aspect, as it makes you a bit more likely to pick up any weapon and use it, just because you're running low. Overall, Oblivion's combat was much better. I never felt like it was rolling some random number when I swung my sword at an enemy, it was always as if I hit him, or he blocked it. Even the melee in Fallout 3 feels gimped in this respect, which overall make exploring just not a whole lot of fun.
The Ending
I'm not spoiling anything here, so don't worry. But yeah, it's stupid how they claim hundreds of endings, but the actual differences between them are minuscule at best. It was completely disappointing. And yeah, once you beat the game, it's F'in OVER. You don't continue to wander around the world and complete quests. It's just OVER. Before you begin the last quest, save your game manually -- or have fun starting the whole thing over when it's done with.
So despite all this, the game is still awesome. It's definitely on my short list for games o' the year. But it's no Oblivion (or Morrowind, for that matter). I'm trying to go through and get the rest of the achievements, but I feel as if I've already worn out my welcome. I kinda just want to play Oblivion now. Go figure.
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