So Fallout 3 has arrived from Gamefly. It was on the top of my list of the flood of games being released this season, so I was excited. I was hoping for Bioshock with more RPG elements. What I got was Elder Scrolls: Fallout.
Let me start by saying I briefly played Fallout 1 and 2, a while ago. Actually, it was a random purchase, because I had heard about the games in passing, and about how good they were, then I randomly found then a some website for a $10 package deal. So I purchased and played for a bit. What I remember the most was killing/being killed by rats in a cave, then the desert, then townspeople being angry at me for no good reason. I do remember the atmosphere, and the dark humor. So, like I said, I had hoped this would give me the atmosphere and feeling of Bioshock and the original Fallouts, coupled with the gameplay of Bioshock meets a lighter Elder Scrolls.
On to the impressions of the game. I loaded it up, and it starts out with your birth, then random bits of your life as you grow up in "Vault 101". This is basically the point (much like in Elder Scrolls) where you are choosing your beginning traits/stats, and also going through a bit of a shooting tutorial (a very, very basic tutorial). It is kind of going slow, but that's ok. The game atmosphere gives off a bit of a Half-Life vibe at this point. I just can't help but feel like I'm gonna need to whack some uglies with a crowbar soon. As it turns out, I end up whacking people with a baseball bat once the shit hits the fan, so its not too far off. The game tries to have you create ties to a childhood "friend" at the start, so you feel bad when you kill her father, the Overseer. And by kill, I mean you have a choice as to how you are going to get through the secret passage. And it is not a A or B choice like in you are deciding to kill/save a Sister in Bioshock. The game lets you figure out the course of action, and eventually you realize that in order to get through the secret passage out of the Vault, you need info from the Overseer. Or you could just take his passcode/card/whatever from his cold dead corpse. This was not really a choice for me however, because once I had weapons, I was bashing everyone in sight, in slow motion awesomeness thanks to the VATS system, or whatever they are calling it. The system is essentially the quasi-turned based system seen in BioWare's products (Baldur's Gate and KoTOR) where you can queue up actions.
Anyway, I kill this girl's father, and she runs in and just keeps syaing over and over "OMG you killed my father. Don't talk to me". So much for any kind of ties or development. the girl wants you to leave her alone. So you follow the tunnel out into the actual game. Here's where the Elder Scrolls hits. The travel by locations system is the same. The wait/rest/sleep system system is the same. The walking around feels the same. I don't know if the early Elder Scrolls game were the same as Fallout 1 and 2, but man, all of the systems were ripped from Elder Scrolls. I realize its the same developer, but I was hoping for a bit of a different experience.
Ok, on to the first town. Its the same, nameless existence you have in Elder Scrolls. Talk to townspeople, get random stupid side quests that send you around the area, doing tasks, killing people in their homes, etc. There's also the main quest storyline, where you are tyring to find your father, who escaped the Vault just before you did, which causd this whole fiasco in the first place. Why do I need to find my Dad? Why did he leave? Why do I care? Some story build up in the beginning would have been nice. But no, you are given no reason for your Dad's departure, and are thrust out into the world. This may seem like motivation, but there is no personal connection. I don't give a crap about my father (besides the fact that he is voiced by Liam Neeson... awesome). Give me some real motivation.
Thus, we come to my problem with Fallout, and the Elder Scrolls game in general. I am one of those people where the games are just too broad. I don't like doing random side fetch quests. I want some motivation. Even the main quest, I feel so disconnected from it. There's story, but not the type of story seen in traditional RPGs. There's no emotion or connection. Just a grind. I can grind in MMOs. I don't want to grind and do random side quests in a single player game. I try really, really hard to like and get into Elder Scrolls games, but I just can't. there's nothing keeping me playing. There is no carrot. Well, at least no visable one. So, there's no story motivation, nor is there even character development motivation. Sure, I know if I go out adventuring, I'll eventually level my character, but the levels are so few and far between, I just don't care. The pace of the game is slow slow slow. I mean, can't Bethesda make a game like this where everything isn't so damn slow? Talking, walking, everything. You still walk around like you have a giant stick up the rear (try switching to third person, it is awful to watch...). Can't we have a smooth walking character to control, that can run and jump like any other third person action/adventure game? I think a Fable-ish style engine would do wonders for the Elder Scrolls series.
Anyway, I was hoping Fallout was going to be a different experience. But to me, it just feels like Elder Scrolls with a different coat of paint. I guess I'll just go back and play Bioshock again and pretend. And truth be told, I find going back to play Bioshock again would be much more enjoyable than playing ANY of the upcoming releases. /jaded
As someone who liked Elder Scrolls I now really want to play Fallout 3, haha. On a more serious note, I understand some of your gripes with these type of games, namely the disconnected feeling. It seems to be a side effect of any single player game where you are given this amount of freedom, but its a trade-off I accept willingly. I like the idea of being able to explore a world and find things out your own way.
ReplyDeleteWith these types of games the main story doesn't have to be the what keeps me into the game. I enjoy doing side quests that each give you a small part of the history of the world you are playing in, especially when they reveal links to other parts of the story you already know.
As you learn more about the world and its characters your mind starts to wrap around a previously infinitely large environment. Once you can "see the ends", so to speak, that disconnected feeling lessens.
Side notes: Fable 2 is awesome, WTB a bigger comment box, and I'll let you know what I think of fallout when I get it.
I guess what fails to hook me is the lack of characters. If I don't get hooked within that first two hour play session, the game has lost me. I know that may be sad lol, but it is really the truth for me. The game can't start slow and end amazing... I just don't have that kind of attention span anymore hah (thanks to MMOs...). You have a nameless, essentially faceless character you control, which isn't too much of a problem, if there was a good supporting cast.
ReplyDeleteThing is, you just wander from place to place meeting random people you have no connection with. You have no investment in anything that happens to them. The game tries to make it seem like a "morality struggle" as to whether or not to kill someone. But if I don't have connection with the person/character, I'm killing them to get what I want. Gamers have been wantonly killing people since games were created... why all of a sudden is it a morality quandary in a game to kill someone? Just because they don't have a gun pointed at me? I don't mean to come off as a psycho killer, but i just don't care. Create a connection with the characters, then I'll have to make a real choice. Until then, I'll killing you and taking your passcode bitch.