Falling Out With Fallout 3

I'm not going to be writing a review of Fallout 3, as it has been several months since its release and a simple google search will offer much richer and well-balanced views of the game than what I intend to give you. (Or you could read Michael Abbot's review here) I have many issues with this game, enough that I can speak for several hours without repeating any of my points, so I'll only be describing the three best and worst things of the game starting with the pros.

Also I must warn my readers that there will be SPOILERS throughout my discussion, so take care if you wish to enjoy the game yourself.

Pro #1 - Combat

Fallout 3 greatly improves upon the combat system in Oblivion. One two largest improvements are the addition of firearms to fights, which feel more natural on a computer than sword and bow setups. The second improvement was the VATS system, which allows the player to freeze time, queue up a series of attacks targeted towards specific body parts, and then watch in a cinematic view as the attacks unfolded. The VATS system improved upon the cinematic feel of battle which in a game as pretty as Oblivion or, at times, Fallout 3 is a welcome improvement.

Pro #2 - The Introduction

Fallout 3 has the player start the game as we all started, literally being born as you press the new game button. The game then takes you through a few choice events through your childhood, allowing you to make some decisions that determine your final character as well as influencing the story in minor ways. Finally after spending roughly half an hour growing up with an underground vault as your entire world, you leave, and suddenly there is an entire world out there. The introduction of Fallout 3 is one of the best "leaving the cave" moments I have seen, film or video game.

Pro #3 - The Oasis

Fallout 3 takes place in Washington D.C. 200 years after it has been devastated by nuclear war. As such, it's a dreary wasteland filled with rubble and radiation. This is a pretty (though not all would use that term) picture at first, but over a dozen hours of gameplay it gets pretty old. And then you find the Oasis. The Oasis is secluded area filled with trees and grass and a whole list of other things that you didn't realize you missed until you see them again. This area is strikingly beautiful and when compared to the stark landscape outside it, I felt an immediate desire to protect this place.

Con #1 - Brown

For some bizarre reason Bethesda decided to add a sickly yellow tint over the entire game. The sky, rather than being blue, is yellow, and this makes the entire game (save the Oasis) extremely ugly. Compared to Oblivion, which often made me stop and wonder at the beautiful landscape, this was a pretty big turn-off.

Con #2 - Empty

The game covers something like 22 square miles, if I remember right, within the playable area. Of this there are seven places that you go to for the main plot, roughly six more minor cities with quests, and that's it. Most of the game world is filled with named areas that you can enter and explore (Deathclaw Cavern, National Arms Depot. etc...) with absolutely nothing in them besides some enemies and some items to find. If you follow the main quest there is an entire quarter of the map that you never have to visit at all. Honestly, if you're going to give a player so much room to explore, then give them something to find.

Con #3 - Plot

Where do I start? I could talk about the quests that are blatantly black and white. I could talk about the stilted dialogue, and extremely simple dialogue trees. I could talk about the unnecessary and sometimes confusing references to Fallout 1 and 2 (really two people walked from California to Washington D.C. by themselves in this post-apocalyptic wasteland where I can't take three steps without being attacked by gangs of armed raiders? And for no apparent reason?). I could talk about the fact that none of the characters' dialogue is anything more than skin-deep save one (Moira the shopkeep in Megaton, and that's only if you ask her a specific question). How about the fact that D.C. seems to be in worse shape than the west coast was in Fallout 1 and 2 which supposedly took place something like twenty years prior to Fallout 3). That in 220 years since it was attacked, the biggest group of people in Fallout 3 is fourteen or so people living in a crater surrounded by old airplane siding.

I will not discuss any of the above. I'm going to talk about the ending.

***End Game Spoilers***

There I was, ready to start up the water purifying system which will somehow clean up all of the water in the D.C. area so that it's radiation free. All I have to do is go in a sealed room and enter a code, that's it. Sadly the room is filled with a deadly amount of radiation, and despite my perfectly repaired radiation suit and variety of drugs designed to impede the acquisition of radiation in my body and those to flush the rads from my system, I will die if I go into this room. I have options though. I can ask the young warrior-woman with me to sacrifice herself for the good of the people, she would do so willingly, though I would have to live with the guilt for the rest of my life.

Or I could ask the eight foot tall super mutant who's immune to the affects of radiation to walk in, enter the code, and then have tea with me.

So I ask my companion, Fawkes (pictured) if they would do this for me. Now, I should tell you that companions normally have very limited options in what you can say to them when you try to talk to them (pictured), and they really only deal with gameplay aspects, not narrative things. Had Fawkes simply had this menu I would not be so angry at this game. It would have meant that the designers simply forgot that you could have Fawkes with you, or that they were immune to radiation (proven earlier in the game when you first meet/rescue Fawkes). But no, they gave Fawkes a special set of dialogue for this scene, and this scene alone. Fawkes in essence, tells you that this is your destiny. Mind you, Fawkes owes you their (Fawkes' gender is never mentioned, but there are hints that it was a woman, it is now genderless as a mutant) life, and would gladly die for you. Further, Fawkes has never before expressed any knowledge about concepts such as destiny, faith, or hope. At all.

Simply put, Fawkes' character would not ignore this request, and the writer just wanted you to have to kill yourself or the young woman.

Combine this with an epilogue that describes only your final decision (the Fallout series always ended with long descriptions of how your actions impacted each of the communities you met, or didn't meet), and you have lazy writing, bad design, and a lack of respect for tradition all rolled into one terrible package.

It is literally, the worst video game ending I have ever seen.

Regardless, Fallout 3 is an astounding success, selling far too many copies, and is still an above average game. It is fun, technically impressive, and is capable of great beauty. My anger stems wholly from the fact that it could have been so-much more with a better writer and some more time to address some minor issues. I get angry when things get close to being great, not when they are just bad.

Next time I hope to discuss the latest Prince of Persia and its success' and failures. Until then enjoy life!