OT: Fallout 3

all of us cool kids are

The biggest being that you can just tag useless skills, stay at a low character level, and play through the game as a level 3 or 4 character that has hiked up all their useful skills to 100. Meanwhile, your opponents will stay weak little sewer rats.

I played FO3 for about 10 hours with one character before deciding to restart with a new strategy because I was getting my ass kicked. Fallout 3 fixed the “leveling gimp” by giving you experience for everything you do and everyone you kill… you level up whether you want to or not… and your enemies seem to grow at the same rate (but using pretty min/max tactics… so you gotta pay attention or they outflank you!)

The new strategy I’m trying was to start with an Intelligence of 10 (because of the skill points… bonuses to science and medicine are nice too.) I take two perks early… the one that gives you 3 extra skill points each level, and the one that gives you double skill point bonuses for every book you read (BTW, don’t read any of the books you collect until you take this perk… just save them in your inventory.) Don’t be tempted by the Gun Nut perk… it only gives you 10 extra skill points… these other two perks are worth a LOT more in the long run. Because I had to skimp on my other SPECIAL stats to boost the IQ up to 10… I also take the Intense Training perks when there’s nothing better… I use them to jack up my agility (for better Small Guns.) Also took the black widow/lady killer perk… for bonus damage and extra dialog options.

I’m planning to jack up my Small Guns skill to 100 ASAP… put enough points into Lockpick and Science to break into stuff… and enough in repair to keep my equipment shiny.

One big difference in Fallout 3 (compared to Fallout 1 and 2) is that energy weapons and big guns are available early… but they are not nearly so powerful (and ammo is expensive.) It really seems like sticking with small guns is the way to go.

BTW, with the crafting… the Rock-It Launcher is a waste of money (and money is actually pretty tight in this game.)

Rather than comparing it to FO1 and 2.
The sense of humor is different… and has to be given how moody the atmosphere is.

As someone who felt exactly the same way before I played it, trust me, Fallout 3 is amazing.

who hangs out at RPG Codex.

Fallout has the quintessential unappeasable fanbase; I’m amased Bethesda even tried this.

And yet, almost everyone seems to like it. Even the guys at No Mutants Allowed.

but they are also painful to play given the bad graphics and turn-based combat system. These are both canon PC games… but probably not worth going back to play unless you can stomach the 90’s style. On the plus side, you’re grandma’s PC will have all the system requirements met.

Uh, there’s a gauss pistol in the second game which is my weapon of choice and in the first game there’s the turbo plasma rifle. If the level of violence is sufficient, the plasma rifle basically makes the skin of whatever you’re fighting disappear, so, goop and bones.

The games themselves are quality. The first has more purity of atmosphere and mood whereas the second is less buggy and has more branching paths to take.

But if you can’t handle turn-based combat, isometric views, or outdated graphics, you can pass. I know plenty of people who didn’t have fun with the game until I told them they didn’t have to follow any sort of plot, at which point they ran around indiscriminately killing things until they got bored.

I wish I had my DS. And also money.

I thought the melee system in Oblivion was really boring. And it seems dull in this game too.

But in FO3, you don’t have to put away your shotgun and pull out a baseball bat just because someone has charged you… in fact, it’s better to shoot them in the face with the shotgun at close range.

I just got a call saying my local store will sell it at midnight, but I should probably be asleep. I can wait a day.

but in my defense, it’s all old PS2 games that I was stocking up on, and a few DS games, none of which were particularly expensive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ivDW_BU94

I’d heard them a few times before Bioshock, and then after finding that they were in Fallout3, I became a major fan. I love wandering around, watching radioactive dust clouds blow by, while listening to them singing away on my Pip-Boy 3000