[Column] General: My Problem with Fallout

SBFord · January 2015

My name is Chris, and I have a problem. In 2009, I realized that I don’t like Fallout. I have tried, over and over, to connect with what gamers love in these titles and just can’t. Games have been bought and rebought chasing the elusive dragon that is the post-apocalypse. I’ve made excuses, rolled multiple characters, and forced myself to play. I like Elder Scrolls, so why not this? This is my story.

Read more of Christopher Coke's The RPG Files: My Problem with Fallout.

Erillion · January 2015

So it seems you have a problem with the fact that your decisions and choices have consequences. Like ... REAL consequences. You are a fugitive in a town where you killed a man that did not attack you first. Who would have guessed ?! You can STILL play, but in that case you have to play the BAD guy. You may miss out on some content of the "other" path (good/bad/ugly) ... that increases the replay value ;-)

The game colour palette is all brown and grey ? Thats nuclear holocaust and nuclear winter for you. No more happy green valleys and parks (unless you are in ... DING DONG spoiler alert). The plants are mostly DEAD DEAD DEAD. No more neon signs with garish colours ... because there is almost no electricity anymore. Concrete dust, radioactive fallout particles and ash from the out-of-control fires everywhere.

Which quests are tied into the main story ? Hhhm, that they are all tied to your family and father ... and that basically also means YOU .... was not hint enough ? As compared to helping slaves, androids, lost rangers, supermutants, superheroes, ghouls, the Republic of Dave, the kitchen sink, you name it ....

So ... IMHO you are missing that you cannot have it all in an open world. You cannot be superbad and super-good at the same time and see it all. If you just act on impulse in an erratic way, the world will not trust you as you will have a shady reputation. They will neither fear you nor love you ... they will just mistrust you ... and that is what you possibly feel and what possibly makes you uncomfortable.

Have fun

killion81 · January 2015

It's weird that you complain that the game was too much on rails to start and when it opens up to let you do anything you want, you complain about consequences. Also, if you like Elder Scrolls, people behave pretty much the same way when you steal or murder, so I'm not seeing what makes one stand out over the other.

Oh well, in the end, it's your loss. I love the Fallout games (and have since the first glorious isometric game in the series). I think you may have it set in your mind that you don't want to like it. If that's the case, you never will no matter what anyone says.

thepatriot · January 2015

To each his own. I love Fallout personally, and I'm fine that you don't

d4rkwing · January 2015

I like that the column starts out "I hate being on rails" and then it evolves to "Oh god too many choices and consequences, I don't know what to do!"

deniter · January 2015

I'm a fan of Fallout series, and i hate Fallout 3 with passion. I don't even consider it as a 'true' Fallout game. It's just a 1st person action game using Fallout IP and lore, nothing more.

The reason i love Fallout is the non-linearity and different outcomes depending of your choices and actions in game. For the same reason i dislike Dragon Age and Mass Effect games, the epitomes of linear story focused RPGs with a minimum gameplay other than choosing your words in dialogue box (which most often makes no difference what you choose).

But i'm glad we have alternatives where to choose in single player games. You can't really say the same for MMOs.

thark · January 2015

A really odd article....First part is just to learn the game combined with characther Creation, that is why you can't skip it..Most Bethsofts games are done this way, at first you are Anonymous..In Fallout 3 you are ,,,a baby

I Think the quests in the game are marked some way to show you what quest is your "MAIN" objective, atleast you will see it if you read on them

Electro057 · January 2015

It sounds like you just can't deal with the consequences of your actions, and want a static world in which nothing changes despite what you do....And that sounds pretty lame. I've got some super desu Japanese RPGs that'd be right up your alley though! Persona comes to mind, though even there your gameplay has consequences.

eyeqdk · January 2015

"I love Skyrim"

Do tell me, how it is not game on rails for the first 15 min.. the part you cant skip.. and need to do over every time you start a new game ( you know.. the draggon attack part..

I dont see the point of this... blog? So you dont like 6yo game... to bad ..

Fallout3... FalloutNV.. skyrim.... are games.. that are made for modding... dont like the vanilla game? mod the hell out of it.. and you have new game

Sovrath · January 2015

I have had issues getting into the Fallout games but I can play (and still do) the Elder Scrolls games for years. I WANT that feeling of "I can do anything".

I have a friend who could get through the Skyrim because he wanted more rails.

Still, Fallout leaves me cold. I think it's because I usually lose interest in "contemporary" or future/sci fi games unless they are the 4X games like Masters of Orion 2 or Galactic Civilizations or Andromeda.

Anireth · January 2015

Everyone can (don't) like any game they want for whatever reasons, but please, either just say "i just don't like it, dunno why", or come up with real reasons. You either never really played Fallout 3 or somehow had a drastic encounter that made you hate, making you project all things you don't like about Bethesdas game onto Fallout 3 alone.

Fallout 3 uses the same engine as Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim. So nothing major in the anmations is different. Every TES game had a closed begininng. In Oblivion, it was getting out of prison, and Skyrim, it was getting lead to the chop block etc.

Also, New Vegas is brown. Really really brown. Like, 50 shades of brown. Fallout 3 itself wasn't exactly colorful, but it was *not* brown. Washington is lot of grey/blue/green tones.

I also think that Fallout 3 is less open than the TES games. More closed areas which you can do one at a time. At the very least, it's not more open.

And if you go and attack random guys in TES etc. you either die or lock yourself out of content you don't even know it exist, either.

The futuristic/post-apocalyptic setting might not be for everyone. The color palette might not be for everyone. Maybe it's the prevalent ranged fighting compared to the often close ranged TES. That are things that can make you hate Fallout 3 but still like TES.

Or you might not like the engine itself, the overall gameplay, that you can easily get lose track of your main quest and not even finish most side quest, as you stumble upon another one while trying to complete one. The closed "tutorial" isn't for everyone, either. But it's a TES thing, not a Fallout 3.

I prefer Neverwinter, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, The Witcher over TES or Fallout too. But Fallout 3, and to an extent, New Vegas actually had less of the problems Bethesdas games usually have than their TES series.

And no matter your reasons: You do not hate Fallout. You hate Fallout 3, and New Vegas. Fallout is either the first game, or the series itself. None of the problems described have anything to do with either.

Laughing-man · January 2015

"This is where things started to fall apart. Every part of me wanted to explore, but the game stubbornly insisted I stay on the rails through annoying, unskippable beginnings. We call this, Training Wheels 101 and it’s made for the gamer who has never held a controller." - The Article

Are you sure you aren't describing Oblivion? As that is seemingly identical to Fallout in the way you are complaining about.

Also, Skyrim had a lot opening tutorial that wouldn't let you venture off the beaten path for a while.

Maybe the author just doesn't really enjoy Bethesda games starter design?

Jorendo · January 2015

I never got into Fallout 3. I tried it over and over again. It just doesn't grab me. I don't like the setting i guess. I do love Fallout New Vegas, that setting i love a lot. It reminded me way more about my experience with the first fallout back in my youth.

As some said, each their own. That there are concequenses is good. They are in a lot of their games so if you are familiar with them it shouldn't come as a suprise really. Especially when you say you liked Elder Scrolls.

The open world can be daunting but you should make your own adventures. The main story will get you to places sure. But its a open world, just go where you want to go Walk around, see whats going on at places. Follow their story. Heck i never finished New Vegas but i still had a blast with all the adventures i had. Same with Skyrim. I often find the main stories boring in those games and just go venture on my own path. Have fun with the adventures that cross me and still lose dozens of hours in them

Burntvet · January 2015

Originally posted by Jorendo
I never got into Fallout 3. I tried it over and over again. It just doesn't grab me. I don't like the setting i guess. I do love Fallout New Vegas, that setting i love a lot. It reminded me way more about my experience with the first fallout back in my youth.

On a totally unrelated note, I recently bought Wasteland 2 when it was on the Steam winter sale, and I have been enjoying it a lot.

Very much plays like Fallout 2.5: isometric, squad and turn based combat, etc etc. Choices to make, sometimes no ideal solutions, and such.

Best $20 I have spent in a while.

thekid1 · January 2015

Isn't Skyrim like Fallout but with swords?

And you can fix the brown with mods. My Fallout looks quite pretty.

marcmy · January 2015

All I can say is you aren't alone. I think there's a reason why TES has a much larger fanbase, and Skyrim is one of the highest rated games of all time whereas Fallout isn't. I'm not saying it's a bad game, but I think it can be offputting if you are new to the genre. I was strictly an FPS and RTS gamer for years, never played an RPG in my life (yes, I know this is bordering on criminal but I simply was never exposed to them). Fallout 3 was the first RPG, excluding Diablo 1/2, that I ever touched and that was because I thought it was an fps. I didn't really understand the whole concept of being a baby, talking to NPCs and having to make choices, it was foreign to me. Needless to say I didn't get far past the baby stage, heck I'm not even sure I got out of the intro tbh. I went back to my FPS games and kept at it until a friend and I decided to try an mmorpg. I left my fps game for it, then Skyrim came. I was hooked. I played it to death, did every single side quest, quest chain, area, including dlcs, with several types of characters, several times over. As a result I'm an Elder Scrolls fan and I also played TESO. Why didn't Fallout have the same effect? I cannot say. Was it because I had played an mmorpg before playing Skyrim? Or was it simply that Skyrim was much more attractive in many different ways for the average person who isn't strictly an RPG gamer? I wonder if I'd like Fallout 3 if I tried it today, although the graphics might turn me off a bit. Maybe some day I'll give it a shot again.

Thane · January 2015

Originally posted by marcmy
All I can say is you aren't alone. I think there's a reason why TES has a much larger fanbase, and Skyrim is one of the highest rated games of all time whereas Fallout isn't. I'm not saying it's a bad game, but I think it can be offputting if you are new to the genre. I was strictly an FPS and RTS gamer for years, never played an RPG in my life (yes, I know this is bordering on criminal but I simply was never exposed to them). Fallout 3 was the first RPG, excluding Diablo 1/2, that I ever touched and that was because I thought it was an fps. I didn't really understand the whole concept of being a baby, talking to NPCs and having to make choices, it was foreign to me. Needless to say I didn't get far past the baby stage, heck I'm not even sure I got out of the intro tbh. I went back to my FPS games and kept at it until a friend and I decided to try an mmorpg. I left my fps game for it, then Skyrim came. I was hooked. I played it to death, did every single side quest, quest chain, area, including dlcs, with several types of characters, several times over. As a result I'm an Elder Scrolls fan and I also played TESO. Why didn't Fallout have the same effect? I cannot say. Was it because I had played an mmorpg before playing Skyrim? Or was it simply that Skyrim was much more attractive in many different ways for the average person who isn't strictly an RPG gamer? I wonder if I'd like Fallout 3 if I tried it today, although the graphics might turn me off a bit. Maybe some day I'll give it a shot again.

uh does it, and where to your stats ceom from?

just ONE example that disagrees with you:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.405903-Poll-The-Elder-Scrolls-vs-Fallout

you not realizing how big fallout is and you being a elder scrolls fanboi does NOT negate fallout's fanbase dude ^^

Scalpless · January 2015

It always annoys me when people call Fallout 3 "Fallout". It's like "the Skyrim series".

It's "The Elder Scrolls series".

It's "Fallout 3".

You've never even played Fallout. Though I suppose if Fallout 3 - one of the simplest, dumbest RPGS of recent years - is too complex for you, you wouldn't be able to get through Fallout's first cave.

ElirionLoth · January 2015

Originally posted by d4rkwing
I like that the column starts out "I hate being on rails" and then it evolves to "Oh god too many choices and consequences, I don't know what to do!"

It really sounds like the writer doesn't know why he doesn't like the game.

marcmy · January 2015

Originally posted by Thane
uh does it, and where to your stats ceom from?

just ONE example that disagrees with you:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.405903-Poll-The-Elder-Scrolls-vs-Fallout

you not realizing how big fallout is and you being a elder scrolls fanboi does NOT negate fallout's fanbase dude ^^

Sorry, don't mean to argue, but one poll isn't going to sway me here. I'm pretty sure after Skyrim, TES is considered one of the most popular RPG series of all time. Almost everyone I know has played or heard of Skyrim, only a few when it comes to Fallout.

Let's look at sales, after only two days Skyrim sold 3.4m physical copies. On Steam it was the fastest selling platform to date. It broke the record for the most played game on Steam ever. It sold 20 million physical copies by June 2013. Todd Howard said it was the best they've ever done on PC by a large, large number.

In comparison, Fallout 3 shipped only 4.7m units from its release in October through the end of 2008. It wasn't even in the top 5 selling games for 360/PS3.

Let's also remember that Elder Scrolls has an MMO, Fallout doesn't. That is only because Zenimax/Bethesda saw how popular the series was and felt they could capitalize on it.

Once again, none of this means Fallout 3 or any Fallout is a bad game. Just that TES, and Skyrim are much more popular, and there's obviously reasons for that. So I don't blame the OP for his opinions, even if they are a bit confused.

Stuka1000 · January 2015

One word, Mods.

Dnomsed · January 2015

You need to go back to the beginning, play the franchise from the start to fully appreciate it, honestly.

jonrd463 · January 2015

Originally posted by Scalpless
It always annoys me when people call Fallout 3 "Fallout". It's like "the Skyrim series".

It's "The Elder Scrolls series".

It's "Fallout 3".

You've never even played Fallout. Though I suppose if Fallout 3 - one of the simplest, dumbest RPGS of recent years - is too complex for you, you wouldn't be able to get through Fallout's first cave.

Ah yes... This reminds me of a conversation some fellow Fallout fan friends of mine had when Bethesda first announced it bought the IP. "Great. Now people are going to assume this is the definitive Fallout, declare the franchise as shit, and not even consider the brilliance of the first 2 games."

Guess it's come full circle now.

Beowulfsam · January 2015

As a fan of earlier Fallouts, I disliked the original F3, think I tried one more after that, same shit. Ah well, driven over by "progress" I guess.

Oi devs, HD remake of Fallout 2 plox, and don't skimp on the extra content *cough*. Ah man, I'll never forget the expert excrement expeditor and other goofy stuff.

Solar_Prophet · January 2015

I dislike Fallout 3, mainly because they turned it into a piss poor amalgamation of FPS and RPG, along with a 'real time but with turn based elements' combat system which didn't really work, IMO. You really couldn't play the game as an FPS, as VATS was completely necessary in order to hit anything, especially early in the game.

Ah well. We got Wasteland 2, which is far closer in spirit to the original two games.

Hariken · January 2015

Originally posted by Erillion
So it seems you have a problem with the fact that your decisions and choices have consequences. Like ... REAL consequences. You are a fugitive in a town where you killed a man that did not attack you first. Who would have guessed ?! You can STILL play, but in that case you have to play the BAD guy. You may miss out on some content of the "other" path (good/bad/ugly) ... that increases the replay value ;-)

The game colour palette is all brown and grey ? Thats nuclear holocaust and nuclear winter for you. No more happy green valleys and parks (unless you are in ... DING DONG spoiler alert). The plants are mostly DEAD DEAD DEAD. No more neon signs with garish colours ... because there is almost no electricity anymore. Concrete dust, radioactive fallout particles and ash from the out-of-control fires everywhere.

Which quests are tied into the main story ? Hhhm, that they are all tied to your family and father ... and that basically also means YOU .... was not hint enough ? As compared to helping slaves, androids, lost rangers, supermutants, superheroes, ghouls, the Republic of Dave, the kitchen sink, you name it ....

So ... IMHO you are missing that you cannot have it all in an open world. You cannot be superbad and super-good at the same time and see it all. If you just act on impulse in an erratic way, the world will not trust you as you will have a shady reputation. They will neither fear you nor love you ... they will just mistrust you ... and that is what you possibly feel and what possibly makes you uncomfortable.

Have fun

The OP reminds of the 9 year old at my Computer lab. He's playing mount and Blade warband and doesn't understand why people don't like him because he's killing everything in site.

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[Column] General: My Problem with Fallout

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