2 reviews liked by AutumnEX


This might be one of the hardest games I've ever played. I also wanted to cry every time I just wanted to walk across the map and was stopped by deathclaws, 10 wild dogs, or Enclave patrols and was subsequently snuffed out (or just annoyed relentlessly while trying to walk off screen to get back to the map) before getting a chance to save in the middle of the wasteland. Even with all of the annoyances and challenges, this game will go down in my memory as a fantastic experience.

Most people in my age bracket started with this entry in the series as their first taste of the post-nuclear wasteland. You are likely to hear that this game is dated junk and that people who say otherwise are blinded by nostalgia. Are they wrong? Yes. And no.

This game blew my 12 year old mind when it released. I begged my grandma to buy it for me at a Toys R Us after seeing it in a Playstation magazine and seeing a guy in cool looking armor on it. That's really all it took for me back then. I miss not being so critical and jaded sometimes.

Anyway, I'm 27 now. I was sort of dreading having to play this after 1 and 2. I had really sold myself on the idea that this game was just not very good. I still had some remedial knowledge of quests, locations, and how I should optimally build my character so that I wouldn't struggle as hard. But going in after my first ever romps through the original games, I decided that I wasn't going to do it the same way again.

I really tried to build a balanced character and refrained as much as I could from strictly using melee. I attempted to use things other than brute force to solve questlines. This opened my eyes and made me see that the game was only getting dull because I wasn't even playing it to the full extent.

After many shocking moments of revelation, hearing voice lines I had never heard before or finding hidden quests I had never found before, it struck me. See image below for my reaction.

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/506/233/ddd

Tuning into GNR and walking around the D.C. metro made those nostalgic feelings and memories rush back to me. I was enjoying it again. I remembered why I loved this game so much. While the flaws are ultimately very obvious and I do not have to waste my time explaining them, I found my love for this game again. It is worth your time.

Oh, and I played through all of the DLC for the first time too. I really didn't enjoy most of it. Point Lookout was pretty fun though.