Playtime: Over 100 Hours
Score: 8/10
Bethesda's first entry in the Fallout series! My history with this game was interesting, as New Vegas was my first Fallout game and after loving that, I got this game and was a little disappointed by it at first. In comparison to NV, I didn't like how the metro tunnels were the main way to travel around the city, the repair skill being tied to weapon degradation, is logical to me now but back then I was so used to the streamlined nature of NV. But playing through it recently to get the platinum made me appreciate it more.
To start with the good, the story while straight forward is very enjoyable to play through, with Liam Neeson voicing your characters father to add that extra zing. The go where you want, do whatever you want mentality from Bethesda works well here, as you have a vast world to explore and fantastic side characters to meet along the way! The side quests are where the game shines, as that is really where the roleplaying aspect comes in (something Bethesda would sadly slowly move away from), as you can be good or evil, it really is up to you! The combat is basic but I don't really play these types of games for super-smooth combat, rather for satisfying roleplaying gameplay. VATS helps a lot in combat though as using it to blow enemies limbs off never gets old! Overall this game is a good balance of streamlined RPG mechanics but still feeling like a good roleplaying experience compared to later entries in this series.
As for the bad: the main story while enjoyable is very black & white and is probably the most linear aspect of this game. While there are multiple ways to approach and end side quests, the main questline forces you to be the good guy and doesn't allow for any real choice and consequence. The Brotherhood of Steel are the good guys and the Enclave are the bad guys, that's it, you have no say in the matter. The open endness of this game also works against it sometimes, as in my original playthrough, while I was exploring the wastes, I found an area where one of the later main quests takes place, I entered and ended up starting the main questline there essentially, missing out on some of the earlier main missions (and their achievements). The game is also very buggy, especially on PS3, where you will run into multiple crashes and bugs the more you play. My copy of the game is pretty much broken as no matter what I do (uninstalling the game, starting a new game, deleting my save data etc..) I can't play the game at all for 2 minutes without it crashing completely. I had to end up borrowing a friends copy of the game so that I could continue to pursue the platinum. Also, the other main issue, is how OP your character can get; from having more skill points whenever you level up (in comparison to NV); the ability to increase those skill points to over 20 and the fact that you can get a perk point every level, makes your character really overpowered and playing a specialised role difficult. I understand Bethesda wants you to be able to be a jack of all trades in their games, but I personally prefer a system where I have to make tough choices when building my character, which gives the game more replay value in my opinion. The Karama system is also weak as no matter how evil you be, you can always fix it by giving water bottles to hobos in the wasteland. Overall, though despite my gripes this is still a solid entry in the fallout series and I can definitely recommend it to fans; just be aware of buggy performance going in.
All Games I've Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
Bethesda Games Studios Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/bethesda-game-studios-ranked/
Score: 8/10
Bethesda's first entry in the Fallout series! My history with this game was interesting, as New Vegas was my first Fallout game and after loving that, I got this game and was a little disappointed by it at first. In comparison to NV, I didn't like how the metro tunnels were the main way to travel around the city, the repair skill being tied to weapon degradation, is logical to me now but back then I was so used to the streamlined nature of NV. But playing through it recently to get the platinum made me appreciate it more.
To start with the good, the story while straight forward is very enjoyable to play through, with Liam Neeson voicing your characters father to add that extra zing. The go where you want, do whatever you want mentality from Bethesda works well here, as you have a vast world to explore and fantastic side characters to meet along the way! The side quests are where the game shines, as that is really where the roleplaying aspect comes in (something Bethesda would sadly slowly move away from), as you can be good or evil, it really is up to you! The combat is basic but I don't really play these types of games for super-smooth combat, rather for satisfying roleplaying gameplay. VATS helps a lot in combat though as using it to blow enemies limbs off never gets old! Overall this game is a good balance of streamlined RPG mechanics but still feeling like a good roleplaying experience compared to later entries in this series.
As for the bad: the main story while enjoyable is very black & white and is probably the most linear aspect of this game. While there are multiple ways to approach and end side quests, the main questline forces you to be the good guy and doesn't allow for any real choice and consequence. The Brotherhood of Steel are the good guys and the Enclave are the bad guys, that's it, you have no say in the matter. The open endness of this game also works against it sometimes, as in my original playthrough, while I was exploring the wastes, I found an area where one of the later main quests takes place, I entered and ended up starting the main questline there essentially, missing out on some of the earlier main missions (and their achievements). The game is also very buggy, especially on PS3, where you will run into multiple crashes and bugs the more you play. My copy of the game is pretty much broken as no matter what I do (uninstalling the game, starting a new game, deleting my save data etc..) I can't play the game at all for 2 minutes without it crashing completely. I had to end up borrowing a friends copy of the game so that I could continue to pursue the platinum. Also, the other main issue, is how OP your character can get; from having more skill points whenever you level up (in comparison to NV); the ability to increase those skill points to over 20 and the fact that you can get a perk point every level, makes your character really overpowered and playing a specialised role difficult. I understand Bethesda wants you to be able to be a jack of all trades in their games, but I personally prefer a system where I have to make tough choices when building my character, which gives the game more replay value in my opinion. The Karama system is also weak as no matter how evil you be, you can always fix it by giving water bottles to hobos in the wasteland. Overall, though despite my gripes this is still a solid entry in the fallout series and I can definitely recommend it to fans; just be aware of buggy performance going in.
All Games I've Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
Bethesda Games Studios Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/bethesda-game-studios-ranked/