Help Me Pick a Game to Buy

[the_blunderbuss]

Hello peoples of the Wii Virtual Console forums, today I would like to talk to you about something which is not the Wii at all, but the PS3.

You see, being the latest addition to the family I feel like I'd like to start getting a few games to have those elusive "good times." I have a few ideas on my mind but I would love some help from the community.

In my mind, right now, there are two possible candidates for my next game, they are:

1. Fallout 3
2. Grand Theft Auto IV

Since games are so bloody expensive over here I'd like something that will give me quite a bit of time to roam around and have fun. The two games fall into this category as they present us with open worlds to explore and many fun things to do. Of course the theme is very different in both of these but let's assume for a moment that I don't have any preference either way.

But buss! There are other games that you haven't taken into consideration!

I'm glad you mentioned it. These are only the two games currently on my mind. Please do suggest other games (Far Cry 2 comes to mind in a way...) as you see fit. Since I don't want this to get out of control, let's stick to open world games for now. If you have a suggestion not on that genre, by all means PM me with it.

---

Last but not least, thank you for your help. I'm new here, so if I'm ever stepping on some toes, make sure you let me know.

Cheers!
the_blunderbuss

[Spore]

I can speak for at least three forum members when I say get Fallout 3.

[the_blunderbuss]

Alrighty! Thanks for the answer Spore.
So according to forum math, we're at...

Fallout 3... 3 pts! Let's stock on some anti-rad already.
GTA IV... 0! Boo! Boo I say!

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Pretty sure I'm one of the three members Spore is talking about. I was a doubter at first, having not been much of a fan of western-/computer-style RPGs, not much of a fan of first-person perspective, not much of a fan of shootin', and not much of a fan of huge open game worlds. I decided to try this game out for a hoot since I found it cheap and I had no good PS3 games yet at the time.

Fallout 3 kicks all manner of ass. It's insanely immersive, but on top of that it's also incredibly replayable! One thorough run through the game should keep you occupied for 150 hours or more, especially if you have the Game of the Year edition with all the DLC included. If you want to go through again as the other karma alignments, you're looking at even more time.

Fallout 3!

[the_blunderbuss]

No much love for GTA IV so far (or a lot of love for Fallout 3 I'd say.)
I think the Game of the Year edition would be the best bet, although I don't know if they have it here yet (or how much it'll set me back for.)

Score so far...

Fallout "I'll pop your foreign criminal **** anytime" 3... 4 pts!
GTA IV... 0 pts and an inferiority complex

Keep things coming people, much thanks to everyone involved (Spore and Jogurt so far.) Also...

What do you think of the Fallout DLC? Should I get the original or try for the GotY edition? Remember, many monies are at stake here!!!

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I don't know where you're from, but around these parts, the Game of the Year edition costs the same as the original version (both new copies). If you're buying used, the original should be a lot cheaper and you probably won't be able to find the GotY yet.

Bear in mind that the DLC alone totals up to about $50, so the GotY edition is definitely worth it if you actually enjoy the game and want to play more of it.

[the_blunderbuss]

The cost for that DLC alone is enough for me to hunt it down... actually, let's send an e-mail to the guy I purchased Ninja Gaiden Sigma from, see if he can give me a price estimate.

By the way, the country is Argentina
... don't tell the PSN store that though, or I won't be able to purchase anything

[Diebythesword]

I'd say Uncharted 1/2, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, Demon Souls, Dead Space, Batman, COD:WaW for zombie mode alone, and uh.....a PSN card

[Betagam7]

I own both the games you've mentioned on Xbox 360 so feel I'm in a good position to judge and even though I loved Fallout 3 I'll cast my vote with GTA 4 based on your circumstances as you've described them.

It sounds like you are only going to be able to get one game and will have to make do with it for some time. In that sense Fallout 3 might be a risk for you as I found it to be by far the more linear game in terms of the sandbox style both games attain to.

Sure Fallout 3 has the bigger world (by quite literally miles) but when it was done I felt little desire to return to it due to its overwhelmingly enourmous but often generic and repetitious tunnel and land crossing sequences that were involved in getting from place to place when searching out new locals.

I think GTA4 has far more potential to be creative and just mess about in its sandbox environment whether it be going on a rampage, exploring the city, playing cop, fireman, ambulance driver or just getting Nico drunk and trying to drive home

Additionally GTA4 has multiplayer which may or may not be of interest to you if you game online as opposed to the single player experience of Fallout 3.

Both are great games but an important factor might also be to ask if you've played any of the prequels and how you found them.

In a sense fallout 3 has much more scope in terms of world size than GTA4 but in terms of sandbox, do what you want gameplay I'd say GTA is the better option if you want a game where you can genuinelly experiment.

Its also worth noting that, like most of Bethesda's output, Fallout 3 is littered with AI bugs.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

The cost for that DLC alone is enough for me to hunt it down... actually, let's send an e-mail to the guy I purchased Ninja Gaiden Sigma from, see if he can give me a price estimate.

By the way, the country is Argentina
... don't tell the PSN store that though, or I won't be able to purchase anything

Play.com do worldwide free delivery as far as I'm aware. That's how I get my cheap games in another rip-off country: Sweden

[the_blunderbuss]

Hello wonderful people of the VC forums... replies are in order!

@ Diebythesword

I have Uncharted 1 (came with the PS3, played it to 80% in one weekend, re-started after 2 months when I got my HD monitor and I'm not finding it particularly exciting... I'll need to give it more time, maybe I'm just rusty) but Uncharted 2 sounds interesting.

The Killzone 2 demo was very good but I heard the game is pretty short... well, it does have multiplayer though so I might look into it. LittleBigPlanet has always been intriguing for me. I'll check to see the prices on that thing... replay value? Demon's Soul was actually the third game that I never posted on that list, I'm certainly hot for that game. The only reason I didn't put it there is because I have Uncharted and Ninja Gaiden Sigma to play now and it seemed as Fallout 3 or GTA would give me more variety as far as gameplay styles go (please correct me.)

Dead Space, looks awesome but I'm not head over heels for survival games. Batman, been told it's awesome but very short thus I'm reluctant. The CoD WaW demo is very good, the controls are even better than the ones in Killzone 2 (sans the very useful cover feature of the latter.) Might look into that, had very bad reviews of the CoD 4 multiplayer, thus I'm wary.

PS: I added you to my friends list! And I use an international card for the PSN store, have Burnout Paradise, Crash Commando and Battlefield 1943.

@ Betagam7

Thank you very much for your input, your assessment of the situation is mostly correct. If I'm lucky (that is, my job goes well) I'll be looking to a 70 USD monthly expenditure on games and things of that ilk. However, since I'm a freelancer (I currently work as a writer) I don't get a stable income per month, thus I'd like a game that gives me a reasonable amount of stuff to do.

If I understood you correctly, what you're saying is that while Fallout is pretty big, it's made up of spaces where stuff happens in the midst of a huge wasteland... funny enough, most like the first two games. Thus, the sandbox is mostly empty sans encounters with peeps to shoot and baddies to kill. You also mention something about linearity which is absent in other people's recollection of the game. I'm very interested in your point of view because it gives me a contrasting opinion to work with.

I've played a bit of Fallout 1 and 2... I'm not a fanboy and nostalgia does nothing for me on this one.

Multiplayer is a big thing for me. It extends the life of a game to great amounts when done right. I own Battlefield 1943 which is multiplayer only and will prolly get Warhawk eventually, so yes multiplayer is graeat for me (and I love co-op multiplayer.)

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So.... the score for now in this all or nothing bout between the open world baddies issssss....

Fallout "My animations might suck but I have tons of slowmo" 3... 4 pts!
GTA "Choose your own minority to prey upon" IV... 1 pts!

Many thanks to everyone involved (once again.) Keep the ideas coming!

---

EDIT: Play.com does free delivery only to a small number of countries, most of them in Europe. Not Argentina regrettably.

[Refa]

Demon's Souls. I personally find it more unique than Fallout 3 and GTAIV. Obviously it's REALLY hard, so take that into consideration.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Refa

Demon's Souls. I personally find it more unique than Fallout 3 and GTAIV. Obviously it's REALLY hard, so take that into consideration.

Also take into consideration that Refa hasn't played any of these games.

[the_blunderbuss]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Also take into consideration that Refa hasn't played any of these games.

Hahaha, ok gotcha... I seemed to recall Refa said that he didn't own a PS3.
It does get me thinking however... how difficult is that game really?

In any case, thanks for the ideas Refa and for the clarification Jogurt!

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I don't have Demon's Souls (yet) either, but, as far as I know, it's not an open-world game.

[the_blunderbuss]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I don't have Demon's Souls (yet) either, but, as far as I know, it's not an open-world game.

And that was the reason why it was the third game I never wrote down on the list

It's divided in several (I think seven) large levels of sorts, as far as I know. Still, I did tell anyone to give me suggestions even if they strayed from the topic at hand, so I guess it's fair game

[Ouenben]

Another vote for Fallout 3 here.

GTA IV was good, personally my fave of the GTA's (didnt care much for the previous ones except the very original) but it didn't feel very special or unique and I always find GTA controls clunky and out dated and this was game while I felt controlled better than predecessors was still lousy. Also why does every GTA gam have terrible car handling?

I really enjoyed the single player of Fallout 3 despite not liking Oblivion all that much.

Little tip: If you have xbox live and the original copy of Fallout 3 (not GOTY edition) you can borrow/rent the discs from the GOTY edition, install them on your xbox 360, load up the Fallout 3 disc and install an update and return the GOTY discs but still have access to all that new content

[Joxe]

Since you said you aren't a fanboy for the older Fallout games I would say Fallout 3. I found myself to think just "meh" about the GTA games with GTAIV since it was the first one of them that I really "played" but if you liked the older 3D ones it sure is a great game.

Personally I would probably go with Uncharted 2 since that one looks too awesome. But I'll draw a conclusion: Fallout 3 if you don't like the first two games in the series, GTAIV if you like the GTA series, as a stand-alone game I would say that Fallout 3 is better if you haven't played trough Daggerfall/Morrowind/Oblivion.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Joxe

Since you said you aren't a fanboy for the older Fallout games I would say Fallout 3. I found myself to think just "meh" about the GTA games with GTAIV since it was the first one of them that I really "played" but if you liked the older 3D ones it sure is a great game.

Personally I would probably go with Uncharted 2 since that one looks too awesome. But I'll draw a conclusion: Fallout 3 if you don't like the first two games in the series, GTAIV if you like the GTA series, as a stand-alone game I would say that Fallout 3 is better if you haven't played trough Daggerfall/Morrowind/Oblivion.

I have to say I'm not grasping your logic here. First of all he didn't say he didn't like Fallout 1 and 2 just that he held no obvious nostalgia for them.

Secondly, even if it was true that he didn't like Fallout 1 & 2 why would that make recommending Fallout 3 the obvious choice? Fallout 3 plays pretty much exactly the same as the previous 2 games in terms of tone, setting, characters and stat building. The only difference is the perspective of real time 3D instead of isometric 2D which allows for some not that great FPS (although I don't know anyone who doesn't just use the VATS mode).

I've owned and completed all 3 Fallouts and I think Bethesda did a fantastic job of capturing the feel of the originals in a new 3D engine and I don't see why people who loved the originals wouldn't think this was a great addition.

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

If I understood you correctly, what you're saying is that while Fallout is pretty big, it's made up of spaces where stuff happens in the midst of a huge wasteland... funny enough, most like the first two games. Thus, the sandbox is mostly empty sans encounters with peeps to shoot and baddies to kill. You also mention something about linearity which is absent in other people's recollection of the game.

Perhaps linear is the wrong word. You certainly have the freedom in Fallout 3 to do as you please in terms of the order of tackling missions but the overall options available to you for actual stuff do do is, I would say, more limited than in GTAIV which allows for true sandbox style creativity that might lead you to replay the game just for fun.
What it boils down to is Fallout's vast empty wasteland populated with interesting little towns and locals or GTA's smaller but more compact living breathing city.

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

Multiplayer is a big thing for me. It extends the life of a game to great amounts when done right. I own Battlefield 1943 which is multiplayer only and will prolly get Warhawk eventually, so yes multiplayer is graeat for me (and I love co-op multiplayer.)

Well as I say, Fallout 3 has no multiplayer. I've not played GTAIV's as I don't play online games for 360 due to the Microsoft charging for the priviledge but I can imagine it has a fairly large community on PS3.

[Joxe]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

I have to say I'm not grasping your logic here. First of all he didn't say he didn't like Fallout 1 and 2 just that he held no obvious nostalgia for them.

Secondly, even if it was true that he didn't like Fallout 1 & 2 why would that make recommending Fallout 3 the obvious choice? Fallout 3 plays pretty much exactly the same as the previous 2 games in terms of tone, setting, characters and stat building. The only difference is the perspective of real time 3D instead of isometric 2D which allows for some not that great FPS (although I don't know anyone who doesn't just use the VATS mode).

I've owned and completed all 3 Fallouts and I think Bethesda did a fantastic job of capturing the feel of the originals in a new 3D engine and I don't see why people who loved the originals wouldn't think this was a great addition.

Probably phrased myself wrong here, what I meant was that as long as he/she wasn't a hard-core fan of the first two games and as long as he/she haven't played the Elder Scrolls game (or at least Oblivion) Fallout 3 is probably a good choice. Fallout 3 is by no means a bad game, it's just too similar to Oblivion and not far too similar to the older Fallout games.

As for the games themselves, I didn't really fall for neither GTAIV or Fallout 3 but I can't deny that they are good games that both offers a great deal of gameplay for your money. By the time I played Fallout 3 I was already bored of Oblivion and seeing as they are very, very similar games I couldn't really enjoy it.

[the_blunderbuss]

(...) as he/she wasn't a hard-core fan of the first two games and as long as he/she haven't played the Elder Scrolls game (or at least Oblivion) Fallout 3 is probably a good choice. Fallout 3 is by no means a bad game, it's just too similar to Oblivion and not far too similar to the older Fallout games.

I'm not a hard core fan of the first two games. In fact, I'm not a hardcore fan of the whole post apocalyptic world thing either... actually I'm not even a fan now that I think about it. I did play Oblivion, but just for a little bit. It's one of those games that I want to go back and play (although I have that on my PC) but it didn't capture my attention as well as other games have.

The only difference is the perspective of real time 3D instead of isometric 2D which allows for some not that great FPS (although I don't know anyone who doesn't just use the VATS mode).

Oh dear lord! VATS was fun for like the first 5 times (I played 15 minutes of this game on a PC) but then I wanted to actually play an FPS. If I would need to rely on VATS throughout the game... it could be a dealbreaker for me.

---

On the reasons why I chose those two games (this is important kiddies! there will be a test)

The reason I chose those two games for my possible purchases was two-fold (at least.) On the one hand, they have received pretty impressive reviews and praises all around which, though might be worth nothing in the end, are at least something to judge the game with. On the other, I've found myself interested in open world games as of late... the reason: Burnout Paradise. Believe it or not, I am having a blast running around (driving around) finding little things, secret passages, jumps and stuff like that. Since I had not played an open world game in quite a while I thought I might enjoy it and that it could give me quite a bit of hours to spend on my black shiny PS3.

As far as favouritism goes... well, I have all the Fallout games prior to 3. I've never finished them and quite frankly I don't see myself playing them in the near future. I've played GTA Vice City (which was a setting that I thoroughly enjoyed) but couldn't bring myself to finish it... was close though. And, in case it counts, I played quite a bit of Bully and found it fun as well... fun, but not "Dear lord I need to finish this game now!"

There, that might have been useful, or not at all. I'm sure it'll give you something to bite from though.

Important point

I'm not very familiar with the PS3 library, as stated in the first post, these were two games that I thought could be fun and give me plenty of hours worth of gameplay. If anyone has a different recommendation (for example, Joxe mentioned Uncharted 2), please let me know.

For instance... what about this InFamous game I keep hearing about? By all means keep it in the family (Fallout 3 vs GTA IV) but do let me know if you have ideas

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

Oh dear lord! VATS was fun for like the first 5 times (I played 15 minutes of this game on a PC) but then I wanted to actually play an FPS. If I would need to rely on VATS throughout the game... it could be a dealbreaker for me.

Unfortunately, GTA isn't a FPS either.

Batman: Arkham Asylum isn't a FPS, but it does have some pretty free-flowing combat and lots of exploration and little hidden things to find. It's also critically acclaimed and one of the better games I've ever played. It'd be worth looking into. There may be a demo on PSN.

[Radretrogamer]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Pretty sure I'm one of the three members Spore is talking about. I was a doubter at first, having not been much of a fan of western-/computer-style RPGs, not much of a fan of first-person perspective, not much of a fan of shootin', and not much of a fan of huge open game worlds. I decided to try this game out for a hoot since I found it cheap and I had no good PS3 games yet at the time.

Fallout 3 kicks all manner of ass. It's insanely immersive, but on top of that it's also incredibly replayable! One thorough run through the game should keep you occupied for 150 hours or more, especially if you have the Game of the Year edition with all the DLC included. If you want to go through again as the other karma alignments, you're looking at even more time.

Fallout 3!

YEEESSS!!!

does Spore mean me aswell?

[Diebythesword]

inFamous was pretty good. The missions got a little repetitive though, and Im a guy who loves "repetitive" games

[the_blunderbuss]

@ Jogurt the Yogurt

Unfortunately, GTA isn't a FPS either.

Very true. Please note that the comment on VATS wasn't on the purposes of flaming Fallout 3. On the contrary, I like the system for what it does. I'm just wondering what would happen if I wanted to play it like a regular FPS... anyone tried with any success?

Also, GTA is a third person shooter/driver/thingie... I like third person shooters quite a lot actually (Uncharted is the only one I have for the PS3 though) although I do understand that it's more of a mish-mash of things rather than a focused experience (someone correct me?)

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Oh yes! The game the kiddies are raving about. I should download the demo from the PSN store. Can you give me an idea of how long play time is? I suppose it doesn't have multiplayer but if it has a reasonably long single player campaing it'll do (plus I could sell it afterwards.)

@ Radretrogamer

I have no idea... I'll count your vote as separate though, Fallout is still winning by a large margin whether I do or I don't.

@ Diebythesword

The missions got a little repetitive though, and Im a guy who loves "repetitive" games

You know, that's exactly the kind of complaint I got today in a couple of reviews I watched (which I had never encountered before... the complaint about it I mean.) I'll have to keep it in mind. What type of missions do you get?

---

Current count:

Fallout "I cheat on my vote count" 3... 5 pts!
GTA "I got l33t multiplayer" IV... 1 pt!

New ideas:

• Demon's Soul
• Uncharted 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum

As always, thank you for the input. Keep your thoughts coming!

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

@ Jogurt the Yogurt



Very true. Please note that the comment on VATS wasn't on the purposes of flaming Fallout 3. On the contrary, I like the system for what it does. I'm just wondering what would happen if I wanted to play it like a regular FPS... anyone tried with any success?

I watched my friend trying to do it as he mistakenly bought the game thinking it would be like Left 4 Dead (!). He took it back to the shop a few days later.
If I recall correctly the game FPS mode is the default that you're punished into using if you run out of VATS points through inproper planning. Its therefore a pretty difficult way to play the game and you'll wind up getting killed most of the time. Incidently, are you aware that you can switch from 1st to third person in Fallout 3? It's therefore possible to play the game as a 3rd person shooter too, just still not a very good one. Fallout 3 is essentially a stat based RPG that makes concessions to FPS fans to try and gain a bigger market share.

[the_blunderbuss]

@ Betagam7

If I recall correctly the game FPS mode is the default that you're punished into using if you run out of VATS points through inproper planning. Its therefore a pretty difficult way to play the game and you'll wind up getting killed most of the time. Incidently, are you aware that you can switch from 1st to third person in Fallout 3? It's therefore possible to play the game as a 3rd person shooter too, just still not a very good one. Fallout 3 is essentially a stat based RPG that makes concessions to FPS fans to try and gain a bigger market share.

This I was concerned about... can anyone confirm that this is how the game goes? If I understand correctly then, even if I aim properly the game might throw my bullets everywhere if my shooting skill is lousy?

Thanks for the input Betagam7!

[Spore]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

This I was concerned about... can anyone confirm that this is how the game goes? If I understand correctly then, even if I aim properly the game might throw my bullets everywhere if my shooting skill is lousy?

I played the game as an FPS for the most part. Yeah, you can aim properly, but if you don't have the stats for it each shot will have significant spread.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I play about half the game as an FPS, especially with big guns, melee weapons, and sniper weapons. My strategy is to blow off all my AP/VATS points in one go, then finish the battle with great shootin'.

Betgam7, I don't think their decision to make the game first person was anything so nefarious as a market-share grab. If they had forced VATS on every encounter it would have been really flow-destroying. I think it's nice that you can opt for the turn-based VATS thing or else disregard it entirely and not have to worry about it slowing the action down. Making the game first-person / over the shoulder third-person is simply the best way of having such a nice immersive 3D world that you can easily interact with and experience. IMO.

[the_blunderbuss]

@ Jogurt the Yogurt & Spore

So, I take it that the game is a bit like Mass Effect in that regard? In Mass effect if you didn't have a particular weapon skill your aiming suffered quite a lot (you'd basically have a bigger reticle, so shots would spread much more and if you didn't have the skill at all you didn't have access to iron sights.)

The fact that you can play it like an FPS does make it better. I'd love to play it as a third person shooter if not for the fact that people at Bethesda just don't seem to be able to animate stuff properly... it drives me INSANE! (animations are very big for me as far as immersion goes.)

[Diebythesword]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

@ Diebythesword

You know, that's exactly the kind of complaint I got today in a couple of reviews I watched (which I had never encountered before... the complaint about it I mean.) I'll have to keep it in mind. What type of missions do you get?

Pretty much restoring light to a part of the city, then riding on something destroying enemies, then keep captive of enemies while escorting them to jail, then protecting someone from enemies while they are trying to fix something, then....yeah, the side missions are all the same too like 4-5 types. I found it repetitive, but still a good game.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

Hahaha, ok gotcha... I seemed to recall Refa said that he didn't own a PS3.
It does get me thinking however... how difficult is that game really?

In any case, thanks for the ideas Refa and for the clarification Jogurt!

I have a PS3.

PS Well, the level after the tutorial was next to impossible (for me), because I suck at avoiding death traps.

[the_blunderbuss]

@ Refa

Originally Posted by Refa

I have a PS3.

PS Well, the level after the tutorial was next to impossible (for me), because I suck at avoiding death traps.

I'll sure keep that in mind. I've found that a really hard game is great to have... when you also have other less infuriating stuff lying around I hear the combat and gameplay itself is really good, even though really hard.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

@ Jogurt the Yogurt & Spore

So, I take it that the game is a bit like Mass Effect in that regard? In Mass effect if you didn't have a particular weapon skill your aiming suffered quite a lot (you'd basically have a bigger reticle, so shots would spread much more and if you didn't have the skill at all you didn't have access to iron sights.)

The fact that you can play it like an FPS does make it better. I'd love to play it as a third person shooter if not for the fact that people at Bethesda just don't seem to be able to animate stuff properly... it drives me INSANE! (animations are very big for me as far as immersion goes.)

Yeah, the animations do seem very stiff in third person mode. Like I say, expect the usual Bethesda glitches too and bizarre reactions from villagers to things that havn't actually happened yet/ no reaction to things that happened right in front of them.

[the_blunderbuss]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

Yeah, the animations do seem very stiff in third person mode. Like I say, expect the usual Bethesda glitches too and bizarre reactions from villagers to things that havn't actually happened yet/ no reaction to things that happened right in front of them.

From my 15 minutes with the game I think I remember a certain fight in a bar on the closest town that went... weird. Some random people tried to stop me from killing the guy that wanted to blow up the town, some people wanted to make small talk as I was blowing people up...

Yeah... good times (O_o !?)

[Joxe]

Just the animations is one of the things that has me set back on the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3, if you've played Morrowind you will notice it's still the same floaty jumps, stiff animations and lack of strafing animations. It was ok in Morrwind since it was released quite a bit ago and was meant as a First-Person game, then came Oblivion and still no fix for that. Ok, it's still meant to be played in First-Person, but then, why do they include a third person mode that's not even close to done (no crosshair and such).

Before the release of Fallout 3 I remember Bethesda saying that they would address the third-person problems and make the game playable from the third-person perspective. Their solution? Add a cross-hair, nothing else. This is only a minor detail but it matters some at least and shows some laziness for not really caring for the third-person perspective even when it's a feature in the game.

I think the biggest complaint towards Bethesda is their "copy/paste" way of building a game. I think there's nothing wrong of making similar games, in the end that's why they're called sequels to each others, but with the Elder Scrolls case it's just too much, the only part where Oblivion did differ from Morrowind was in the graphics and the game world that was a lot smaller and not as detailed as the one in Morrowind. This of course means that if you haven't played the Elder Scrolls series before picking up either Fallout or Oblivion you probably won't find too much trouble with them since you cannot compare them to each other.

Another note though, since you thought of picking it up on the PS3 you will miss out on all the customer made content that's available on the PC so that's something that must be taken into consideration. I still found Oblivion as a fun game to try different mods on and sometimes building some of my own (like a house with all the items for the Vampire quest) and I think the customer content base for Fallout 3 is about as big as the one for Oblivion which is a big plus for the PC version.

</ranting subject="Bethesda">

[the_blunderbuss]

Originally Posted by Joxe

Just the animations is one of the things that has me set back on the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3, if you've played Morrowind you will notice it's still the same floaty jumps, stiff animations and lack of strafing animations.
(...)
Before the release of Fallout 3 I remember Bethesda saying that they would address the third-person problems and make the game playable from the third-person perspective. Their solution? Add a cross-hair, nothing else. This is only a minor detail but it matters some at least and shows some laziness for not really caring for the third-person perspective even when it's a feature in the game.
(...)
Another note though, since you thought of picking it up on the PS3 you will miss out on all the customer made content that's available on the PC so that's something that must be taken into consideration. I still found Oblivion as a fun game to try different mods on and sometimes building some of my own (like a house with all the items for the Vampire quest) and I think the customer content base for Fallout 3 is about as big as the one for Oblivion which is a big plus for the PC version.
</ranting subject="Bethesda">

Dear lord yes! I don't know what is going on with the people at Bethesda but the animations are killing the experience for me (yes it's that bad, and yes it's that important for me) Again, I could also half understand that on Morrowind (did the game actually had an official 3rd perspective mod? or you had to tweak it? I remember a vanity mode so you could look at your char and that's it...), but from Oblivion onwards it became clear that either they don't care or they have some very un-talented animators in their staff. Of course that's not going to be a dealbreaker per se if a game is particularly good.

I bought a PS3 so I wouldn't have to bother with most PC gaming (I've been a PC gamer myself for quite a bit.) On Oblivion there were several mods that really changed the nature of the game and made it very different (and, in my opinion better... sometimes.) I do know I'm missing that out on the PS3, however it's sooooo much comfortable to game on a console.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by the_blunderbuss

From my 15 minutes with the game I think I remember a certain fight in a bar on the closest town that went... weird. Some random people tried to stop me from killing the guy that wanted to blow up the town, some people wanted to make small talk as I was blowing people up...

Yeah... good times (O_o !?)

Yeah, that's Megaton, one of the first places you come across. The AI is a little screwy in this game as it can't keep up with the complexity of choice avaliable in the story. Hence people will act ungrateful when you save their lives and attack you when you are doing something good for them. Similarly murdering their wife right in front of them will sometimes provoke little to no future response!

[MarioVsDK]

Fallout 3 all the way. So much to do and see. Definetly my Game of The Year of 2008.

[the_blunderbuss]

@ MarioVsDK

Vote taken from MarioVsDk

Fallout "I can't think of a silly pun" 3... 6 pts
GTA "how come I fail at life so much" IV... 1 pts

I do wonder why didn't I think of putting up a poll. Well, it's much more fun to count votes for myself anyways. Checked with seller about prices for games and I got GTA pricier than Fallout 3 (for like 7 bucks, so no biggie), then again I want to make sure he has the GotY version of Fallout 3.

Thanks everyone so far, any other ideas are appreciated.

ALSO! (this is pretty important)

I've read some things about several issues with the PS3 version of Fallout. As I understand they were mostly fixed by now, but I wonder if the graphical poorness has remained (which is frankly a surprise coming from a machine like the PS3.)