» Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:13 pm FALLOUT 3-
My introduction to the Fallout series came about when I, very eagerly I might add, picked up Fallout 3 on the first day of release. I watched the opening cut scene, nearly had an orgism as i listened to Ron Perlman narrate the back-story and then created a character through what was a very entertaining tutorial area. My character didn't have much role-play in mind, even though i put hundreds of hours in Oblivion and Morrowind and understood the importance, and was sort of generic in terms of back-story and my character concept. Over the course of the game I was allowed to decide on certain skills and my character ended up being a good-guy archetype, with tag skills of Big Guns, Science and Speech. He completed all of the DLC, the MQ,explored for about 100hours and then I began to create different archetypes. These characters were based on some critical game points like what perks i would take, which skills I would tag, quests I would complete, equipment I would use, companions, what i wanted to accomplish with these characters, all underlined by a role-play I wanted to try out. I used my imagination to do what the game could not(ie. my raider type character may not have been given direct dialogue choices or quest objectives to show his remorse or questioning of if his enslaving was right or wrong, but as a player I could feel the choice between its either me or them come into play) and ended up with about 350hours played in unmodded FO:3.
However what truly dragged me into the game was the setting, sure dialogue was lacking and some of the story lines were a bit cliche or stupid, but the image of a burned out capital, harsh wasteland, and the post-apocalyptic world were enthralling. The notes and computer diaries left behind from pre-war people hinted at an age of fear, but also of the important things in life which had been forgotten. The music and locations keyed into this emotional setting of a bygone time when Mankind "thrived". Mixed in with the dreariness was some humor, easter eggs and inside jokes that provided comic relief in such a harsh setting. What i really loved was how much emphasis was placed on detailing prewar life, juxtapose to the current situation. I was lost in the stories of the past while reading a terminal i had hacked, or holotape i had picked up and soon to be overcome by a swarm of ghouls or raiders. I fell in love with the whole concept of the 1950's/retro futurism theme of the game and all of the games little environmental nuances struck a chord with me.Sure the BoS vs Enclave story was black and white in the morality department, but theirs enough gray in the world where it felt good knowing I was helping out the wasteland's inhabitants. Basically I loved Fallout 3, even with some flaws, but this doesn't mean I was not thrilled to see the arrival of New Vegas.
FALLOUT:NEW VEGAS
Enter New Vegas. I still got the same thrill from seeing the opening cut scene, going slowly through character set up to try and follow a more definite path, and opening up Doc Wilsons doors to the Mojave Wasteland. Now i played Red Dead Redemption and had gotten my fill of the whole last frontier thing that the games story was trying to express and was sort of disheartened to hear the twangy sound of old country music, the cowboy hats, the western accents and the saloons. But i found that the post-apocalyptic west was a bit more interesting than the 1890's west. After some exploration, meeting the new factions, and overcoming lots of death at the hands of some crazy new critters I found my way to New Vegas. I loved the way Freeside was a area that was sort of a view on how a town would look if it was controlled by gangs and the sleaze of the earth, with loads of booze,drugs and violence, but what was missing for me was the effect it took on people. The drug addicts did little more than cough on me, the strippers could care less about their place in the world and even the church goers were impervious to the corruption occuring around them. New Vegas was similar, sure it had the controlling hand of Mr.House and the 3 families, but again the casinos had little tension in them, with the exception of the Ultra-Luxe which had that flair I was looking for. Now dont get me wrong,gameplay aspects aside The Strip had everything I was looking for, lots of glamour in contrast to the bleakness of the wasteland, lots of money, and lots of people getting away from their troubles outside the walls. What seems to be missing is that sense of what has been lost with the dropping of the bombs, and how unforgiving the world is if you dont have the right connections or the money. New Vegas also seems to be missing some of that bleak post-apocalyptic feel. I do love how their are much more advlt themes at play and not as much inuendo. Yet I dont see how the world as effected its inhabitants the way i did in Fallout 3. Now before you start saying im biased look at my conclusion.
PLAYER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
The MQ also has some more interesting ideas to it as well, with more choice and more possibility to role-play and create characters designed to accomplish the tasks surrounding the MQ. Their is a lot of gray area between right and wrong which isnt so bad, but also missing is that option of being the absolute good guy hero. I love having a lot more choice in my character creation, as to how they will accomplish their goals, what people they will allign themselves with to fulfill these goals, how they will act towards those who dont agree or do agree with what they want to accomplish and also the roleplay they will follow as they continue through the game. Ie. I can now create a "raider" type character who also wants to eradicate the Mojave of the big faction presence or who wants to allign himself with the power players of NV.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion I loved Fallout 3's contrast, between good and evil,between right and wrong, between pre war and post war and between the lucky and the unlucky inhabitants and I even loved it for its cliche moments and potential heart wrenching moments( Daddy), although this is missing in NV I am not too biased to see that the worlds are meant to be different, NV is based around what the world is now destined to become, its setting is meant to show not the direct impact of the apocalypse, but the indirect battle for power that results from it. NV's purpose it to show how this power is fought for, how people live their lives and how money,relationships, and power come into play in a world without order. FO:3 was meant to show you the harshness of the apocalypse and how the people arent given the freedom to live their lives and they are too busy fighting for them. Though they have different settings,themes and narratives both show a different aspect of the Fallout universe.
