I know the title is misleading, and this topic might be in the wrong place, but I'm new to this, sorry.

I got Fallout 4 for Christmas, but I haven't played any other fallout games before. Is it fine to start with 4, or should I buy the others?


Also, I'm curious about... Intelligence L03 on the Vault-Tec perk poster. (Can't post links)

I don't see any reason why you couldn't start with 4.

But if you want to play 3 as well I noticed it was on sale via Steam yesterday for $3.00. Not sure how long the sale is going to last.

The games don't share a single storyline between them, so you'll only be missing extraneous background information if you start with 4. It's no big deal, and the only game that's even somewhat relevant to 4 is 3 - the first two and New Vegas take place on the other side of the continent.

Also, the perk at 3 Intelligence is Gun Nut. Lets you craft better attachments to your guns.

No, it's not required to play any of the others in order to enjoy or understand the game. I do however, recommend playing through them all at some point, it'll help give you a better understanding of the series as a whole. Both in what's been gained and lost.

Note: The orginal (Black Isle) Fallouts, are not for everyone, some people love them and cannot stand the newer games, and others cannot get pest the graphics, gameplay and/or perspective of the originals. Still though, I would recommend trying them out.

Any Bethesda game can be jumped into at any point in the series. As BF has said it will be a good idea to still go back and play them at some later point. Brotherhood of Steel certainly makes more sense if you know the background to the faction when you meet the leaders.

Personally I would prefer to play the other games first though. Just because I am a junkie of understanding the awesome lore and watching the games evolve. The game play changes over time as well and it can be grating to go back to the clunky controls. Skyrim has a turn sensitivity that is beyond belief. Fallout 4 is lovely and smooth for example.

As has been said, you can play FO4 or any of the games at any time because each is pretty much independent. FO3 and 4 are on the East Coast and the first two and FONV are on the West Coast so there's also that separating them.

If you'd like to have a basic understanding of the lore, you don't need to spend the time (or money) on the games. You can get a very good introduction to the alternate future environment and circumstances with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvqm_pPD-aQ. You can watch more videos in the series for info on various specific elements of the lore, but the first video is a truly great introduction to the basic premise of the world of Fallout.

yeah its the best one by a longshot, NV svcks cause its a boring area with very little to do on the map, all desert, a few shacks, some tents and very little city type area or anything significant to explore, FO3 is a great game, but i would play it after you've played FO4, the first 2 you're not gonna like unless you're into 90s isometric games, nothing even remotely similar to fallout 3 and 4.

Each Fallout game is unique and has its own interesting aspects. You don't have to play the previous ones to enjoy Fallout 4. And yes, the Shoddycast series about the Fallout Lore is amazing! However, if you would like to find out some of the backstory yourself, I would highly suggest to get the other Fallout games as well.

Fallout 1 and 2 take you way back to the beginning of a lot of the Factions. Those are from around 1997 and are top down, isometric view games. Sure, not everyone's cup of tea, but they have an immense story value. Really well written dialogue and characters.

Fallout 3 takes place in/around Washington DC and the area is still heavily irradiated and damaged. There are some really interesting locations that you can explore.

Fallout New Vegas takes place in the Mojave around New Vegas, Nevada. You can actually visit the Hoover Dam. The story is brilliant, you have a lot of choices to make and not all will be easy. It has the best DLCs, so far, in the Fallout franchise (at least for me). It's one of my top 5 all time favorite games, because not only do you have a lot of freedom here, but you really have to think about your actions, because they do matter!

I started with this one because I'd enjoyed Skyrim so much. Other than some backstory references in the BoS quest line, I don't think I'm missing anything.

What platform are you on Osura?

Just watch out, if you're on a PC Windows 10 doesn't play nice with FO3 and FONV.
You may be lucky but my friends FO3 has been rendered unplayable and I had all sorts of issues with FONV, got through it in the end but it was a struggle.
If on a console fill your boots, they're both good games and pretty much standalone.

As others have stated, you do not need to play the previous Fallout games.

Personally, I like Fallout 3 more than Fallout 4 because it is more of a RPG game rather than a FPS game. Fallout 4 does have more polish because it uses a newer game engine with better looking graphics and a better combat system, but from a game mechanic perspective as well as dialog system, Fallout 3 is much better than Fallout 4.

I finished replaying Fallout 3 again a couple of days before Fallout 4 was released so I am not relying on a nostalgic memory of Fallout 3 played years ago. I didn't like Fallout: New Vegas as much as Fallout 3; I only played it once.

Fallout 3 is currently on sale at Steam. It's $2.50 for Fallout 3 and $6.80 for Fallout 3 GOTY (which includes all the DLC).

http://store.steampowered.com/search/?snr=1_4_4__12&term=fallout+3

I preferred Fallout New Vegas over Fallout 3, which I only played through once, maybe twice (can't remember). It lacked some for me crucial FPS features FONV brought in making it fun to play - looking at you iron sights. I must have done FONV probably 25 times by now. The DLC's are what made FONV really shine though, and I never bothered with the FO3 DLC's. No connections between any of them other than shared lore and loose references, so not a requirement to play the previous ones. I never tried the first iso ones though, as I'm a 1st person only type of player.

I think Fallout 2 had the best dialog of all the games. Dark humor, really sarcastic remarks... yeah... good 'ol classic style RPG game.

I think it may be hard going back, after 4 :/

the weird combat, the looting screens and the chopped gameworld are all so terribly outdated in the older games, compared to Fallout 4

I would play the old games first ^^

None of the titles are related, there's no continuing storyline or characters, and even the ingame lore/story is ignored/changed in later titles. Fallout3 hasn't aged well, and while 1 & 2 were awesome for their day, they've also aged.

Just jump in at 4.

FO3 and NV are not that old and can still be enjoyed. But FO1 and 2 are from another era and today's gamers may not relate to them as well. I'm from that era myself and I can't get into them either. I rarely enjoy playing 15 to 20-year-old games, even if I enjoyed them when they first came out. It takes a really special game to remain enjoyable many years after.

Actually, Fallout 1 and 2 are related since in Fallout 2 you play as a descendant of the original Vault Dweller from Fallout 1. Fallout 2 took place 80 years after Fallout 1 so it is a continuation.

+1

Just jump in at Fallout 4. It's not like a book sequel where you'll have no clue what's going on if you don't read the previous books. Although there might be a reference to a person in an earlier game here and there, Fallout 4 is a self-contained story and you won't be missing anything significant by not playing the others first, and you won't risk burnout by having to play all these other games before getting to the one you want to play.

Fair point, but easter eggs at best. FO1 & 2 are only for the hardcoe oldschool gamers who can handle a very aged game at this point, and any link between FO3 and FO(anything else) is enough to get you to raise a smile, but that's it.

FO 3, NV, and 4 are stand-alone titles that happen to share the same setting. There's zero need, requirement, or even benefit to playing the older titles. The older you go, the less value there is.

Haven't quite played through the game yet, have you? I'm not saying any more, but you really need to play through and talk to people.

Nope, haven't completed the game yet.

I take it that Dr. Madison Li is in Fallout 4 from your comment.

+1

Bethesda excels at world-building. Fallout 3 is interesting to explore, but Fallout 4 I'd say is one of the richest and detailed world they've created. New Vegas was created by the people responsible for the original games using the same engine as Fallout 3 and while it has a blander world, the gameplay, choices and character building are more intimate and engaging. Since a lot of indoor areas you explore in past Bethesda games are cookie-cutter and very similar, it's easy to say that New Vegas is quality over quantity when it comes to what you do discover. There are cool moments in all the games. I would just say play them in order to experience what most people have. There's more fluidity in Fallout 4 and you'll miss it when you go back to Fallout 3/New Vegas unless you can overlook that, but then there will be stuff from games like New Vegas that you wish were in Fallout 4 as well.