I have never played a lick of any of the fallout games but my roommate talks constantly about them. It's piqued my interest and now I want to try one of the games.
My question to you very experienced folks is if I should just start with New Vegas since it's the newest game, or if i should just start with fallout 3.
Seems Fo3 has near unanimously good reviews but NV has somewhat mixed reviews.
please let me know what you think would be best

Start with Fallout 3.

It's best to play one game at a time.
And in that case it's best to start with Fallout 3.
That way you'll appreciate all the new features New Vegas brings.
And after Fallout New Vegas buy the old games to get a full sense of the franchise's lore.

Even if they are old games and are played out in isometric turn-based combat.
And if you don't like that kind of thing download a character editor and create a god-character if you're only interested in the story.

Yes start with Fallout 3.

GOTY if you can, it is relatively cheap now and it adds many more hours onto the game.

Really doesn't matter. They're both different games, built on different ideas. If you're on the PC, FO3 has a butt load more user content right now. NV is starting to pick up steam with a butt load of user content. Both are good games however.

Fo1/2 if you've never played them were part of the genre defining games of the last 20 years, the others were Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale series and the Baldurs Gate series.

Definately start with Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition!


Its a great game and now that it cheap even with all the DLC its a bargain. Since it has been out for a long time now most of the glitchs and bugs have been patched.
As for Fallout New Vegas well... Half the quests you cant even finish because of the amount of bugs/glitchs and constant game freezes etc. Right now its only worth a bad review.


But once your finished with FO3 and your turn to FO:NV, youl get to enjoy it just like FO3 where hopefully by then it has been patched, the DLC will be out and a lot cheaper.

*fixed.<_<

We all have exactly the same game so really, its everyone. Except on the PC.

Nope.
It's for some.
There's like one or two quests I can't complete because of a bug or because I completed a previous quest which interferred with that one.
Like, I couldn't give Hilbert that package from Crimson Caravan cause I completed the Vault 22 quest before it.
But half the quests?
Nope.
Not for everyone.

Some people experience extremely glitchy and buggy games.
Others don't.
Not to say the game doesn't have bugs, I experience bugs a lot but none of them are game-breaking.
A crash once every week maybe.

Fact is this (half finished) game is glitched/bugged/lagged so badly its not worth getting.




Back on topic... get FO3: GOTY!

It's a fact that it's not worth getting?

Again, fact is that the game is horribly buggy that it's to the point of almost unplayable for some.
The keyword being "some".
Fact is not that it's not worth getting.

Get it. (After you've played FO3 Game Of The Year Edition)
If it turns out to be a half-assed piece of crap game that is so buggy that even Fear Factor wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole then just return it and get your money back.

Absolutely this. Start with Fallout 3, I've no doubt that will keep you busy for many months/years. You won't be disappointed

I agree, the games play similarly enough, alot of the features in New Vegas are bonuses and improvements yes, but the meat and potatoes of the game is the same. Same engine, same graphics, same game play. FO3 is patched and has numerous DLC (buy GOTY edition as others have said!). New Vegas is very buggy at the moment and it's not uncommon to experience problems playing it normally.

I say FO3 because it's not only more stable. There is alot more free roaming, and if you haven't played the FO games before, you will probably like enemies scaling with your level.
And there is mods. Lots of mods!

Fixed.

Hell even in the state its in now, i would still suggest it to people.

My game has frozen 1 time ever. and i was only prohibited from completing one quest ever,

the only thing that ever bothers me is companions getting lost

I wouldn't bother with Fallout 3 ...go strait for New Vegas, it is much better game. If you really like it and wants more Fallout after that, than get yourself Fallout 1 and 2. If you then still don't have enough, you may try Fallout Tactics and Fallout 3.

Fallout 3 does not have any direct connections with any other Fallout games, you will not miss much if you will skip it. In New Vegas itself there is very little reference to F3 and lot of reference to Fallout 2.

I'd actually recommend reading up on the lore first, try playing Fallout or Fallout 2 if you can manage to get them to run correctly (old games are not friends with Windows 7), play Fallout 3, then go to New Vegas.

That's what I did, and I have yet to regret my choice on doing so.

Start with Fallout 3. (Game of the Year Edition optional, I'd say, as the DLC is mixed, and some of it introduced new bugs, and the original game is still plenty long without it.)

Fallout 3 is more of a self-contained story and system, assuming no prior experience with any Fallout games.New Vegas is good (bugs aside), but introduces a bunch of new features, and kind of assumes you already have some experience with the system and the earlier "canon" (which is part of why fans of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 seem to prefer it).

It really won't take very long to go through Fallout 1&2. I would recommend playing those first just to get a sense of the story. Fallout 3 is kind of the odd one in the series. It's a great game, but you'll have a better appreciation for where Bethesda has taken the ideas (or possibly not) if you play the older ones first. You can get the "fallout trilogy" pretty cheap on Steam, and it includes the 3 original PC Fallout games.. 1,2, and Tactics. I can't speak for Tactics, because I never played it.

Definitely play Fallout 3 before you play New Vegas, though.

IMO if you play Fallout: New Vegas first you will have a harder time getting into Fallout 3. My advice: Play Fallout 3 first like some other have said so you can appreciate what was changed in New Vegas. If you play New Vegas first you might get frustrated with some of the missing features in Fallout 3.

Play FO3 GOTY first, then play FO:NV, and, only for the sake of curiosity, play FO1 and 2

Start with the originals and skip Fallout 3 entirely.

Not polite really, but I would honestly say the same. Fallout NV is built upon FO3, and retains it's essential core, while being seemingly a more plausible continuance from FO2.

Though the original Fallout (1) should be the first one played because it sets the foundation for the series, and really cements the correct setting and atmosphere in the mind of the player. FO2 would be the next game to play as it is bigger, has UI improvements on FO1, and fully explains the Enclave. Fallout New Vegas seems an easy jump from FO2, and includes the basic gameplay of FO3.

Personally I would suggest optionally playing FO3 after FO:NV as the new player would be approaching it with prior experience in the setting (hopefully including FO1&2).

For me FO3's art (and landscaping) was it's highest draw, and where it's strengths lay. Its an incredible map that should not be missed, but I think the new FO3 player should have prior time spent in the Fallout game world. *** and FO3 with DLC plays indefinitely.

That's odd. In however many hundred+ hours I've played, I have encountered exactly ten bugs. Half of them because I used mods and/or did something dumb (ie spawn 9999999999999999 suits of power armor in inventory for lulz) and the other half being easily corrected myself with the developer console.

Protip: Just because you're having trouble doesn't mean everyone is.

Anyway, as to the topic, I'm divided. Gabriel made a good point. Getting FO3 first would let you appreciate the enhancements that NV brings to the table. Playing NV would pretty much ruin your FO3 experience for you. I know it has for me. I tried to go back to FO3 and I just can't stomach it.

On the other hand, NV is pretty much like what FO3 should've been to begin with. Intelligent, witty, connected, tons of weapons, tons of options. It also has a much firmer connection to the past games in the series. Whereas FO3 basically took some familiar faces and threw them together in a mishmash, NV has a much more plausible reason for all the various factions to be in the wasteland.

As Gizmo said, FO3's major strength is its map design and art style. Its roleplaying elements are subpar, and most of its mechanics aren't particularly well executed. If you do get FO3, you'll want to get the GOTY edition on the PC, as there are mods to fix a great many of the flaws of the game. Repair system svcks? Get a repair mod. Game too easy? Hallo thar increased increased spawns. FO3 without mods is pretty blah.

This advice also applies to New Vegas. The GECK for both games means that even if you have a problem with vanilla, you can probably download a fix for the issue. I was frustrated with how I couldn't craft specialized ammo at an ammo bench, so I downloaded a mod that let me do that. Indeed, there's even fixes for a lot of the bugs in the game, at least the ones that don't need an exe patch to fix.

although i consider new vegas the better game, i'd have to recommend starting with Fo:3. it recieved universal acclaim after all and is definitely the more accessible game, plus it has mountains of DLC and bug-wise it will be in much better shape than new vegas right now : )

Wow thanks for the responses guys. I was getting antsy after posting this (while drunk) last night and decided to just use my steam store credit on new vegas, decided to just play the newest one first.
Keep in mind while I play a lot of different types of games the only rpg's i ever pay attention to is the final fantasy series. So I load NV up last night and play for a few hours and am totally regretting purchasing the game, haven't experienced any bugs it's just the game felt so empty and desolate.
This morning I decide to give the game another wack, all of a sudden my roommate comes home from work and I reliaze I have just played this for like 5 hours in the blink of an eye.
Everything about this game is amazing, I can't believe how much content they put in with seemingly no cares whether you ever see it or not. I feel that this has begun a long time addiction to the Fallout series.