Obviously. Just sayin' that speculation about something that's not yet released is ok. I mean, it's why we're all here, right?

For the most part. I'm more in it for the disagreements, which is as we all know the better part of discourse.

Pfft. Wrong.

Personally, I think the idea of someone else bringing a fresh perspective to a work is always a good idea. In this case, we get to see what someone else would have done with the same setup as Fallout 3, but in a different locale. That it's Obsidian makes this particularly more relevant, but I think any developer would have had something interesting to the bring to the table; and Bethesda then gets the benefit of these lessons when/if it comes time for them to make Fallout 4.

I don't really want to go into which team, between Bethesda and Obsidian, is "better." Like all game companies, I'm sure each have their own particular strengths and weaknesses and specialties. Obsidian, however, is undeniably closer to the "source" of Fallout - what makes the setting tick, what it's all about, etc. So I think the benefits that would apply there should be fairly self-evident. (And of course, we're going to have to wait and see. I don't want to place Obsidian on such a high pedestal they can't possibly live up to it.)

But I also don't think anyone who loved Fallout 3 but couldn't stand the previous games has anything to worry about here, either. It's essentially "Fallout 3: New Vegas." There aren't going to be any major revisions of how the game works, and I'd imagine that if you're familiar with Fallout 3 then you should be able to jump right into New Vegas without re-learning everything. What Obsidian would have done had they been given absolutely free reign to make their own new Fallout game from scratch is something that's only going to be pure conjecture, and I don't think necessarily appropriate to worry about.

You prove me correct.

Better dialogue, quests, choices, NPCs, morality, combat system and rules, levelling, animations (according to previews, they've invested a lot of resources into this - unlike Bethesda), weapons/shooting mechanics (iron sights, anyone?), customisability (age and weapon mods) and possibly voice acting if Obsidian is given full control over that and Bethesda isn't involved (if I have to hear Wes Johnson one more [censored] time...)

A potential benefit is that no one will have any room at all to complain about anything because the original Fallout team is working on the game and if the fans don't like something, it's because they're hypocritical.

Better dialogue. Their writers are superior to Bethesda's. The best part of KotOR 2 was its writing.

Sooooo....you're saying that if I liked Morrowind but didn't like Oblivion I'm a hypocrite?

I guess I am, then.

Not necessarily. Things can still go [censored]-up if too much time and effort is spent pandering to the masses that define "gamers" these days.

That being said, Fallout 3 didn't turn out nearly as bad as I expected, and I'm more than a little optimistic for New Vegas.

People believe that Obsidian will bring the Fallout franchise back to its roots based solely on the fact that some of the people that worked on the original Fallouts are working at Obsidian



Yes.


Same, except I wasn't comparing them to FO3. I just couldn't stand them in general. The dialogue is not all everyone makes it out to be. Sure there were some gems but for the most part it was generic.



The major benefit is not that the originators are working on this particular game its the fact that they are listening to the fans and are giving them some of what they want. Using some of the more popular mods for FO3 is one example. Its things like that that will make more people happy with this game.

Yeah, I'm sure changing developers will please all of the fans that wanted an isometric, turn-based combat, text-based and stat-heavy RPG. Surely those that want that are hypocrits for complaining when the things they want are not implemented.

I do feel like fallout 3 was A LOT of copy and pasting on Bethesdas side

not so much the DC wasteland,

I think one of my least favorite areas of exploring was the metro system, because it was ALL THE SAME DAMN THING just different paths to another room that looks exactly the same as the last.

Nah, KOTOR 1 had ten times the better story...KOTOR 2's story played like a poorly devised Table Top campaign. At least KOTOR 1 didn't make me go solo in the end until I actually got to the final boss. KOTOR 2 just makes it seem like you wasted your time leveling up the other characters by making you hoof the final dungeon alone.

Yeah, but I didn't mind it much. You'd often find a lot of repeat tilesets in Fallout 1 and 2. Never really bothered me.



However, I agree with you here. The game could have done well with -less- entrances to the metro system.

That's not an accurate comparison. However, the "fans" have spent the last four years kvetching about evil old man Bethesda stealing their ball and now that's it's been given back, they can either play with it or shut up.

I think the metro areas could have been smaller, I would have liked it if they put more of the focus on exploring areas of the wasteland, but the Metro system was just such a huge part of exploring in the game.

I mostly agree with this...toward the end KotOR 2 it felt rushed (because it was). However, if you were to ask me to name some memorable characters/moments from KotOR 2 vs. Fallout 3, I'd be able to name a lot more from KotOR 2 off the top of my head, and I haven't played that game since it was released. Memorable characters/moments have not been one of Bethesda's strong suits in their past couple of major releases.


Eh...that's really not a fair characterization of the situation either. Keep in mind here that I'm not in the "let's make another iso turn-based game" camp, but what's really happened is that Obsidian has been given a chance to make a Fallout game...using Bethesda's framework...with Bethesda having project oversight...in a very limited amount of time. To say that NV is 100% Obsidian's game just wouldn't be anywhere close to being true.

Which would be true, except for the fact that it hasn't been "given back" entirely. Only some of the original team are working on New Vegas, plus it's a licensed project. In the end, it's still Bethesda's franchise now, and they call the shots, for better or worse.

However, I do enjoy Fallout 3, and I have to give credit to Bethesda for making a competent, engaging game when compared to the likes of Oblivion. Hopefully, they'll continue to improve.

You might say that mankind does a lot of "copy and pasting" when they come up with a design that works for something like a major urban transit system that's supposed to look exactly identical.

Talking heads and text screens tend to remove memorable situations...Sorry, Bethesda, but you really need to find a better way to tell a story in that regard...I know WE are supposed to be the most important and memorable character by the games standards...but come on...Put some theatrics into it.
Though Divayth Fyr had some of the best dialogue in Morrowind.

I am very interested to go lurk over at NMA after the release to see if their response. It is what they have been crying for for a looooooong time now

They're not happy. It's HILARIOUS to see people still complaining that it isn't "Fallout" because the Vegas Strip isn't a bombed-out collection of freestanding concrete walls and wrecked cars.

Yeah, but some of those people were responsible for a lot. The two that immediately come to mind are Josh Sawyer and Chris Avellone, whom both have had a lot of experience with these games. I myself thoroughly enjoyed KoTOR 2 very much because of its story--but then again that is just me. Even if it is only some people, experience counts more than members--especially when you have one of the more experienced writers.

And with good reason. Fallout 3 was good, but stunted in terms of dialogue, meaningful choices, and skills having major impacts on the character. These three things need more improvement to bring them to the standards set by Fallout 1 and 2. That being said, it was still leaps and bounds ahead of Oblivion.