Fallout 3: Final Thoughts

Well finishing FO3 and the following DLC, it's time for some final thoughts, well there is another DLC on it's way, that I'm sure of.

"Fallout 3 is one confused game."

And it really is. Fo3 honestly can't make up it's mind what genre it wants to be. Now I know Todd Howard says it's an RPG, but honestly, it's not that simple. Calling Fo3 an RPG is a bit of a stretch I'd say, as it has elements of First Person Shooters (a good 95% of the game), minimal RPG elements, and survival horror. The big problem however is FO3 simply can't make up it's mind on what genre it wants to be. The game is also riddled with faux horror elements such as dark tunnels and feral ghouls jumping out at you. The game also has very very minor RPG elements such as equipping weapons and armor, increasing your skills, and leveling up. Gone are the staple Fallout elements such as tough choices and actual consequences for your actions and replaced with SuP3R AW3SOME ASPODING HEADZ!!!11111.

"Bethesda is a good company to care on the series."

That's up for debate, and personally I feel Bethsoft did some things right such as the art direction, and 50's vibe, even if it's over done. On the opposite end of the spectrum however, Bethsoft really manged to royally screw over classic organizations like the Brotherhood of Steel and one most beloved Fallout characters, Harold the ghoul. The Brotherhood are a group Knights with roots in the US military and government. They also have laser weapons, and highly advanced armor called "Power Armor". The BOS are in numerous areas in the wasteland with the original being located in California. The Midwestern BOS is located near Chicago and last but not least, the eastern BOS located neat Washington D.C. They are the same organization, however they have several things that make them unique. The deadly Super Mutants also make return in FO, but are much more tame this time around, capable of being killed with a few pistol shots at level 2, yes, level 2.

"No originality and plot holes the size of the glow."

The thing that bothers me about Fallout 3, is it's slew if rehashed designs and plot holes. The story is more or less a slapped together pile of rehashed elements from FO and FO2. You are looking for your father and involes water (FO) and you need a G.E.C.K to cleanse said water and save the wastleland (FO2). The only differences are that in FO2 you needed the G.E.C.K to save your village. A noble band of holy Knights are also in the D.C area, sworn to protect the helpless people of the wasteland....opps, I mean the Brotherhood of Steel. Seriously, what the hell happened to the Brotherhood when they made it to the D.C area? Why did Bethsoft turn them into a bunch of goody goody Knight stereotypes? Just because they have ranks like Knight and Paladin doesn't mean they are those kind of Knights. I can remember the first time I heard them start shouting "To arms, to arms!" or "Hail Sir Knight", I honestly busted out laughing. The Super Mutants from Fo, FO2, and FOT also make an appearance as cannon fodder, orc like morons that die in 3-4 shots. In Fo, FO2, and FOT the Super Mutants where an enemy you didn't take lightly, however in FO3, you can kill Super Mutants with the greatest of ease, even the SM Behemoth. The Enclave from FO2 also makes a return, however they left all their depth and awesomeness back on the west coast. In FO3, the Enclave is just a super evil group to oppose the white knights of the wasteland, the Brotherhood. When Fo3 was announced, it was said that the Enclave was just the left over remnants from the west coast, however with the new ending in broken Steel, that's not the case, as it seems to point to there being several other locations where the Enclave has bases. Also it's never explained how the Brotherhood actually gets to the D.C area, or why they are having such trouble beating the Super Mutants. Oh well, so long as we get asploding heads right?

You might have noticed I mention Fallout: Tactics a good bit and for good reason. Unlike FO3, one of the things FOT was able to do is create it's own version of the Brotherhood and chapter in the FO universe without ripping off nearly everything from the first two, and it had better writing.

Well until next time, laters.

Pete Hines Interview at OXM.

Well it seems out good buddy Pete "I didn't know what Fallout was until we picked it up" Hines sat down Offical Xbox Magazine for an interview. As usual I will offer my though on what he said.

"Yes, that's the third of the three things. Whether it's the absolute last one remains to be seen. Because it's been hugely successful. Operation Anchorage vastly exceeded our expectation. It was like "holy shit, we did how many?" And the Pitt was really successful, after a bit of a false start."

Why is the success of the 3 DLC's a surprise? I knew from the time they where announced the brain dead Bethboys where gonna eat them up.

"But Broken Steel is the one that. when we first announced all three, this is the one that everyone has been bugging us the most about, because it removes the ending and changes the level cap and lets you play more in that world. I think it's going to be hugely, hugely popular."

Of course it's gonna be popular Pete. The BFF's (Bethesda Fan Fags) will love it, as they get to see more asploding heads and ZOMG AW3SOM3!11!! GOREZ!!!!. Also, the new ending is awful and it's pretty much lifted straight from Van Buran, because Bethsoft really can't come up with their own ideas at all.

"Our intention is that Fallout is ours, we went to great lengths to acquire it. It wasn't just something we were working on but something we owned. We want to make sure whatever it is we do is appropriate and we have a lot of love for it and respect for it."

Love and respect for it? Yes, re-skinning Oblivion and adding guns shows so much love and respect.

"Look, we ran a gauntlet for four and a half years doing this - there was a lot of folks weren't really sure if we were the right guys to have this. Were we going to fuck it up and destroy what was beautiful? But for the most part I think we've proven that we can be stewards for this thing and take care of it."

Because you did fuck it up and you HAVEN'T proven you are able to take care of it. What FO3 did prove is that Bethsoft has little creative ideas as FO3 was pretty much a mix and match of ideas and "cool shit" from FO1, FO2, FoT, Van Buran, and yes even that "non canon" Brotherhood of Steel. At least they are trying to get a competent studio to make New Vegas and I hope Obsidian can work some magic with the Gamebryo engine.

I was going to post on the epic ass kicking that No Mutants Allowed gave Bethboy Makemeasammich.

Nowgamer gives Bethesda a reach around.

So the folks over Nowgamer interviewed Todd Howard and Emil Pagliarulo, however it was more like a hand job in interview form. On with the show.

"Fallout’s devoted fans knew as much, and the moment Bethesda purchased the IP from Black Isle Studios they felt the same thing was happening to them. Fallout 3 would be just another bastard offspring of a once proud institution."

Yep, because it is. FO3 fails as an RPG and fails as a Fallout game.

"However, impartial observers had reached a different conclusion: Fallout 3 was in the care of Bethesda Softworks, a master of the art of role-play, and failure was not an option."

Bethesda is NOT a master of RPG's. I'm not sure why people continue to say this, as Bethesda's games are barely RPG's to being with. Also nice job at being impartial by sticking your head up Bethsofts pooper. Unlike Nowgamer I was impartial to FO3 being made by Bethsoft, and critized No Mutants Allowed for jumping the gun. The thing is however, No Mutants Allowed was right about Bethsoft turning it into a RPG light FPS with pause.

"We felt obligated by the series, not by the fans in particular, as we’re big fans ourselves."

Having Fallout 1 playing on a loop in the background on your PC doesn't count. I seriously question statements like this when all Todd talks about is how super violent the first two games where in every god damn interview I've read.

"Bethesda allowed itself no quarter, and shunned any received ideas and tried-and-true solutions."

This is false as FO3 is simply Oblivion with guns. The core game play mechanics are pretty much the same thing as in Oblivion right down to many of the animations being the same.

"A particularly lazy criticism of Fallout 3 is that it’s just ‘Oblivion with guns."

No, not lazy, just true. Bethesda has even said that Oblivion with guns is the simplest and most accurate way to describe Fallout 3.

"The Capital Wasteland is the frontier of the war to rebuild the country, but that can only be earned through blood and toil, and the outcome is far from certain."

Ummm....what? The battles between the NCR and Enclave out west honestly would have had a greater effect on the outcome of what the US would look like. The nonsense that happend in DC was cheap rehash between the super eviiiiiiil Enclave and the noble and honorable white knights of the Brotherhood of Steel.

"The choice to save or destroy Megaton was definitely a deliberate attempt to show the world we were serious about taking on the Fallout franchise,” says Pagliarulo, “because a big part of that is giving the player some really tough choices to make. Megaton is definitely one of the first big decisions you have to make. It’s one of the biggest in the entire game, really. The Fallout world is not pretty, and that’s something we fully embraced. It’s epitomised in the Megaton quest.”

No, what Megaton really showed was that Bethesda has no fucking clue what Fallout is about or moral ambiguity. It was also an excuse to see a "OMG CH3CK OUT DAT 3XPLOSION!!111!!1!1!".

"By allowing the player multiple ways of completing quests,” explains Pagliarulo, “which, in many cases, included killing the quest giver in the middle of the task, we were creating more permutations than players were really even aware of..."

No, not really. A good 95% of the quests only have two outcomes, a good or evil choice.

"We always wanted to make another Fallout game, so we jumped at the chance. But while I do still enjoy playing the game – the basic mechanics are really fun – the key ingredient, to explore and be surprised, is lost on me at this point.”

Yet another perfect example of how Todd really doesn't know jack squat about Fallout. Fallout was never about exploring or surprises, it was about playing with morality and choices and consequences.

On another note, Gamepro named Todd Howard the 18th most influencial in gaming today...honesty what bull crap is that? Todd Howard is in no way influencial.

Deadliest Warrior: A deeper look.

It seems the controversy has sprung up in the Ninja v.s Spartan episode as well, and rightfully so as I noticed many inaccuracies. I'm no expert on these things but any sane person can tell that most if not all the info in the show is a load of crap. For views on the Ninja's portrayal in the show, I would like to point you to the youtube channel Scottbaioisdead, the guy knows his stuff.

Ninja v.s Spartan Controversies:

Several valid points have been brought up against the very Hollywood portrayal of the both warriors. Did you know that the so called Ninja "experts" are huge fakes? Lou Klein is apparently a voice actor, and an actor is many B movies. His only Ninja related experience is playing a Ninja is a video game and some Japanese guy in an awful movie. The other guy, Michael Lehr (Jung-Woo Kim) is a martial artist, just not Ninjutsu. That aside, the most glaring thing was the straight bladed Ninjato, and while I think it's not a big deal for stuff like say video games, movies and what not, it very inaccurate, even though I think it's a pretty neat idea of the straight bladed Ninjato is all fine and well for mindless fun. They also used Shuriken, which is fine but they said a hit to the chest could kill, which honestly is bull as both Ninja and Samurai wore armor. I can't really comment on the blowgun, and Black Egg (which is actually Metsubushi mad with peppers and not glass). I think the biggest moment of stupidity was they said Ninja didn't wear armor, which is total bull crap, as Ninja in fact did wear armor of various types. It wasn't uncommon for Ninja to wear light weight Chain Maille, or Lamellar Armor.

Now it wasn't just the Ninja being horribly inaccurate, the Spartan also suffered as well. First and for most, Spartan's DID NOT fight like in that horrid movie 300, seriously I about vomited when I saw the spartan leap threw the air and try a downward thrust like is 300. Team tactics where a huge part of Spartan fighting. Not to say they where horrid at 1-on-1 fighting, but they almost always fought as a team. The Xiphos the Spartan's used was not made of Steel, I mean unless the Spartan's also had time machines. The one Spartan's used was made of Bronze. The the Dory or Doru (spear) was portrayed fairly well. The Javelin on the other hand, I not even sure the Spartan's used it much or if at all, I'm not 100% sure. The shield is called the Hoplon, and was used in as a weapon and when marching forward. One thing not even mentioned is that the Spartan's where skilled in Pankration, which is a martial art consisting of boxing and wrestling. Being that my ancestors are from Sparta, I have to say I took offense.

Viking v.s Samurai Controversies:

This episode also caused a good bit of controversy, namely for it awful stereotyping of both the Viking and Samurai, and not to mention the "Samurai Decedent" was Tetsuro Shigematsu is a Canadian radio personality and comedian. Also Brent Chan is Chinese, and seems to be a Wushu stuntman. Of course the episode played up on many myths about Samurai and Viking, such as that Viking where raving Barbarians and that Samurai where unstoppable. For the Samurai they test the Katana which I have to admit I smiled when it was knocked off it's high horse by being stopped dead in it's track by maille armor. The Naginata was also tested, however Brent Chan was using it very much like the Guan Dao, which the Naginata is based off. The Yumi was portrayed fine in my book. The special weapon for the Samurai didn't make sense to me personally as the Kanabo seems like a very very specialized weapon personally.

Now the Viking was also stereotyped, however in a very negative light as a raving unclean mad man, and unskilled. This is a huge misconception as cleanliness was very important to Vikings as they had many items to keep themselves clean even soap. The Vikings short ranged weapon was the Viking Axe, and I'm not sure why. Medium range weapons was the Viking Long Sword and still I don't know why as the Viking Sword was still a close range weapon. For long range the Viking was given a spear which doesn't make any sense as Vikings where also skilled archers as well. While the spear could be thrown, and most certainly not two at a time, it was also used with the shield. Last but not least the Vikings special weapon was...a shield and I have to ask, why? A better choice would be the Atgeir also know as a maille piercer. Honestly this episode just furthered the myth that western martial arts and fighting is holly inferior to eastern martial arts. They also failed to mention Vikings also used Lamellar Armor, and they failed to mention the Housecarl's, who where highly trained elite guards.

Apache v.s Gladiator:

I won't go into the Apache much, but focus on the Gladiator, which really was just a mix and match Gladiator at that. For short range the Gladiator was given the Cestus, an ancient hand to hand weapon at was also used in Pankration. It was also given the Roman Scissor, which was forearm length tube with a semicircular blade attached that inflicted nasty wounds. Now for the mix and match. For medium range it was given a Net and Trident, which was the weapon of the Retiarius Gladiator. Long range the Gladiator was given a sling, and a far as I know ranged combat was never used in Gladiator matches. Special weapon was the Sica, a sword that was used by the Tharcian Gladiators.

Pirate v.s Knight:

Not even gonna bother. It was a highly unfair match to being with. Pirate had Grenades (Grenado), flintlock pistols, and blunderbuss which is pretty much a shotgun.

I know the show isn't suppose to be anything scientific or anything, but a little research would be nice. Match ups that make sense would be nice as well. How about Knight v.s Viking or maybe Knight v.s Mamluk (the Middle Eastern equivalent of the Knight). Samurai v.s Sohei or Yamabushi would be interesting and it would be interesting to see how the Samurai would deal with the Ono (Axe) and Masakari (A Japanese Battle Axe).