As the public's view of Bethesda's handling of the Fallout franchise takes another beating, I feel looking back at where it began is a pretty reasonable strategy - the game that brought the franchise back from the brink and turned it into an A-list series. Fallout 3 is probably one of the most influential games in history, and you can see its DNA all over the place in modern gaming. But the years have not been kind to it, which is why I feel the need to discuss it now.
Fallout 3 gets a lot of flak from classic fans for the reuse of plot elements and the genre shift, but honestly, both of those things were needed. Bethesda needed to re-establish what the series was about, and frankly, the isometric style of the older games was kind of a clunky mess. So of course there's Nuka-Cola, Vaults, the Enclave, the Brotherhood, and the Super Mutants, and the wasteland looks worse than Fallout 1's despite being a couple centuries after. All that stuff is fine.
The problem with 3, though, has more to do with its story, which, given that it's an RPG, is fairly important. The reused elements are reused in ways that just aren't very interesting, and often it comes across as recycling. And the overall narrative is railroaded as hell, and doesn't lead to much that's interesting. Ultimately, the final story decision comes down to simple good-or-bad karma, but the karma choices are never difficult and there's always a clear right answer for which not taking it is just being spiteful or obtuse. In my review of New Vegas, I mentioned its strong point was that it was undoubtedly about the Courier, but Fallout 3 is more about your dad (and to a lesser extent, Lyons).
Gameplay-wise, it's easy as hell. Max Agility, pick up a good-quality hunting rifle and a shotgun, stay in VATS as much as possible, and turn the game into a point-and-click adventure. The DLC offers tougher stuff, but the wasteland itself is free of danger. You have so many skill points that you don't so much pick a role to play as you do one to max out first. And being easy isn't necessarily bad, but 3's core gameplay just isn't very fun or interesting. It's serviceable, but it's enough that you'd want something else for it.
Where 3 shines, though, is its environmental storytelling. Though the Capitol Wasteland isn't as much of a living world as New Vegas, California, or even the Commonwealth, it's still full of stuff to do, and wandering around with your dog and tripping over Washington landmarks or sidequests is wonderfully atmospheric. It's a game about the small things, like the Tunnel Snakes or the Republic of Dave or finishing Moira's journal. And it works. This, more than anything, is why the game is still worth talking about and what everyone tried to copy, that sense of freedom.
Unfortunately, the title owes to its unfortunate place in the series. It's the awkward midpoint, caught in between New Vegas's depth and storytelling and 4's stronger gameplay and open world. And being so widely copied makes it an even harder thing to recommend, because when the open world is stripped away there's just not a whole lot to talk about. It's rather ironic that the game that was the intro to the series for so many people also feels so disposable.
If you want to experience it, I recommend A Tale of Two Wastelands, a mod for New Vegas that adds the Capitol Wasteland. It really is the way to play, and makes the game feel a bit less dated. If you're not into mods, it's pretty cheap nowadays, so not much harm in picking it up. Complaints aside, it's entirely playable, and there's still a lot to love.
The Middle Child
As the public's view of Bethesda's handling of the Fallout franchise takes another beating, I feel looking back at where it began is a pretty reasonable strategy - the game that brought the franchise back from the brink and turned it into an A-list series. Fallout 3 is probably one of the most influential games in history, and you can see its DNA all over the place in modern gaming. But the years have not been kind to it, which is why I feel the need to discuss it now.
Fallout 3 gets a lot of flak from classic fans for the reuse of plot elements and the genre shift, but honestly, both of those things were needed. Bethesda needed to re-establish what the series was about, and frankly, the isometric style of the older games was kind of a clunky mess. So of course there's Nuka-Cola, Vaults, the Enclave, the Brotherhood, and the Super Mutants, and the wasteland looks worse than Fallout 1's despite being a couple centuries after. All that stuff is fine.
The problem with 3, though, has more to do with its story, which, given that it's an RPG, is fairly important. The reused elements are reused in ways that just aren't very interesting, and often it comes across as recycling. And the overall narrative is railroaded as hell, and doesn't lead to much that's interesting. Ultimately, the final story decision comes down to simple good-or-bad karma, but the karma choices are never difficult and there's always a clear right answer for which not taking it is just being spiteful or obtuse. In my review of New Vegas, I mentioned its strong point was that it was undoubtedly about the Courier, but Fallout 3 is more about your dad (and to a lesser extent, Lyons).
Gameplay-wise, it's easy as hell. Max Agility, pick up a good-quality hunting rifle and a shotgun, stay in VATS as much as possible, and turn the game into a point-and-click adventure. The DLC offers tougher stuff, but the wasteland itself is free of danger. You have so many skill points that you don't so much pick a role to play as you do one to max out first. And being easy isn't necessarily bad, but 3's core gameplay just isn't very fun or interesting. It's serviceable, but it's enough that you'd want something else for it.
Where 3 shines, though, is its environmental storytelling. Though the Capitol Wasteland isn't as much of a living world as New Vegas, California, or even the Commonwealth, it's still full of stuff to do, and wandering around with your dog and tripping over Washington landmarks or sidequests is wonderfully atmospheric. It's a game about the small things, like the Tunnel Snakes or the Republic of Dave or finishing Moira's journal. And it works. This, more than anything, is why the game is still worth talking about and what everyone tried to copy, that sense of freedom.
Unfortunately, the title owes to its unfortunate place in the series. It's the awkward midpoint, caught in between New Vegas's depth and storytelling and 4's stronger gameplay and open world. And being so widely copied makes it an even harder thing to recommend, because when the open world is stripped away there's just not a whole lot to talk about. It's rather ironic that the game that was the intro to the series for so many people also feels so disposable.
If you want to experience it, I recommend A Tale of Two Wastelands, a mod for New Vegas that adds the Capitol Wasteland. It really is the way to play, and makes the game feel a bit less dated. If you're not into mods, it's pretty cheap nowadays, so not much harm in picking it up. Complaints aside, it's entirely playable, and there's still a lot to love.