Fallout 3 Is Garbage, And Here's Why

This is a review of Fallout 3, featuring retrospectives on the series as a whole, analysis of gameplay and storytelling mechanics, discussion of the games' initial critical reception, and the ability to absorb 1.5 hours of your human life right through the screen.
It is also feature-length. Literally the length of numerous good films you could watch instead. Oops!
Patreon: / hbomb
Twitter: / hbomberguy
Tumbly: / hbomberguy
Review Sources:
IGN'S FALLOUT 3 REVIEWS:
Video: • Fallout 3 Review
Article: uk.ign.com/arti...
GAMESPOT'S FALLOUT 3 REVIEWS:
Video: • Fallout 3 Video Review...
Article: www.gamespot.co...
Metacritic Page:
www.metacritic....
MrMattyPlays' 2014 Review:
• FALLOUT 3 - The 2014 R...
Additional Video Sources:
• Fallout 2 Marcus' char...
• Fallout 2: What happen...
• Mass Effect 1 Letting ...
• Resident Evil 4 (Wii) ...

[@etherraichu]

Know what bugged me? One day I was playing Fallout 3 and had just rescued dad. he complained about me leaving the vault. I suddenly realized... You can't tell him why you left. You can't tell him that the overseer went crazy after dad left. you can't tell him that the overseers goons killed Jonas. The game won't let you so much as hint at what happened. For some reason this bothers me a LOT.

[@rampantsarcasm2220]

it's the exact same deal as how you can't ask Father in Fallout 4 to justify anything he's doing, you can't ask him what the fuck is up with the FEV lab, why he thinks it's okay to kidnap people, turn them into mutants and then just neglectfully release them to torment other people, you can't ask him what the end goal of his program to make synthetics is, you can't ask him why they can't just create a new society underground. You can't ask the brotherhood why they hate ghouls, you can't ask them how exactly synthetics are more dangerous than a fucking ICBM, you can't ask them how exactly they know synthetics aren't sentient Fallout games made by bethesda lack any meat, any depth to them, what you see is what you get

[@asbestosfish_]

etherraichu Well, _fuck._

[@CassidyCope]

@@rampantsarcasm2220 Well, IIRC you can ask the BoS why they hate synths, but all you get is a ~½ hour rant about toasters.

[@elgatochurro]

bad writing, quick writing.

[@banginbadger75]

Fallout New Vegas in comparison shines in this area. Anytime I talked to someone and wanted to know more about them and ask questions it felt that the game always gave me more than enough options to learn what I was curious about.

[@alicesawyer1995]

My favorite moment in Fallout 3 was due to a bug, not even because of anything intentional. Lucy West died before i was able to get her quest, and because people around Megaton had been saying she was acting strange and i found her body fallen off one of the highest points in the town, I thought she'd committed suicide and i hadn't gotten to meeting her in time to help. I felt genuinely melancholy and wondered what would've happened otherwise. And then it turns out it was just a bug where sometimes NPCs can die ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[@RJ-wx3fh]

It just works

[@nackskott12]

That sounds like a really cool experience, only to have it ruined for you later.

[@Tenchigumi]

Says a lot when bugs can tell a more emotional story than the actual writing.

[@zonesproductions]

No, it wasn't a bug. She realised she was in Fallout 3.

[@Tenchigumi]

@@zonesproductions Truly a fate worse than death.

[@misterrioter3575]

"Dad i wiped a major settlement off the face of the earth, killing dozens of people at least" "Im not angry, Im just dissapointed"

[@bozotheclown1142]

"I murdered a lot of people under the pay of an unscrupulous burgeiouse asshole" "[Marge Simpson grunt]"

[@leon6777]

Annoying thing is that the judgement your dad passes is the most superficial thing ever.

[@absolutedumbass2366]

''not just any settlement either, one of the most thriving ones in the capital, *children are dead, dad, i killed them''* ''i'll be taking away your terminal privileges, for at least a week''

[@WASDLeftClick]

“Dad, I crushed the only optimistic woman I’ve met in the Wasteland’s dreams, nuked her town, became a cannibal, enslaved dozens of people, gave drugs to an addict in Rivet City, turned a sentient android over to the men trying to hunt him down, and stole everything that wasn’t bolted to the floor wherever I went.” Dad: *Minecraft Villager Noise*

[@somedude6833]

“Goddammit son, if you see a straggler, you shoot em! I can’t believe I’ve raised such an idiot”

[@nickmalachai2227]

1:21:00 Not only does Caesar start talking about Hegelian dialectic, he fundamentally misrepresents the concept, and if you bring Arcade with you to this meaning, Arcade will straight-up confirm it. The story is self-aware enough to represent an element of debate and philosophy that most people wouldn't know about beforehand, and then call the character out for using it incorrectly.

[@concept5631]

He's like a reddit atheist that thinks he knows everything.

[@i.hate.swedish.ISRAELUBERALLES]

Dude probably read a highschool philosophy book once he doesnt have much resources tbh

[@concept5631]

@@Dillon4599 If he truly cared about making the wasteland a better place, he would've done his research.

[@dizzydaisy909]

@@concept5631 how do you even research hegel here though? idk a lot about fallout but i'm not sure the phenomenology of spirit is high on the important to preserve list

[@concept5631]

@@dizzydaisy909 He could've established contact with the NCR or the Followers or the Brotherhood (whom they conflicted with) in a peaceful manner and asked for information on how to nation build. He had a growing empire at his disposal he had the resources to do this.

[@ReconRecall]

I do love that your Dad just goes. "My god you killed an entire major settlement and a key point of civilization in this region? That's not nice. Now let's work on this purifier together!"

[@elgatochurro]

Exactly, also cause the game lacks factions and any attempt to join the enclave, your dad is assured you're on his side... cause there's no other choice in the end... youre going to help him to the end and get this running cause thats the rigid story they wrote... realistically, he CANT be mad at you, he cant hate you, he cant despise or distrust you... because the writing team didnt bother to actually write any options for goign off the good boy path in the main quest... all this, and i actually hear people say fallout 3 is more replayable... less linear... more involved story and choices and freedom... than NV where you could join, befriend, and/or piss off almost any combination of factions in the game and complete the main quests with said consequences... you can go with Ceasar, you can go with the NCR, you could win hoover damn for Mr House, you can even just win the game for yourself and no one else... somehow thats less complex and less replayable than a game that forces you to have a stupid birthday party, grow up, chase your dad, go to a VR sleep chamber to free your dad, keep chasing your dad, and end the game fighting on the side of the good guys DESPITE YOU MAY OR MAYBE NOT BEING KNOWN FOR KILLING A WHOLE FULLY FUNCTIONING AND LAWFUL TOWN AND ALL ITS CITIZENS IN A POST APOCALYPSE FOR NO GOOD REASON...

[@Jammonstrald]

@@elgatochurro The reason people think 3 is "more replayable" is because those people are associating the idea of "replayable" with the endless amounts of aimless, pointless "exploration" and sidequests (i.e. bethesda) in 3. What you just described as being replayable in NV is the one main plot line. It doesn't matter that the way in which that plotline resolves can be different or change depending on your actions and choices; it's still the "same" thing. This is according to reviews I was just thumbing through (which brought me to this video). The main defense of 3 being better than NV is "in 3 I can go anywhere, whenever and however I want, but in NV if I try going anywhere, I die." That mindset isn't interested in moral dilemmas, or consequences, or character expression as replayable, it is concerned with "how much can I walk around and shoot stuff?"

[@elgatochurro]

@@Jammonstrald thats... really stupid... its an rpg... i kinda prefer some things to kick my ass... it lets me know all these levels arent for nothing...

[@ZandieBird]

@Angine Bathesda didn't even make the first two games. They were made by a different company. That's why the first two games are so much better content-wise than the other three.

[@drumset7916]

guy has his priorities straight

[@randomizer1666]

3 mods you will find for every Bethesda game after Morrowind: Remove the start sequence, unofficial bug patch, and make the game harder.

[@luxither7354]

4th mod: big titties on every woman with hyper realistic bounce physics. I don't know how they do it; I wouldn't think those making these mdos know what a breast looks like in person let alone how gravity would influence them.

[@thevilmasta2825]

@@luxither7354 i mean that is every game to be fair

[@dvno7581]

@@luxither7354 tbh i still think it's a miracle these games have such extensive mod libraries for such an obtuse game engine. people really do love these games.

[@TheRevDel]

@@dvno7581 Because the games start out as "do what you want, here's a big world to do it in", it makes the games have huge potential. Always unfulfilled. However modders tend to start by fixing the issues, then adding things they'd like, then on to grand projects. Helps that they've had beloved games made in their franchises meaning fans are invested from the announcement.

[@supergoodadvice853]

@@TheRevDel The games themselves are also incredibly easy to mod, compared with others.

[@SaysThisCat]

Skyrim makes most npcs beg for their lives when they drop below certain health level in combat. It’s really fucked up because if you stop trying to kill them they recover slowly and then resume the fight. You cannot opt to show mercy... and if you don’t kill certain people, those quest lines will not progress. Bethesda’s exploration of morality is pretty unimaginative and leaves a lot to be desired.

[@ArtyIF]

bethesda (fallout 3/4 tips): put down the weapon and the enemy might forgive you also bethesda: this

[@soulkuza9307]

Bandit: please don't kill me! Bandit (Five Seconds Later):I'm going to gut you like a fish!

[@maybeyourbaby6486]

It's the same in World of Warcraft. I hadn't really thought about it until one day I just realized that they added fleeing enemies but never, for a single moment, even considered that one might want to spare an enemy. Like the thought didn't even cross their mind. It's not that they aren't given a choice, it's that they just don't understand why you would want to make that choice. I would love it if, when an enemy flees, you have to either chase after them or shoot them in the back, or watch them go without getting any loot. That might actually be an intresting choice - do you want to end the fight early or do you want to chase the enemy down for the loot? Will you take the risk that they'll show up later or that the enemies will be more alert? But no, the developers couldn't even fathom the possibility that someone might not want to kill an enemy after they surrendered.

[@fallensurvivor21]

Yup in New Vegas when I entered Freeside and got jumped by 3 Freeside bums I killed 1 and the last 2 had low health. They stopped attacking me and all they do is roam around Freeside limping like the bums that they are lol

[@necronenjoyer368]

Also if your main master of a guild they dont give 2 shits

[@ellie4154]

When I first played Fallout 3, I was the same age as the main charac- I mean, the player’s character and Sarah Lyons telling you to sacrifice yourself at the end felt fine? Narratively sound? But when I played it aged 30, I was horrified that a soldier was telling a teenager to sacrifice themself for the greater good, just because their dad had done the same thing. I chose the dialogue option where the player asks Sarah to do it instead, and she got offended!? And I’m pretty sure she said something akin to “well aren’t you a gentleman!?” (No my character was a woman) and I just remember the dialogue being so rubbish. I then asked Fawkes as hbomb said, it didn’t work, so I quit without saving and haven’t played it since.

[@Elonyx.studios]

Really puts things in perspective doesn't it. The main character in FO3 is the age many young men are sent to war. You have these kids in places they arent familiar with, surrounded by locals who speak a language they dont understand, thier commanding officers then proceed to tell them to commit horrible acts of voilance for reasons that aren't explained to them, and they have no choice but to follow those orders cuz they don't have enoughlife experience or perspective to question any of it. Even if they're sent out to die crossing no mans land or walk through a mine field They have no choice but to trust the decisions of the older authority figures cuz its "the right thing to do"

[@ax23mgh8]

Fawkes only enters instead of you if you have the DLC, prime Bugthesda writing xD

[@Fustercluck0]

​@@ax23mgh8 pay us extra to have a half-decent ending :) aren't we a great company?

[@FosterC144]

Lyons didnt say "go in there teenager" she said "one of us has to go in there, should we draw straws?" Then *YOU* can tell her to go in there and she does go in, it is narratively much more sound than you make it out to be.

[@UnknownHumanOnline]

​@@FosterC144Yep these fake comments these days are everywhere..

[@Ian_sothejokeworks]

The first time I played Fallout 1, I named my character after myself. So, when I met Sheriff Killian, I had trouble trusting his motives...

[@clara_g00]

Didn't get it, can you explain?

[@nikorobinson9678]

@@clara_g00 his name is Ian, so when he met the sheriff he was worried as the name was “killian” or “kill Ian”

[@clara_g00]

@@nikorobinson9678 Thanks, got it now

[@dragonfell5078]

Lmao that's funny

[@izzy642]

this is too perfect

[@jabberw0k812]

I have to point out *the* most infuriating moment of the game. The Broken Steel DLC lets you send Fawkes into the chamber at the end. The only reasonable choice. But the game's ending *still* calls you a coward for not killing yourself.

[@skiplet87]

This just goes to show how the game wants you to be your dad's copycat and will even PUNISH for not doing so. Reminder, the game won TONS OF WRITING AWARDS FROM EVERYWHERE.

[@DILFDylF]

Are you implying that I SHOULDN'T call people cowards for not killing themselves? Pah.

[@Stiffmiester979]

Strategy is cowardice in disguise friend.

[@ChaiKarl]

@@Stiffmiester979 I disagree. Strategy is taking a logical outlook on your current situation to overcome it, where as cowardice is to panic and avoid it.

[@lowesmanager8193]

@@Stiffmiester979 Yeah, fuck flanking that machine gun over there, that would be cowardly. LETS JUST CHARGE IT!

[@tmbabe13]

dude ive never played a fallout game but that line where the master says "leave now. while you still have--" and then his voice breaks into the woman's voice as she says "hope" in the most like, desolate sad tone, gives me the fuckin shivers every time i watch this video. that's damn good writing and delivery

[@leifabianhidajat4872]

What line are you talking about? I don't recall ever hearing this

[@leifabianhidajat4872]

@Crinkle111 I think he's just saying that it has a really good delivery

[@pixeltiger4204]

@@leifabianhidajat4872 this is the line the master says after you show proof that the super mutants are sterile and right before it commits suicide.

[@tinyetoile5503]

@@leifabianhidajat4872 1:09:57

[@huckmart2017]

I agree. I come very close to crying when he says "there is no hope." His delivery is perfect. It really sounds as though he truly has lost all hope.

[@emmmmmmma92]

Morrowind is like "just head north" and it could mean "just outside of town" or "on the other side of the map" and I love it

[@okagron]

Morrowind actually encourages exploration, looking around and actually figuring things out while not leaving it vague. Since Oblivion all Bethesda has done is make players follow fucking arrows and that's not exploration: that's following the carrot.

[@LessDevoid]

I love all the directions you get for quests. One that has stuck with me is one of the Temple quests for your pilgrimage. The directions you get for one of the shrines is something like "The shrine is near the water and there's a farm nearby as well."

[@PrismTheKid]

Casual reminder that Bethesda denied Obsidian a bonus for their work on New Vegas because the Metacritic score was 1 point less than they were hoping for

[@cl1cka]

Also forced them to finish the game in 16 MONTHS or wouldnt be payed.....Hence the bugs. I guess Bethesda didnt want them to make something much better than their normal buggy shit.

[@pizzadesushi0000]

holy shit what

[@cl1cka]

@@pizzadesushi0000 Yep they were given deadline of sorry 18 months for New Vegas. Imagine how much better the game would be if they had a proper time :)

[@panpan1287]

Actually Bethesda was perfectly justified to do that They made an agreement and Obsidian didn't meet the requirements Sure it's scummy but on a buisness side of things it's 100% valid

[@MrGothicruler666]

@@panpan1287 Even if your argument didn't give shitty business practices a pass, there's evidence that Bethesda had people review bomb the game so they wouldn't have to pay the bonus.

[@fuucaran]

Can't belive Tommy Tallarico made the music for this flawless game. His mother must be very proud.

[@Sillypenguinfake]

Fr, he even was the first American they hired to make fallout.

[@colorfuk1688]

So cool to see him have 7 Fallout records!

[@ARB1452]

Jeremy Soule actually heavily borrowed from Tommy when doing the elder scrolls soundtrack. Tommy also did the sound effects by casting magic spells and recording it

[@foca7550]

He is Todd Howard's dad you know. He's very proud of his how many awards his semen has won.

[@Meddulo]

Are you sure it wasn’t Joey?

[@naejin]

Did you ever play the old fallouts with the lowest possible Intelligence with no speech skills? Your character has to go through the game grunting.

[@BlackPsionic]

And then there was one character in 2 who you could have an eloquent conversation with because he _too_ was a gormless cretin, and was also the most helpful character in the town. But only with low intelligence.

[@shawn_99]

and fallout 4 is like "oh you have -1 intelligence don't worry you'll still speak perfectly because we made a fucking voiced protagonist and we didn't bother making unique dialogue options"

[@Kamahl101]

why its the same in fallout nv!

[@shawn_99]

at least nv has the courtesy of letting you imagine it instead of giving you a voiced protagonist

[@etherraichu]

Oh, that's great! Can I have the chip, please? No, not that. I want the com-pu-ter chip. No. The chip. Just-give-me-the-chip! Thank you. Now, go to the library and rest for a while, ok? Yes, you can touch things.

[@Faith-sl1re]

One thing i love about Fallout 1 is when i came back from vault 15, i got some grenades. Going to junktown i sold the grenades to Killian so i could buy some more 10mm JHP rounds. As the assassin entered and combat started, Killian chucked those same grenades, nearly killing me while blowing apart the assassin. I was actually curious if that's just something he does as it's more or less my first time with the game so loaded a save and i didn't sell him the stuff before the assassin arrived and he just used his normal gun I never knew NPCs will use stuff in their inventory in such a dynamic way. I know it's small and in the grand scheme of things probably not that impactful apart from companions but the fact that is a real thing really adds to the game. Also the man gave me a double barrel and 100 12g shells, how could i not love him

[@danielgilbert8338]

Another neat fallout 1 fact, since you're here for the 300th time. A timer starts counting down as soon as you start the game. Your vault will run out of water and die if you don't get them a water chip before that timer runs out. But eventually you hit a town where you can pay to send a caravan of water to your vault which will increase this timer a bunch, giving you more time to find the chip. It's fairly expensive, and the caravan person warns you it will make your vault more conspicuous. Okay, nice flavor text right? Wrong Unbeknownst to you, there's another timer counting down from the beginning of the game. This is the time until your vault gets raided by super mutants and destroyed. By increasing your time to find the water chip by 100 days, you decrease the time you have in the end game by 100 days

[@michael.471]

That is incredible

[@dirtfriend]

oh shit i didnt know it'd decrease the mutant timer, that's pretty cool

[@danielgilbert8338]

@@dirtfriend I think it actually only worked like this in the original unpatched version. But that makes for a less interesting factoid lol.

[@tophatgeo]

First of all, how dare you know ive been here 300 times 😭 and secondly, damn, thats a rad fact

[@danielgilbert8338]

@@tophatgeo I know because I've been right here with you all 300 times

[@n0kla]

What I insanely love about Fallout 2 is how its laughing on first fallout goal: find a water chip. In first fallout, without knowledge of its location, you're under stress of time running out. And in fallout 2, in the vault city, one of the early game locations there is ~1000 water chips lying in boxes

[@JustAskMeTV101]

And you're told they were supposed to go to vault 13 but the shipment messed up and sent 13 vault city's extra geck instead

[@magnificmango336]

@@JustAskMeTV101 Which is an awesome way of retroactively explaining why the water chip failure happened in the first place. 13 was supposed to get enough water chips to last more than the amount of time required by the experiment, but a last second shipping error made the whole experiment destined to fail. Though I’m not as big a fan of the Overseer’s motivations being retconned as well. I liked him in 1 as a guy who clearly takes no enjoyment in what he’s doing to you, but is choosing to prioritize the safety of the vault over giving you the return home you deserve. Having 2 explain he actually was just loyal to Vault-Tec the whole time takes away that depth.

[@gorganfredman5363]

@@magnificmango336 i don't remember when/where in Fallout 2 vault 13 overseer's motivations were re-explained, did i miss something?

[@magnificmango336]

@@gorganfredman5363 In the same console that contains the recording of the Enclave invasion in Vault 13, you can get into the Overseer's logs. I hacked in, but it also mentioned using a password, so there's probably one nearby. Regardless, you access his logs and find they've all been deleted except the last one. In it, the Overseer talks about how the people of the Vault are rebelling and are about to overthrow him. He regrets not being harsher on 1's protagonist and those who followed him, and explains that 13's secret goal was to stay completely isolated for 200 years. It was never a control vault at all, like 1 led you to believe. So the Overseer is retconned as a Vault-Tec loyalist who treated you like dirt not out of a desire to protect the community, but because you were a threat to the experiment's success.

[@spaceman9459]

I played F1 then started F2, when i got to Vault city and saw buckets of water chips i grabbed as many as i could, remind you 1 water chip is 10 units of weight, to sell them bc i was sure such precious thing would be expensive as fuck, only to realize its worth is almost nothing... god damn it

[@Neotokyovibes-WelcomeHome]

Something great about Fallout 1 is that you can skip the entire fight to the master. If you infiltrate the Cathedral alone and get to Morpheus he will capture you and take you to the master where you can convince him to blow himself up. You can clear the cathedral without firing a single bullet

[@MilhSpears]

Holy. Thats... Thats one way to do it, I guess.

[@nguyen-vuluu3150]

same thing with New Vegas, to be honest. every single quest related fight is optional, and can be avoided if one has sufficient speech, or has acquirred some useful information to help them convincce otherwise. the culmination of this is in Lonesome Road, where by picking up holotapes left by the antagonist, you can understand his underlying motives and talk him out of it, despite having absolutely no points put into speech.

[@I.do.like.pina.coladas]

Not really. The only way to convince the Master to kill himself is by getting the information from the BoS stating that super mutants are infertile. I played through the game with very high charisma/speech stats and without that bit of information, you can’t reason with the Master nonviolently. You CAN blow up the Mariposa base straight out of Vault 13 though. It just takes a LOT of luck and possibly a high sneak stat.

[@jackdaniels1460]

@@I.do.like.pina.coladas You just need a children of cathedral robe. Been there done that

[@jackdaniels1460]

You can also wear the children of the cathedral robe and sneak into the 4th level and set of the bomb yourself without even talking to the master. You need a high lockpick skill and either key from the lieutenant or a high science skill.

[@LegzMackenzie]

Interestingly enough, Kevin VanOrd works at Larian Studios now. He wrote for Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2 - two of the best examples of delicious, choice-based RPGs. What a redemption arc.

[@DavidJCobb]

that's a cool fact and it's cool of you to come here and share it makes sense. fallout 3 was shallow, but it still did expand a lot of people's ideas of what's possible in games, both narratively (in what it pretended to do) and mechanically (in what it actually did achieve). doubtless it's inspired plenty of folk who have the experience and the chops to do better now

[@komerihimura]

The realization I had when I found out the first Baldur's Gate games and the Fallout games were under the same developers at the time really doesn't surprise me at all now. Too bad Fallout wasn't blessed in the same way that the Baldur's Gate and Divinity of Sin Franchise turned out to be

[@eatshytforlife8751]

That's..debatable.

[@bdinh3130]

I had a friend in high school who I had a really cringey gamer debate with on fallout 3 or new vegas being better. His strongest point was that there was a vault that had people named Gary in it.

[@vingasoline5068]

Personally I love FO3 more than New Vegas just bc it was my first Fallout and I’ll always have a special place in my heart for it, plus it’s my dads favorite game of all time and he doesn’t play games much lol. New Vegas is still an incredible game but I just prefer FO3 for some reason 🤷‍♂️

[@AsTheWorldSpinsAgain]

Sorry you had to hold that L bro.

[@Ballingokustate]

@@vingasoline5068 and that's perfectly fine, Fallout 3's a bad game, but if you enjoy it, then that's good Edit: it doesn't matter how many people reply to me it's not changing anything

[@sebastian.victor7461]

Garrrryyyyy?!

[@sh8t]

Gary??

[@terrormask2475]

Ah, the ending. The only moment from that game that I remember clearly even after all these years. They say there is a deadly radiation levels, so, as a normal human being, wanting to avoid unnecessary death, you go ask your super mutant friend to do the thing. A gentle and intelligent person, who also happens to be immune to radiation. And his response? “NOPE”

[@qd8bp]

he even says no as “it’s your destiny” to die. when there’s an option involving nobody dying???

[@Gameprojordan]

then when they added the broken steel dlc that extended the main quest past that part if you use the super mutant to activate the purifier the ending slide calls you a coward for not sacrificing yourself like your dad lmfao

[@shadysam7161]

@@Gameprojordan i didnt know the narator had an iq of 2 and still believes everyone should have honor in the wasteland when the worlds been nuked like 40 times by a blind fatass with a nuclear bomb gun.

[@thegoldencaulk2742]

And he had no qualms about doing the same thing earlier in the game when you needed the G.E.C.K. Was that not also part of your "destiny." The worst part about Fawkes' "destiny" cop-out is that he himself has a really good reason to believe it's his own destiny to activate the purifier. Imagine a supermutant who suffered bigotry at the hands of his own kind rises up against the bigotry of the Enclave to save a multiracial civilization from their genocide. That would've been far more thematically appropriate than "I have to finish what my dad started."

[@Joshpox]

And even with the Broken Steel DLC they try to shame you for sending in anyone other than yourself, even the robot.

[@mayalewis2956]

Fallout 3 ending where a super mutant and a ghoul will look a 19 Yr old teenager in the eye and tell them to go sacrifice themselves doing something they could do with little to no harm to themselves

[@cracinlac923]

And one is immune and the other one is wearing power armour and has been fighting this whole time

[@doubledownpleasegosubtotte4274]

Beating a game without trying

[@neonkatze]

Did you really just call a 19 year old a teenager?

[@mayalewis2956]

@@neonkatze nineTEEN

[@denissorn]

Don't remember which but one of DLCs changed this.

[@ObiJohnKenobi67]

Honestly many of this game’s world building problems could have been solved if they just set it right after the Great War. It would explain why everybody acts like the war happened yesterday instead of 200 years ago.

[@crimsondynamo615]

I heard early on in development that was going to be the case

[@lewanbroski504]

Like how fallout 4 doesn't feel 200 years after the bombs have been dropped at all

[@okagron]

@@crimsondynamo615 But then they realized they couldn't recycle as much as they could from the first two games. Can't have active Enclave or Brotherhood because they are still holed up doing nothing. Can't have Super Mutants because they don't exist yet. And many other things they shamelessly recycled from the first two games like GECK, Harold, and the various mutant species. Even the plot is just an horrible amalgamation of the first two games. The fact some people claim only now Bethesda is creatively bankrupt is hilarious, they have been that since at least 2008.

[@kay_keik7842]

Lol fallout 76 exists and they didnt care at all about lore​@okagron

[@mastermarkus5307]

I love the bit at around 55:43 about the Brotherhood of Steel: "They're likable, they're cool, they're smart, they're powerful... and they're wrong." It hits just perfectly and exemplifies how great "grey" morality characters and groups in media can be at making us face moral dilemmas in a personal way.

[@elgatochurro]

its that stuff that sticks to me adn i try to recreate in my dnd games

[@somerandomknucklesinatank1491]

r/iam14andthisisdeep

[@indoril6923]

@@somerandomknucklesinatank1491 r/ihavereddit

[@topo161]

@@somerandomknucklesinatank1491 Hey bro, get this, you're not cool for name dropping other mock subreddits and misdirecting them to sentiments you don't like. You only look like a jackass. Hope that helps.

[@wolfplayer7815]

@@topo161 Go back to reddit pussy

[@Casshio]

Honestly the opening could've been a great idea if executed properly. Growing up in a vault. A claustrophobic space, everything and everyone you know is here, you form bonds and enmities. And then your dad breaches protocol, you get questioned. Now everything you did for those various and complex relationships you formed will in turn form the paths that lie before you. Will you convince the overseer to also go outside and get answers? Maybe you'll even get some equipment if you really mince your words. Will you get angry and put in custody only to break out on your own or with the help of the friends you made. Will you kill and more importantly do you have to? You knew these people your whole life and no matter who you are, pressing the trigger for the first time will be hard. Unless you put your intelligence on 1 and are a mindless brute. You only know how to act and not how to think. And when you finally get outside, after being confined in that small vault your whole life (1-4 hours of gameplay*), you will be overwhelmed by the view and the world that lies before you. A painfully slow recovering wasteland. Cue Fallout Titlecard and music! (*) so you can form meaningful relationships and get to know the day to day life in a vault, maybe you can even find hints to the secret purpose this very vault you are in which could be relevant to understand your fathers motivations and to pursade the overseer, maybe to even rile up everyone against him. Or you act as a social outcast and rush through that part and everyone thinks you are kinda weird for only interacting with anyone as little as possible.

[@thecollector4332]

Casshio That’s genius

[@CantonWhy]

I like most of this, but feel you'd need to include ways for people to play the game differently -- that being, giving them a way to say "No, I'm going to get to the open wasteland as fast as possible", without bogging them down in an opening where they're forced to play grow-up-and-learn-who-you-are. I know extending the beginning like you've suggested is already a huge extra slice of the budget, but providing players with two starting points might work. One allowing for a quick-start where your character is, perhaps, slightly older, but has grown up outside the vault. The quick-start might not even unlock until the game has been completed once, or played for a number of hours. Don't get me wrong, I actually love the pitch you have here, but some people - and especially returning players - will want to get to the meat of the game much faster, free and independent of the scripted, contained portion of content that you're locked into right there. I know "that's the point", but honestly the length of the FO3 intro doesn't bother me at all. It's how insubstantial the choices you can make at any point really are. Even if there are multiple dialogue options, sometimes they lead to almost exactly the same result in the game world. Three or four *very different* options that lead to a fractal path throughout the beginning of the game. Yes, it's expensive, and yes it takes more time to make a game that travels down so many different paths, but especially for the beginning and the end of the game, that's where you want to make your players fall in love with your work.

[@Casshio]

@@CantonWhy I agree with your point. I did mention that you could also just rush this entirely but you get treated as a social outcast as a result. So you'd still probably have to play for an hour or so until you get outside and you get forced into a role just because you wan't to be in the wastelands asap. Replayability is the reason why I would include many ways of approaching "the growing up questline" but yea, you're right. The actual meat waits outside of the vault. So the quick start is actually a great idea. You are older. You escaped together with your dad a few years ago. You never fully understood why. You wake up in the shed you both found refuge in but your dad is gone. You gather some basic equipment not unlike the one you get get from the vault (and you are aslo equipped with an exp boost until a certain level is reached in order to balance missing out on the exp you'd get in the vault) , step outside the door: Boom, there it is. The wasteland. Over the course of the game you get to establish what relationships you had inside the vault and may unlock a quest that allows you to back just like you could with with the "long-beginning" playthrough. Or it just doesn't matter to you anymore and don't talk about your past as a vault dweller. I also had an idea that's based on Dragon Age Origins various beginnings depending on what race you chose. But instead of races it would be depend on your age. But that's pretty abstract so I didn't mention it and is hard to fully flesh out. Same goes for choosing your role inside the vault.

[@mortache]

Basically Metro Exodus?

[@Casshio]

@@mortache Didn't play that one yet. Wonder how that looks like. I mean you are still Artyom, right? Doesn't he already have established relationships?

[@kyre4189]

"Fawkes, since you're immune to radiation, could you please save the world?" "No. You do it." 10/10 writing, maybe the reviewer had a point in team killing him

[@ammarslhim7934]

11/10 best ending.

[@luminosity01]

as much as i like fallout 3 honestly this is very stupid lol

[@baldingpaninijoker3856]

I’ve been able to make him go it instead of mr

[@enclavesoldier1112]

U makin fun of my boy Fawkes?

[@wm9482]

Apparently if you pay money to install broken steel (Also garbage) you gain the ability to let fawkes go in. However it's literally pointless then because your scripted to survive no matter who goes in the purifier

[@Bazil591]

41:56 Hearing old HBomb call an hour and a half long video, "super long" is pretty funny.

[@mojito8948]

You mean young HBomb

[@SMJSmoK]

@@mojito8948 HBomb of old

[@sars910]

HBomb of yore

[@rusted_ursa]

I remember when I kept ignoring "Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why" for months, even though it never left my recommendations, because I couldn't imagine a video with that runtime being anything but someone sitting in front of the camera and griping in a long, unscripted ramble. I only watched it because the autoplay finally brought it up while I was in another tab. XD

[@jlm8098]

You nailed it in the morality part. In fact, that's a common problem in videogames industry. "hey our game is so complex, it let's you be a bad guy or a good guy! We have a so complex system about morality and good or bad actions!!" And then all of this games only resume in "be the absolute good guy in the movie, be Ned Flanders or rather be a genocide psychopath"

[@belletho6098]

Exactly! And the morality can switch so quickly in some games too! You can be the best, kindest, most heroic person you want to be..but if you accidentally steal something because you press the wrong button while standing near a spoon, a whole town can turn on you and act like you've just murdered their first-born children! And too bad if you DO want to play a game as an evil psychopath, because some games will still shunt you into moments were you have to do something heroic even though your character has been a disgusting monster up until that point in the game!

[@dylanschmidt9056]

@@belletho6098 And you can make only heroic choices and be a major stabilizing influence in the world, but be labeled Very Evil just because you compulsively pickpocket people's trail snacks and crafting supplies. They had *pinyon nuts*, damnit! Do you know how hard it is to find enough pinyon nuts?

[@stevelippman3780]

what are do you think of BioShock's moral chioce

[@shadysam7161]

@@belletho6098 Honestly I'd rather they try to make a system where it matters on what you steal based on value and usefulness. SO if you steal something like a fork, people will be like "ehh" not "I GO STAB STAB!" But if you steal something like a gem, people go "I GO STAB STAB!"

[@Lunartic_]

@@stevelippman3780 BioShock has moral choices? Harvesting Little Sisters is always evil.

[@arvidbuckles4035]

When I first played FO3, I was quite young (around 9 or 10) and I didn’t understand the compass marker was actually pointing me toward me the next objective in my quest line. I thought it was like a game of hide and seek almost. Therefore, I accidentally stumbled upon the character’s father when I was just exploring the wasteland about 50 hours into the game. The euphoria of finally finding him was like a drug, and I thought everyone had to play the game that way. After I learned how to use the compass, it definitely sped up my progress in the game, but the quests all felt unfulfilling.

[@ProcrastinationHyperfocus]

I have a friend that is used to exploring games and going off-trail, and his first action out of the vault, was to start walking south-east, where he immediately met Dad. Amazing.

[@dr.suckfudge340]

I had a similar experience. I think Fallout 3 mainly fails in the beginning and end for the reasons he stated. However, exploring the wasteland and interacting with who and what you find is pretty great.

[@Cocklord911]

I remember one time, probably my second play through, i went straight to dc and somehow stumbled into the metro. I couldn’t find my way out so i just continued forward hoping to eventually end up in rivet city. It wasnt long till i was completely out of ammo, trapped at our lady of hope hospital, fighting an army of super mutants with my bare hands. I ended up leveling up like twice and dumping every point into unarmed. If you remember the hospital you might recall the broken antenna that bridges the building to the statesman hotel across the road, which i took to escape minigun wielding mutants. As it would turn out there was just more mutants in the hotel which i had to fight floor by floor till eventually i found myself being chased to the roof. On the roof, completely by chance, i found Rileys Rangers and they were armed to the teeth. We then as a fucking unit moved through the building and back to their base, losing multiple but killing all the mutants and saving my life. It was probably the most entertaining moment in my entire fallout 3 history.

[@billisdog5813]

Similar story: The first time I played Oblivion (I must have been about 12) I didn't realise that there was fast travel. Instead I'd look ahead to where I wanted to explore and plan my adventures around which roads to go down, whether I'd need my horse, how long the journey would take and what I should sell off or leave behind somewhere since I'd be gone for a while and didn't want to reach the weight limit. Travelling and exploration were the game to me. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it was like braving the unknown, an expedition into danger with the prospect of warmth and safety waiting in the next town. Anyway, I was planning my route one day and by accident clicked on the map marker for Anvil, I was gob-smacked by the realisation that I could have instantly got to my destination and, sadly, the game was never the same since. I try to make a point of never using fast travel systems in RPGs now but the magic has long gone :(

[@jackcouch8322]

That’s great, have a hug and a merry Christmas 😀

[@cloud1973]

Moral of the story: if someone steals a fork, beat them to death.

[@6StimuL84]

Sounds like the cops these days.....

[@Chuked]

Rat poison

[@somethingedgy2185]

@@6StimuL84 Monies

[@TheBreakingBenny]

That's one absolutely unfair punishment, are we supposed to believe Bethesda's characters are easily angered psychopaths?

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

Hitman has a better moral Bump into someone or mess with the food, the mafia and police will kill you

[@gamecubechair9066]

I just realized. The intro of the game where you can look around and hear the other doctors talking implies that you were fully conscious at birth.

[@dragonick2947]

Alternatively, the game is telling you that you're about as sapient as an adult as you were when you were a baby.

[@WeaponizedAutism7]

ABOMINATION

[@aligmal5031]

you are a child of Dune

[@marinaauer2672]

It happens.

[@tyspyranger]

The final dialogue options with Harold at the end of the Oasis quest left me really disappointed. I chose to keep Harold alive against his wishes not because his followers wanted me to, but because him being alive meant that the wasteland might see actual trees again someday ("brown bark, green leaves"). I personally couldn't have cared less whether the tree cult was happy or not, I did something for the world. But when Harold asked me why he must continue to live, the only justification I could give was that he made the cult more hopeful. It's like the writers didn't even consider what I was thinking about while playing it. Really deflated what had been great quest up until then for me

[@kacperaskawski3461]

They could give something like "Hey Harold, maybe think not about how hard it is for you and not about this wierdos, but think what will happen if you keep on living, then it is possible to reduce and save multible people from turning into ghuls, and you are bringing back pre-war plants and trees it is possible that may just help the enite America just by staying alive."

[@AgentDanielCross]

@@kacperaskawski3461 Which sounds something Harold would give a shit about. As Chris said, he is the kind of guy to give anyone a helping hand.

[@kacperaskawski3461]

@@AgentDanielCross yep also in Fallout 3 I was disapointed that Harold can be killed off like that, he was amazing character in first two games, he survived a lot of suffering and created a safe place for all ghouls. But after that he became a depressed tree who need to suffer even more thanks to some wierd people.

[@AgentDanielCross]

@@kacperaskawski3461 I'd probably be depressed too if i knew i'd be stuck to be some shit joke reference. Shit, they did my boy Harold dirty! The same guy who didn't hesitate to use the same joke twice about him being dead

[@shoebockx3334]

Yea, I felt like this quest was one of the best in terms of decision making, but the writing was lackluster.

[@LANNUNLESS]

really trying to stretch that 10 min mark

[@coughingbabie]

He almost didn’t make it

[@MausOfTheHouse]

Deadass

[@bappojujubes981]

I mean 1 hour, and 29 minutes is BARELY over 10 minutes long come on.

[@Marathedog]

@@bappojujubes981 I know right how dumb hahaha

[@boywithcrackers3871]

hah little did he know, 8 min is the new 10 min

[@jboylman2193]

23 years later and Killian Darkwater is still the sexiest name ever

[@Flow86767]

Couldn’t have said it better

[@Saramusvasque2838]

Jack o'Neill's got it

[@8G00SE8]

@@Saramusvasque2838 You mean MacGyver?

[@Squeejee09]

"Do you have any idea how many cops died - and innocent people too" lmao how many years has this been out and I just got that joke

[@Helperbot-2000]

Took me way too long too lol

[@KuruSeed]

in retrospect not having the choice to talk a cop out of violence was realistic

[@Aurelius_unofficial]

Oof

[@benjbutton]

@@Aurelius_unofficialTallarico enterprises demands you cease and desist the use of their “oof” trademark.

[@datboi4216]

Bruh shut up. Not everyone wants to talk about that shit on a fucking video about fallout.

[@bubblegumkk8158]

​@@datboi4216 Ah yes, Fallout, the game series notoriously unconcerned with American politics

[@datboi4216]

Idgaf if you bringing politics into a conversation about video games then you should reevaluate your choices in life

[@T--xo2uq]

"That thing on your wrist. It's a convenience, it dulls your brain. Tells you what to do, where to go." -Father Elijia, Dead money addon. Fallout New Vegas even acknowledges the marker. They've realized their mistake.

[@ricemenarq6230]

Heck Tabitha was taking shots at the "Dumb-Dums" from Fallout 3 too. She does it in the best way possible: "They're sooo dumb, they don't even know that I'm talking about them right now!!!!" XD

[@baitposter]

NV is an Obsidian product, not a Bethesda one. It's to be expected.

[@craaKED]

See below to

[@craaKED]

I'm Only Happy When it Reigns Tt

[@trumpislovetrumpislife8946]

Don't forget the nuclear launch at the Ashton missile silo in the Lonesome Road DLC. That was another subtle jab by Obsidian at the lemming mentality of blindly following a questmarker like a little Eichmann.

[@InfiniteEscuro]

Stretching the definition of character to include talking armour is perfectly acceptable. The Stealth Suit from Fallout New Vegas' DLC, Old World Blues, is the _best_ possible romance option, I know this in my soul.

[@gopakkusnr2392]

The Darkness I agree entirely

[@InfiniteEscuro]

@@gopakkusnr2392 A fellow man of culture

[@Matoro-wp9hy]

A fellow man of culture

[@JustAJAG]

Wholeheartedly agreed.

[@InfiniteEscuro]

@Zoomer Waffen Ok, boomer

[@Ani-rq7wv]

Every time I rewatch this. The section about the final speech of the Master makes me feel… something. I don’t have a word specifically. It’s to complex. There’s a wistfulness, a sort of resigned melancholy longing. The music is a huge part of it. The master’s speech is so heartbreaking because it honestly conveys someone seeing the fact that they were wrong, and that the end they were so sure would justify the means can never and will never come. “All my work has been for nothing” not as a statement of rage. But as a moment of all encompassing shame. The way his voices all have different tones too! Just. I would likely have never heard this speech if not for this video. But I have. And every time I hear it, and the music slowly rises as he comes to his realization, I find myself wanting to hold him. To offer him comfort before his final moments. He sends you away “while you still have hope” and it’s so touching that it makes me teary eyed. And I’ve never played the game!

[@deffientllynotjalenbutler1736]

Agreed

[@irondude220]

I rewatch this video just for that part, I love moments like that in media, bad guy sees the error in his ways

[@Music34897]

"I don't think I can continue to have done the things I've done." gives me chills every time, crazy good writing.

[@danielliew8698]

I would go so far as to say it is prophetic considering The Master's plan to turn the world's remaining human population into gender ambiguous abominations by dipping them in HRT.

[@critrabbit8975]

I will forever love the option to tell The Master to ask a female mutant if any of them have gotten pregnant. 'Are you sure? What about the others?' Just- hearing the despair in his voice- the realization that The Vault Dweller is right and just what he's done? '

[@danb4900]

Ahh I get what he means

[@billvolk4236]

The sad irony is that they could have made President Eden's argument the same one you talked down The Master with: ghouls and super mutants can't reproduce, which makes them unviable for rebuilding society and a waste of ever-dwindling resources. And like The Master, you could have had the chance to talk down Eden using not morality but his own reasoning: if you truly believe yourself to be the legitimate US government, these mutants are your own citizens and what you are doing is unconstitutional.

[@MR-cx1mg]

😅​@@critrabbit8975

[@Seriona1]

The Karma system is completely fucked and a single quest proves this. A nice day for a right wedding. Angela is in love with Deigo who won't return his love because of his religion so if you give ant pheromones, she can use them to seduce Deigo so they can get married. So in translation, if you help her drug this man so she can rape him and marry him against his will, you are rewarded 100 Karma. According to Bethesda, helping a girl rape a boy is a good deed.

[@Pineappolis]

Yeah, whatever way you slice it, that's really not great.

[@Seriona1]

@@Pineappolis Yeah. Imagine if it was reversed?

[@johndoe6260]

Truly a beacon of virtue

[@decrulez]

I mean it was only a couple years ago Wonder Woman 2 did the same thing with drugging a guy so she could be with him. It’s fucked how people are okay with it.

[@johndoe6260]

@@decrulez I'm okay if it's not glorified in a movie, characters being disgusting is ok if it's not glorified

[@cheez-itmcgee]

watched this video 3 years ago. i’m sure people’s common reaction to it was: “this video made me play classic fallout”, but for me, a long time classic fallout fan, it actually made me play arcanum. i think i’m bisexual now. thank you so much for this.

[@suprememeatbun]

You got 10% extra damage?

[@cheez-itmcgee]

@@suprememeatbun absolutely. maybe in arcanum, i can't score, but in new vegas... well, there's nothing stopping me from reaching my true potential ;]

[@noway9320]

how do you feel about gnomes now

[@cheez-itmcgee]

@@noway9320 strongly dislike them. as if vollinger backstabbing me wasn't enough, they have to go and be involved in an entire conspiracy?! at least i got a fate point from it (that i'll never use)

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

How insane a person shoud be to be a fan of Fallout 1-2 and not to play Arcanum in the 2000s?

[@kingenigma8664]

Fallout 3 is kinda like if the Bloody Mess perk was active at all times

[@vulcanisful5739]

and that’s kinda awesome

[@ettertarten]

23:24 I remember a conversation with Father Elijah in Dead Money DLC for New Vegas, at one point he says something like "That thing on your wrist makes you dumb. Tells you what to do, where to go". Obsidian recognised this gameplay flaw and made fun of it.

[@ShadowSonic2]

You need something like that in a 3D Open World exploration setting, nearly all Open World games have something similar. FO1 and 2 weren't open-world, so they didn't need to have that function.

[@grammarpacifist2944]

@@ShadowSonic2 Morrowind?

[@ShadowSonic2]

@@grammarpacifist2944 It had some kind of map function.

[@grammarpacifist2944]

@@ShadowSonic2 Yhea it had a map, and no one is complaining about a map, but to find your quest objectives you had to read the directions people gave you

[@golarac6433]

@@ShadowSonic2 Gothic 1 and 2 don't have anything like that

[@Hawaiian_Pizza_Enjoyer]

I stopped caring about „Karma“ in this game after it suggested telling a suicidal man standing near an edge that only cowards commit suicide was the best thing to say. That and the fact that I only had three options to begin with: -Helping him by pushing him off the edge (consensually) -Guilt-tripping him into standing down by telling him only cowards do what he’s about to do (with which I disagree entirely) -Or telling him how pathetic he is for not even being able to end himself after failing to protect his family

[@VioletQueenofToasters]

Wait what game was this, what on earth.

[@Hawaiian_Pizza_Enjoyer]

@@VioletQueenofToasters Fallout 3

[@VioletQueenofToasters]

@@Hawaiian_Pizza_Enjoyer Ill look more into it but wow... I can't belive I never found this

[@sparebrains5475]

you do know the best option for that conversation is to convince him not to do it by bringing up ted strayer, right?

[@Hawaiian_Pizza_Enjoyer]

@@sparebrains5475 I did that, but that only pops up after you’ve chosen the aforementioned dialogue option

[@SHIkun9000]

Having now played through the main quest, the main thing that consistently bugged was how pointlessly unpleasant every last NPC is. There is so much ”Theres no time! Leave me alone.” or ”What do YOU want!?” like im sorry, i thought i was playing an RPG where you are supposed to TALK to people. Not to mention most of the dialog choices being utterly juvenile. So much of ”How about you tell me and I don’t shoot your brains out” and so on. Why do I have to sound like a 16 year old edgelord if I want to play an evil character?

[@thesandboxer9544]

Because your character is canonically an 18 year old edgelord.

[@SaulGoodman3D2049]

@@thesandboxer9544 So much for being a role playing game.

[@HeavenlyHavoc]

This is kind of a constant for Bethesda. I can't think of many NPCs in any elder scrolls game who are just, neutral or nice or passive. Everyone is either intentionally super annoying, condescending, rude, or just evil. Nazeem in Whiterun is one of like two dozen guys written to just be pretentious as their only character trait in just Skyrim alone. And, why? There's so many mean characters who aren't even involved in any quests, they're just there to remind you that you can kill most NPCs with no real consequences.

[@WALTAH2000]

bethesda doesn’t know how to make a world feel believable through the use of writing and dialogue. In oblivion they tried very desperately(and succeeded to a degree) to make the people seem real, by innovating an entire mechanic which involved programming each npc to have a day/night cycle which included running specific errands, eating meals, etc. But the resulting heightened immersion was strongly counteracted by the fact that they had practically no personalities. the problem with bethesda is they rely on their programmers to write. They don’t actually have dedicated writers. That works just fine for the elder scrolls where the narrative and story can take a backseat to the gameplay, but for fallout it was antithetical to one of the series’ strongpoints.

[@Pineappolis]

@@WALTAH2000 I.. hold up, the game company with perhaps the biggest reputation for bugs also has its programmers write the stories?! I was about to be needlessly mean and say that they can't even write code, the stuff they're ostensibly experts in, without it exploding if you look at it for too long so what hope do they have of writing dialogue. Then I realised, the fact that they're splitting their focus like that probably isn't great for their ability to either. As a great man once said, "don't half-ass two things; whole-ass one thing." Genuinely fascinating piece of trivia, by the way.

[@putsitinmybottos]

after playing half life 2 and fallout three i was shocked when i realized that Gordan Freeman, a character that says zero words has more influence on the world and characters around him then in a game with dialogue options and "Role playing" elements. That just made the game worse than before for me, truly garbage world building.

[@jeremyallen5974]

That's because Valve was more concerned with sucking the player off than they were with building a coherent world with interesting characters. Everyone just kisses the players ass because (apparently) no one can shoot to save their fucking lives until some dude gives them a creepy stare

[@DashingSteel]

What are you talking abput? The resistance can shoot just fine! They mostly die due to overwhelming numbers and superior firepower of The Combine. And Freeman has his reputation in Half Life 2 because the resistance was formed by Black Mesa survivors and knows about what Freeman during Resonance Cascade. Aure, the world got destroyed anyway, but if The Nihillant were to invade humanity at large probably wouldn't even survive! Of course the resistance thinks Freeman's arrival means the end of Combine rule and gets inspired to actively revolt when he arrives again. I'd argue that it's meant to be felt a little unearned. You're a symbol to these people. The last remaining free thinking people on Earth. All you can do is try and measure up to the way they see you.

[@putsitinmybottos]

@@jeremyallen5974 lil nigga I just said that game is great bro you can’t keep coping bruh

[@beedubree2550]

i really want hbomb to make a video on fallout 4 but i feel like the sheer levels of rage he would experience might actually kill him

[@FellowNerd_Doug]

After watching Many A True Nerd's two parter on Fallout 4, I'd also be curious to see what hbomberguy had to say as well

[@reallyhertv4566]

@lambda30 XD I wish you pain

[@stanleysmooth]

Dude might melt just from playing the Power Armour / Deathclaw section at the start

[@julymagnus493]

@@stanleysmooth I was thinking about that earlier today. What made them think it was a good idea to have you kill a Deathclaw at the start of the game? Totally ruins what is supposed to be the hardest mob in the franchise.

[@joekreissl4499]

@@julymagnus493 in the new vegas video theres this whole section about how deathclaws are at the start of the game and will basically obliterate you if you go anywhere near them and how thats brilliant because it teaches new players that you aren't this badass hero, at least, not yet. and i could just tell that he was itching to talk about how fucked it is in 4

[@ExhaustedWombat]

I love that they went back and “fixed” the ending by letting you choose Fawkes etc and then the game chides you for being smarter than it was.

[@bl0ndi550]

Doesn't the game still call your a coward for doing that? Because you can start the dlc by trying to kill yourself and surviving; so there's basically no choice regardless

[@ExhaustedWombat]

@@bl0ndi550 it basically says Fawkes is the one who embodied true heroism, yeah.

[@slammydunk9787]

Yeah it was kick in the balls from Bethesda. “Hey see that Super mutant that risk nothing by going in to room filled with radiation? He is a hero. And see that guy who’s done all heavy lifting? Booo him, he is a coward”

[@jordanslingluff287]

Kind of like how New Vegas didn't work when it was released and they went back and fixed it and now everyone forgets about it to complain about FO3

[@Beyondlimits_400]

@@jordanslingluff287 Because once it was fixed it was miles better than Fallout 3. It’s literally and upgraded Fallout 3 with a western style theme. The gun customization being one of them, the factions, the story, and the factions. Honestly if they remade Fallout New Vegas on Fallout 4’s engine but kept Nv’s dialogue system, I’d buy it at full price.

[@CheeseYourself]

The dad's reaction in Fallout 3 when his son admits that he literally nuked an entire town full of people "just because" is pretty much the same as a dad's reaction when he discovers that his son stole a packet of crisps from the shop

[@Munnwort]

Lmao

[@berikkalimz4195]

fuck em Megaton its stupid to build a town around a fucking bomb and complaining its bad.

[@thatdog2472]

Crisps? Chips right?

[@soc1163]

@@thatdog2472 crisps, yankee edit: oh you were asking if crisps are "chips", yes they are

[@thetinfoilfreak]

The only reason I'm not liking your comment is because is has 666 likes

[@FoxerBoxerNaaniwa]

Eight years later I still love this video… even if it sounds like it’s being recorded from the inside of a steel drum

[@Lucifersfursona]

That’s the vault walls

[@impermanence4300]

One of my biggest issues with FO3 is how divided the story and gameplay is. You're a 19 year old kid, your dad just up and left, you've been thrown into a confusing and dangerous world. You'd think this fact would come up a lot more than it does. When characters are asking you to like, slaughter dozens of super mutants to get something for them. There'd be a dialogue option for like: aw man that sounds really dangerous and kind of overwhelming. But no. You're just out of the vault and fighting like a Space Marine. Other Bethesda games have excuses for why your character has excuses for why you can just cut down waves of enemies from the get go.

[@hellothepixel1107]

To me the game is so obsessed with funneling you into this "I'm a lone wolf in a world of idiots" routine that it not only heavily limits the player's choice of character, but it also arguably contradicts the backstory for the main character.

[@SaulGoodman3D2049]

This is part of why I hate 3 Dog so much. For all his sermoning about the Good Fight and even calling out to the wasteland to help you out if you have good karma, he himself refuses to help you without a speech check unless you go into a super mutant-infested building to help him. He's a hypocrite and a presumptuous jerk that doesn't at all match up to the game's 3 separate karma systems making him out to be a beacon of light, and you aren't able to call him out for it at any point. On a more positive note, I recently replayed Fallout 2 and a detail I appreciated about it that isn't in 3 is that the dialogue options for refusing quests aren't just variations of "not now, maybe later" but actually filled with personality and pretty much what you described. Like when someone gives you a mission to assassinate the vice president of the NCR the dialogue for refusing to is something like "THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE NCR?! Screw this, find someone else with a deathwish." And this is with the player being the Chosen One of their village and ostensibly being a lot more prepared for the wasteland.

[@HeavenlyHavoc]

Bethesda loves the special chosen one protagonist trope so it definitely was kinda weird to make Fallout 3's protagonist play like one of those despite being barely finished with puberty and not innately special in the story

[@Saibellus]

im really into the RP part of the G, so i like to create intense backstories for my characters. i spent weeks of in game time in fo3 just getting drunk, high, and committing increasingly serious crimes to fund my addictions. it was my teenage selfs first time out in the world, after being abandoned by my only parent! can ya blame a kid for goin a lil wild? anyway thats how i justified my killer instinct - it was finely and rapidly honed by an overwhelming need to funnel more jet directly into my eyeballs.

[@madison5645]

FNV fixed that by having the courier be at least 35. Figured a male courier with the Lady Killer perk who panics and asks the Lonesome Drifter if he’s 17 would have to be that old.

[@larhyperhair]

"Bethesda became a franchise zombie" "Obsidian will make fresh interesting games" This video predicted fallout 76 and Outer Worlds

[@dinolandra]

The backlash from fallout fans is hilarious in these 2 year old comments. Many of these same people are probably upset about 76 lmao

[@LadyOfTheEdits]

I absolutely love The Outer Worlds, I got it two days ago. I'm in love

[@sickomode2761]

dinolandra outer what?

[@silliussoddus1449]

Sicko Mode Steam, Ps Store, whatever the fuck Xbox uses.

[@IIFM54]

@@sickomode2761 worlds

[@colincolbert6759]

Honestly, for me, half of Fallout 3's main quest was 50% walking through the metro and 50% walking through grey landscapes with buildings that might contain a fork.

[@RainytheNB]

It's like Metro 2033 but a thousand times less tense and interesting

[@WhateverUDecide]

@@RainytheNB lol

[@WhosAskin-o1l]

90% of of my time playing New Vegas was hopping down a highway in the middle of the desert with BIG IRON by MARTY ROBBINS playing.

[@cybubhm]

@@WhosAskin-o1l and Jonny guitar.

[@samuelmendenhall9208]

fallout 3 is suppose to feel empty tho

[@damien678]

Reputation Systems > Morality Systems Every time

[@skorpion7132]

Gameplaywise, probably true. Narratively I'm not so sure.

[@roseyoung44]

Another win for Pathologic 2. One of my favorite reputation systems in gaming

[@ryansabin2618]

I feel like the karma system in Fallout 3 is more of a reputation system than a morality system. Like when you do something that loses or gains karma it's not like based on god's judgment of your morality, it's whether the people around you will hate you or like you for it.

[@filiperosa7496]

​@@ryansabin2618 It's really not and the video explains why

[@jmm394]

@@skorpion7132 reputation is a much more consistant way for someone to be known in a world. in FNV if i rob Goodsprings blind i walk out of there with a very evil karmic rating, but i'm beloved by the whole town because what people actually know about me is that i saved the town from gangsters. There's lots of evil people who act good in public and there's lots of good people who do things that piss people off. How you're known makes a lot more sense for how you are judged. The only effect of karma in the game is the end slide mentions your motives/methods, and one companion gets pissy if you're being an asshole, because the omnicient narrator and the people right next to you are the ones who actually see your actions firsthand. people hear "the courier wiped out the legion camp at nelson" and not "the courier wiped out nelson and when no one was looking proceded to eat every single corpse after playing around with their entrails"

[@renaigh]

Tenpenny's reason for blowing up Megaton is that it's an "eyesore" but you can't even see it from his balcony.

[@Cloud_Seeker]

You can't actually see Megaton from Tenpenny. There is a freeway in the way.

[@princevaldym7606]

They could have made up some weird story about how megaton is stopping them from getting profits or something and it would be more fun . part of a reason i always kill tenpenny and burke regardless of the fact that i am good character or not .

[@Cloud_Seeker]

@@princevaldym7606 The problem with that is. How are they making money again? The "rich" people in Tenpenny is rich because they are rich. They don't own anything outside of what is exist in Tenpenny Tower. They have no caravan company and so on. The only person there that had anything to do with anything is the guy that became famous for making a radio show based on his travels in the wasteland. That explanation is not much better then doing it for the lolz since the groundwork for it doesn't exist.

[@tonycampbell1424]

@@Cloud_Seeker Gizmo: rich from gambling/chems/etc profits Crimson Caravan: rich from decades and decades of establishing their brand and providing a service Mr. House: rich from running a Gizmo+ operation unlike any other in the wasteland. Tenpenny: rich because rich. "It just works."

[@Cloud_Seeker]

@@tonycampbell1424 Pretty much correct, but I want to add a change. Mr. House: Rich from having saved resources from before the war, being able to forge an alliance with the nearby tribal and rebuild Vegas just in time to offer NCR something which they desperately crave. Mr. House didn't just succeed because he sold gambling and chems. He actually forged a small piece of civilization in record time.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

I like the "reputation" alternative to morality meters, where the game actually acknowledges that it can't measure your morality, but it can measure the impact that your actions have on the way people think about you. Yeah, sure, maybe you can justify all the murder if people are willing to listen to you long enough to hear the full explanation, but at some point, all the deaths on your hands will kind of give you a reputation for being someone who kills people to solve problems and that's not gonna reflect well on you no matter how well you can rationalize each individual kill. Which might be a good lesson for police to be taught at the academy.

[@davidallen3128]

This mutha fuker got a 630??

[@ob2kenobi388]

1. Absolutely true-there are plenty of people that perform a single action and yet that action is interpreted differently by different people. A billionaire donating to charity might be seen as a wholly good action by some, while others would see it as a tax dodge rather than an act of actual kindness. Their reputation is increased with the first group, unchanged in the second. 2. "Which might be a good lesson for police to be taught at the academy" Yeah but that would require police to have consequences for killing/murdering innocent people. Instead, most of those killings go unquestioned/uninvestigated, or it's all a show to keep the press off their backs.

[@NoJusticeMTG]

In the Haruspex route in Pathologic there's a moment where the kin ask you to kill a herb bride against her will so her blood can be used for steppe rites - you can kill her for a heart to give to dankovsky or kill the butchers who ask you to perform the rite, yet you gain reputation for killing the girl as you're viewed more highly by the kin. It's horrible and exactly how these mechanics should be used

[@DimT670]

But a game can measure your objective morality, same in real life, via impact. Helping people for no gain is good, harming people for no reason/personal gain is bad etc etc. There are good and bad actions, you cant justify rape torture or selling someone into slavery. You cant justify prejudice or opression However evil factions should naturally have 0 issue with that, which is how new vegas does it. For the powder gangers, massacring a whole village makes you a swell guy. Its objectively a bad thing to do, and they celebrate that Likewise, new vegas also has a universal karma system and a reputation system. They can work in tandem. Goes so for any game like this, same as how in like a fantasy game torturing people should be marked as an evil act, but the servants of the dark overlord should be all about it I mean the game literally calls you stuff of nightmares and evil incarnate if you manage to acrue enough evil karma in new vegas, which you do by killing random people, enslaving people, siding with the objectively evil legion etc etc. Perfectly reasonable judgement

[@ob2kenobi388]

@@DimT670 Sure, but not all actions can be counted objectively-if you do something evil in service of the greater good, for example, that would fall into a grey area. The moral implications of a person shoplifting food because they can't feed themselves otherwise is entirely dependent on your personal opinion. While New Vegas does have a counter for overall morality, as far as I recall it was used only sparingly and never for actions that sane people could disagree on the goodness/badness of. In fact, the reputation mechanic solidifies that New Vegas believes there are a wide variety of actions that cannot be objectively ranked on a scale of good to bad and that it moreso has to do with the beliefs associated with the group doing the judging.

[@oldschool3424]

“Leave now while you still have hope” is still one of my favourite lines in anything ever

[@an8strengthkobold360]

To be fair it's a pretty generic line.

[@danb4900]

@@an8strengthkobold360 Its the delivery more than anything

[@PrimusGladius]

@@an8strengthkobold360 "Leave while you still can" would have been generic. Mixing up a well known line to reflect a characters mood makes it good.

[@matthewwhitford9818]

Dc

[@matthewwhitford9818]

@@danb4900 CC.

[@timmumford6106]

Broadly I take your point about killing the council in Mass Effect being a little lazy but picking the different outfits for functionally identical leaders resonates deeply with me as an American voter.

[@DashingSteel]

Even more relatable when you realize that the Asari council woman is most likely a matriarch, which means she's at least 700 years old. Geriatric and Blue, that's a candidate for me, yes sir.

[@drtyvrmn]

Look I *know* the Overseer ordered the police to brutally beat an innocent scientist to death but he had a daughter so if you kill him who's really the villain?

[@unusualusername8847]

The Overseer ordered his police to brutally beat a scientist to death, that scientist is your fucking father.

[@truantmale]

"who gave you the right to be the judge, jury, executioner!" the...game did. when it told me right away that death is the only way to deal with people.

[@kediester5393]

cool pfp

[@Superdosis]

A classic Bethesda deep moral dilemma.

[@spectralbride]

@@kediester5393drain gang😵‍💫🥴

[@spoicydeemer985]

it's also funny how you only need 25 skill points to disarm a NUCLEAR BOMB

[@Elnegro..]

Dmitry Golovko lmao

[@turoreal]

Leo Lopez Rios who's alfatso? there's no alfatso here, are you ok leo?

[@spoicydeemer985]

everyone calm down

[@spoicydeemer985]

cálmese

[@turoreal]

he's so boring to me now, i basically squeezed all the fun i could from leo.

[@becuaseimbored3481]

"You blew up a town for no reason? You're in big trouble young man"

[@doubledownpleasegosubtotte4274]

Dead end

[@aceofspades4935]

@@doubledownpleasegosubtotte4274 future diary

[@Sky-CladObserver]

"Naughty, naughty..."

[@muxilava]

I somehow imagined the principal of "Bully" saying that, don't ask why.

[@arsenemain7987]

You’re grounded for 2 days, mister! You have to learn that blowing up a town is very naughty

[@Robbie-mw5uu]

The funniest part about Bethesda and Fallout is that they made Fallout 76 complete gameplay and when people complained about no NPCs, no narrative, they added the Fallout 3-style poor narrative and people loved it. Really makes you think.

[@SnakeMan448]

It's a common trope in media that, after slaughtering all the antagonist's men, the protagonist is only now faced with a moral dilemma when they have their personal enemy at gunpoint. A decent presentation of this trope at least makes the mooks an aggressive army or knowing participators in the villain's plan and killing them is self-defence, whereas killing the main villain is a premeditated murder - much more ethically dubious. A bad presentation has the mooks just doing their jobs while the villain doesn't get the same fate for giving the orders and sending people to their deaths.

[@Iroduckling]

the last of us 2

[@danb4900]

Last of Us 2

[@Mr.Monacle]

​@@IroducklingI disagree, the entire game goes out of its way to show that Ellie's revenge quest in TLoU2 is both pointless and ethically wrong. I do agree that her sparing the villain is silly, but like... objectively, Ellie is portrayed as being in the wrong. I'd argue her sparing the villain is, while objectively silly, makes a *subjective* degree of sense. Ellie is choosing to spare the only person left as much out of guilt for killing the others as any sense of moral duty.

[@terribletimes902]

@@IroducklingYou didn’t understand TLO2 or more likely didn’t play it and just read rage bait about it

[@hardVatsuki]

@@terribletimes902 what is this bs, joel and ellie did nothing wrong, ellie would die just like dozens of people before her if joel didn't decide to step up and end this operation of worthless killing of people who are immune to virus abby is a little shit who feels entitled that her father got what he deserved by killing people in a name of "science", not mentioning she is a psycho who tortured joel and killed him in front of ellie oh man I love gray morality, never ending cycle of violence muwah 😭😭 it is so deep

[@DeaconShadow]

On my second time watching this video, I realized that for the entire liberty prime end battle, all I did was run back-and-forth picking up as much enclave armour as humanly possible and storing it so that once the whole thing was over I would have a huge collection of bad ass fully repaired armor and weapons to use and sell.

[@Nuibuddy]

Divine Shadow did exactly the same thing. Then i realized the game was ending and that it would be useless.

[@ajvanesmailzadah7500]

I did exactly the same and I now realise that it was the end battle.

[@DeaconShadow]

Jorge Nuila I negated that because typically I spend a lot of time running around on side quests and never finishing the main quest so long until there are actual DLC’s to download before I’ve finished the game.

[@Danirijeka]

Capitalism, ho!

[@ethicalcheeze1407]

Honestly, same.

[@danielhyberg2590]

The funny thing is, Caesar completely misunderstands the hegelian dialectic, and tries to use it to justify being a pseudo-fascist dictator. However, that isn't even a bad thing. That's exactly what would have happened in a post-apocalyptic scenario where everything left of Hegel is some excerpt on a terminal somewhere.

[@armoredmilkman3288]

reactionary authoritarian anti-individualist, you dont really need the pseudo-

[@billylee376]

@@armoredmilkman3288 ironically, people who are fond of throwing around a word like "reactionary" in real life aren't exactly champions of individualism. the word itself literally implicates the user as an instigator.

[@armoredmilkman3288]

@@billylee376 by reactionary i mean radical traditionalist

[@ayylmao2190]

best part is marx criticized Hegel in his "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon" by citing Napleon the 3rd as an example of how Hegel was wrong when he stated that all great world-historic facts and personages appear twice. Remember that we are dealing with wannabe Romans in fucking football pads.........

[@staringgasmask]

@@armoredmilkman3288 so all the medieval kings, totalitarisms accross the world an communism is fascism? Got it

[@___AVARICE___]

The fawkes thing still gets me, imagine if there were a habdful of intelligent super mutants facig discrimination throughout the game and at the end you can give up your personal glory to allow fawkes to save the waste and bring a new light to his people. The slideshow could show the tension still being there but steps being made in the direction of coexistence

[@shogunpug4071]

This would be the case if Obsidian wrote fallout 3

[@crimsondynamo615]

Would certainly make the Bethesda super mutants not feel like downgraded orks

[@Megelos]

"a story based rpg in which you have to avoid the story on purpose" I recently, ironically enough, did that with skyrim recently, It was probably the best and most iconic playthrough I ever did, and that was a "big dumb werewolf brute" kinda run. That happens when the setting is more interesting than what has been set up.

[@dawndefender]

This is what you need to do to enjoy a Bethesda game, even the (arguably) good ones

[@lewanbroski504]

@@dawndefender facts it's not that Skyrim is a horrible game just the main story is lacking what the rest of the game have

[@weezerfan1232]

Yeah I love Skyrim but almost never complete the main story until lvl 30

[@viri6839]

Same, I have the most fun when I'm just vibing and playing the character

[@BlackOctoberFox]

Honestly, not going to see Jarl Balgruff and uninstalling the Dawnguard DLC to stop the random Dragon and Vampire attacks is actually the smart move to get all of the content possible. Why? Because some quest givers are NOT MARKED ESSENTIAL. No, I'm not kidding. If your luck is bad enough you might miss out on some side quests because an NPC who is part of that side quest is currently smoldering in the middle of the street after a dragon attack.

[@Jekyllstein_Gray]

Random Citizen 1: "That person picked up a fork that didn't belong to them!" Random Citizen 2: "I guess that means it's time for a lynching!"

[@Light_Lead-b3v]

Seems as good a reason as any

[@dylanefg]

Maybe it's a cultural thing.

[@bruhe8895]

*takes 1 shitty aluminum can* Citizens of megaton: prepare to be annihilated

[@mohammadrezapahlavi4578]

this is the part where you fall down and bleed to death!

[@susa.k.a.pinkguy2036]

so you have chosen death...

[@claytonbeeney]

When I first found the knives on the floor of the enclave base my first thought was "huh, these knives must have fallen through the geometry because that's how buggy the table surfaces are in this game".

[@pyeltd.5457]

No. The knife was just on the floor like it would be in your kitchen when you drop your butter knife.

[@claytonbeeney]

@@pyeltd.5457???

[@pyeltd.5457]

Clayton just because you saw a knife on the floor dose not make it a Bethesda glitch. It's meant to be a messy shit hole.

[@SickInTheHeadINC]

@@pyeltd.5457 Just in case you weren't aware. It was a joke. I can't tell sometimes.

[@4pm462]

@@pyeltd.5457 He wasn't implying that. He was simple stating what he thought it was

[@the_MrFloof]

"You gained karma for shooting a man in the face in public" UnitedHealth CEO: 👀

[@Hayden420K]

The universe has Bethesda writing confirmed lol

[@fignite8641]

how surprising that a large company only allows you to show mercy to the people in power

[@jamesevans4701]

Interesting...

[@No_Sleepee]

Potentially an allegory for fans and how they taunt about Todd Howard?

[@AniMerrill]

@@No_Sleepee This was a bit before Todd Howard became the absolute meme he is now. Arguably FO3 was kind of the beginning of that. Oblivion was seen as a step down from Morrowind (or Daggerfall for yet more hardcore fans), but for the era it came out in and being targeted exclusively to consoles it was still an extremely impressive game. To be perfectly frank, while this hot take by Harry in 2016 was pretty on the nose, I also remember Fallout 3 being pretty impressive at the time too despite how much of a regression it was from Fallout and Fallout 2. I think without the context of the other games, which this was the first Fallout game for an entire generation of gamers who probably won't even ever play the older ones, Fallout 3 seemed pretty revolutionary actually. The main problem for FO3 was then NV got launched, and I think that's when the public eye started to really scrutinize Bethesda and Todd Howard. It was basically always known that these massive RPGs were always buggy, always dropping a couple concepts, etc. but especially with their reputation with the Elder Scrolls series it always seemed like Bethesda was just doing the best with what they had. Big games needed big compromises. But when the public saw a second party studio use Bethesda's own engine (which if I remember correctly, was the basis for both Oblivion and FO3 or at least there's a lot of overlap) to create a filler spin-off in half the time (FO3: 2004-2008, NV: 2008-2010) that was THIS much better, fleshed out, and better looking.... I think it was kind of the moment when the public saw the emperor not wearing clothes. Prior to FO3, about the only ire that Todd Howard publicly got was from really hardcore Elder Scrolls fans, especially those who were originally fans of the Daggerfall game systems. That series was also a bit different though because Elder Scrolls was ALWAYS a Bethesda franchise so... at a certain point you could at least say it was still the original studio's vision for the game (although the original creators have mostly been absent since Morrowind). With FO3 I think the two fandoms found solidarity with each other against the public facing talking head of Todd Howard, who due to his position at the company was usually tasked with taking press questions and interviews. God only really knows how much personal responsibility he has for both franchises going down the drain, but since he's the guy who would announce beforehand what the games would be like he became the meme we know today.

[@lionpack694]

What about project purity water for all

[@gum8191]

Liquidate the rich.

[@Paralellex]

Bethesda really should have considered the fact that the higher the number after "fallout", the worse the game, before skipping all the way to 76.

[@zevaronxz7288]

Damn fallout 1 supremecists, go back to your vinesauce stream

[@Paralellex]

@@zevaronxz7288 Oh hey, found the one fallout 76 fan.

[@zevaronxz7288]

Paralellex I’m a fallout 2 supremacist FOOL

[@cow4025]

Thats why fallout new vegas rocks

[@deliqene3191]

@@zevaronxz7288 I believe the saying is "you got played"

[@ashertargaryen7255]

Table of contents Introduction 0:20 Listing things he liked 3:43 Part 1 8:32 Born to die Part 2 15:54 Ho dee do Toad Howard is a bad game designer Part 3. 41:50 Morality is for losers Part 4 51:52 Rehash central Part 5 1:04:09 the man in the room Part 6 1:17:07 take it back! ...The ending, that Is Part 7 1:19:52 The death and rebirth of western RPGs A CODA 1:24:56

[@Car-qu2bc]

You’re a lifesaver

[@ashertargaryen7255]

Josephclan 3 your welcome

[@ashertargaryen7255]

I've never finished this until now

[@alakabambram8436]

I really liked FO3 but I agree. Bethesda is the way it is today because we made bethesda think they can release the same game over and over agian. Fo3 is oblivion with guns, Skyrim has 100 different versions. FO4 and 76 are skyrim with guns and starfield is FO4 in space. These sound like gross over simplifications but its really not. If bethesda gave a damn about the world building in Fallout then settlements in Fallout4 would look like actual settlements. Its hard to believe that the bombs fell 200 years ago when people are living in prewar buildings that are falling apart yet they dont think to repair them or clean them up in anyway. Some "settlements" in fallout4 are just people standing in a barely standing building next to a pre war skeleton, nothing about that tells me a person actually lives there. There were actual settlements and cities in FO1, 2 and New Vegas. FO3 and beyond just are obsessed with the idea that the world hasn't progressed at all since the bombs drop which is just boring.

[@bulletsandbracelets4140]

The fact that the show did so well, and looks so much better with incredibly interesting settlements and characters, at least might be a good sign for the future? Hopefully it will give them the hint that people care more about the characters and the storyline than the scope of the world. From what I hear about Starfield, it's the perfect example of why having exploration as your main selling point, without giving any good reason for the exploring, isn't a good gaming experience for most people.

[@Helperbot-2000]

@@bulletsandbracelets4140 umm... the show might be even more of an art crime than fo3

[@omnical6135]

get ready for the deep choices 1- be nice 2- be extra nice 3- kill! KILL! *KILL!*

[@itshappyhyrda3970]

A fourth option blow up a town very deep questions.

[@itshappyhyrda3970]

@Ryan Munyon granted the only fallout game I have played was fallout new Vegas but I have watched reviews of other fallout games and personally it was not the FPS or gunplay that kept me invested into new Vegas it was the story and the character

[@AbstractTraitorHero]

@Ryan Munyon You can have a choice filled FPS.

[@phantompheonix6990]

@@eglib499 If its hard, then why was bethesda making a fallout game in the first place?

[@phantompheonix6990]

@Ryan Munyon Why? You can shoot things and have a good story.

[@Horltum]

The problem I have with Megaton is that the way to make the nuke nuanced IS RIGHT THERE. They have the Children of Atom, who are this weird cult. They have those people saying that the only way to repent is to bathe in radiation. If the religion of the Children of Atom was actually killing people (and Tenpenny wanted to blow it up because the radiation water was creating more ghouls), then the nuke choice would be nuanced. Then the main story would have anything good about it.

[@sars910]

There's a similar but ACTUALLY NUANCED quest like this in Fallout New Vegas. Some farmers tell you that radiation leaking from a nearby vault is damaging their crops. So head over to that vault and find out that the reactor of the vault was damaged in a civil war between the vault denizens (Which is a cool story on its own). Eventually you find out that some vault dwellers survived and are trapped deep in the vault. If you try to save them, even more radiation will be leaked into the wasteland. However, if you shut down the vault to protect the farms, you're dooming those survivors to their fate. It's a nuanced choice. Do you sacrifice some people to ensure the wellbeing of the outside wider world ? And your choice has a few, granted minor but nonetheless appreciated, consequences. If you close the vault, the farmers will thank you. If you open the vault and let the survivors out, you can encounter them wandering the wasteland. However, the farmers will have to go back to California because their jobs have become much more difficult because of your actions.

[@Lance-The-BoS-Lancer]

There is no repentance in the CoA in the way you say, it's just normal repentance. They believe in a god to who gifts them with immunity to radiation, and such, they desire great division, their Atom's splitting, but the time isnt right, and they aren't for forcing people to join. But I don't expect you to understand what is said on the confessors own terminal.

[@Spagoooterman]

@@sars910 there’s also ANOTHER New Vegas quest like this! Some farmers are complaining about not getting their water supply, and are in danger of not meeting their crop quotas. Turns out, some non-NCR farmers have re-routed the water to their own farms. So this is a choice in itself but THEN an NCR cop came to investigate the water and one of the non NCR farmers murdered him. So do you turn in a murderer and doom a farm to save the farms that were supposed to be getting the water, or do you cover it up for those innocent people who just need water at the expense of the NCR farmers? If you choose to side against the NCR farmers, you can find them later saying they have to go back to California cause they can’t meet their crop quotas and can’t stay there

[@Roflcopter4b]

I have to say that what you just suggested would have been even worse than what was in the game. The approach Bethesda took has one saving grace: it's obvious they didn't want to or couldn't come up with any good ideas, and didn't give a shit. So they went with "no reason at all". That is still superior to your suggestion of "the most painfully sophomoric horseshit I've read all week".

[@clara_g00]

@@sars910 Huh. Thet sounds like the Trolley Problem in disguise.

[@petrusjnaude7279]

The thing about Fawkes is just idiotic, because he specifically says he wanted to come and rescue you, which is why you find him outside the Enclave base when you escape. He then sticks with you through the whole rest of the game, unless you go out of your way to dismiss him. And then you can't send him in to activate the Purifier? That's just stupid.

[@EmmaBonn96]

Plus it would be a great counter point to the enclave’s want to genocide mutants.

[@theguy9208]

He literally retrieves the geck for you explicitly and only because of lethal radiation in that area of the vault then turns around and just directly says no the next time the same situation comes up...

[@lightmetro7508]

If you buy one of the dlc, he actually will go into the water purifier. They hid their patch behind a fucking paywall

[@Jobe00]

Todd Howard and Emil Pagliarulo will always be salty that they will never make any game as good as Fallout: New Vegas because Todd sucks at management and Emil hates player agency compared to Josh Sawyer, who is a good game project manager, and Chris Avellone, who is a tabletop RPG writer and understands player agency.

[@HellecticMojo]

I'm still appalled that the guy who says "writing doesn't matter" is the lead writer. "Safety doesn't matter" said the OSHA inspector. "Taste doesn't matter" said the chef.

[@Jobe00]

@@HellecticMojo I was unaware that Emil said this, but given his work, it doesn't shock me.

[@MaytayMaya]

Considering Emil somehow messed up the themes of not only Fallout but also Skyrim really shows his lacking quality as a writer. In Emil's own words; Fallout is "1950s Americana" and Skyrim is "Dragons". That's exactly why Fallout completey dropped the ball with it's storytelling, it's a core misunderstanding of what Fallout is and what made Fallout 1/2/NV so good, and why you need to have player agency to make a good RPG. But then again, we're talking about a guy who just inserted his Gary Stu protagonist into Fallout 1 as the war criminal that assisted in shooting unarmed Canadian civilians.

[@Jobe00]

@@MaytayMaya Emil is also the writer who said that writing doesn't matter, so he's beyond incompetent at his job. Todd Howard is no better in that he let Emil be the head writer.

[@purpseatpeeps8641]

I used to really disagree with this take, but now that the show has come out and seeing Todd’s reaction to people liking it has cemented it as truth for me, Bethesda seems weirdly obsessed with winning over the masses, if that makes sense? They put in a lot of really surface level public-appeal things like high violence that you can’t avoid or something like the Pip-Boy app hooking up to your console, and they really seem to kind of flip out whenever somebody does a better job than them with the franchise. And it feels like they put high priority on that over actually making good experiences.

[@chimedemon]

The first time I played fallout 3, I was just a little kid who REALLY hated to be seen as the bad guy. I wanted to be seen as a hero who can talk his way out of problems or just try to use combat only when absolutely necessary (if you can’t tell I was super influenced by Superman) but when it deliberately made me have to kill the guards who I really only wanted to just leave be, I felt like the game was telling me I HAD to kill. And because of this I killed the girl’s (I totally forgot her name) dad. When she told me how she hated what I just did, I felt absolutely horrible! Like I thought the game was punishing me for doing what it taught me to do. I didn’t really get far.

[@Jogjosmowwdkfs]

NiD0 Ravensbeard I was a freshman who desperately wanted people to like me. I really thought the game wanted me to kill him. Amatas crying messed me up. When I discovered Three Dog bashed you for not doing the “THOSE” quest, I reloaded to play it. Not cause I liked it, but because i couldn’t stand anyone calling me bad. From then on, I learned I could kill Three Dog and Margaret would take over as the disc jockey and would never complain about me except to say “some asshole killed our dj”

[@skythebunny]

Do you expect people to be nice to you if you killed their dad? Being evil is supposed to make you feel bad, because if you are really evil, you won't care if they put you down. You just kill them too

[@femmemachete]

I tried to be a good guy, but I couldn't stop stealing stuff. Haha.

[@asaself7167]

Bruh, i was a little sadist the first time I played fo3 (8yo).goddamn

[@tylark2817]

I got through the vault just fine without killing her dad.

[@Thefellomens]

You nailed the morality part. I love being evil in video games, it's usually my first way to go. But I always (excluding new vegas) end up choosing the good guy options because the evil one is just Too Much. I want to be an asshole who steals and betrays people who I was pretending to be friends with, not the moustache-twirling evil who blows up the one good city to trade in because Evil Choice is So Evil.

[@blazaybla22]

Ngl I blew up Megaton my first play through solely because I thought it would be more entertaining and I was right

[@devilmikey00]

Yeah, I call it "bioware morality". Post mass effect and mass effect 2 for a solid 5-8 or so years morality in AAA games embraced morality as a completely binary choice (new vegas excluded). In ME you are the dutiful good guy or a baby punching maniac with little in between. I mean there are in between options in ME1/2 but you are actively punished for picking them. Fallout 4 is the starkest example.

[@bostonbackpack6530]

@@blazaybla22 I mean who wouldn't? Imagine exploring a group of settlers that decided it was a good idea to build a town around an inactive bomb. On top of that, you also have a religious group around the bloody thing asking for it to blow up and bask in the glow!

[@AlmightyJ97]

@@devilmikey00 Mass effect really only turned Shepard into a baby puncher in the 3rd one. In 1&2 they are more of a no nonsense, more ruthless soldier and in 2 personality wise into a kind of likeable douchebag. When you go full evil in 3 you betray Wrex and the Krogans on a massive scale.

[@aolson1111]

@@AlmightyJ97 The Krogan ravaged the galaxy before the genophage. It won't even wipe them out, it just reduces their birthrate to a reasonable level. Leaving it in place for the safety of the galaxy is a lot more justifiable than removing it because you're friends with one Krogan.

[@betty_wayne_78]

When I played the survival guide quest I had my character do it reluctantly since she was meant to be selfish and disinterested and such, so I thought it made sense for that character to eventually tell Moira midway through the quest to stop doing research because it was going to get someone hurt and she literally said “Yeah I think I’ve gotten you hurt a couple times already haven’t I?” So basically I waited until the point of the quest where I thought it would make sense to stop and also said it in the nicest most reasonable way posible and still the game gave me bad karma points and a perk called “Dream Crusher” or something like that.

[@vaultboy5492]

what part makes the most sense to stop at? the part where she makes you hurt yourself or go into a minefield or get irrriated half to ghoulism?

[@betty_wayne_78]

@@vaultboy5492 after all of those, I don’t quite remember now but I think I faked the minefield and then just told her I wouldn’t get irradiated

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

Personally, I went sunk cost fallacy on that questline.

[@electrified0]

The sad part is that when Obsidian finally had the freedom to make their own brand new intellectual property, we got Otherworlds. A hollow space themed action RPG that undermined every ounce of potential it had with cheap ironic jokes and a dragged out opening sequence that's so bland and long it lost them more than half the people who tried playing. Then Bethesda said hold my beer and released Starfield to prove no one can make a more hollow and boring space action RPG than them.

[@Vamoss39]

You mean Outer Worlds?

[@armandoventura9043]

That happened because New Vegas was hell for the developers, especially after betting with Bethesta on a lot of things The experience was so bad that many developers, writers and programmers left, which is why Obsidian can't take off after that, and no, the situation is not going to change with Microsoft because Bethesta really doesn't like the idea that Obsidian is going to exhibit its own incompetence again, even if the possibility is not there

[@arturoaguilar6002]

I reached the Outer World end area, got into the final dialog before the final boss, and the options prompt showed me I was like 1 point short of persuasion to skip the fight. So I reloaded, drank some booze and... success! Alcohol saves the day once again...

[@cameronharding2878]

​@arturoaguilar6002 That's why I drink and drive. gotta up those stat points

[@SomeOne-gs7sy]

*Fawkes is immune to radiation, straight power move.* Bethesda: Yeah how about N o.

[@HyperShadic0]

He didn't even mention the worst one: Sergeant RL-3. He's a robot that you bought and he's designed to follow your orders, because you know, he's a robot. He's also immune to radiation for obvious reasons. Despite this, he suddenly grows sentience and a conscience in the last minutes of the game because he refuses to activate the purifier and says you need to follow up on what your father died for.

[@subroy7123]

@@HyperShadic0 Player: But I don't want to die like my useless father I wanna live. SRL-3: I am sorry Howard, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to *GET IN THE GODDAMN CHAMBER AND FINISH THE GAME YOU WASTE OF SKIN I AM SENTIENT NOW NEARLY 20BILLION IQ*

[@DirtyGeorge]

OK zoomer

[@duckieduck3287]

@@HyperShadic0 RL3 isn't exactly programmed as such since he only travels with you when your karma is neutral

[@pavlasiu7705]

how about use a stick to put the code and drop it in before door is close? a machine with pistons ho activate the password? -No, I WANT TO DIE- And the real hero sacrifice shes life. -Thanks morgan Freaman but i think that is stupid to suicide having robots ho are inmune to rads, but if you say it i agree-

[@ShockandMaw]

Another thing is that Fallout 3 teaches you to stare at the compass and follow it in a straight line to get where you're going but with New Vegas, the same compass marker is there yet plays a lessened role in telling you where to go. No, in New Vegas the thing that tells you where to go are the roads. The first thing that you see upon leaving Goodsprings is a road going in two directions. This is where you get a choice of following it left to deathclaw territory (a shorter but intensely more dangerous route) or to the right towards Primm (a much longer but more manageable and context providing route.). Both lead to New Vegas without having your eyes locked on the compass the whole trip.

[@tomjackjack960]

@Totino's Pizza Rolls Then why the hell does fallout 3 need a stupid compass if the developer want you to "explore" the world?

[@tomjackjack960]

@Totino's Pizza Rolls plus fallout 3's world setting is an insult to human intelligence

[@headhunterx1291]

Did your pea brain miss all the roads in fallout 3 that lead to places?

[@samiamtheman7379]

Not entirely since characters tell you where you can go, then the marker points you to Primm, then Novac through Nipton. Then Boulder City, then New Vegas.

[@MechanicWolf85]

In fallout new Vegas going on a straight line is a good way to end up in: A. A mountain blocking your path B. A raider camp with high level gear C. An ambush D. A death claw nest E. A faction you piss off Or F. All of the above at the same time

[@tommytomlin944]

I remember when this videos like ratio was like 30/70 back in the day haha

[@PetraDunamancer]

I honestly love to read some of the old comments

[@spadeplaladin5]

Fr this aged wonderfully

[@budlikycz2445]

I bet most of them didnt even watched the video. They just saw the name of the vid which hurt their little feelings and they just pressed dislike.

[@joule400]

@@PetraDunamancer i can barely find the 5yo ones

[@Katharsis939]

@@joule400 Well, I watched the video twice, and it's still a shitty review, just for some trashtalk-clicks with about one third untrue statements.

[@Ivan_Ooze]

i think it was mantis who put it best. FO3 is a fan game. its "what if fallout was over here" not "what would over here look like in fallout"

[@purpseatpeeps8641]

Sorry, minor confusion on my part, who is mantis?

[@Ivan_Ooze]

@@purpseatpeeps8641 TKs-Mantis, a fellow KZbinr majoring in fallout

[@purpseatpeeps8641]

@@Ivan_Ooze Alright, I figured as much, thanks for clearing that up!

[@epicgamer-ur1wg]

TKs-Mantis?

[@derekrau8236]

I think my favorite part of Fallout NV is that the Karma system is kinda not important. There’s a few points where it matters, but for the most part the story is influenced by how you resolve quests.

[@Rigby350]

@@yamsSMP karma systems are always gonna be absolutely atrocious because no one can judge your intentions other than yourself

[@Pineappolis]

​@@Rigby350 This depends (to an extent) on your view of what morality _is_ (a tricky debate anywhere, let along a gaming KZbin comments section so I'll just state mine, say that I understand and respect yours and we'll move on). For me, an action's morality isn't defined by your intent _per se_ but by _all_ known or reasonably probable outcomes that the actor could be reasonably expected to foresee considering the knowledge they have, the knowledge they could reasonably obtain and the timeframe in which the action must be taken. This actually works to video games' advantages since they can dictate both what you know and what you could easily find out if you bothered. What it doesn't solve is the issue that the writers will always have to be the arbiters of what intentions (in your case and if they could come up with a system by which your intentions can be stated without completely breaking immersion) or outcomes (in my case) are good and which are bad. And that's a lofty-ass perch for _anyone_ to place themselves on. One interesting solution would be what I've just decided to call the 'Solf J. Kimblee' approach - have their personal code of morality/ethics be part of character creation and measure progress against _that._ It'd still be fallible but significantly less so and could also come up in dialogue and other mechanics (a corrupt nobleman might be less inclined to let a widely-known 'Robin Hood' type in through the front door, for instance).

[@Rigby350]

@@Pineappolis nah alignment shift systems are still AWFUL (just look at the pathfinder games!)

[@Pineappolis]

@@Rigby350 Aye, you're probably right. I'd envisioned something much deeper than that (I assume Pathfinder uses the same system as D&D given all the other similarities and, yeah, it's a bit bollocks and far too open to interpretation) that gets down to genuinely personal values and beliefs but, thinking about it more, that's _massively_ unfeasible. No AAA publisher would go near something that high-concept and no indie developer is going to have the budget or time to make the world reactive enough to it to make it worth doing given the vast number of permutations you could potentially end up creating. I _guess_ you could have a limited number of presets (probably even fewer than LG, CE, etc. but with the advantage that the specifics of your character's belief system are clearly spelled out for the player) but that'd be pretty unsatisfying.

[@vogunBurgundy]

There's good reasons that Pathfinder's taking the opportunity to move away from Alignment system in favor of Anathema and Edicts with the 2.0 of 2E and the transfer of OGL terms to the new ORC license, etc., and cosmologically enforced Karma Systems being lame is the biggest one

[@yabuslay]

"Messing speech up this badly is a GAME CRIME" *fallout 4 whimpers quietly in a corner*

[@rainerzufall6895]

(Sarcastic) Fallout 4 is a really good game, so you should not say this.

[@joem595]

Rainer Zufall its a good game but not a good fallout game

[@Gregiathan33]

-Why? -(Sarcastic) I agree -I disagree (I agree) -I agree

[@willy_th3_walrus257]

Fallout 4 is a simplified game but still a great one

[@michwan6732]

fallout 4 is a good game on gameplay but as a fallout game is the worst due the lack of role-playing and weak story in other fallout games you can be a badass lone wolf or a friendly scavenger or a family man there but in FO4 you stuck as a parent and the ending felt bland compared to the other fallout games i do admit i enjoyed the power armor system in the FO4 but that's it (sorry if they are any bad grammars english isn't my native language)

[@Kyanite_45]

I swear Fallout 3 made my brain autopilot through the ENTIRE game. I'm going to admit, it pretty much held my hand for so long that in the ending when the game unexpectedly made ME, THE PLAYER, make the decision to enter the code "216" into the purifier and sacrifice myself for the greater good as it clearly intended, _I had to Google what the code was..._ I haven't felt more embarassed than I have in that moment in *QUITE A LONG TIME.*

[@rileytimes]

Oh my gosh same!!!

[@animatorbug]

Coming into this waaay late, but I find it funny that I also just forgot the code. And by forgot, I mean I never even knew I learned it in the first place. I had to reload my game and send Lyons in instead because I lacked an internet connection to figure out the answer at the time

[@ni9274]

I think literally everyone on earth who played fallout 1 and 2 had to use google to get a quest done or escape the master base.

[@Favutubeeeeeeeeeeeee]

MmNnxbcmnb lưum cc

[@Favutubeeeeeeeeeeeee]

@@rileytimes 309

[@MattnessLP]

When I first played Fallout 3, I fell in love with it. I never played a game like it before, the scale and atmosphere blew my tiny mind... So I went preordered New Vegas and well, I haven't ever touched Fallout 3 since then, while I revisited New Vegas again just last year. Looking back, Fallout 3 was just a depressing mess with little to no personality, and really the only redeeming aspect of it is that it's the reason New Vegas exists. If you excuse me now, I gotta get back to my patrol. I hope we'll finally get a nuclear winter soon, the sun is killing me.

[@grimpmann4068]

New Vegas is the game that lacks personality.

[@LilyOfMorningstar]

@@grimpmann4068 name 5 interesting characters from fallout 3 and 3 major decisions you can make throughout the story that affect the ending

[@grimpmann4068]

@@LilyOfMorningstar All of the characters are interesting, Dukov being the best of all. You got me on that last one though, the best part about New Vegas is it ending.

[@LilyOfMorningstar]

@@grimpmann4068 who tf is dukov?

[@grimpmann4068]

@@LilyOfMorningstar Dukov is the guy who calls the PC "Clown shoes". He's a small part of small part of a quest but he's full of charisma.

[@7graywolf7]

What's hilarious and ironic is that throughout all of Fallout 3 YOU are the side character. You're Lyon's generic companion npc. And when it comes time for her to make the hero/coward choice she decides to pass it on to her companion. She's literally doing to you what you try to do with Fawkes... Except you can die in there, thus making her not just a coward but a selfish murderer. This could be brilliant if it weren't for the fact it's totally on accident. Just like all things in Fallout 3 there is potential for greatness but it's all squandered by lazy development. I think people enjoy F3 because of what it could have been, not because of what it really is. It's just too bad so many people keep giving Bethesda money for doing this.

[@iggykidd]

Yeah, most of Bethesda’s games are good with major caveats. A totally polished, well thought out version of what they make would be incredible, but Bethesda has been the only company making games like that, so we had to settle. Now with Outer Worlds, Metal Gear Solid 5, Breath of the Wild, and more to come, Bethesda is looking more and more like the pathetic grandpa of a company that it is.

[@okagron]

@@iggykidd Even with them only making these types of games you'll notice that they are bad regardless. Just because you are making a specific type of a bad game that no one else is making it doesn't make it not a bad game. Hence why we didn't need the games you mentioned to be even released to realize that Bethesda games are trash.

[@iggykidd]

@@okagron read my comment again, that was my point. The games always sucked, we just didn't have many other options for games like that yet. Now we do, so why is bethesda still around? I guess Doom was pretty good but that was all id's work.

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

I was planning on someday adapting my experiences with Fallout 3 into like a fanfic or something. I really wanted to write a Lone Wanderer that just has the worst fucking trauma and self esteem issues due to the things he sees and the way people treat him. Not to mention writing Winnifred's perspective on his actions, and how people respond in kind to them through how the Karma system horrifically bitches certain quests. I dunno if Bethesda intended it, but the hallucinations from Point Lookout really do say a lot of how the LW feels about himself.

[@StephenHopkinsVaults]

What a waste 😊

[@TheGreatCarlosBudeeny]

You blew up a city? I'm very disappointed in you.

[@zucchiknee5201]

Please stop blowing up cities full of innocents, it hurts my feelings

[@HadBabits]

"You blew up a city? That's actually kind of impressive, son." "Er, it was more of a podunk town--" "-VERY DISAPPOINTED"

[@chewchewtrain]

ONLY ONE CITY? I HAD ALREADY BLEW UP 10 WHEN I WAS HALF YOUE AGE! YOU ARE A DISAPPOINTMENT TO US ALL!

[@cgnomazoid]

CarlosBudeeny it should be remembered with how few people alive there are in the world there’s a good chance that that could have been more than 1 percent of the world population

[@sportaflop169]

Can we talk about it later

[@AceAttorny]

43:00 "Do you have any idea how many cops died because he ordered them to attack me? And innocent people, too?" nice

[@toe_sucker_4165]

nice

[@TheGamingCathedral]

nice

[@NikkiikkiN]

nice

[@notaninstrument7707]

Nice

[@PlayMadness]

The best part of Fallout 3 was that it introduced so many people to the better games.

[@TheFIghtin]

Nah. 1 and 2 were dreadfully boring. Fallout 3 is great.

[@zorreid5191]

New Vegas only?

[@mosar52]

One of the things that bothered me in this game is in the addon "The Pitt". There is a notion there that you need to pose as a slave in order to get in. But I decided to see what happens when I forced my way through. So I wore my best power armor, with alien blaster in hand and stormed it. After vaporizing gate guards with ease I step in. And then a cut scene "oh, we got ourself a rebel. Andrew do it" "blackout". Yes, me a walking tank, I was knocked out black with a rusted pipe from behind. Even though I killed everyone behind me.

[@ncrranger4737]

That's just Bethesda! If you aren't having fun the exact way the devs intended, you aren't allowed to have fun!

[@ExternalDialogue]

@@ncrranger4737 Thats not really fair though. Bethesda games focus on letting you do literally whatever you want, they are just really bad at coming up with justifications for ideas and accidentally creating contrivances, either because they don't care, its not a priority or they are just kinda bad at making games. In this instance they had an idea in mind and only afterwards tried making up a contrivance to justify the circumstances. Its bad writing not overly controlling game design.

[@ekki1993]

@@ExternalDialogue Except "overly controlling" isn't the only way to only let you have fun their way. Bad writing and bad game design does that too. Also, remember how Bethesda designed their tutorials for Skyrim and Fallout 3? The singular endings? The linear dungeons? They clearly like to retort to linear storytelling and forcing choices whenever they can get away with it.

[@ExternalDialogue]

@@ekki1993 you are ascribing intent to incompetence.

[@ekki1993]

@@ExternalDialogue does it change anything if it's unintended? The result is still a lot of handholding and very few chances to do something your way unless it's exactly the way the devs wanted you to do.

[@derkcast620]

Hi Harris, I just want you to know my 16 yr old Daughter and i say "WhaT'S THat? I'm A BAd GaME DEsigner?! WAAAAAA-OOOOOO" is quoted on a weekly basis. You have made something very special here

[@xmlthegreat]

Nice. 1:04:00 for instant replayability.

[@patrickdoherty4527]

I really enjoyed Fallout 3 at the time and still have great memories of it. However, I do agree with a lot of the points made here, especially the morality system. I'm so sick of morality systems in game. As most games are massive murder simulators, you spend hours killing countless enemies in a variety of gruesome ways and then, during cut scenes, your character is morally conflicted about killing someone or you are expected to feel bad for killing someone when you clearly had no choice (you actually would have failed the mission had you not done so).

[@theguybehindyou4762]

In other words, most attempts at morality systems come off as pretentious at best.

[@DJWeapon8]

New Vegas' Faction Reputation is the best form of gauging player morality currently made. The karma system in FNV was largely vestigial and they were hoping to take it out, anyway.

[@patrickdoherty4527]

@@DJWeapon8 Yeah, that was definitely a good system. God, I can't imagine ever getting to play a Fallout game like that again. I'd settle for a remake.

[@domin4193]

Fuckin Last of Us 2 lmao

[@Knightlydaze]

@Rock welcome to one of the greatest adventures you’ll ever travel

[@BansheeNT-D]

Bethesda turned Fallout into Itchy & Scratchy Land with a Mad Max setting.

[@vernontk]

Yeah it's awesome

[@purpseatpeeps8641]

“I wonder if this kind of violence really does desensitize us?”