Key

I'm going to give credit where credit is due before I even start this entry. Exo, my man. You're the one who pushed me to get into this game, and I am grateful for that. At first, when I started playing it, I told you that I played for about an hour and stopped playing after that, now I'm of the opinion that you're the greatest human being that ever lived since I've found a new addiction. Now that that's out of the way, let's get into this.

So, Fallout 3. I'm sure everybody and their mother has heard of this game. It's certainly taken me a lot longer than anybody else or everybody else for that matter to find the true genius that is this game. It's not so much that I wasn't interested in it. I just felt that it would be such a huge undertaking, and it wasn't really worth my time. Funny thing is, I played this for the first time a few years ago on Xbox and for whatever reason, I didn't really cling onto it. It seemed like a great game, one that I probably should have liked from the get go, but didn't really see much to it to interest me. Over the years i've sort of regretted not getting into it when I had the chance, because now with Fallout 4 coming out, I feel like i'm way behind the 8-ball, which I usually am, I guess. Everybody was always talking about the Fallout series like it was some sort of god or whatever, and back then I would have just shrugged it off and thought nothing of it. I've played a few more hours of it and I can kind of understand where people are coming from when they "overhype" the Fallout series. It's certainly deserving of that type of praise.

For me, I am very easy to please when it comes to video games, and sometimes certain games of a certain genre have to hit that sweet spot where it takes me from "liking the game" to "holy crap this game is awesome" and this one does it very well. The atmosphere is perfect. I've always been a huge fan of post-apocalyptic settings. Probably why I love zombie survival games so much. The thought that i'm controlling one of the few people left on earth just feels so depressingly awesome that it makes the whole experience worthwhile every single time I play it. I love the feeling of running around trying to find things to keep me from dying / allowing myself to survive longer. There's just something about it that really adds a "holy **** i'm alone" sort of feel, and that's a really cool feeling to get when playing a video game. The difficulty of the game is nothing to sneeze at either. I'm starting my first playthrough on Normal difficulty, and even that is pretty tough. In the couple hours that i've played the game, i've found myself in really tight situations because I was either not prepared for them ammo wise, or i'm just not using my supplies in the fashion that I should be. I'm of the mindset that there will be a bunch of ammo cases lying around everywhere, but so far that just isn't the case. I have to get into the mindset that I need to be careful with my supplies and only use certain weapons when the time calls for it. The nice thing is is that i'm actually going for a more melee style character, so the ammo usage isn't too much of a big deal. I feel more immersed in the gameplay when I can get right in someones face and break their neck or their limbs. However, there are times where it's obvious that I need to put the melee weapons away and just open fire. I'm also going to have to be of the mindset that not every single enemy needs to die. I've been trying to make sure I clear areas of enemies, but instead I could have just run by them and saved myself the time and ammo and health for that matter. I'm so used to just taking the enemies out that it's a weird transition to make where I don't really have to worry about it. Sure, the experience is useful, but if I feel like I can't take on the enemies that are showing up, I should really just be running away from them and deal with it later. Even if they take me out while I try to run away. Hey, that's part of the experience, right?

I think one of my favorite things about this game is being able to tune into certain radio stations. I had always heard people talking about how great the music is in the game and things like that, but I never really understood where they were coming from. I do now, however. There's a variety of stations you can tune into that really help set the mood depending on how you want to play. Hell, you can even have the radio turned completely off if you want to. There have been times that the static from the radio add a super unsettling effect on the game, and I think that's awesome. And if I feel like it's too quiet, I can just turn on the radio and hear this beautiful little gem that pops on every now and again:



The music era that they chose to go with in this game is perfection. They absolutely did a fantastic job in finding a certain era of music that really fit the post-apocalyptic setting and the era they chose is just so good. I also really like tuning into the news about whats going on in the world. There's a certain charm when tuning in and hearing the DJ say something like "soooo, how's everyone doing in this post-apocalyptic world of ours!" It sort of adds a bit of positive and comedy to an obviously negative and terrible situation. I haven't really seen a lot in terms of radio stations, but just being able to tune into certain ones is really cool. Then again, Bethesda has always been great at coming up with ideas that fit games really really well.

The only thing about this game that I don't like, and it's not even the game itself. "Windows Live". I hate it. I absolutely hate it and I don't see why it even needs to be a thing. It prompts me to put in a 16 character product key even though i've bought the game on Steam. There may be a loophole around that, but for the time being, I just X out of it and continue on my way. It doesn't really cause any disruption other than being an annoyance when I start the game up. Another thing i'm surprised by is the lack of achievements through Steam. Again, just a minor detail that I find more interesting than anything else. Doesn't really take away from my enjoyment though. The game is still fun and I play to put many hours into it.

So, where do we stand now? Is this a game that I regret not getting into as much as everyone else? Yes. Absolutely. I honestly wish I could turn back time and tell my past self to keep on playing even if it's not enjoyable at that time. I pushed myself a little bit and it took some personal convincing but I finally had the urge to play the game again since the first time I played it on PC a few weeks ago (my first ever time was on the Xbox that I mentioned earlier), and I haven't looked back since. There have been some technical issues that I have been able to get fixed, but now the experience is better than ever before. The other question is, will I be interested in Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4 upon it's release? Absolutely yes. But with me being so behind the 8-ball, it'll be a little while before I pick up Fallout 4 for myself. I don't really want to pay full retail for it because I already know everybody else is going to do that. I'd honestly rather wait a few months until it goes down in price, or it's thrown into a bundle. Fallout: New Vegas will probably be the next game I purchase if anything, mostly because I hear that one is a lot of fun. Most people have said that if you enjoy Fallout 3, you'll absolutely love Fallout: New Vegas. I actually haven't seen any lets play or anything of that game, and I plan to keep it that way. I'm going to go into it completely blind.

And that's about all I really want to say about that. I plan to talk more about this game as I progress, but for the time being, i'm really enjoying it. I can only imagine that my experience will continue to get better. There's really no way it could get worse.

Key

I know, i'm talking about this game a lot. But it's not really my fault that Bethesda made a game that I fell in love with. Honestly, I would've been surprised if I never fell in love with it, which was almost the case for a while. I really want to touch on something that I didn't touch on before, and while it's probably obvious to everybody else, I have got to say that I am absolutely amazed at the detail that seems to have gone into the making of this game. I'm not really talking about the graphics or the character development, which is pretty good too. I'm talking about the detail in which the game portrays Washington D.C. As soon as I heard that the game was based in Washington D.C., my first thought was..."I wonder what the Lincoln Memorial looks like in a post-apocalyptic world." I'll tell you right now, i'm not disappointed. I have a screenshot of it as well.



Honestly, when I first walked up the steps and saw this, I was both amazed and terrified to see how it was portrayed in a post-apocalyptic setting. I was almost expecting to see the entire statue gone, but i'm glad they went the direction that they did, because it adds a sort of "we don't follow any presidency" feel to the games overall atmosphere. I'm not really sure what i'd expect the Lincoln Memorial to actually look like if we somehow ended up in a post-apocalyptic time, but I'd hope to see it turn out something like the image above. Obviously this is just a game, but it's fun to think about.

Along with that, I took some screenshots of the Washington Monument. I've been to Washington D.C and I have seen both the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The attention to detail for both of these is just amazing. It's almost like being there again. Granted I've not been there in years so maybe it's different.



I like this particular image a lot because it's very interesting to see what the world looks like in a post-apocalyptic time, and to have the Washington Monument in the background along with the clouds and moon really add a sort of dark ambiance to everything.

There's a lot of cool stuff to find in this game, and I won't be surprised if I find myself coming back here and posting more screenshots of things that I find. And yes, that is an open invitation to myself to post more screenshots in the near future.

Key

It's happened guys. It's actually happened. I'm happily addicted to Fallout 3. The reason this is so exciting to me is because this has been a game that i've wanted to try out for a long time, and it's gotten to the point that I genuinely get excited when I can either talk about it or play it again. I've pretty much spent most of my time today playing it. I mean, I believe I started playing this game again yesterday afternoon, and at this moment, I have a little over 10 hours of playtime already logged through Steam. I know i've been talking about this game a lot this week, but quite frankly, it's my journal, and I can do whatever the hell I want. Anyway, let's get into some of the things that I've been enjoying about this game in the time that i've been playing so far. (Caution: Potential spoilers coming up.)

Megaton and it's short lived existence: I never really decided early on whether or not I was going to be a good character or a bad character, but I feel like it doesn't really make a humongous difference in the grand scheme of things. Sure, my dad mentioned the fact that I blew up Megaton and wanted to talk to me about it, and Doctor Li was caught off guard by the fact that I killed the man with the heart problem, but I haven't really seen much other than that of which made me regret some of the decisions i've made. Anyway, yes, I decided to go ahead and set off the atom bomb that was sitting in the middle of Megaton. I didn't really know what to expect from it, but the reward was pretty awesome. In a time like this when everything seem hopeless and I'm trying to find what I can get, to be rewarded with a room and a bed and all that stuff is just so worth going through the trouble of making sure the atom bomb is up and running. Honestly, I wasn't really a big fan of Megaton in the first place, mostly because nobody really seemed interesting and I quite honestly never wanted to see those people again. They were mean. So setting off an atom bomb in a place like that was truly a wonderful feeling. Plus, there's plenty of other cities to explore, don't need to hold back.

Power Armor training: I finally got to the point in the game where I can finally look like the guy that's on the box art. Unfortunately, I had a set of power armor in my equipment tab that was pretty well worn already, but I'm sure I'll be able to afford the repairs. The power armor is pretty damn cool looking and just looking at my character wearing it just feels even cooler. Not that it was really too much of a problem before, I can now take on enemies that are in groups much easier than I was before. I know that most people probably would be more likely to choose laser based weapons to go along with the armor, but honestly, i've been having some good luck with the hunting rifle. It's accurate, it's easy on ammo, and it's fun to use. It doesn't really have an easy reload time to work with, but other than that, it's probably my favorite weapon. Yes, I went back on my decision about going full melee, and I decided to level up my small / big guns levels as I level up.

Those are the two things that kind of stick out to me for the time being that I thought had a really good impact on my overall experience with the game. However, there are a lot more little details while playing that really add to the overall depressing atmosphere that this game attempts (and succeeds) to give off. For one, the ambient background music that plays as i'm wandering in the wasteland is both spooky and depressing. To me, it's got the post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. feel that it should have when walking around the D.C. ruins and wasteland. Hearing the tune play while looking at the buildings that are in ruins is just so depressingly beautiful. There's just something about it that makes me feel like i'm the one walking through the ruins of D.C. and I really am feeling the pain of what would potentially happen if something like this were to happen. To be honest, the entire soundtrack is fantastic:



I also hope people don't take the fact that i'm calling this a depressing game and take it the wrong way. From what I can tell, that's what Bethesda were going for. They wanted to create a game that pretty much portrays the depression and somewhat beauty that would happen if we lived in a post-apocalyptic world. It's honestly one of the first times in a video game where I feel really truly awful for not only my character, but every single NPC that I run into. It just makes me think that every single person that I run into is either lucky to be alive, or is struggling to be alive. Even seeing people sleeping on dirty mattresses on the ground, living in homes where half of the home is gone, or even living in an abandoned school bus that is just lying in the wasteland. There are those and so many more things that makes this game truly as beautiful as it is. I'm not even upset that I've kind of grown addicted to this game, because I really feel like this isn't going to be the only time that I talk about being addicted to this game. I've seen people talk about the fact that they have 800 to 1000 hours in this game, and honestly, I can understand why. With the amount of side quests, little things here and there, helping out NPC's and the like, I can definitely see myself ranking up hours really quickly. It's also one of the few games where I really don't mind staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning playing it. The experience is worth it.

I'm constantly slapping myself on the wrist every time I think about the fact that not even 48 hours ago, I felt that this game wasn't worth my time. I really truly wish I could go back and just tell myself (and yes, I talked about this already, but I mean it) to play this game. It's easily one of the best experiences i'm having with a video game, and I feel that it's just going to get better. I know you're probably tired of hearing about me talk about this game, but don't worry, there'll be plenty more opportunities for me to talk about it. Don't think this is the last time I'll talk about it.

Mr. Charlie

One of my favourite games of all time. It's so much fun.

Cool thread too, by the way. Makes good reading.

Black Francis

Im glad you've taken a liking to fallout3. Hearing how much you're liking it reminds me of when i first played it.

2 things i want to mention to you.

1. If you can get the operation anchorage dlc i suggest you do, that dlc gives you the best armor in the game.

2. Don't let the ghouls in Tenpenny tower.. they ruin everything.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Key

I'll look into the DLC. I believe I have it, but I could be mistaken.

Yeah, I killed the ghouls instead of letting them into Tenpenny Tower. The guy who gave me the mission was very convincing.

Black Francis

Do you have a traveling companion already?

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Key

No, not yet. I'm currently at the part where I go into the caves to find the entrance to the vault that supposedly holds G.E.C.K. Haven't heard or seen anything after that point so this is all blind to me.

Black Francis

I don't want to spoil the surprise of finding them but they really come in handy.
if im not mistaken at the end of that very mission you're in you'll get one.

Dogmeat the dog companion is at a scrap yard btw.
im telling you this one because finding him is not part of the main story.. you kinda just run into him.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Key

Perhaps not so different than you'd expect. But I want to focus on something that I've found recently. There's a guy on Youtube who goes by the name of SquidPhysics. I found this guy accidentally when I was listening to a song in the Diddy Kong Racing sountrack to post in the video game music thread. There was a related video on the side bar with the title "Diddy Kong Racing Theme Cover (all instruments)", and obviously I had to check it out. I'm happy that I did, because this guy is not only talented, but he does everything so flawless and perfectly that it's almost impossible not to subscribe right away. Here's the video I mentioned:



Upon researching more, he's done a lot more video game based covers from numerous games like Grand Theft Auto, Banjo Kazooie, Halo, and a ton more. The guy is certainly talented and I wanted to showcase his stuff here because it's music and it revolves around video games which are two of my all time favorite thing. I'm pretty much always a sucker for covers of old video games, because I know that some of the older games had some of the best soundtracks. Banjo Kazooie specifically was easily one of my all time favorite video games back then and part of it was due to the soundtrack. SquidPhysics does a cover of the intro to that game, and it's also done so flawlessly:



And yes, he does everything from the banjo playing to the vocal sounds of Banjo and Kazooie, both done amazingly.

Probably my absolutely favorite one that he does though is the theme to The Great Sea from Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I've always really found this song catchy and calming when being on the boat and going to some place you've never seen before. Nintendo have really been no stranger to amazing soundtracks like I mentioned, and this guy really does them justice. And I don't say that for just about anyone:



Currently this guy only has around 127,000 subscribers on Youtube. IT says he joined in 2011, so that's not a terrible number to be at right now for his channel. I foresee that he'll get really popular as time goes on because if anything, he deserves the attention, which is exactly why i'm posting his music here.