Fallout 3 OUT NOW!!! (Official Thread)

[Trumpman]

I picked up a new 360 at Best Buy and thankfully this one works. I also preordered the Collector's Edition there and got a cool Nuka-Cola bottle opener. I can post pics of that if people want - it looks pretty cool.

One more day!!!

I can't wait!!!

[heybtbm]

The Gamestop I pre-ordered at is having a midnight launch tonight. Crazy.

Circuit City is giving away a free mini-guide and $10 giftcard. Midnight launch or not...I'm thinking I may get my $5 pre-order back and go with CC tomorrow.

[JustRob]

I've had this on preorder for over a month now. LE at the gamestop by my house where the cute girl who actually knows what she's talking about works at...

I took Wednesday off because I have a doctor's appointment early afternoon. Guess what I'll be filling the rest of my time with...

[scooterb23]

So, this Fallout...what is it? 3? Fallout 3. Ok. Is it some kind of fighting game or what?

[mezrabad]

So, this Fallout...what is it? 3? Fallout 3. Ok. Is it some kind of fighting game or what?

Fallout was a Science Fiction themed RPG that came out in 1997. It was themed similar to an earlier Interplay game called Wasteland. You had stats, skills, traits and perks along with an item modification scheme.

Fallout 2 was similar to Fallout as I understand it, at least in terms of gameplay and engine.

Fallout 3 is using an extended version of the engine used for Oblivion so it's got the same stats/skill/and perks based play as the earlier games Fallout and Fallout 2 but in the the gorgeous environs of Oblivion, well, as gorgeous as they'd be if they'd been decimated in a Nuclear war.

Seriously thinking about going to Gamestop just before Midnight tonight. I know I wouldn't be able to play it very late (not unless I was willing to Red Bull myself tomorrow) but knowing it was waiting for me at home and being able to bring the lunch box to work would be a plus. Yeah, I'm pretty much that excited. I feel like a kid on Christmas eve, though it would be nice if I had the day off, which was always the plus about being a kid on Christmas.

[Trumpman]

I think my second 360 might be a bad one as well. Twice while playing NHL 09 I got a "Cannot read disk" error when the disk is brand new. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

This one's manufacture date is April 2008. Is there any way I can guarantee myself getting a newer one with the Jasper chipset just from looking at the box?

I might be on my third 360 in three days. o_0 This is the first time I've had any console crap out on me.

[Slate]

This one's manufacture date is April 2008. Is there any way I can guarantee myself getting a newer one with the Jasper chipset just from looking at the box?

If it says "Go Pro" "Go Play" or "Go Big" On the box it should be relatively new. Personally, The DVD drives were the biggest problems for me and even then I can count them with three fingers.

[scooterb23]

Fallout was a Science Fiction themed RPG that came out in 1997. It was themed similar to an earlier Interplay game called Wasteland. You had stats, skills, traits and perks along with an item modification scheme.

Fallout 2 was similar to Fallout as I understand it, at least in terms of gameplay and engine.

Fallout 3 is using an extended version of the engine used for Oblivion so it's got the same stats/skill/and perks based play as the earlier games Fallout and Fallout 2 but in the the gorgeous environs of Oblivion, well, as gorgeous as they'd be if they'd been decimated in a Nuclear war.

Seriously thinking about going to Gamestop just before Midnight tonight. I know I wouldn't be able to play it very late (not unless I was willing to Red Bull myself tomorrow) but knowing it was waiting for me at home and being able to bring the lunch box to work would be a plus. Yeah, I'm pretty much that excited. I feel like a kid on Christmas eve, though it would be nice if I had the day off, which was always the plus about being a kid on Christmas.

While I had my tongue firmly planted in cheek when I made my post...I do want to thank you for the history of the game. Quite honestly, I've never played the other Fallout games...just never seemed like a series I would get into. And nothing about 3 is really screaming to me either, so I suspect I won't play this one either, but I do thank you for the info.

[Nesmaster]

I think my second 360 might be a bad one as well. Twice while playing NHL 09 I got a "Cannot read disk" error when the disk is brand new. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

This one's manufacture date is April 2008. Is there any way I can guarantee myself getting a newer one with the Jasper chipset just from looking at the box?

I might be on my third 360 in three days. o_0 This is the first time I've had any console crap out on me.

There's a little tab on the 360 box that you can lift and see the MFR of the console without opening the box or anything. I didn't know about it either until I was told about it.

[Jorpho]

Fallout 3 is using an extended version of the engine used for Oblivion so it's got the same stats/skill/and perks based play as the earlier games Fallout and Fallout 2 but in the the gorgeous environs of Oblivion, well, as gorgeous as they'd be if they'd been decimated in a Nuclear war.

The funny thing is that it seems there's no small number of people who utterly despise the gameplay of Oblivion. Or is that Morrowind? I keep getting them confused. (They're both first-person perspective, right?)

[misfits859]

Has anyone played it yet? What are your impressions so far?

[carlcarlson]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42063.html

Check out the combat at the end with the three raiders. This is the only thing keeping me from grabbing the game this afternoon. Look how pathetic it looks. Everyone just stands there exchanging shots without any type of reaction at all. You shoot a dude in the face and he doesn't even flinch!

I'm waiting to hear from some people on here who have played it. Poofta, Sudo, Mailman, let's hear it!

[Trumpman]

I just picked it up and am about to fire it up for the first time.

I'll post impressions this afternoon.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

The funny thing is that it seems there's no small number of people who utterly despise the gameplay of Oblivion. Or is that Morrowind? I keep getting them confused. (They're both first-person perspective, right?)

They're both switchable between 1st and 3rd person perspectives. Although the 3rd shows all your armor and looks cooler. The 1st works better for combat and most other modes of game play.

[mailman187666]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42063.html

Check out the combat at the end with the three raiders. This is the only thing keeping me from grabbing the game this afternoon. Look how pathetic it looks. Everyone just stands there exchanging shots without any type of reaction at all. You shoot a dude in the face and he doesn't even flinch!

I'm waiting to hear from some people on here who have played it. Poofta, Sudo, Mailman, let's hear it!

I'm not going to be able to pick the game up for another hour, and then I won't be able to play it until tonight but I'll definately post my impressions tomorrow unless I go without sleeping from playing it so long, then I'll probably just say "game good. fun time. must sleep."

[Drexel923]

Picked up my 360 CE this morning

Unfortunately I won't be able to play it until I get home from work at 8 tonight

[carlcarlson]

Just read the IGN review and it sounds good. One thing though: there's a 20 level cap! The reviewer said that he hit that at about 40 hours, but didn't see "everything" until about 100 hours. So... for 60 hours you're killing enemies and unlocking areas but not getting any reward for it. That sounds bad.

Also, there IS still a bit of scaling. It doesn't sound as bad as the Oblivion system, but the fact that it's still present at all kind of sucks.

[Trumpman]

I played about four hours this afternoon. I got to Megaton, and saw a lot of the stuff in the trailers. Sadly there's no Power Fist in the Super-Duper Mart. But so far it is really cool. I loved Oblivion and this is much better. Fallout 3 is significantly harder than Oblivion - if you go somewhere you're not supposed to be, you know it because the enemies will own you. I had a tough time against some Raiders in the Super-Duper Mart, but with the help of VATS I took them down.

The hacking and lockpicking minigames are fun, especially the hacking one. (I love Mastermind and it is essentially the same thing). I do wish that they had kept traits in from the originals, and am a little alarmed that there appears to be a perk with 10 levels that ups one of your SPECIAL stats, as that never happened in the originals. Overall, I don't think I've progressed enough to tell how "Fallout-y" it feels, but it definitely captures the atmosphere of the Wasteland. Wandering it makes you feel lonely and it is very very detailed.

The dialogue is great - there are many different options, ranging from "Fuck you" to "I love you" when you respond to people. This is something that is much better than Oblivion. You can say something to someone and it will permanently affect your game. As such I advise you to save frequently, especially before conversations, as saying something can cause you to be attacked by an entire town. I found that out quickly and had to reload.

I can tell that I'm going to be spending hours with this one as I haven't even reached DC itself yet. I'm just doing side-quests and leveling up in Megaton - I'm already level 3.

The graphics are very impressive, especially the draw distance (I'm playing on Xbox 360). But some textures look ugly up close. Overall it captures the desolate atmosphere very well.

Highly recommended. I'll post more impressions as I get further in the game.

[carlcarlson]

Thanks for the early impressions. Feel free to keep us posted as you progress! It sounds like you have a Fallout history so it will be interesting to see what you think of it after you're further along.

[heybtbm]

I played about an hour so far. I'm already finding it hard to choose anything but the "nice" or "kind" responses. I even screwed up my G.O.A.T. giving the sensible answers (thankfully you can correct it manually after it's done). Oh well, I guess I'm never going to get the "bad karma" achievements. Citizens of Megaton, fear not. I'm just too nice.