Finished both Dead Space and Fallout 3 within 48 hours of one another-both games represent in the own way the best and worst of the artform.
Dead Space left me (after a ginormous boss battle and an ending stolen from FEAR and a gazillion japanese horror films)with more questions than answers and feeling empty. Either purposefully or as an accident of omission the game never digs deeper than the surface regarding the plot and the character's relationships therein. Character setup early are eventually killed off arbitrarily, while the fates of other characters are foreshadowed so blatantly that the final reveal is more of a "meh" than a "doh!".
Having created such a beautifully rendered world as well as innovated in terms of the user interface it feels as if the story was left behind, where it had the potential to be something extraordinary as well. Worth renting.
Fallout 3 is entirely a game made of the journey not the destination. The final mission and the lead up to it is so abrupt you don't realize the game is about to end until it does. This is hampered by a late game character that is introduced as a deus-ex-machina solution to an earlier problem but then unable to be used in the same situation within the endgame. The emotional commitment made to building this character as it travels through the wasteland encountering some remarkably creative and unique situations is given short shrift in the resolution. While the mechanics of the plot ends, the emotional payoff is absent and there is no satisfying resolution to your character's story. Fallout 3 is in essence all foreplay and no climax.
Started and quit World of Warcraft last night after about 20 minutes of killing little fluffy animals. Don't get it, the essence of the game appears to be grinding. Was that ever fun?
Showing posts with label Fallout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fallout. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Game a dayish-Fallout 3
While this should be called game a week and I going to try and post something, even a few sentances regarding whatever I am playing at the moment. Today’s subject is the new multi-platform release, Fallout 3. Based on the original isometric RPG Fallout, Fallout 3 is an FPS-RPG and is a stunningly beautiful game. The RPG elements are a successful amalgam of the original post-apocalyptic world of Fallout blended with the dialogue tree sensibilities and scripted scenes of Oblivion.
Borrowing a page from the Metal Gear Solid design book, Fallout 3 leverages the graphics engine by using a carefully chosen limited color palette for the outdoor sequences. It makes for a wonderfully stylized yet gorgeous visual experience with a wide open world, outside of the urban environments.
Set in the ruins of Washington D.C most of the game is a literal “if you can see it, you can walk to it” experience outside of the city proper. Once inside the urban sprawl, environments are still expansive but limited in terms of accessibility. Load times are virtually non-existent but I long for the day when I can dynamically open a door and walk into a building without a load screen.
Due to repeated textures and elements artfully re-arranged in the world, the game runs at a solid 60 FPS on my PC, which is a small miracle in and of itself in these days of big budget, big buggy PC releases. This game runs some very tight code given the open nature of the gameplay and the non-linear world.
Exploration is rewarded but unlike Oblivion, enemies do not level dynamically with the player, so when you are in a place you shouldn’t be, you know it. However, once a zone is cleared, enemies do not respawn (at least not rapidly) allowing for a sense of accomplishment. This non-linearity can lead to moments where the flow of the gameplay is broken such a moment where I stumbled across a quest area that I was not meant to find for some time later in the game. My sense of discovery was tinged with a regret as I had now closed off who know how many side-quests I was meant to find prior to finding this area. It does add to replayibility as the engine does a fine job of modifying the world as you work through it, responding instantly to the unpredictability of the adventurous player.
The morality system of the game is simple but the moral choices presented are complex. There are always at least two solutions to an issue and the illusion of a living breathing world that will function with or without the player exists here as it did in Oblivion. I do find myself making a mental checklist of things I would do differently next time and that is always a good thing.
Finally the VATS combat system is a exciting way to spruce up the standard FPS play. A twitch shooter this is not, but VATS allows the player to stop combat in a frozen moment, allowing them to target specific body parts and also showing the stats on hit chances as well as damage already done. Strategy becomes a part of the shooting experience and it is a refreshing change.
Fallout 3 is easily once of the best games this year if ever, and a welcome return to that world.
Borrowing a page from the Metal Gear Solid design book, Fallout 3 leverages the graphics engine by using a carefully chosen limited color palette for the outdoor sequences. It makes for a wonderfully stylized yet gorgeous visual experience with a wide open world, outside of the urban environments.
Set in the ruins of Washington D.C most of the game is a literal “if you can see it, you can walk to it” experience outside of the city proper. Once inside the urban sprawl, environments are still expansive but limited in terms of accessibility. Load times are virtually non-existent but I long for the day when I can dynamically open a door and walk into a building without a load screen.
Due to repeated textures and elements artfully re-arranged in the world, the game runs at a solid 60 FPS on my PC, which is a small miracle in and of itself in these days of big budget, big buggy PC releases. This game runs some very tight code given the open nature of the gameplay and the non-linear world.
Exploration is rewarded but unlike Oblivion, enemies do not level dynamically with the player, so when you are in a place you shouldn’t be, you know it. However, once a zone is cleared, enemies do not respawn (at least not rapidly) allowing for a sense of accomplishment. This non-linearity can lead to moments where the flow of the gameplay is broken such a moment where I stumbled across a quest area that I was not meant to find for some time later in the game. My sense of discovery was tinged with a regret as I had now closed off who know how many side-quests I was meant to find prior to finding this area. It does add to replayibility as the engine does a fine job of modifying the world as you work through it, responding instantly to the unpredictability of the adventurous player.
The morality system of the game is simple but the moral choices presented are complex. There are always at least two solutions to an issue and the illusion of a living breathing world that will function with or without the player exists here as it did in Oblivion. I do find myself making a mental checklist of things I would do differently next time and that is always a good thing.
Finally the VATS combat system is a exciting way to spruce up the standard FPS play. A twitch shooter this is not, but VATS allows the player to stop combat in a frozen moment, allowing them to target specific body parts and also showing the stats on hit chances as well as damage already done. Strategy becomes a part of the shooting experience and it is a refreshing change.
Fallout 3 is easily once of the best games this year if ever, and a welcome return to that world.
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