I'm a huge fan of Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Skyrim. Should I play Fallout 3?

[Digitalfox]

Hi

 

Like the title says I'm a huge fan of Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Skyrim.

 

Is Fallout 3 a similar game? I know it's made by the folks of Skyrim, but is it at the same level in quality and fun?

 

Or is it something different to a point I might not like it?

 

I'm asking because knowing theses games, the amount of hours spend needs to be very well researched, to avoid wasting a week or more and find out it doesn't really make we want to play it anymore and I never finish it (I've completely done almost 99% of all missions big or small of the games I referred to (unless it's the replay missions for money/objects, that never stop regenerating)!

[Setnom]

Yes, it's worth it. And New Vegas as well. Probably more.

[Lizardslap]

its like skyrim only with an older engine and to me the world seems a bit less polished but it is fun and doesn't take itself to seriously.

 

also both fallouts and be bought for very cheap nowdays

 

I would say get them

[ensiform]

As a fan of skyrim you probably will but as a fan of the bioware games possibly not.

[compl3x]

I would say yes, unless you don't like post-apocalyptic/post-nuclear themes and settings.

 

I would say get both FO3 and Fallout New Vegas. They are pretty cheap now.

[Gerowen]

Really enjoyed Fallout 3 and New Vegas.  I liked Fallout 3 a little more having never played a Fallout game before because it kind of gave a back story and introduced you to "how" the world got the way it is in the game.

[Shadrack]

Just to play devil's advocate...

 

I really loved Skyrim and I enjoyed Dragon Age but can't seem to get into Fallout 3 and have not tried New Vegas. They both can be found for so cheap these days and are so highly recommended that I think you should still at least try one of them.

 

For me, the Fallout 3 combat and "stiff" character models is what made it difficult for me to keep playing. I never made it far enough to see much of a story line develop (just to the first settlement area).

[xendrome]

Same as above, couldn't get into Fallout 3 at all, was bored to death.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

Definately not Fallout 3.   I got sooo bored of it. 

 

However, I have being waiting to play Fallout: New Vegas one day, as researching it shows it fixes a lot of things I hated about Fallout.

 

 

 

SO...   if you gonna try, get Fallout New Vegas, since it is not a sequel, so you don't need to play Fallout 3 to enjoy New Vegas. Everyone I know who likes Mass Effect and such, recommends it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ps. I would also recommend S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, but they are crap without the mods, and even with mods,

sometimes you get a game breaking bug that you cannot fix, making you feel like you just wasted 30-40 hours for nothing, with no conclusion!

plus they are a completely different in atmosphere.

[Digitalfox]

Shadrack and xendrome:

 

That's what worries me, that somehow it doesn't fit my liking!

 

Some love others don't really adapted to it.

 

I guess I'll give a go, but if past the first 6 hours it doesn't feel a good immersive experience, I'll drop it!

 

 

To everyone else, thank you very much for your feedback!

[xendrome]

Yeah I kept trying to get into and tried to force myself to play it and then realized I hated it after about 6 hours.

 

I don't think I ever tried New Vegas just because of that, I might though cause I have seen the same comments across the net.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

 

 

For me, the Fallout 3 combat and "stiff" character models is what made it difficult for me to keep playing. I never made it far enough to see much of a story line develop (just to the first settlement area).

 

exactly what happen to me.  but apparently New Vegas is a bit more interesting.

[Osiris]

Of course you do, although might be tempting to skip original 3 and just go to new vegas. 

 

Before all of that might be worth you looking into Divinity original sin based on the games you like.

[Alley Cat]

Fallout 3 is awesome.  40 - 100 hours to finish the game, especially if you have the DLCs

 

Fallout New Vegas is good.  Shorter game, vaguely 30 hours to finish it

[TPreston]

Get both and use http://taleoftwowastelands.com/

New Vegas weapons and companions in fallout 3. You can play both games at the same time and travel to new vegas and back.

[Jub]

Get both and use http://taleoftwowastelands.com/

 

I second this.

 

Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas both have a huge arsenal of high-quality mods available. Improved animations, combat, high-res textures, lighting, flora and environment overhauls, audio enhancements, you name it

[Guest]

I would say, go for The Witcher, The Witcher 2 or Divinity Original Sin instead. Personally, I tried playing FO3 three times, and all three times I got bored after a few hours and stopped.

[spaceelf]

New Vegas is prettier, but the theme and factions are kind of annoying.  I lost my saves before getting to the DLC and don't feel like restarting the whole damn thing.

 

Fallout 3 I actually finished and all the DLC.

 

Still, enjoyed my time in both.

[survivegamers]

I would say, go for The Witcher, The Witcher 2 or Divinity Original Sin instead. Personally, I tried playing FO3 three times, and all three times I got bored after a few hours and stopped.

Divinity Original Sin was a fantastic game.

[dragontology]

Huge Bethesda fan. I can't comment on relations to Dragon Age. I have Origins but couldn't get into it. (Been meaning to give it another shot. It wasn't bad, I just got sidetracked. As for Mass Effect, I've only played, but haven't finished, the first one. I'm a Spectre, and just unlocked the last team member. Aside from surveying a few planets (with the rover, not just from space) it's really all I've done.

 

Now then... Fallout 3 was a damn good game, but it's slightly more pedestrian as far as its roleplaying elements than Skyrim. It's downright casual compared to Mass Effect, and probably Dragon Age as well. It's more like the Deus Ex games. Futuristic shooter with skills you can upgrade. Stats too, but largely they don't matter. You can play it as a straight up shooter, or like an RPG with action points and having to wait for them to refill. But while they're refilling, you can shoot without penalty, you just have to aim manually.

 

Someone said Fallout New Vegas was shorter. That is objectively and factually false. Fallout 3 is not a long game. The main quest is fairly short, and you can take off about half of it if you just go straight to a certain location, or happen upon it. Nothing really stands in your way, so if you set out exploring and happened upon it, you'd skip ahead about halfway through the main quest. I don't see a spoiler tag... Seasoned players will know what I mean when I say it's the place where the Tranquility Lane quest happens (and groan, it wasn't a great quest). Newbies won't understand or be spoiled. But even if you do the main quest start to finish, and you fail the speech check with this one guy and you have to do his side quest to get him to tell you where to go, as opposed to you charming him and he lets you skip that part, it's a fairly short game. However, there are a lot of side quests you can do. Also, there are 20 Bobbleheads to collect. One for each stat (raises it by 1) and one for each skill (raises it by 10). Some quests are good (like Trouble in Big Town), some are really good (Reily's Rangers), but a lot of them are just okay. And there's a ton of stuff to do outside the quests, like killing all five Super Mutant Behemoths. These guys are to Fallout 3 what dragons are to Skyrim. They're Super Mutants (think green orcs?) but they're 25 feet high, maybe more. And they do gnarly damage. Oh, and there's a premium version of every gun in the game, and those are fun to track down. Like the Chinese Assault Rifle is called the Xuanlong Rifle. 36 rounds in the mag, superior accuracy and damage. You unlock it when you're doing that charisma-skippable side quest... so don't skip it.

 

Fallout 3 is kind of a misnomer... Fallouts 1 and 2 were made by Black Isle, which broke up and its main people became or were acquired by Obsidian, who makes New Vegas. New Vegas is a spiritual sequel to 1 and 2. Still, you don't need to know 1 and 2 to play NV. NV is not quite as fun as 3, which is the real spinoff as it takes place on the other side of the country. In New Vegas, enemies are generally harder, with new enemies that will mess you up in a hurry. Also, where Fallout 3 is open to you, New Vegas tries to shoehorn you in one direction, with painful death lurking around every corner. The game doesn't even properly begin until you reach Vegas, and that itself takes several hours as you're routed south, then east, and then north toward Vegas. New Vegas has a few side quests, but they're generally tied to factions, or followers. The game has more direction than Fallout 3, but it's not as fun, though your mileage may vary. It's like this... New Vegas is technically a better game, but 3 manages to be more fun.

 

As far as the DLC, all of Fallout 3's is at least decent. Some is more fun than others. Mothership Zeta was stupid, but amusing at times, especially the final battle. Point Lookout was hard as hell with guys who take more damage than a tank and run in groups of three, but had a good story. The Pitt is the real winner with no 'right' answer. Operation Anchorage plays like Call of Duty (which can actually be a refreshing break) and gives you a ton of overpowered crap when you're done. And Broken Steel is more of the same. It raises the level cap to 30 (from 20), removes the end of the game, so you can play indefinitely, and adds a story that feels natural to the original main quest.

 

And New Vegas, the DLC is almost not worth bothering with. The main game is long enough that it's fine on its own. There is no endgame removal