fallout 3 game review
Test: Fallout 3Few games have unleashed so many passions even before their release. As of its announcement, Fallout 3 crystallized the wildest expectations of some and aroused the distrust of others, who feared that the license would lose its substance in the hands of Bethesda. It is true that with its hybrid gameplay borrowing as much from the saga of the Elder Scrolls as that of the Fallout, this third episode is likely to fuel the controversy for a long time. But as long as we know how to mourn its expectations of a hardened fan, Fallout 3 is a role-playing game with multiple qualities, likely to offer a first-choice experience.
The post-apocalyptic universe staged by the Fallouts (and their precursor Wasteland), owes much to the saga of Mad Max. It is interesting to note, in this respect, the parallel between the two series. Both find their marks in a first episode that quickly became cult, then culminate in a masterful and uncompromising suite, to finally open up to a wider audience on the occasion of a somewhat watered down third installment. . The difference is that moviegoers will only have waited for Mad Max 3 for four years. Fallout fans have been hanging around for ten years! What is more, after the closure of Black Isle, they would have seen Troika Games studio recover their favorite license; so they cringed when it failed at Bethesda, the promise of a third component in real-time 3D with a first-person view. Even more than the abandonment of tactical turn-based combat and the concessions specific to multi-support development, the fans' concerns were related to the atmosphere that would prevail in the game. The saga of the Elder Scrolls may be a model in terms of freedom of action and movement, it suffers from a generic and somewhat impersonal universe, and above all from a very politically correct tone which made fear the worst for Fallout 3.
However, from the first minutes of play, the regular in the series finds himself on familiar ground. The character creation phase shows that the very complete game system that was the strength of previous games has been retained in its main lines. The determination of the seven basic characteristics of your avatar (the S.P. E.C.I.A.L.) makes it possible to establish its basic profile. You must then distribute skill points in order to specify his degree of aptitude in a particular area (firearms, sales pitch, explosives, stealth, medicine ...). A high score increases the chances of success of a given action, or allows you to take part in a mini-game (picking locks or hacking a terminal) which will determine its success. As you progress, you will benefit from new skill points to distribute. Finally, to make your character even more unique, you must choose a perk (talent) for each new level of experience acquired; these particular skills give him bonuses in various and varied fields (examples: having the gift of commerce, being able to wear heavier equipment, being comfortable with children ...). Only regret: the disappearance of the traits, kinds of gifts providing both advantages and disadvantages, which were present in the first Fallout. Of course, you can also choose the gender and appearance of your avatar.
All this is done during a scripted tutorial which shows great inventiveness and promotes immersion. I will have the good taste not to reveal the springs to you, but know that it takes place once again in a fallout shelter, and that it puts in the foreground one of the major characteristics of the series: the possibility of resolve situations in several different ways. Fallout is the style of RPG which pushes to tell its own experience of play on the forums and to compare it with that lived by the others, and this third shutter is not exception to the rule. In addition to your freedom of action and movement, you benefit from a wide range of possible responses during dialogues. Some require a roll under one of your skills (strength, persuasion ...), and the reaction of your interlocutor will depend on your success or your failure. More generally, your behavioral choices have repercussions, in the more or less long term, on the course of your adventure and the way in which the universe and the NPCs that populate it will have evolved. You will therefore have to bear these consequences: killing an innocent person will give you bad karma, which will attract the wrath of the majority of the population but at the same time will open certain unsavory doors. Likewise, if you steal one of the private possessions of an NPC, you run the risk of alienating the clan or family to which it belongs. Note that we find in Fallout 3 all the known factions (the Brotherhood of Steel, the Enclave, the slavers ...) and that it is possible to work for them.
For now, you have just come out of the shelter and you are alone, desperately alone in this hostile world devastated by a nuclear conflict. However, you have one objective: to find your father, by following in his footsteps and by questioning the people he is likely to have met. More personal than the search for a water flea, the main quest of Fallout 3 is not necessarily more interesting. Fortunately, it only once again serves as a common thread: you are free to ignore the ins and outs of it in favor of the many side quests that await you. These side missions prove to be particularly tailored for a "sandbox" game; Oblivion had already made progress in this direction and Fallout 3 goes even further. Some, which you will initially consider anecdotal, will surprise you with their many developments, which imply constant choices on your part. However, we must admit that they lack a bit of spice and that adult and transgressive side that made the success of the previous episodes. Let's say that the black sex / drugs / violence / humor cocktail has been pretty watered down. In Fallout 3, the dealers are ghouls, the prostitutes are limited to sleeping next to you and it is "of course" impossible to kill children.
Besides that, the real plus of Fallout 3 compared to its predecessors lies in the realistic exploration of the universe. Gone are the trips from zone to zone from a map: here you have to walk to get from one place to another. The transcription of the post-apocalyptic universe is credible and successful. Despite an inevitable lack of variety, the environments are full of a lot of things that make them pleasant to walk. The different cities even manage to avoid repetition: built in a crater, on top of a destroyed bridge or on a stranded ship, they prove to be really convincing. Only downside: the huge capital located southeast of the map is a bit restrictive to navigate: the fault of falsely open environments, which force to survey countless sections of metro to switch from one to the other . Fortunately, each area already visited can be reached using the fast travel option available. The playing surface being much larger than it seems at first glance, this function is almost indispensable, even for purists of travel on foot. As such, we regret the absence of vehicles, which could have played the role of Oblivion mounts. The fast travel option also saves you from tedious fights: the monsters that populate the universe of Fallout 3 (ghouls, super mutants, radscorpions, death-claws ... we find with pleasure the traditional bestiary) indeed reappear, once killed, after a while.
The clashes are no less a huge part of the pleasure provided by Fallout 3. Despite their progress in real time, they have little to do with traditional FPS. In fact, the first person view is used to target your opponent, but it is your skills that do the rest. Try to shoot with a given weapon with only a few points in the associated skill and you will understand what I mean. Besides that, the VATS which caused so much ink to flow proves to be as practical as it is exhilarating. This system allows you to pause the action to target a specific part of the enemy's anatomy: in this way, at the cost of a few action points (residues from the turn-based combat system of previous Fallout) , you can slow it down, disarm it or try headshot. It is therefore a perfect compromise to insert a certain tactical dimension in the fights, and the grumpy ones will have to remember that Baldur's Gate, published by Black Isle in the wake of Fallout 2, proposed a similar pause system. What is more, the use of VATS systematically gives rise to a particularly well-presented slow motion. This is an opportunity to admire the gore effects of the game: spurts of blood, dismemberments, explosions ... Graphic violence is present and uncompromising, and its excessive side makes it a worthy heir to previous episodes.
Generally speaking, Fallout 3 is visually satisfying, without ever being transcendent. The interiors are not very pretty and the exteriors, which are doing much better, rely a lot on HDR to put their unsightly textures in the background. However, these concessions were inevitable in order to offer these open environments which stretch as far as the eye can see. The game also offers some striking panoramas of beauty (ah, this arrival in Rivet City!). Fans will regret that the art-deco style is much less pronounced than in the previous installments, and that the visual rendering is closer to the clinical realism of a STALKER. But what annoys the most in Fallout 3 'is the very perfectible animation of the characters, including yours (the view in the 3rd person is anyway quite unplayable), and the robotic aspect of the NPCs encountered, faults inherited from Oblivion. It sometimes feels like the unsightly sprites of Fallout 1 and 2 were more expressive. Similarly, we must admit that the game suffers from a deficit of atmosphere. Although very beautiful (and surely too much), the music does not manage to transcribe this feeling of oppression and insecurity which emanated from the previous opus. Finally, note that the interface, very close to that of Oblivion with in particular the presence of a compass for monitoring quests, has its small flaws: the PipBoy always offers such rich content, so rich that you find yourself in the '' open for a yes or for a no (to consult the world map for example).
Indulgence remains appropriate for those who remember the extremely heavy interface of the first Fallouts. The inventory has the particular merit of offering filters to help you classify the colossal sum of objects that can be picked up. In addition to a panel of weapons that is always as extensive (sawgun with sawn barrel, minigun, laser, missile launcher, chainsaw ...), in addition to a wide choice of armor (all visible on your avatar), in addition to stimpacks, anti rads and other drugs that keep you healthy, you will also get your hands on the recovery equipment you need to build your own weapons. If these objects weigh you down excessively, consider exchanging them for caps at the local merchants, or else store them in your house. Yes, you can indeed benefit from a small cozy nest where to recover between two escapades. In fact, Fallout 3 is full of these possibilities and small details that make great role-playing games. Not to spoil anything, it has a monstrous lifespan which, if it does not equal that of an Elder Scrolls, will give you long hours of survival in Wasteland.
The notes
Graphics 14/20
Despite the transition to 3D, Fallout 3 retains, in broad outline, the visual identity specific to the series. It sins on the other hand on the technical level, with an animation far from satisfactory and a predominant aliasing on this PS3 version. However, we will forgive these wanderings in view of the extent of the playing surface and the monstrous optimization of the graphics engine.
Gameplay 18/20
Particularly convincing, the hybrid gameplay of Fallout 3 is based on a gratifying character development, a well thought-out combat system and countless possibilities for interaction with the universe. The interface is not very practical, but we end up getting used to it.
Lifespan 18/20
Like the Elder Scrolls series, Fallout 3 offers hundreds of hours of fun for players who can immerse themselves in it enough. The universe is full of side quests of often surprising length. Nor should we forget the replay potential of the title, specific to the game system and the different ways of approaching and resolving situations.
Soundtrack 15/20
Difficult to judge the soundtrack of Fallout 3. In absolute terms, it is based on high-quality musical compositions, whose bucolic overtones, however, may confuse fans of heavy atmospheres. The sound effects are successful but sometimes a little too discreet: it is not uncommon not to hear a Death Griffon approaching running straight behind us.
Scenario 13/20
The main flaw of Fallout 3 lies in its watered-down and sanitized theme. The presence of a few curses and a very real graphic violence do not make us forget the mature scenario of the previous parts of the series. Despite the quality of the quests, the NPCs are far too smooth and it is the political correctness that prevails.
Fallout is dead, long live Fallout! This could be the epilogue of a controversy which is not yet ready to end. By preferring to expand its audience rather than meet the expectations of early players, Fallout 3 will naturally back some of the fans of the series. But what some would consider a bad Fallout remains a very good post-apocalyptic Elder Scrolls, which manages to assert very real qualities although different. The main thing is that the pleasure of putting on his leather armor and going to attack a camp of super mutants has remained intact. In short, Fallout 3 is Nuka-Cola light, but it's really good anyway.
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