Post by Bytor on Jun 25, 2009 15:35:08 GMT -5
-Visuals- 9.5/10
I'm a bit torn on this decision, however, I gave it a higher score because of it's strengths as opposed to it's faults. Now, to elaborate. The look of the background, the ruins of Washington DC, are unreal realistic in look and feel (until you get too close and then the textures show through, which should be expected). The barren landscape outside of the city is also very realistic looking. You can stand on a hill and see for literally miles, and whatever you do, when you reach the top of the Lincoln Memorial look at the view, it's so realistic it will give you an exact idea what DC would look like after war! The buildings are also very well done, I especially like the look of the deserted houses. Once you are inside it even gets better, although a tad dark, but then what do you expect, and you have a light, use it, lol. The attention to detail is also remarkable, inside of any building you will see things both useful, and not useful, which are simply small things which add to the realistic feel of the game. Now to the bad visuals...obviously the detail is hard to manage up close, so I will not criticize that issue..however, the humans are in my opinion simply average. You will notice that while they each are a bit different they start to look familiar. It appears, and I could be wrong, that they used maybe 4-5 different faces and changed each slightly...very slightly, whether they are raiders, merchants, doctors, scientists or to a certain extent even the Ghouls, and while this does not take away from the fun of the game it still certainly could have been done a bit better...boy, we're already spoiled on the PS3 aren't we, lol. The super mutants and the mutated animals you will encounter are all rendered excellently, . Over all it has to be one of the best looking games I've ever played with just the one small issue of the faces.
-Sound- 9/10
The voice acting is excellent, no complaints there at all. The soundtrack is also excellent, setting the mood and feel of the game wonderfully. I also thought the sound effects were also very well done. To me if a soundtrack and the effects do not TAKE away from the fun of the game then it has achieved it's purpose.
-Game play- 9.9/10
I'd give it a 10 but nothing is perfect, having said that there is little to criticize. The game has 29 side quests which while adding to the game are not totally necessary, and you pretty much have the freedom to complete each when and if you choose (I personally became obsessed with bobble head hunting). The main story itself (which consists of 41 main quests) is also somewhat free wheeling, while certain things must be completed first (or else you won't get the response/info from people telling you where/how to get certain items) you are totally free to roam the districts of DC as well as the surrounding countryside, I actually found the Pentagon for instance and I wasn't even looking for it! Another strong point of the gameplay is the way you find/sale items, there are literally thousands of forks laying around in all the empty houses and cafes for instance...and yes, forks can be useful, lol. And to make matters better once you get your own house you can collect and save as many items as you want, at one point in time I had 5 Fat Boys (portable nuclear bomb launchers) in my lockers and I had @60 nuka colas in my refrigerator. One other thing I liked is the attack modes, not only does each weapon have it's own strengths and weakness and each enemy is weak/strong against certain weapons the game lets you zoom in on attacks using what it calls the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS). In this mode gameplay is temporarily suspended and you then target certain areas of your enemy for what can be devastating attacks, for instance you could go for a headshot..but if you have a weaker weapon and a Deathclaw surprises you it would be much smarter to try and cripple it by shooting it's legs! It's not as easy as it sounds though, because you only get so many of these type of shots based on your action points, which can be increased using Jet or raising your agility. You are also somewhat customizable. You can increase your primary skills, or "S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats," (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck) through experience and by reading books and gaining experience. As each level is reached (level 20 is the limit in PS3 for now) a new perk is added, and there are way too many to go into here, but just to name a few you may become better at small arms, lock picking, energy weapons or even talking to kids! Last thing I'm going to mention is karma. You have the ability to be totally bad, totally good or anywhere in between, and depending upon the choices you make it WILL influence the game! OK..now..a couple of slight bugs...I actually got stuck twice and had to reset the game, I was crouching and walking forward..I got stuck in a hole once and the other time was behind a Metro subway car, I simply could not get out. You also can find yourself in spaces in the ruins where the camera angles make it hard to navigate out of, but as I stated, these instances were very few and very far between.I'm going to stop here, don't want to give away everything, but I will mention a few more things...items degrade, you have to repair them or get them repaired....you will constantly get radiation poisoning, once gain you have to cure it or get it cured...you will become addicted to the chems you take which help you in battle...and you can even create your own weapons (forks come into play there, lol)...and you can have allies (up to 3 total counting your dog, Dogmeat) which are determined by your karma, and here I will stop, there is simply so much going on in the game that you have to experience it to see it!
-Story- 9.5/10
The story takes place in a future Washington DC (2277) which was destroyed in nuclear war in 2077, but, it's not our future, in this game the year 2077 corresponds to our 1950's as everything has that feel/look. In my opinion this was a stroke of genius as it captures the feel and look of the Cold War perfectly! The main character, you that is, first appears as you are born, you are actually looking at the doctor and your dad and quickly it shifts to you being 19 and being chased out of Vault 101. You then are free to roam the countryside in search of your father (the main quest of the game). What you learn along the way is why your father left Vault 101, why the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave are there and how the Super Mutants came into being. I'm going to be brief here because the story will develop as you play the game, and I firmly believe you should let it grow there, and not read the whole story here!
-Overall- 9.8/10
This is simply the single best game I have ever played. The sheer amount of things to do, there are 88 different areas in and around DC and if memory serves me correct there are 163 specific locations and countless other houses/buildings to explore, all with their own enemies, possible friends, mutated animals, traders, ghouls, skeletons, and items to collect. You can also replay the game and by changing your karma make it a slightly different, or maybe greatly different game (if you blow up Megaton at the start, lol). The game itself is also very easy to get into, the action starts relatively early and while you do increase in levels it's not like games where you have to be at a certain level to do certain things, obviously if you are at a higher level you have more perks and abilities which will make things easier it is not totally necessary (except maybe for the lock picking skills, keep it and science high by the way, trust me, you'll need them both high). If you are a fan of Sci-Fi games and like a story which unfolds as you progress and yet allows you to simply roam the countryside doing what you want, then this is the game for you...if not..then play it anyhow...I simply can not imagine anyone who played this more than a couple of hours actually being able to put it down until the end! Simply the best game out for the PS3!