Fallout 3: The Blogsperiment. On with the Plot.
So it’s been a while since I’ve updated the blogsperiment. The rationale for this is twofold:
1. Working three jobs and attending classes requires a lot of time
2. To hit the next batch of sidequests I need to finish some plot. This, by the way, means I’m going to hit pretty much all of the spoilers present in the game. Consider yourself warned.
Plot in Fallout 3 is not a bad thing any more than it is in any other RPG, it’s just difficult to write to. Your character will often become something other than what you have expected. This isn’t a fault of the game’s writing, but rather a natural consequence of the ability to customize a character and run with them for hours on end. There is no way Bethesda can write detailed dialogue that would match your character, or even a plot that will fit things. So instead you reach a point at which the plot must force you along a path to advance the game, and it can feel extremely artifical. For example, after dad dies…
You know, let’s stop here for a minute, and single out Bethesda as the single most guilty party in the entirety of the gaming industry for making use of the “kill off the impressive voice talent after four and a half minutes of dialogue” maneuver. Seriously, two games in a row now I’ve listened to the developer’s sister in law who wants to get into acting more than the star they likely paid a fortune to record. Fuck. That.
…you are forced, without any real option, to take the remaining scientists to the brotherhood of steel in the pentagon. You are forced to do this by the lead civilian scientist, who is unarmed, scared, and then gives you shit about caring for your baggage on the way. Really? Let’s take a look at the situation here. Bad dudes just showed up, iced Stabitha’s dad. At most she might throw the other survivors a knife or pistol before beginning her murderous rampage for vengeance. This is a person who nuked the entire city of megaton for a penthouse and an attempt to strike back at Moira’s sadistic, Saw-esque mind games. A person who talked a man into walking into certain death so that she could loot his niceish shotgun later. A person who has murdered about two-hundred raiders over the course of roughly six weeks.
Why do civilians matter again? Oh, right, because the plot says so and there’s no alternative here. Alright, let’s escort these idjits through the sewers. Which are of course full of ghouls. Because an actual army of guys with death rays in robot armor aren’t enough to deal with.
Honestly this area isn’t too difficult, particularly if you want to cheese it up. See, the chinese stealth armor we acquired way back means the bad guys have virtually no chance whatsoever of spotting me first. This means I get a sneak attack critical to open every fight, and if you play like a devious bastard (which I do) you open these fights by sneak attack critting 2 guys. Even if they live they have nothing left to fight with. Also, anyone ground-based? Well, my sneak is maxed, I’m invisible, have about 35 grenades, and grenade in the pants is always an instant kill. And never becomes less funny.
So my charges arrive with me at the BOS fortress…? Really? There are like thirty guys with machine guns and laser rifles here. Why do I need these guys again? Ok, you know what, video game? Fine. We’ll run with it. Maybe Stabitha is feeling particularly kind while plotting her murderous vengeance and will do your fetch quest…
Oh goddammit. Well, the upside here is that we have escaped some of the plot and can explore some of the more amusing vaults. The downside is the plot will return all too soon.
These abandoned vaults are some interesting stand-out points in Fallout 3, and when I reach these I find myself wishing there were an easier way to direct the average player here without a walkthrough. Each stands on its own as a bizarre social experiment gone horribly awry, and is entertaining as a microcosm. Even the mostly-empty vaults maintain this subdued, zen-like quality of exploration. It is the same emotional response I got the first time I played Myst, and there are good elements of that here. I will leave with that, and the relative peace of murdering hordes of Gary clones or exploring the insanity of vaults made to make their occupants murderous husks of men.
Next week, shit will get real.
Toodles.
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Tags: blogsperiment, fallout 3
