New Fallout 3 Screens

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Bethesda have released more screenshots of their highly anticipated sequel Fallout 3.

You can see the screenshots at ShackNews.

 

Thanks for the link Dalveen.

It will be stunning. I'm just concerned about dialogue and experience stuff. Oblivion is rather crappy in those areas (although I like Shivering Isles). Dialogue in Oblivion is a pain and Bethesda can only improve on that. I just hope it won't turn into a powergaming festival (like Oblivion when your character ends up being good at everything). The original Fallout could be played in many different ways.

Still, really nice screenshots.

 

"It will be stunning."

Quite a statement when we still do not know much about the game.
At least those PC screenshots look okay. Bethesda has always made great graphics, but nothing else.

 

If you had bothered to read the end of my post you wouldn't have felt obliged to make such a statement.

For your information stunning can be construed as meaning this: "strikingly impressive especially in beauty or excellence" and in that case I believe the screenshots qualify.

Sorry for being off-topic but I'm sick and tired of people picking a word in a post just to make a point and unnecessarily bash other posters.

All I meant was to thank Dalveen for the link and I never thought I'd get in an argument defending the quality of these screenshots (which certainly reflects the graphics of the game itself).

 

No problem Caradhras, It's my job to post these links after all...

 

Only graphics. Morrowind and Oblivion only graphics. I guess you are not one to read the ingame books.

 

Apologies if it was offending.

And I did read it, but you said it in such a way that it could mean the whole game :-). Maybe along the lines of "those screenshots look stunning" would have been better. Although I do not think that those qualify for stunning at their own either.

 

Then we have to agree to disagree. Good graphics are nice and the screenshots are very yummy.

I can be pretty touchy sometimes but I think it's unfair to dice the game before it is even released. It's not that I'm defending Fallout 3. I'm really annoyed just thinking of Oblivion with guns. I hope it won't come to that.

I bought Fallout 1 right when it got out and I've been playing it through the years, I don't think that Bethesda can top that but I sure hope they will get close. Dialogue and quests are what bother me. I can't recall any quest in Morrowind and Oblivion in which you could turn your back on your employer or betray them and I won't even mention the dialogue system in Bethesda's top RPGs (I can't stand the Oblivion wheel but fortunately it seems Fallout 3 won't "benefit" from that).

Still, I must acknowledge the fact that parts of Oblivion stood out (I'm thinking of Shivering Isles which is really better than the rest of the game).

Remember in Fallout 1 the limited number of character models. There was a line about the fact that there must have been some kind of cloning accident to explain that (in Fallout 1 or 2 I can't remember right now). That was good.

 

Is SP covering this abomination now?

In between the blinding bloom, ridiculous motion-blur, and failure to get the designs right for the feel of Fallout (A baggy jumpsuit, orc supermutants - just from those screenshots there) - it really doesn't look that good visually.

 

It's just my opinion but I don't believe that the designs are the problem here. IMHO what made Fallout so good was the freedom of choice. Not even the freedom of going anywhere (like in Morrowind or Oblivion) but the freedom to solve quests in many different ways.

By the way, Supermutants in Fallout looked a lot like The Hulk, it's not that big a stretch to compare them to Orcs. There are many similarities. Not that I expect you to agree.

They're not going to make a game like Fallout 1 nowadays. They want kids to buy the game and play it on a console so it can't be anywhere near the original in terms of depth and story (not to mention the fact that you could choose to finish both Fallout 1 and 2 without killing anyone).

What they can do nevertheless is make an immersive FPS/RPG set in the Fallout universe and if they don't mess things up with dialogues and XP (the big drawbacks of both Morrowind and Oblivion IMHO because they're cheesy and force you to powergame) it won't be that bad. The higher you set your expectations, the more you will be disappointed.

Let's face it, we're not in 1997 anymore...

 

Visual designs aren't the key problem - they're part of the whole. A key element of Fallout is the retrofuturistic setting, which the current developers seem to have ignored in favour of what looks 'cool' to the modern mindset. Skintight jumpsuits aren't 'cool', won't appeal to the target audience of theoretical retarded twelve year olds - therefore make them all baggy and 'cool' looking. It's one element of dumbing down amongst many.

Neither was Black Isle when making Van Buren. The year has nothing to do with it - nothing fundamental has changed in people's mindset since 1997. There are still plenty of people who would be interested in playing a game like Fallout - probably more than there was then.

The 'things must be dumbed down because everyone is now stupid!' mindset is - without a doubt - the cancer that is killing video games. The disappointing thing about this whole affair is that people actually, honestly buy into it.

 

There's no point discussing Van Buren since it will never happen.

Anyway, Taluntain summed up the situation, I do apologize if anyone was offended by my comments. Let's try to be reasonnable and constructive about this.

I stand by the fact that things have changed since 1997 and that regarding CRPG things haven't improved. There's not much fans can do about it. The Bethesda team claim they are fans of the original game, we'll have to wait and see whether this statement is right or wrong.

After all Bethesda spent a lot of money to get the Fallout licence. They could have made a futuristic game using the engine with another name. They certainly knew that Fallout fans would react and they most certainly knew that such reaction wouldn't be positive.

I rank myself as a Fallout fan (having played that game since its release more than ten years ago) but I think it's unfair to dice Fallout 3 before it is released.

 

I'm not actually offended or anything that people have different tastes/opinions than me - that would be silly.

I am a bit irked by the continual assertion that gamers are less intelligent or mature than when Fallout was released (or whatever exactly it is that you think has 'changed', but these are the ones I see implied the most often). That's ridiculous, and the sort of claim that needs backing up.

I'm also a bit irked by the 'OMG! 'Hardcore' Fallout fans are here to ruin our fun!' thinking that shows up every time someone gives negative opinion of the game. It shouldn't get any special protection from criticism just because there's a lot of people who want to criticise it. The criticisms aren't even unreasonable - too much bloom and a lack of adherence to Fallout's unique style. You could disagree that those things are happening/a problem, but they're valid criticisms all the same.

 

It's a bit premature to criticize the game. We can criticize Bethesda's intent. They probably should have left Fallout be consigned to oblivion (pun intended) when the old generations of gamers would eventually pass away.

On a more serious note, you can't ignore the fact that games are now tailored to suit the larger audience of gamers who are supposedly more concerned about eye candy and graphics than story and plot (whether this is right or wrong is moot, that is the common assumption that we have to face nowadays regarding video games and especially CRPGs).

If you showed Fallout 1 to kids, most of them (not all of them) would laugh at you (don't ever show a kid Arcanum if you don't want to be considered as a caveman).

Bethesda is not going to market a product that will only satisfy the old Fallout fans that would be bad marketing. Most of us care more about content but we can't really judge that from a few screenshots (which I for one happen to like).

IMHO it's natural for Bethesda to bring something new to the game. They're not going to make Fallout 1 over again (there would be no point in doing that). It's going to be hard for Fallout 3 to live up to its name and legacy but maybe a new generation of gamers will give the old game a try (be it out of sheer curiosity) and find out what made the Fallout games so special. Maybe (And maybe I'll say "Maybe").

It's just like The Lord of the Rings. The movies are dumbed down (don't flame me for saying that please) but I'm sure some kids who would never have read the book gave it a try after seeing the movies.

We should spread the word (like Thomas Moore in Vault City) and introduce younger gamers to the Fallout series we love and cherish. Fallout 3 will probably make the old games more appealling to younger gamers. At least those who are capable of seeing beyond old (prehistoric) graphics.

 

Equally, there are more experienced gamers than there was 10 years ago who would probably appreciate more games that don't insult their intelligence.

My viewpoint exactly, though we disagree on tactics

Neither side in this argument is all that fresh from a beating - those who like what they're seeing repeat themselves just as much as those who don't. The only way that this horse will stop being beaten is if no one comments on any new information regardless of what side they're on. Well, unless 'I like the pictures - looks great!' is considered not beating the dead horse and 'Too much bloom - don't like it' somehow is.

 

Sure, Fallout Tactics was an awful game.

I looked for some other screenshots from Fallout 3:

http://www.thegeekbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/fallout3-1.jpg

http://news.filefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/falloutposter.jpg

http://www.tomsgames.com/us/picturegalleries/20070716/fallout4_900.jpg

These are quite good (although you won't agree with me).

 

I think that last screenshot proves Aikanaro's point quite well about the graphics. But more of that when we actually see more of the game. That should be quite soon I think, as it is supposed to be ready for the autumn.