Did Bethesda ruin Fallout?

[PowerHungryFool]

The original Fallout games by Black Isle Studios are among favorite games of all time, and in the midst of producing Fallout 3 (Which would by far be the biggest and best fallout yet) the franchise was bought out by Bethesda Softworks. They then proceeded to make what is essentially just The Elder Scrolls with guns. Don't get me wrong, 3 and New Vegas were great games, but they weren't Fallout. The game had it's soul taken away, it was never the same. And the worst part is that Bethesda could have made the same game without buying Fallout. Given it it's own backstory and made an entirely new IP instead of ruining a great one. Anyone else here feel the same way?

 

[Slattman92]

I kind of agree with you. I feel like Fallout 3, while still being great game, was very much not a "Fallout" game (it had the setting of the previous Fallout games, but not the atmosphere).

New Vegas, on the other had, is exactly what I wanted from the Fallout game that used the same engine Bethesda made for Fallout 3. It had most of everything that made the older Fallout games so great... Many, many, many factions to back, multiple endings that result from some of the major factions in the game, lots of pointless (but awesome) side quests, a rich area with lots of back story and lore, and so many more item options compared to 3. Plus it helps that some of the original writers for Fallout 1 and 2 worked on the story and the lore/backstory in New Vegas.

In the end, I would say that New Vegas is the closest we will ever get to what Van Buren would have been, and is a fantastic game that combines the original lore and charm of the first 2 fallout games with the "needs" of most modern games (for lack of better terms)

 

[PowerHungryFool]

I kind of agree with you. I feel like Fallout 3, while still being great game, was very much not a "Fallout" game (it had the setting of the previous Fallout games, but not the atmosphere).

New Vegas, on the other had, is exactly what I wanted from the Fallout game that used the same engine Bethesda made for Fallout 3. It had most of everything that made the older Fallout games so great... Many, many, many factions to back, multiple endings that result from some of the major factions in the game, lots of pointless (but awesome) side quests, a rich area with lots of back story and lore, and so many more item options compared to 3. Plus it helps that some of the original writers for Fallout 1 and 2 worked on the story and the lore/backstory in New Vegas.

In the end, I would say that New Vegas is the closest we will ever get to what Van Buren would have been, and is a fantastic game that combines the original lore and charm of the first 2 fallout games with the "needs" of most modern games (for lack of better terms)

While I can agree that it had alot of elements that made Fallout great, he continued to deviate from the core gameplay mechanics that I loved most about the Fallout games. With down-sight aiming, the need for VATS was pretty much nullified, and you are no longer limited to your action points. While it did alot of things right the Fallout 3 did wrong, it also deviated from alot of the things that Fallout 3 did correctly.

 

[radio silent]

I agree that Fallout 3 was a terrible Fallout game. Decent game in its own right, but it completely missed what made the first couple games great. The best part of Fallout (at least, in my opinion) was the writing, which is not exactly Bethesda's strong suit.

I think New Vegas is a better game in pretty much every way. Most importantly, though, it's a far better Fallout game (probably because Obsidian was made out of ex-Black Isle guys.) At this point, I have no hope for another great Fallout game unless Obsidian is involved.

While I can agree that it had alot of elements that made Fallout great, he continued to deviate from the core gameplay mechanics that I loved most about the Fallout games. With down-sight aiming, the need for VATS was pretty much nullified, and you are no longer limited to your action points. While it did alot of things right the Fallout 3 did wrong, it also deviated from alot of the things that Fallout 3 did correctly.

"VATS" in the first 2 games was pretty much essential, but in 3/NV it's pretty much easy mode. Fallout 3 tried to sit on this weird FPS-but-mostly-RPG fence, and adding ADS just made the FPS part slightly more tolerable. It's still more effective to just queue up shots in VATS.

At the end of the day, I still prefer the gameplay in the first 2 games, but I guess isometric RPGs lack the mainstream appeal of FPS.