He (and you) have the option to increase the difficulty of the game. At the very hard difficulty enemies do 200% damage and you do 50% damage. It just seems a little silly to criticize that opening sequence for being too easy. I mean, you have to get out of the Vault to enjoy the rest of the game. And hell, if you start talking about how dumb it is to take on guys with guns using a baseball bat, then you have to plunge into how “dumb” it is that merely sleeping heals all damage and other “gamey” aspects. It’s a spiral of silliness, one might say.
That’s NMA in a nutshell, really.
Unless I read criticism about it somewhere else (I got to about page 6 of that thread reading only Vince’s posts), he actually does plunge into how dumb it is that a bed heals your limbs (It is a little silly). However, if they want to do an LP (you realize it’s an LP and not a review, right?) of Fallout 3, all the while criticizing it for not being a true Fallout sequel, more power to them.
That’s just the intro, though. Complaining that it doesn’t provide enough of a challenge is sort of like complaining that Half-Life’s tram ride doesn’t provide enough combat. It’s not there to be challenging; it’s there to introduce you to the setting, help you hash out your character, and introduce you to the main storyline.
But even coming at it from the other direction, why should the guards be tough fighters, anyway? They’ve spent their entire lives locked in a Vault policing a small, docile population. I like the way they set up the contrast between Vault life and life outdoors. You quickly go from being a sort of problem child, big fish in a little pond to being a very small fish in the vast sea of the wasteland, and it’s a pretty cool transition.
I didn’t get past the first post, but maybe I should go back for the sheer entertainment of it. (MUST. NOT. GO. BACK.) What is an LP?
Popularized by SomethingAwful, an LP is a “Let’s Play! thread”, where a person plays through a game, recording his progress with either video or screenshots, then posts it for the “audience” to either watch or take part in.
Against my better judgment I’ve gone back and started reading each of the guy’s posts. I think he’s an asshole and missing the point in a lot of ways, but it’s actually fairly entertaining for what it is.
If you’re interested there is an archive, and my favorite is the Daikatana LP by Proteus4994. Another good one that is I think either recently finished or ongoing is the Big Brother Sims 2 LP (no link, search for it on Something Awful if you want, it’s funny).
Awesome! That stuff makes great reading between boring stuff at work. Thanks EFG.
Regarding this guy’s Fallout 3 LP, he definitely takes the most negative view of everything. What’s strange to me is that the guy harps on how awful the game is, but doesn’t seem to realize that he’s in the extreme minority. I mean, how is it that the game can garner so much critical acclaim and yet he’s the only one that’s finding so much fault?
Grifman
5210
That’s the NMA/RPGCodex hive mind at work.
No problem, and many LPs tend toward the more sarcastic or negative side. Sarcasm and mocking are just funnier than someone saying, “so I did this, it was awesome”.
Actually the whole draw to the Daikatana LP is that its very obvious that Proteus is almost in real physical pain while playing it, right from the second level (SPOILERS — where he has to use a no-clip cheat just to continue through the level).
Grifman
5212
You know what’s funny? If you explore the dialogue options, you’ll find out you can ship the test if you want. So Bethesda, in creating a supposedly shallow game, gives a Fallout purist a option he never even considered exploring. Oh, the humanity . . .
Oh, of course! It just seems like bad games like Daikatana should be given the treatment, not games that pretty much everyone agrees are good.
And yeah, if you talk to the teacher after the G.O.A.T. test, it’s pretty funny.
Grifman
5215
Here’s the most pathetic example of the hive mind at work (from those same forums):
I started playing Fallout 3 last night and actually enjoyed it, despite any flaws and inconsistencies I may or may not have noticed. After reading this thread, I find myself too scared and embarrassed to continue playing. I don’t really see anything wrong with Fallout 3, so I feel stupid in relation to this thread. I want to continue playing, but I don’t want to be ridiculed for not accepting it as mediocre or unworthy of the Fallout name.
Sad, isn’t it?
Bit of a SPOILER below
He seems to think you can’t kill Burke. Is this true after you’ve notified the sheriff, because I most certainly killed the fucker andtook his hat… for some reason it gives +1 perception.
Killzig
5217
It might make him invulnerable for that bit as he walks out of the bar after doing that thing he does. I haven’t tried it. I remember them doing the same thing with that ant ambush…
Kalle
5218
If they put an unarmed civilian against in a straight fight against multiple armed guards then the guards should win. Otherwise, what’s the freaking point of them being guards. Hell, you see them gunning down two other vault dwellers who are pretty much just like you except for their inability to shrug off gunshots like they were bee stings. It’s plain ridiculous. And that’s the problem. Not that the intro isn’t challenging enough, which is as you say not it’s intended purpose, but that the scenario the intro takes place in is so damn stupid. It’s bad design. It’s not a big issue and I’ll take it over the damn temple of trials any day, but they could have done much better.
Sepiche
5219
SPOILER
I went with the sheriff to arrest Burke and the second after he shot the sheriff in the back I opened fire on him and most certainly killed him. (and looted both bodies… thanks for the new gun sheriff! :) )
bago
5220
And if you put a plumber against the hammer bros. in world 1-1, of course the hammer bros. are going to win. I mean, they’ve got hammers and stuff, while you have yet to see your first mushroom! AMIRITE? Also.
