Preview Oblivion was flawed and we're not afraid to tell you now

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: Fallout 3

GamesRadar have compared the upcoming Fallout 3 to Oblivion. <a href="http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/f/e3-08-11-ways-fallout-3-will-kick-oblivions-ass/a-2008071115264204043">The article's called "11 ways Fallout 3 will kick Oblivion's ass"</a>. Here's the opening, along with the 11 paragraph titles:
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<blockquote>Fallout 3 is more than just a sequel to one of the most beloved PC RPG series ever - it's also a spiritual successor to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, probably the single most ginormous game of the current console generation. Created by Bethesda, the same developer behind that sprawling fantasy epic, Fallout 3 has some pretty huge shoes to fill - but judging by what we've seen so far, it took one look, scoffed and is currently at work on an even bigger pair.
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While it could be described as Oblivion with guns, Fallout 3 mutates that game's first-person RPG experience into something that - while its DNA is still recognizable as Oblivion's - is wholly distinct. In fact, the small chunk of Fallout 3 that we've played through so far essentially takes everything that was great about Oblivion and retools it into something better - here are 11 of the best examples we could find.
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1. More voice actors
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2. Better gore
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3. Twice as much going on
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4. More interesting places to discover
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5. Realistic lockpicking
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6. Actual dialogue replaces conversation wheels.
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7. Moral decisions actually carry weight and relevance
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8. Better drugs
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9. Better dogs
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10. Nuclear catapults
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11. Hats</blockquote>
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Ignoring the few that are the funny, isn't it amazing how when a new game comes out, everything that was so awesome last year about that old game suddenly has all these horrible flaws? Flaws which nobody cared to mention in all the over-hyped previews.
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<a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com">4 out of 6 news items today were brought to you by GameBanshee. GameBanshee, where if you don't like the article, you're not supposed to link to it</a>. Right, Brother None?

 

[Brother None]

Nevah!

Though I'm sure it's a relief for you to see this isn't the only place where people whine about newsposting, DU.

By the way, Lingwei here took the time to compare this article to the GamesRadar review. Fun times ensue

Let's do the Oblivion review check.

http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/the-elder- ... 3636538018

Then

Videogaming has never seen such a meticulously detailed digital landscape, let alone one so beautifully realized. Mountainous, tree-dotted vistas implore you to spin around and take it all in. Between the nine architecturally and culturally diverse cities and the equally varied outdoor locales and dungeons, the in-game world of Cyrodiil feels real.

Now

When Oblivion was being developed for the then-unfinished Xbox 360 and PS3, its designers didn't really have a firm handle on either system's capabilities or limitations. So while Oblivion was a staggering achievement, it also came with a host of minor problems, and now looks a little dated just two years after release.

What's more, one of Oblivion's most irritating features - the interstitial loads that would briefly freeze the game when you were just walking through the countryside - are a thing of the past

No mention of Oblivion's load times or the "host of minor problems" in the review, infact there isn't a single criticism in the whole review. Not one. But then again they are game journalists aren't they.

Then

Plus, this doesn't even touch on the enjoyable mini-games, including lock-picking, stealth action and persuasion. They don't feel like filler.

Now

For would-be thieves crawling through Oblivion's cities, lockpicking quickly became second nature. This was mainly because all you needed to do was bounce a series of tumblers until you heard a tell-tale sound, which told you when each one was ready to click into place. With Fallout 3, you won't have it so easy. No, this is a modern wasteland, filled with modern locks, and daintily bouncing cylinders up and down like a shrieking ballerina just isn't going to cut it anymore.
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Still, though - at least now there's challenge to it.
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Yeah, dialogue trees aren't a revolutionary way to converse with people in games, but they at least beat the hell out of just clicking on a list of conversation topics - or worse, manipulating a big wheel that forces you to joke with, boast to, coerce and flatter someone all in one brief "conversation."

Then

You'll find countless side jobs and quests; each of the four major side-stories - one for each main workers' guild - takes longer to play through than most entire games these days.

Now

If nothing else, it's nice to be able to actually choose how you respond to another character, instead of just following a rote series of sterile questions.

In Oblivion, your moral "choices" largely amounted to "do this task and get a reward" or "ignore this task and get nothing." While you could wander off and follow completely different plotlines for as long as you wanted, ultimately you didn't have any real effect on the game's plot - you just chose how you wanted to follow it. Fallout 3, meanwhile, will enable you to approach major events in different ways, and the choices you make will determine how they play out.

Nice of you to mention that Oblivion's quests are linear and boring and the dialogue is bad two and a half years after posting your review.

Interestingly, Oblivion's bestiary levels up with you, further adding to the freedom as there are no "high-level" dungeons that are off-limits until you've played for 40 hours.

I can't roll my eyes hard enough.

It serves notice to the rest of the role-playing world, unabashedly boasting, "Can you top this?"

Judging from your other article it looked like it was fairly easy.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Nevah!

Though I'm sure it's a relief for you to see this isn't the only place where people whine about newsposting, DU.

I had to show my support. Disgruntled news posters unite!

 

[Shoelip]

I told a friend of mine who liked Oblivion about it's flaws and he actually stopped liking it as much when I pointed them out, but recently he apparently forgot about all that and decided I had just brainwashed him by repeatedly screaming "Oblivion sucks" at him or something. Now even the whore media is admitting it's flaws...

 

[FrancoTAU]

Video game journalism really needs it's own Hunter Thompson.

 

[Claw]

8. Better drugs
While Oblivion's Skooma and booze would just addle you while exerting mild effects over your stats, Fallout 3's candy-colored array of drugs will play a major role in wasteland survival. Think of them as being like Oblivion's confusing array of potions, only with clearer effects and no need to mix them yourself.

Drugs = simpler


Also, what everyone else already said. Way to criticize Oblivion two years later.

 

[Chefe]

I'm glad they're improving on the gore and nuclear catapults. I felt those features were really lacking in Oblivion.

 

[Mareus]

2. Better gore

Indeed. So the orc first slipped on a banana peel and broke his neck, then Todd came and shot his leg off

 

[FluffyKitten]

11. Hats

Holy shit, this game truly will be the most amazing emergent-create-you-own-destiny-unlimited-possibilities-epic game ever.

Hats! Hats, people, hats.

 

[Shoelip]

Can the hats fall off? If not, forget it. If so, well, I think that's technically innovation. No game that calls itself an RPG has head falling off headwear before as far as I know. If they can fall off without the character dying first or being shot off that's even more innovative!

 

[SpaceKungFuMan]

1. More voice actors
2. Better gore
3. Twice as much going on
4. More interesting places to discover
5. Realistic lockpicking
6. Actual dialogue replaces conversation wheels.
7. Moral decisions actually carry weight and relevance
8. Better drugs
9. Better dogs
10. Nuclear catapults
11. Hats

How does "7. Moral decisions actually carry weight and relevance" come behind "5. Realistic lockpicking"?

 

[Shoelip]

I think the list was numbered least as least important and most as most important.

 

[Mareus]

So no one mentioned 200 different endings, which the game will have based on Bethseda hype. I am really interested what the difference will be in those endings.

 

[Shoelip]

Congratulations! You have beat the game! You scored 173 of 200 points.

 

[sah]

When the game comes out I'm going to craft myself a +10 lockpicking hat.

 

[Jasede]

The ideal hat for FO3:

 

[bat_boro]

Can the hats fall off? If not, forget it. If so, well, I think that's technically innovation. No game that calls itself an RPG has head falling off headwear before as far as I know. If they can fall off without the character dying first or being shot off that's even more innovative!

That's what I would call "IMMERSHUN!"

 

[Helton]

The ideal hat for FO3:

*gasp* Jasede! I'm shocked an appalled by your barbaric suggestion.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

The ideal hat for FO3:

*gasp* Jasede! I'm shocked an appalled by your barbaric suggestion.

 

[Jasede]

Like a Bethesda developer would be likely to say, and like a book written by a woman once wrote:

"Things aren't always black and white. There's shades in-between."

 

[Lumpy]

 

[Helton]

Like a Bethesda developer would be likely to say, and like a book written by a woman once wrote:

"Things aren't always black and white. There's shades in-between."

There is things in between?

Is "there're" proper English?

 

[Pegultagol]

I bet hats also explode into glorious gib showers too. Because it is extreme.

 

[DoppelG]

1. 10 whores and LIEJAM NEISUN xxx
2. Better ejaculating plastic zombies
3. Twice the frustration
4. More interesting places to discover liek shit and stuff
5. Realisticaly bloom lit lockpicking minigame
6. Wut you talk'n bout?
7. Liek totally don't go thar
8. Not even ten pound shit will save the shit
9. Better bitches to spend money on
10. Nuclear catapults: phaild singular
11. hats > i laughorz

 

[Shoelip]

Is anyone going to make a joke about this list going to eleven?