Game News Get Your Anal Probes Ready

[WhiskeyWolf]

Where Mothership Zeta really falls down is the complete lack of inspiration in the mission design. Generally you can rely on Bethesda to intelligently weave complex scenarios around practically anything, with the key characters each having their own specific agenda. Once you've taken in the situation, it's entirely down to your own moral leanings as to which direction you decide to take any given mission. Never quite knowing who is really the good guy, or the least bad guy has made for some thrilling missions in past Bethesda games (and past DLC), but none of that applies here. At best, you can rope in some characters to help kick arse, but for the most part you're reduced to the most soulless of gameplay tasks - breaking machines by pressing buttons.

With repetitive, largely uninspired corridor combat, and boring, linear and samey mission design, the least you'd hope is that there would be some supplementary side quests to extend the lifespan - but not so. Having delivered five main quests, five side-quests and three unmarked quests in the vast Point Lookout expansion, to follow that up with such a limited DLC pack is curious. Throughout its programme of downloadable releases, it felt like Bethesda was learning and improving its output. But having started poorly with Operation: Anchorage, it concludes Fallout 3 in equally disappointing fashion.

Well la dee da.

 

[Silellak]

I don't care about aliens causing the war or not. I salute any DLC that gives the rabid wardens of so-called Fallout canon a reality check.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

That's kind of scary.

Edit again: uh oh, someone desperately needs dumbfuck tag.

NO, PLEASE! IT BURNS! MY INTERNET REPUTATION IS VERY IMPORTANT!

wait, nvm. I don't give a shit

 

[Silellak]

I don't care about aliens causing the war or not. I salute any DLC that gives the rabid wardens of so-called Fallout canon a reality check.

You don't understand, it's a very deep setting

also incredibly hard and tactical combat

JOIN! DIE! JOIN! DIE! JOIN! DIE! JOIN!

-
What's so incredibly absurd about the aliens manipulating things so humans ruin themselves? It's not like it doesn't fit the "50's culture"setting. Being behind it doesn't mean they personally dropped the bombs.

You're missing the point. From a simple story perspective, "ALIENS DID IT!!!" is lame, cliche, and a multi-million dollar gaming company should be able to hire writers who can do better - but that's not really the point. The issue at hand is that one of the central themes of Fallout is that we did this to ourselves. If, suddenly, it was ALIENS who pushed us over the brink, then that central theme is entirely lost to us. Why do you think every game begins with "War. War never changes."? It's not just because it sounds cool on paper. It's one of the entire underlying points of the franchise. Don't you see there's a fundamental difference between "War. War never changes." And "War. War never changed, until the aliens came around and fired our nukes and triggered a nuclear war that destroyed the world."?

Bethesda, who are now in charge of the Fallout franchise, actually believe that "aliens triggered the Great War" is a good idea and fits in with the key themes behind Fallout. And that's what really worries me, because it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what the original games were about, which in turn makes me wonder why they don't just create their own post-apocalpytic franchise if they have so little respect for the key themes of the franchise they've inherited.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

^That's actually a good point.

But I think the "we did this to ourselves" still stands. Humans still fucked up the world with war.

which in turn makes me wonder why they don't just create their own post-apocalpytic franchise if they have so little respect for the key themes of the franchise they've inherited.

It's a business, fans need to understand that.

 

[Carceri]

Omg, DrogDrog is a double agent!

 

[Pliskin]

How to continue to milk the two-headed cash-cow that is Fallout 3?

1. Convince a couple million retards to part with $1.99 every 6 months add infinitum.
2. Katanas!
3. ???
4. PROFIT!

 

[Clockwork Knight]

2. Katanas!

KATANAS!

wait, shit, wakizashis. Nvm, then

"IT'S A RANDOM ENCOUNTER, IT DOESN'T COUNT"

 

[Hoaxmetal]

Played it for half hour.

Banal - opening scene couldn't be more unoriginal. Bloom flashing on and off, generic aliens covering above your face, some big needles being stuck into you. The didn't even spend any time to make any new alien type. Then there's kid girl sidekick. She's so intelligent and shit, crawling trough vents, opening doors and shit. It's stated that she basically walks around the ship like ninja and blind aliens don't see her. Wtf.

Boring - Same as anchorage, only shitty VATS combat and nothing much more. Got tired of tunnels pretty quick.

Shit - well, it's shit. Even F3 doesn't deserve this.

 

[Deadeye Dragoon]

Oh, and that's not a "samurai raccoon", you ignorant fools. That's a tanuki.

Nice balls on that coon!

 

[RottingNaziSurfer]

You're missing the point.
Bethesda, who are now in charge of the Fallout franchise, actually believe that "aliens triggered the Great War" is a good idea and fits in with the key themes behind Fallout. And that's what really worries me, because it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what the original games were about, which in turn makes me wonder why they don't just create their own post-apocalpytic franchise if they have so little respect for the key themes of the franchise they've inherited.

I see your point. And that is the same thing I originally thought. "That's it, we are all screwed." Bethesda is actually the one missing the point. They have "decentralized" from the foundations and turned the Fallout world into an amusement park world where they are bringing in all these different elements(aliens, Uh..The Pitts?) that don't have a thematic stream going. I mean, why doesn't Bethesda throw in sasquatches whose 'voiding to other planes' activity triggers the Great War. Or nazi soldiers holed up in a castle. And Bethesda laughs all the way to the bank. Sucking on Satan's dog's tits all the while.

 

[RottingNaziSurfer]

I wonder if I can take Kumagai's tanuki from his garden and hold it for ransom?

 

[Drakron]

It seems that Aliens could be responsible for Nuclear War in Fallout 3...
<snip>

Interesting enough there is no sound besides of the alien noises and that means either two things, they fucked up as usual or this was something that was scrapped but somehow retained on the code.

And yes, its fucking stupid ...

 

[poocolator]

Those are some handsome Japanese men you guys have posted pics of. Mmmmm.

 

[RottingNaziSurfer]

Those are some handsome Japanese men you guys have posted pics of. Mmmmm.

 

[RottingNaziSurfer]

From Game Revolution's review of Mothership Zeta. BTW they gave it a 'B+'. Whatever that means:

You can also count in seeing a new perk too, and hopefully you are like me and controlled your impulse to grind to level 30, since the Xenotech Expert damage-increasing perk relates to exactly the type of weapon you are guaranteed to pickup in Zeta: alien weapons. Haven't added any points to that section of the leveling screen? This might help a bit, but even so, the weapons you pick up are very powerful, even more if you happen to come across the unique variations of the common rifle and ray gun, which pack a punch on their own right. The best 'perk' is being able to zap back to the mothership after completing the quest, as it becomes a sort of second home for your character, complete with a first row seat view to Earth, a repair table, and a bed to sleep in.

Mothership Zeta is a great way to end the downloadable content run for Fallout 3. If it's indeed the final DLC we're to see for the game, it's surely an out-of-this-world way to close off our explorations of the Capital Wasteland, providing a thoroughly enjoyable ride that is likely to last almost as much as the longest of the packs that's come out so far - Broken Steel. Zeta will run you 800 Microsoft Points, which equates to ten Earth dollars. So do you prefer probing or zapping? Our outer space friends gladly offer both!

 

[Kron]

Gamerevolution is depressing. I used to be around the site, but it became such a horribly mainstream gameboy review and noob magnet...
Besides, even in Gamespot you'll find a couple of Planescape/Fallout fans.

 

[racofer]

 

[Section8]

Thanks Wikipedia!

 

[Jaesun]

 

[Azrael the cat]

My take?

Bethesda is hitting a wall that is virtually guaranteed by its themepark design style. We've been raging because Oblivion and FO3 departed so far from the rpg genre that we are into, and the Fallout series that we love, whereas the most of the Bethtards Oblivion and FO3 were their first experience of rpgs and fallout respectively. But now you've got a legion of fans with their own devotion to what they consider 'rpgs' (as crap sa that might be) and Fallout, and they want continuity with that, both in terms of gameplay and lore. But one thing that Bethesda is currently incapable of doing is continuity - they rely entirely upon taking as many established tropes as possible and putting them together. They don't have the capability to take the one genre and set of lore and design something true to that lore, but with enough innovation and expansion to constitute a new game.

I suspect that the reception of ESF 5 and FO4 will be much more critical than for Oblivion and FO3 - because this time Bethesda won't be able to just leach from the FPS and platformer markets, as they have already been tapped for Oblivion and FO3 and are now part of their established fanbase. And that fanbase is going to have expectations of consistency and logical development that Bethesda is seemingly unable to deliver.

 

[Shannow]

This thread is WIN simply because Spectre and Section8 showed that they're still around.
Beth is fail per default. Why even talk about it?

As to Mothership Zeta and the last DLC for FO3:
"Lieber ein Ende mit Schrecken als ein Schrecken ohne Ende." (=Better an end with terror than terror without an end)

Sadly Beth will continue doing some other shit instead...

 

[MetalCraze]

We have yet to endure a sequel to New Reno.

 

[Pliskin]

We have yet to endure a sequel to New Reno.

 

[DraQ]

Thanks Wikipedia!

The key to understanding the Japanese.