It's a game, not the second coming of Jesus

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I really love games, of almost all genres. Even the ones I'm really bad at (such as driving games, and RTS) are fun, if I try to ignore my usual (and admittedly pathetic) "if I don't win, it's pointless" attitude. Obviously there are games that are better than others, some approaching genius, but there has never been a flawless game, despite what some people choose to believe.

Recently, while slightly inebriated, a group of us were discussing games, as we do every single time we get drunk together. Because we're that cool. And, as often happens, Deus Ex came up, along with the usual "Deus Ex 2 didn't happen" topic. I freely admit it - I liked Deus Ex: Invisible War. Although it doesn't come close to the brilliance that was the original, it had a relatively good storyline, moderately developed characters, and a fantastic thought-provoking ending. The combat was fluid, and at worst functional. The augs were occasionally a little overpowered compared to others (cloak), but generally a good game. But it wasn't Deus Ex, and that was its biggest failing. Same setting, same general gameplay features, but lower quality. Of course, games should be judged against their peers, but comparing one game solely against one other is never going to be fair to either. If DE:IW dropped the 'DE:' part, it would have been much better received.

I'm sure you guessed where this post was heading: Fallout 3.

Unlike the DE-to-DE:IW transition, this is much more dramatic. The ruleset from the original is still there (well... sort of), but there's a complete perspective change. And I think that could be its greatest strength. The isometric perspective wasn't what Fallout was about - to be honest, I felt the combat was largely functional rather than the reason to play the game (cue flaming...?). I played for a 1950s view of a post-apocalyptic world, but with an edge of 21st century grit and realism. I played for the dry humour that occasionally broke the fourth wall. But most of all, I played because I could make a difference. I had a choice in everything I did, more than in any other game I can think of, and most importantly, my choices had an effect. This is what Bethesda needs to get right most of all, something that never really came across in Oblivion/Morrowind/Daggerfall/Arena, and certainly not to the desired extent. But I have hope - the screenshots definitely look like the Fallout world, so that's a start, and from my reading Bethesda really seem to understand what's required of them. Of course, there are certain groups (NMA) who are never going to accept this as Fallout - "First slash third person?!" they scream. "I don't remember seeing that in Fallout! That means it's wrong!" But F3 shouldn't just be judged against the other three in the series, it should be judged against all its peers - the other Fallout games included, of course, but also Oblivion, Deus Ex, Boiling Point, Stalker, and many others that follow a similar path. I'm not going to say this will be amazing, and I'm certainly not going to say it'll suck. I'm just going to hold the faith, and wait for the release.

 

A very sensible attitude!

Admittedly, I've never played either of the first two Fallout games, so I'm not as embittered and cynical towards the series as the people you were talking about, but I would agree perspective does not define a game.