Game Review: Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is Bethesda's hit post-apocalyptic RPG based in the DC area.

The game is based in a fictional universe where most of the future predictions from 1940-1960 came true. At least until the nuclear war between China and the USA happened. the game is set 200 years after the nuclear war as your character emerges from the underground vault.

The best way I can describe the atmosphere of the game is, imagine the late 40s, early 50s style, and music. Now imagine that it just never went away. Any cars you find, wont be able to use them, are going to look like they came out of a 50s Sci-Fi film. The music is big band and such, the robots look like you would expect as well.. The art style is undeniably my favorite part of the game.  It's like being transported back in time, and forward at the same time.

I wont say anything about the story beyond what I have already said. That is for you to find out.

The game operates almost identically to the Elder Scrolls games. You have weapons you find and buy, the weapons have set damage stats that change depending on condition. Same with armor. The way it varies from the Elder Scrolls game is that it relies on ranged weapons such as laser pistols and assault rifles. The game is absurdly fun, and looking at my experience with the game, might just speed up time around you as you play. The game is strictly single player, which might be a turn off for some people, but is a plus for people like me.

There are several DLC packs that have been released, but I haven't tried any of them out yet so I can't giver an opinion on them yet.

Overall, I think this game is definitely worth the money and time. Now, I am going to continue to explore the wasteland.

Thanks for reading!

Portal 2 Review

Portal 2 is by far on of my all time favorite games.

In Portal 2 you must complete tests to survive and hopefully win your freedom from the Aperture Science facility. Using the Aperture Science Quantum Tunneling device you will solve many puzzles to free yourself and save the day.

The game is full of wonderful characters and a brilliantly written script. Like most Valve games it manages to tell a wonderful story without the use of cut scenes.

On a scale of 1-10 I give it:

Ease of Play: 8 (The game has a very simple control set and pretty much all these controls are explained throughout the game, really the only things keeping me from giving it a 10 is that there are significantly more controls in the Cooperative Testing Initiative mode and that most newer gamers have issues in FPS games.)

Graphics: 10 (Portal 2 is beautiful no matter what console it is on, though it is probably prettiest on a high end computer. If Valve ever makes a sequel I would love so much to explore more of Apertures Sub levels.)

Replay: 6 (This is really the only area where it lacks, there are no collectables and the game is very linear so no exploring. But I have beaten the game 8 times now and I am thinking that after things settle down some more I will try for times 9 and 10. The game is just fun to play.)

Family Friendliness: 7 (While not inherently violent the game has some dark tones and the environment could be scary to younger audiences, Also there are some minor swear words used later in the game, the only one I can remember and it may be the only one is "Damn".)

All in all I give it a 9.

Valve, you have once again given us a wonderful game. Please make a sequel and as always we are still waiting for HL3.