I befriended a hooker in Megatron via the Lady Killer perk. She said - "for a room, and my company, 120 caps". So myself, being the naive idiot that I am, paid her. Went up stairs, slept in bed, no action...not even moaning Why lie to the player like that?

OK, here's the real deal for anyone wondering how this game compares to Fallout 1 & 2 and to Oblivion. I've played maybe 10 hours of this game so far and below is a truly neutral, unbiased opinion meant to help those original Fallout fans who are trying to decide whether or not to play this game.

My "credentials"?
I can confidently say that nobody is a bigger Fallout 1 fan than I am. I'm sure millions of people liked it just as much as I did, but nobody liked it more. Fallout 1 makes #1 on my list of all-time favorite games. I played the hell out of that game in every conceivable way. Like a lot of people, I kinda enjoyed Oblivion but didn't believe it lived up to the hype and was terrified and enraged at the thought of an "Elder Scrolls: Fallout".

First of all, this IS Fallout. It IS worthy of carrying the Fallout name, contrary to what I believed before I played it. Sure, it can be picked apart and made to sound like a bad game, but I'm pretty sure you could pick apart Fallout 1 and make it sound awful too. This game is Fallout. This game is NOT Oblivion with guns. Yes, it feels like the same engine. No, it doesn't feel like you're playing Oblivion.

Dialog:
For me, this was one of my biggest fears about this game. The dialog options and the consequences that followed really was one of the best things about Fallout. Without it, I'm not even sure I would've finished a single playthrough. I'm happy to say that Bethesda nailed it. Just like in previous Fallout games, there's usually an option to be friendly to the person, an option to be neutral and an option to be a sarcastic [censored]. Which brings me to the language use. It's very well done. It sounds natural and the swearing doesn't feel forced. There are the nice old ladies who speak properly and never swear, and then there are the roughnecks who swear constantly and everything in between. Every person I've met so far really has their own personality, just like in previous Fallouts. I've sweet talked my way out of certain situations and I've also pissed people off to the point they attacked me. The dialog in this game is perfect.

Combat:
The combat in this game feels good. VATS is not an "I Win" button, nor can you really tear it up FPS style at level 1. VATS isn't an instant kill, that's the big thing. Many times the enemy is still alive after I come out of VATS and sometimes they still have the majority of their health. VATS doesn't break the combat system at all. When I played Fallout 1, most of my shots were aimed shots and this game is no different. The normal shooting is first person, but it's not really run and gun. I've actually had enemies at point blank with my target squarely in the middle of their face, and I missed when I pulled the trigger due to my low skill with that weapon type. You're not guaranteed to hit a target just because they're in your crosshairs, and that's why this is NOT a FPS.

Quests:
I'm happy with these too. I haven't done much of the main quest, but every quest I've done has had multiple ways of finishing them and there are actual consequences which cannot be reversed. More than once, I finished a quest and then when I actually saw the consequences, I wished I had done it differently. In that respect, it's just like real life. There's not really much else I can say here because I hate spoilers. The quests in this game are definitely Fallout quests.

Mature Content:
No worries, it's all there. Yes, I mean all of it. Swearing, prostitution, drugs and of course, loads of violence. I honestly don't see this game as "watered down" in any way, as far as mature content goes.

The Bad:
There honestly isn't much about this game I don't like, although there are a few things. For one, it's lame having to repair weapons. When you pick up multiples of the same weapon, you can't just sell them like in previous Fallouts. You have to use them to repair the weapon you've been using. To me, this is an unnecessary addition to the game. I don't like the idea of getting a bad ass weapon, then having it slowly do less and less damage until it finally breaks or you repair it. On a side note, that was one of the most frustrating things about Oblivion also. Another bad thing about this game as opposed to previous Fallouts is that there is a wide variety of clothing and armor you can wear (good in my opinion) but they all have added stat bonuses (BIG no-no for a Fallout game). For example (this isn't a real item, as far as I'm aware) you could pick up mechanic's overalls and when you equip them, you'd get something like +5 to your repair skill. Is this good for a fantasy-style game? Sure. For Fallout? Hell no. However, it really hasn't been as much of a problem as just an annoyance.

Conclusion:
Sorry that this turned out to be so long, but thank you to everyone who read it. To sum everything up, this game deserves to carry the Fallout title in every way. I was extremely skeptical and thought I'd just be playing Oblivion 2 for the most part, but I was wrong. If you liked Fallout 1 and 2, then you'd be stupid not to play this game and insane if you didn't like it. I know there's been a LOT of negativity on the internet ever since it was announced that Bethesda would be making this game and honestly, I was the source of some of it. I was wrong though, and I'm here to say...


Bethesda, you walked the walk and didn't just talk the talk. On behalf of all Fallout fans, thank you for making this game. Well done, guys. Well done.