Random thoughts about the state of gaming - on a personal level.

Over the May break I've torn through Fallout 3: Broken Steel, Bioshock (replayed from beginning - revised review pending), Star Ocean: Last Hope, Godfather II, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher's Bay, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and have taken a pretty large bite out of Red Faction: Guerrilla. While there have been elements of each game I liked, hell I played the wheels off Fallout 3 and am really enjoying Red Faction: Guerrilla, I feel a bit let down right now.

Every gamer goes through a slump, a bout of ennui, where games just don't take you where you need to go. I start to nitpick games and game design. In RF:G I have a problem with the button configuration: L2 is melee and R3 is zoom in, normally this is reversed. I could change the controller set up in options but I only want to change those two buttons not the entire config. The HUD mini-map is always there without the option of minimizing it or enlarging it. I like the zoom in/zoom out feature on the mini-map though.

I think my main problem is that I'm bored. I don't feel challenged. I'm not talking about difficulty level (enemies have more health, I have less health, etc etc etc), I mean on an intellectual level. There's also a good dose of "been there, done that" thrown in. I haven't really been forced to used my problem solving/tactical skills lately. If memory serves that was one of the strong divisions between console and PC games. Where the PC had RTS and large scale strategy/tactical games the console was lacking.

Just had to gripe. Thank you for listening.

Fallout 3: Broken Steel review

Well, after some intense gaming sessions I polished off Broken Steel, hit the level 30 mark, and had a generally good time blasting the hell out Raiders, Muties, and the Enclave. I had a good time though I am kind of bummed out that there isn't any more Fallout until the next game.

The new DLC was enjoyable but I have two major problems:

1. The level thirty cap makes the game too easy even when I bumped up the difficulty to high. I was just kicking the shit out of the opposition. Sometimes that's fun but sometimes I want a challenge.

2. Lord have mercy but the DLC is buggy. I had a great number of freezes. Bethesda needs to add a patch ASAP.

Other than that the DLC is fun, lots of kick ass weapons, and the new enemies are fairly tough when you first encounter them.

Broken Steel trailer.

Creating my new character in "Fallout 3"

I am going to create my neutral character and have juggled numbers and perks/skills and this is what I've come up with:

S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
Strength: 7
Perception: 7
Endurance: 4
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 6
Luck: 6

Skills:
Small Guns
Lockpick
Repair

Perks:
Black Widow/Lady Killer (lvl 2)
Intense Training (lvl 3)
Entomologist (INT 4, SCI 40)
Comprehension (lvl 5)
Gunslinger (lvl 6)
Bloody Mess (lvl 7)
Commando (lvl 8)
Impartial Mediation (lvl 9)
Animal Friend (lvl 10)
Finesse (lvl 11)
Sniper (lvl 12)
Silent Running or Fast Metabolism (lvl 13)
Adamantium Skeleton (lvl 14)
Light Step (lvl 15)
Action Boy (lvl 16)
Better Criticals (lvl 17)
Concentrated Fire (lvl 18)
Mysterious Stranger (lvl 19)
Grim Reaper's Sprint (lvl 20)

Quests after leaving Vault 101:
Securing a home in Megaton.
Operation: Alaska
Seek out all possible Bobbleheads.

Helpful Hints?

Operation: Alaska is a really easy set of missions, even for an early level character - it is supposed to be a VR training mission after all. The major bonus of completing this mission ASAP is power armor that does not degrade in quality, stealth armor - nice but eventually useless at higher levels, and my personal favorite the Degauss Rifle. The Degauss is a solid sniper rifle that will knock most targets (Deathclaws in particular) on their ass.

Securing a base at Megaton rather than Tenpenny Tower allows, not only better karma, but a more central home base. The sooner you save Megaton the better - allowing you to complete the Wastelander's Handbook and get a shit ton of XP in the process.

Bobbleheads:

First thing - DO NOT max your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. or Skills. Your stats do not go past 10 or 100 so use your points where actually needed. I suggest tracking down all the Bobbleheads you can from the get go. It may be tough and you might actually, gasp, die every once in awhile but it's totally worth it in the long run.

If you do plan on destroying Megaton get the bobblehead from the Sheriff's house first. There's another in the Enclave fortress that you can't miss, rather shouldn't.


Okay,

Now that Broken Steel is coming out I would suggest starting a new character and holding off on The Pitt. Apparently Broken Steel boosts the level limit from twenty to thirty so you need all the XP you can get.

Pending reviews and assorted good stuff:

There should be a few more movie reviews coming down the pike pretty soon. I haven't played anything new to really jump up and down about. Pretty much kicked the hell out of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix and went back to playing Fallout 3.

By the by:

NEW DOWNLOADABLE MEGA-CONTENT FOR FALLOUT 3: BROKEN STEEL COMES OUT MAY 5TH.

I am very excited. Very, very excited. I might even have to start yet another character (It will only be my third character, I have one good and one evil right now). Happy dance!

Oh suck. I have finals right after it is released. Stoopid skool.

Amusing Fallout 3 story: My "evil" character has gunned down, bludgeoned, or incinerated almost every character in the game. In particular - Three Dog. I never really liked Three Dog. Loud mouthed jerk.