Doesn’t Play Well with Others

While hunting around Fallout 3‘s Capital Wasteland last night for more Bobbleheads, I unlocked the following achievement after over 50 hours of total gameplay:

Doesn’t Play Well with Others (20G): Kill 300 people

And it’s true. I don’t play well with others. More interestingly, I don’t play well with critters either, as at the time this unlocked I had killed over 600 creatures, ranging from Mole Rats to Mirelurks to one or two Deathclaws. My violence record, you can now has it.

Grinding is Good and Bad and All We Really Ever Had

There’s been a lot of talk lately about grinding, some for it, some against it, and some just not sure how to define where it shows up. Here’s some links, all of which are worth a read and/or listen:

• Adam Sessler’s Soapbox says that grinding is good
• An interest article by Daniel Feit follows up on this
• And then there’s this direct response to Feit’s article by Gerren Fisher, which argues that if someone enjoys the gameplay mechanic attached to grinding then it isn’t a grind at all

Having named my blog Grinding Down for a reason, I feel equally mixed about this subject.

It’s a staple of RPGs, sometimes more prevalent than not, and I much prefer it to be an optional sort of thing. Cases where it has not been optional are Eternal Sonata and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. In both these games, I found myself stuck at a boss fight that I was clearly not ready for…which meant wasting an hour or two grinding, fighting the same monsters over and over, sleeping at the same inn to heal for cheap over and over, and so on. This is depressing. There might as well have been a scratch on the game’s disc because this kind of grinding is basically stating, “You can not play this game any more. Not until you kill X more slimes/whatever. Ha ha, fooled you.”

I’m surprised I haven’t had to grind yet in Fallout 3. Or maybe I have and I just haven’t noticed. Playing as a sneaky thief, I don’t necessary have to be super strong to kill a room of ghouls. I can instead just sneak past them. All experience that I’ve gained along the way (now a Level 21) has felt natural and just enough to get me through the next section. Whereas in Oblivion, a game that levels you up so long as you constantly use the same skills over and over, grinding there is visibly obvious. Want to excel in blunt weapons? Better start smacking some mudcrabs around.

Truthfully, I’m fine with grinding so long as I don’t know it is happening, so long as it is an enjoyable aspect of the game and not jarring, so long as the reward is worth the work. I have fought and defeated Emerald Weapon in Final Fantasy VII, and this was during the days of “no Internet guides”; all I had was my thumbs and the knowledge that I needed to have Cloud and the gang at incredibly high levels. So I spent a weekend grinding. This involved fighting, fighting, fighting, take a potty break, fighting, lunch, fighting, fighting, fighting, dinner, fighting, fighting, potty break, possibly a shower (I can’t remember anymore), fighting, fighting, and then bed. Once I felt battle-ready, I saved and then took Emerald Weapon down after much stress and sweating. The question remains…was grinding to gain XP to be strong enough to beat a boss to gain even more XP worth it? Not really. In addition to experience, you get the Earth Harp item, which is tradable for the remaining master materias. Meh. I could’ve been outside reading or something. That part of my youth is gone, and I have nothing to show for it.

Oh well.

Fallout 3: Status Report (Level 20)

I’m now ten levels deeper than my previous update on Fallout 3, and I’m still totally loving this game. If this was vanilla Fallout 3, I’d be at the end of my rope, no longer able to gain experience past level 20, but thankfully, with the Broken Steel DLC, there’s still room to grow.

So, what have I been up to these past ten levels?

Well, I researched further into my father’s past, freed him from the madness that was Tranquility Lane, helped him get Project Purity going only to have that fall apart, befriended a vernacularly loyal Super Mutant, stole a G.E.C.K., got underminded, convinced a AI prez to do himself in, and readied myself in preparations to “take it back”…only to not.

And that point, I kind of sensed that the big finale was coming up (and by finale, I mean the original end-all, be-all vanilla Fallout 3 finale; I’m completely aware that the game continues on now after the fact) and I just wanted…to explore. There’s so much to see (and miss) in this game, it really is quite astounding. Imagine me, just venturing around the wasteland when I spot a rinky dink house in the distance. Off I go…only to find myself distracted by something else before I even reach it. Ah, ADD and the Capital Wasteland–causing havoc since 1954!

Anyways, I took on a few more quests (The Superhuman Gambit was especially fun, but I felt too much pressure during Blood Ties to do the right thing and so I let the “cannibals” slide for the time being), and then when I was ready for some more gameplay-driven adventure I searched out the downed spacecraft. That’s right, I tackled my second piece of DLC: Mothership Zeta.

Much like Operation: Anchorage, Mothership Zeta is a very linear experience. Your character is captured in a beam of light and transported onto the big ol’ spaceship to be plucked and prodded. Then, with the help of some other prisoners, you will have to escape the ship (e.g., reach the bridge and kill Captain A. Lien). It’s hard to get lost, and you’ll basically be plowing forward, shooting aliens with their own awesome weaponry while collecting tons of weightless food and energy cells. I didn’t worry about finding all the radio logs, and on whole the DLC took about three to four hours to complete. It was a good time, and it definitely helped me earn XP with little to no trouble. But again, while the plot and worldbuilding in Fallout 3’s quests are deep and well-told, the two DLC so far that I’ve experienced are not. Some of the logs reveal a few bits of story, but otherwise it is just “see alien, shoot alien”…except for the workers. Had to keep my karma in check.

But that’s it for now. I suspect I’ll head back and wrap up the Take It Back quest and then head elsewhere. The Pitt or Point Lookout, dear readers? Both worry me that my stealthy ninja might not be a great match for them.

And I still haven’t found Dogmeat…

Fallout 3: Status Report (Level 10)

I just hit level 10 last night in Fallout 3 and figured this would be an excellent place to stop and talk about my experience so far in post-apocalyptic United States.

First, I’m pretty surprised at how–I don’t want to say easy here–fast I got to level 10. If this was vanilla Fallout 3 (meaning no DLC), the level cap would be 20 (whereas it is now 30 thanks to Broken Steel), and I’d be halfway to the max. I’ve only done the first two main storyline quests so far, as well as all of Operation: Anchorage. There’s been little exploring on my part, and most of the experience I’ve gained came from shooting Commies in VR Alaska. I kind of actually hope the next twenty levels are a bit harder to get to. We’ll see.

Anyways, the reason I did Operation: Anchorage first is because I am roleplaying as a sneaky thief, and I heard there was some wicked apparel to pick up there: Chinese Stealth Armor. Wicked doesn’t even come close to describing it. I’d have liked a little more background on the events within Operation: Anchorage, but it was enjoyable and quick–and less stressful knowing that I didn’t have to worry about loot and weapon conditions and using up too many stimpacks.

At this point, I just finished fixing up the radio signal for Three Dog. Rivet City is my next destination. There’s some sidequests I’ve picked up and haven’t done yet, and that’s okay. Truly, I’m having a blast. I’m definitely enjoying the RPG side more than the shooting, as I’m now able to sneak past ghouls and super mutants with ease, popping them in the face from a safe distance. Fallout 3 is much more lax about the amount of loot you can carry than Oblivion, and the amount of things to do, things to see, and things to tweak is just staggering. I know I’ve barely brushed the surface, and already I know this is a game worth replaying and replaying and…well, replaying.

To end on an excellent note, my character has the bushiest of beards, which my victims will never witness. I kind of like that. See y’all again at level 20!

Fallout 3: GOTY, here I come

Some very big games come out tomorrow (10/13/09), namely Brutal Legend (360, PS3), Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3), and Petz Pony Beauty Pageant (DS). But the videogame I’m most excited has already been out in the world for just over a year now: Fallout 3.

I finally got my Xbox 360 about five or six months after Fallout 3 came out. At this point, Bethesda had already released two pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for the game, with a third to come. A few months later came word of two more pieces of episodic adventuring, and then the no-suprise announcement of a Game of the Year edition, much like Bethesda did with Oblivion and their Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansion packs. I already knew in my heart of hearts that I’d be frugal and just wait for this; much of the DLC was already plagued with bugs and glitches, and I figured I’d just hold out until they cleaned it all up and released it in one glorious bundle. Good thing I’m patient.

So yeah, Fallout 3. Coming here soon. Like tomorrow. I’m pretty excited to venture out into the wasteland. Knowing my playing style, I’m going to guess that I will likely play a good karma/slightly gray thief character. Any handy tips I should know of?

“Mothership Zeta” trailer is live and has creepy music

The final piece of downloadable content for Bethesda’s Fallout 3 is almost here. Comes out on August 3. Until then, check out the trailer for “Mothership Zeta” in all its alien-blasting glory:

I’m pretty excited over this, and I don’t even own Fallout 3. Or have ever played the RPG/shooter mashup. But this just basically means we’re a little bit closer to the Game of the Year edition that’s coming out in the fall, which I will be all over like ranch dressing on pasta. Can’t wait!