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[NoFaceNico]

Until two days ago, I hadn't played any Fallout games either. I've had Fallout 3 GOTY sitting in my backlog and I decided to tackle it once I got back from vacation. Nothing to do with Fallout 4 announcements or anything, just wanted to take it off the backlog. I got back on Sunday, started playing on Monday.

I've got to say, this is one hell of a game. It's very fun, I'm starting to get a good grip on the mechanics and what to avoid based on my character's level right now. There aren't really any cheap deaths, every time I died it was because I was doing stupid shit, the game is very fair and the autosave is extremely helpful. I get worried about games with RPG elements but this game is very easy to get the hang of.

Again, this is my first Fallout game so I haven't played any of the other ones but I love how this game is turning out so far. I was surprised to see so many people recommend Fallout 2 as the place to start for a n00b. It's in that weird isometric perspective that hasn't aged well at all and turns a lot of people away from trying out the series. I'm sure that those that recommend it love the game and might even think it's the best of them all, but that's not the question here. The question is- If I'm new to the Fallout series, which game should I start with? So I feel that Fallout 3 is probably the best way to ease a newcomer into the game. Fallout 2 might be a great follow up if they liked 3 and if this game continues to impress me like it's doing right now, then that's exactly what I plan to do.

 

[Kallor]

FO1, FO2 & Fallout New Vegas all share in the same lore, characters & locations set apart by a couple hundred years. Seeing it all come together in New Vegas is pretty awesome.

I'd play Fallout 3 before Vegas though, its a hell of a lot harder to go back to FO3 after playing New Vegas.

If you still need more fallout, you've always got Fallout Tactics, and if you get reaaally desperate or just want to laugh your ass off, Fallout Brotherhood is a Dark Alliance style hack & slash looter lololol.

 

[Kadin]

The first few pages of the Fallout 2 manual (which I referenced earlier today as the best manual ever written and stand by that, for proof see the recipe section and remember that it was wire-bound and looked great) are the story of the first game as is considered canon in the second. It breaks it down by the location names in the original game, basically walking you through actual areas as they were set up.

If you had problems playing the first game for whatever reason though, you may not like the second either. They're very similar. The biggest difference is that there's no deadline looming overhead.

Good deal. There's definitely a good bit here to read and I think it'll set things up perfectly to then play part 2. I might one day try to go back and play the first again but that won't be today.

 

[Boomstompfloppy]

I liked 3 best, I seem to be alone in that thought

 

[Jay Sosa]

The "theme park" complaint is one of the most pervasive problems that people have with FO3.

A lot of what exists in the Capital Wasteland feels less like plausible locations and subplots and more like Bethesda just had a list of possible "neat post-apocalypse things" that they brainstormed in early pre-production meetings and decided to throw them all in the final game anyway. Many of them make very little sense if you step back and think, "Wait, how the heck does this even work in this world?"

While that certainly is detrimental to the experience/immersion, my main problem lies more with story and overall writing. Fallout 2 allows so many different ways to tackle quests; you can finish the entire game using only diplomacy which simply blew me away back then (not that I actually did but it's nice to know you can) and every last part of the story line is so well thought out.

 

[Sunnington]

Fallout 1 and 2 are nothing like the Bethesda games.

Bethesda game. And you're right, they're not like Fallout 3, they're good games. New Vegas was a lot more like the originals in terms of game flow and world building.

In any event, Fallout 2 had a bigger and better world than Fallout 1. Fallout 1 had a better storyline and wasn't very long. I'd suggest playing Fallout 1 first. It's like stepping into the shallow end of a swimming pool rather than cannon balling into the deep end.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Ha! So I wasn't the only one slightly disappointed with Fallout 3. It's a great game, don't get me wrong, but compared to Fallout 2 it certainly doesn't hold up well.

Btw: Is the 360 GOTY Version of NV alright?

360 New Vegas has some issues, but it's perfectly playable. After about 80 hours of play lockups will become much more frequent.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

Bethesda game. And you're right, they're not like Fallout 3, they're good games.

And so is Fallout 3!

 

[TimeEffect]

OK going to give New Vegas a shot.

Er, is the Ultimate Edition worth it? Or can I stick to the vanilla game?

What's the cheapest price available? $10 off steam?

 

[Jay Sosa]

360 New Vegas has some issues, but it's perfectly playable. After about 80 hours of play lockups will become much more frequent.

thanks..guess I'll wait for the inevitable Remaster or get it on PC. Not like I don't have enough games to play already.

 

[silver.tongue]

Fallout 3. I think it will be the closest to 4, so you will know what you're getting yourself into.

Soundtrack to get you going:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ZWrcL9Dz0&list=PLF5BA9723ACCBB2AE

Bethesda game. And you're right, they're not like Fallout 3, they're good games. New Vegas was a lot more like the originals in terms of game flow and world building.

In any event, Fallout 2 had a bigger and better world than Fallout 1. Fallout 1 had a better storyline and wasn't very long. I'd suggest playing Fallout 1 first. It's like stepping into the shallow end of a swimming pool rather than cannon balling into the deep end.

Fallout 3 is not a good game? Wtf am I reading...

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

OK going to give New Vegas a shot.

Er, is the Ultimate Edition worth it? Or can I stick to the vanilla game?

What's the cheapest price available? $10 off steam?

Get the Ultimate Edition, most of the DLC is really good.

 

[Applesauce]

OK going to give New Vegas a shot.

Er, is the Ultimate Edition worth it? Or can I stick to the vanilla game?

What's the cheapest price available? $10 off steam?

Steam sale right around the corner, that's when I got mine, but I got vanilla and got many hours out of it.

 

[ta155]

Are the PS3 versions of 3 and New Vegas as awful as I've heard they are?

 

[Kssio_Aug]

OK going to give New Vegas a shot.

Er, is the Ultimate Edition worth it? Or can I stick to the vanilla game?

What's the cheapest price available? $10 off steam?

Wait for Steam sales, and Ultimate Edition is worth it!

But dont listen to those saying F3 is not a good game!

 

[Jay Sosa]

Are the PS3 versions of 3 and New Vegas as awful as I've heard they are?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Especially FO3 GOTY but both of them suffer from the huge bugs that Skyrim had, only they never got patched for them. So, the longer you play, the more often the game freezes, crashes, and just plain doesn't work.

seems like it

Wait for Steam sales, and Ultimate Edition is worth it!

But dont listen to those saying F3 is not a good game!

yep, it's not like GTA 4 (as in a bad game in an otherwise great franchise) or anything. It just isn't as good as Fallout 2.

 

[Caerith]

Are the PS3 versions of 3 and New Vegas as awful as I've heard they are?

Is Skyrim playable on PS3 yet? FO3 and NV use the same engine.

Problem with Bethesda is they outsource all their QA and bug fixing to the fans, so PC's kinda the only way to go.

 

[TimeEffect]

Steam sale right around the corner, that's when I got mine, but I got vanilla and got many hours out of it.

Wait for Steam sales, and Ultimate Edition is worth it!

But dont listen to those saying F3 is not a good game!

I played FO3 and really liked it! But to hear that NV is a more convincing RPG makes me more excited.


Ill wait for the steam sale... The Ultimate Edition is $20 right now, I'm guessing the Steam Sale will make that price dramatically lower.

Thanks!

 

[ArkkAngel007]

OK going to give New Vegas a shot.

Er, is the Ultimate Edition worth it? Or can I stick to the vanilla game?

What's the cheapest price available? $10 off steam?

If you can wait for the Steam Summer Sale (possibly within the next two weeks), it'll likely be a bit under/over $5 depending on the discount.

 

[Dance Inferno]

If you're going to play Fallout: New Vegas on PC, then make an investment in learning how to install mods. It's a pain in the ass when you first get started, since you have to learn how to use a handful of tools to get everything set up, but the payoff is pretty darn amazing.

 

[real_slime]

People who say anything except 3 and New Vegas just want you to like what they like - chances are you'll find 1 and 2 pretty old and cumbersome to play if you don't happen to be the kind of person who likes older games. 3 and New Vegas are completely different games which have very little in common with the first two except for on the aesthetic level.

I like New Vegas better of that and 3, but probably play 3 first to get a more central sense of what the games are all about. After a few hours, if you're into it but find it a little bland, maybe dip out and play New Vegas. It's got more interesting quests and world design.

 

[Caerith]

If you're going to play Fallout: New Vegas on PC, then make an investment in learning how to install mods. It's a pain in the ass when you first get started, since you have to learn how to use a handful of tools to get everything set up, but the payoff is pretty darn amazing.

Even if you're just doing a "vanilla" run for your first playthrough, you still need mods just to fix most of the bugs. And then to edit the ini file to make it stop crashing.

 

[Dram]

You should play Fallout 3, since Bethesda are the ones making Fallout 4.

 

[Linkhero1]

OK going to give New Vegas a shot.

Er, is the Ultimate Edition worth it? Or can I stick to the vanilla game?

What's the cheapest price available? $10 off steam?

It's definitely worth it. The DLC adds 10-20 hours of content and was really fun.

 

[zinder]

According to some rumours, Fallout 4 has some minor returning characters from Fallout 3 so I would play that one.

 

[thebloo]

Fallout 3 and Fallout:NV. If you only have time for one, go with New Vegas.

Skip Fallout 1&2, imo. Even if they were exceptional games at that time they are almost impossible to get into at this time, unless you're really really fond of old school game design.

 

[Sorcerer]

Does playing the newer Fallout's spoil people on Fallout 1 and 2?

I played Fallout 1 a few years ago, and I found it amazing. It only took me a long time because I obsessed with getting my character just right and kept restarting.

I have to get around to 2 sometime and never bothered with the modern ones.

I have played Brotherhood of Steel but I refuse to acknowledge it as a Fallout game, just someone slapping the Fallout name on a game with the snowblind engine.

 

[Fuz]

Fallout 3 is a spin-off, so it's fine to skip.

However Fallout 4 will take place closer to FO3, so those two will be tied closer.

I really don't care much for F4, after I've read enough about F3 to despise it.
But I've always heard good thing about NV, didn't play it yet because I thought it was tied to F3 story, lore and background, and just forgot about it until this thread. I'll give it a go after TW3.

 

[tintin1029]

I have both 1&2 at GOG but I'm just going to jump into 2. While it's downloading, I'm reading the manual and it has a good bit of history about what happened. Is this essentially the story of 1? I played 1 briefly many years back but when I last tried it, I just couldn't get into it.

I'm seeing a lot of suggestions to play 2 in here which leads me to believe it still holds up well.

Please tell me, what about Fallout 1 was it that you couldn't get into?

 

[Punchy4486]

Also wondering this. I'm big on story and stuff. I know all the games take place in the same universe, but are there many references and continuuations of plot threads between the games?

I don't want to be "missing" anything, but if they are all completely standalone adventures in the same world I can probably justify skipping an older one or two.

Also, looks like they're all on sale on Steam right now for $5. About half off each. Should I jump on this? Or are there any chances of them dropping more during the summer or winter sales?

New to PC gaming, so any advice would be great.

 

[Radnom]

I'd suggest starting with 1 or 3, depending on which appeals more to you. Otherwise, maybe even wait for 4, and if you like it, work backwards?

I found 1 and 3 to have the most driving main story, 2 and New Vegas are more open and this can be a good thing, but in open world games I personally like to have a main goal with a strong motivation, with the ability to do my own thing on the side. Otherwise I never really finish the main story.

For example, in New Vegas, the first thing you are meant to do is [very minor spoiler, but to be safe...]

Spoiler

track down your own killer

, but if I were in that situation personally, in the Fallout world, I'd probably just try and find a nice safe place to live the rest of my days... it took me a few tries to get into that game.

1, 2, 3 and NV are all good choices and good games though, so you can't really go wrong. They're all standalone stories in the same universe. If you don't mind the dated graphics, 1 and 2 are fantastic games.

 

[jerry1594]

1 has the best atmosphere imo. 3 also has a good, bleak atmosphere that Black Isle/Obsidian seem to have ditched at this point, but I'm not a fan of the green filter. IMO, you should play 1 (with the fixit mod, the game is really buggy), 2 (with the content restoration mod), then New Vegas (with josh sawyer's mod I guess, I'd say that's not required on the first go. also a mod that removes loading) The dlc's are all good. And finally 3, since it's probably going to tie in to 4 in some minor ways.

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

Start Fallout 3 and then go to New Vegas. Given you've gotten hyped for Fallout 4, Fallout 1 and 2 will be fundamentally disconnected narratively, graphically and gameplay wise and probably isn't the ideal experience, that is unless you're really keen on finding out about every small reference and piece of lore.

 

[mario_O]

Fallout 3

 

[JeTmAn81]

The GAF backlash against Fallout 3 and near-religious embrace of New Vegas always puzzles me. Fallout 3 was much more highly praised on release.

 

[KiraXD]

personally... i started Fallout back when 1 came out... loved it then moved on to 2... i didnt play the in betweens like tactics or brotherhood... but then loved 3 so much...

Id say, start with 1 and 2... theyre dirt cheap and a really fun introduction to the fallout universe. (hell i think GoG gave em away for free a while ago...)

 

[tintin1029]

Also wondering this. I'm big on story and stuff. I know all the games take place in the same universe, but are there many references and continuuations of plot threads between the games?

I don't want to be "missing" anything, but if they are all completely standalone adventures in the same world I can probably justify skipping an older one or two.

Also, looks like they're all on sale on Steam right now for $5. About half off each. Should I jump on this? Or are there any chances of them dropping more during the summer or winter sales?

New to PC gaming, so any advice would be great.

There are of course references in later games and in fact there's some characters that make a return in between games and probably will in FO4, but it's not enough to have to play every single game for. I still recommend playing most of them though cause they're awesome and FO2 and NV are probably the greatest WRPGs of all time.

 

[TheYanger]

The GAF backlash against Fallout 3 and near-religious embrace of New Vegas always puzzles me. Fallout 3 was much more highly praised on release.

And GTA4 was oscar worthy. Yet hindsight being 20/20 most people didn't seem to care for it as much as the other post-3 entries.

Fallout 3 brought FAllout to a whole new audience, but it's still inferior in every way to new vegas.

 

[RM8]

I want to play Tactics and it's currently ~$3.5 USD on the Mexican Steam store. Should I wait for the summer sale? :x

 

[Brainfreeze]

Personally, I think Fallout 3 is the best place to start, but that's largely because of what I look for in these types of games. The tighter focus and much more interesting world (the DC memorials and museums are hard to top) really help as a starting point. Not to mention an intro that actually, you know, introduces you. Very fun game.

However, this thread did inspire me to give New Vegas another try, so I just picked up the Ultimate Edition on Steam. Is there a comprehensive list of mods to deal with bugs, glitches, and crashes anywhere? Don't particularly care about extra stuff on the first play, but I want to make sure it at least runs well.

 

[Zoso]

Started up Fallout 1 for the first time and have played for 10 hours. I'm very familiar with 3/NV, but this is my first venture into the older games. So far it's a lot more accessible than I was expecting. A few quirks here and there, but it remains very playable and fun.

I don't think there's a wrong way to get into the mainline Fallout series as they're all quite good. If you can handle older games, 1 seems like an ideal entry point so far. Otherwise, 3 or NV will work just fine. Maybe pick based on which location excites you more - DC or Vegas. You'll be spending a lot of time wandering through these environments.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

I'd say Fallout 3. Couldn't get into 1 or 2. New Vegas wasn't too bad. Just prefered 3 over NV.

 

[KKRT00]

Dont play first one, second is much better and its already a very long game.
Play Fallout 2 and then New Vegas.

 

[GrandHarrier]

Where did this Fallout 3 hate come from? Fallout 3 is great.

I'd suggest Fallout 3 OP, it's going to have more hooks into Fallout 4 than New Vegas (if any).

 

[Shift Breaker]

Are the PS3 versions of 3 and New Vegas as awful as I've heard they are?

Imagine Skyrim, but with only some of the issues patched out, not all of them. The slowdown of the game as your save file gets larger remains, for example.

 

[vocab]

Where did this Fallout 3 hate come from? Fallout 3 is great.

I'd suggest Fallout 3 OP, it's going to have more hooks into Fallout 4 than New Vegas (if any).

Personally hated the story. The ending was one of the worst. Plus the technical issues were just too much. Theres no way id recommend it to anyone. The game has its moments, but the lows are so low it makes the game just bad.

 

[Bl@de]

Play 1 and 2 for a great isometric RPG. If you want more of that ... play Wasteland 2.
If you want a good shooter with RPG elements play New Vegas.

 

[Agent Gibbs]

There is no real overriding story other than it set in the same universe where nuclear war wiped civilisation out, so don't feel the need to play in chronological order

Ignoring Fallout 4 (since we don't know how good it will be) and you never specified waiting

For FPS western RPG's play Fallout 3 then New Vegas - New Vegas is arguably the better one, but fallout 3 is a nice jumping on point

Fallout 1 and 2 are tactical isometical style RPG's of which Fallout 2 is the overall better one, but Fallout 1 is not without its charms

 

[Yabberwocky]

Fallout 3, as that's what Fallout 4 will be closest to. If you enjoy it, play the incredible New Vegas with all of its superb DLC, and then F1, F2, etc.

I was going to recommend New Vegas first (the writing is fantastic), but there is such a contrast between F3 and NV, that it might be appreciated more after playing F3 first.

 

[Tommyhawk]

Dont play first one, second is much better and its already a very long game.
Play Fallout 2 and then New Vegas.

The first one is really good and the perfect introduction to the series (it's also pretty short).
You will also meet characters that will play a role in F2 (like Tandi).

Where did this Fallout 3 hate come from? Fallout 3 is great.

I'd suggest Fallout 3 OP, it's going to have more hooks into Fallout 4 than New Vegas (if any).

People who grew up with the Fallout series don't hold F3 in high regards.
Bethesda just didn't quite capture the atmosphere and humour of the predecessors and they also took some liberties with the lore, which were pretty unnecessary (like the heroic and altruistic BoS, which they never were).
The story also had a ton of plotholes and general moments of nonsense.

NV on the other hand felt like a true successor to the Fallout series (it helps of course that a lot of the old fellows from Black Isle are working today at Obsidian).