If I'm new to the Fallout series, which game should I start with?

2. Despite the grognards defending it as the seconf coming, 1 isn't very good and has also aged horribly.

That would explain it. I started playing 1 some months ago. I got a fairly decent ways in, but even as someone who is open minded about old games, I didn't understand why so many hail it as being this great thing compared to something like 3.

I was going to play 2 after beating 1, but I never beat 1. Perhaps it's best that I jump straight to 2 instead.
 
That would explain it. I started playing 1 some months ago. I got a fairly decent ways in, but even as someone who is open minded about old games, I didn't understand why so many hail it as being this great thing compared to something like 3.

I was going to play 2 after beating 1, but I never beat 1. Perhaps it's best that I jump straight to 2 instead.
The intro to 2 spoils the ending of 1. If you don't care go ahead.
Btw he's wrong :l
 
Restarted NV again tonight after not playing for a couple of years. So good, more than I remember, think I'll be playing this more than The Witcher this weekend.
 
1,2 then New Vegas. Fallout 3 has nothing to contribute to the storyline set by the series designers, so play 3 last, still good just not as good as the main series.

Avoid tactics, buggy mess that was ignored.
 
1,2 then New Vegas. Fallout 3 has nothing to contribute to the storyline set by the series designers, so play 3 last, still good just not as good as the main series.

Avoid tactics, buggy mess that was ignored.
Fallout 4 has nothing to do with those games so they might as well just play 3 if they're gonna play one.
 
Fallout 4 has nothing to do with those games so they might as well just play 3 if they're gonna play one.

But that would be recommending the game with the inferior experience with weaker writing, characters and no companions. I'm not saying skip 3, but if someone wants to get into the series, 1,2 then New Vegas is the best way IMO.
 
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.

Well, it takes multiple playthroughs and a lot of time to fully appreciate the depth of New Vegas and most journalists don't have the time to do that because of deadlines. If you ask people now they will probably speak much fonder of New Vegas than FO3.
 
That would explain it. I started playing 1 some months ago. I got a fairly decent ways in, but even as someone who is open minded about old games, I didn't understand why so many hail it as being this great thing compared to something like 3.

I think it didn't age much. But that's besides the point. I think the main reason so many people like it the most out of the whole series is because it's the only one with truly unique atmosphere. It has beautiful retro-style SF accompanies with very dark sarcastic humor.

All the other entries in the series turned into more generic MadMax-like post-apocaliptic climate the humor became much lighter. Even FO2, despite reusing so many of the assets, still couldn't recreate the atmosphere of FO1.
 
Fallout 3 is probably the best representative of what 4 will be. It is a themepark with a railroaded main story thrown in that makes no sense. It has a great, oppressive atmosphere and is awesome fun for just running around for unfocused exploring/fighting stuff. Basically, it is an open world exploration game focused on action and light progression systems to provided a sense of growth and achievement.

Fallout: New Vegas is a better game in that it is designed around allowing the player to explore the setting and events in the area and allowing the player to interact with them in myriad of ways. Unlike 3, the main story is more of an optional checklist of objectives that are an excuse to interact with the setting. Basially, it is an open world exploration game focused on interacting with the setting and using progression systems to guide how you can affect events. Growth and achievement is measured more about the consequences of your interaction with factions and events with the progression systems being a tool used to enhance the experience.

TL:DR - FO4 is being made by the folks who developed 3, so playing 3 will probably be the best primer for 4.
If you want to experience a richer RPG experience that will be superficially similar to 3 and may be a best case example of what 4 could achieve, play FO:NV.
FO3 is a shallow RPG focused more on displaying a setting and story to you, while FO:NV is focused on allowing you to interact with a setting and story.
 
I bought a copy of Fallout 3 today on 360 for a couple bucks. Glad I did, I'm having a blast. I was not of the right mindset when it was new (very cranky in those days about my love for Japanese games and bitter about their then recent decline).

I also remembered I scored Fallout 1 and 2 for free on GOG at some point :D

Not just Fallout 4 announcement, but Mad Max really invigorated my love of this type of post-apocalyptic game world. I saw that setting as hopelessly generic at one time... just wasn't invested in the fantasy of the post apocalypse, in a way that now thrills me.
 
But that would be recommending the game with the inferior experience with weaker writing, characters and no companions. I'm not saying skip 3, but if someone wants to get into the series, 1,2 then New Vegas is the best way IMO.
Most people started off with 3 just fine. But whatever, he can make up his own mind.
Well, it takes multiple playthroughs and a lot of time to fully appreciate the depth of New Vegas and most journalists don't have the time to do that because of deadlines. If you ask people now they will probably speak much fonder of New Vegas than FO3.
Also he's wrong. It's a pretty even split, and there's always a big argument whenever one or the other is brought up.
 
If you want to be prepared for F4 play Fallout 3.

New Vegas is a much better game but you won't get that from F4 since it's not done by Obsidian.
 
aight

so a few months back i played through fallout 3 via the mod that connects that & nv

I liked fallout 3 much more... I dropped the game as soon as a I reached nv

Am i retarded? ROfl
 
If you're interested the fallout series in general then any is good really... If you're interested in the Fallout series but also want experience that's going to be similar to the upcoming game then play Fallout 3/New Vegas first, they're definitely going to be more similar to the new game then some of the older ones will. Fallout 2 is decent for what it is though, it's just quite different, from a gameplay stand-point in particular. For example, the combat is turn based whereas newer entries is action, real-time.

Personally, I think Vegas is the best in the series, if you're able to play on PC then do that, download that and watch Gophers mod tutorial if you want to mod your game such as thousands of community bug fixes, visual enhancements, stuff like that.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0E5E8CA384409B11
 
While I have very fond memories of Fallout 1 &2, the only thing they have in common with 4 is the setting... and even that is a stretch, thanks to a fairly large time jump and a different part of the US. I wouldn't bother playing them unless you like that style of game(old school isometric RPGs).

Fallout 3 is ok, and New Vegas is really good. Start there.
 
I tend to prefer FO3 to NV, mostly because of the setting, atmosphere, music and three-dog. I'll concede NV had better just about everything else, but man that generation of Fallout games was all about atmosphere.
 
New Vegas if you want a current experience. More consistant with lore from the old series, richer dialog choice, better story and companions, DLC for the most part all great and really tie into main game.

Some like 3 more but to me this is a better game with rough edges. Plus how many RPG's make you feel like a spaghetti western bad ass?
 
Start with Fallout 1. Not only because it's the first one, but also because it's the shortest and will give you a decent introduction to the series and its values and lore. You can play through the whole thing in like 15-20 hours (including most side quests).
 
Fallout 3 is a good game and probably a better introduction to modern fallout than new Vegas, which is also good.

Edit:
So many haters. It's a wonder why we even plan video games
 
All these people saying 1/2 are unfun and dated ... Smh
Wizardry 6 feels dated. Bard's Tale 1 feels dated. But there are even cool "new" mods for 1/2 (like the Restoration Project). But then again ... This is Neogaf. It's not a crpg forum.
 
People are saying 1/2 are sadists. They've aged awfully.

No, they have not. The RPG mechanics are straight forward and the turn based combat is clean and simple. The only only aspect about them that a modern player might struggle with is the difficulty.
 
I would hold out and just start with 4.

3 and NV have aged terribly.

They were FANTASTIC when they came out though.
 
I don't think New Vegas is a bad game, but I don't see how people think it is better than Fallout 3. Both games are about exploration, and New Vegas takes place in a desert with a sub-par soundtrack. Fallout 3 is a more memorable experience thanks to great world building and a fantastic soundtrack. You can have the best writing in the world, but who cares when the world your characters live in is so mediocre.
 
Fallout 3 is really a good game , no need to bash on it.NV is great but that is another topic.
I started with 3 actually and ended up liking old ones,especially 2nd.
 
If you can handle the old style, do the games in order. If you only want to do the new games, still go in order. New Vegas adds a fair amount of mechanical depth (iron sights being perhaps the most trivial but noticeable), losing it going from NV -> FO3 would feel like a step back, imo.
 
What are the best mods for fallout new Vegas? I guess I'm looking for texture and graphics stuff to make it a little more modern lol
 
Bullshit, I played Fallout 2 for the first time 3 or 4 years ago and had a blast. Aged way better than BG 1&2 for instance.

They're very slow though, F1 is even slower than F2. Still i agree with You that they aged better than BG series.
I've tried to replay F2 like 3 years ago and i couldnt get too far, because of how sluggish gameplay was in general.

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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).
I've played F1 and i would rather play F2 if had to choose. Pushing someone to play through over 200h of gameplay just to prepare for new game, is quite sadistic i would say :) F2 and NV is quite enough, i would even say that too much.
 
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.

While I'd agree that New Vegas is easily the better game, I think the notion that Fallout 3 is garbage is ridiculous. It may not have fit in the Fallout universe as well or been as mechanically complex of an RPG, but it still stands on its own legs as a great game. I put over 100 well-enjoyed hours into it and would rank it highly among the generation's best games (NV being #1).
 
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