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Best Excuse to Nuke DC Award -- Fallout 3 Review
**DC looks better burnt**
And so began my quest through Fallout 3's nuclear rendition of Washington DC. It's a bit unnerving when a game (perhaps unwittingly) uses such a familiar backdrop to bring a point home. I remember watching the White House explode in Independence Day (Before Will Smith became the next Wayne Brady), and knowing that was the moment the movie had me by my underbelly. Exploring Fallout's crippled DC remains, matched the same sort of feeling and I caught myself many times thinking: "Shit, this is real."
I've mentioned before that I have a soft spot for a sort of dystopian beauty, which seems a bit out of place with a DC backdrop, where in order to build the world, the Manhattan Project must meet the Nation's capitol. A number of sites have awarded Fallout 3 with game of the year honors, with Kotaku's count of counts [ link: kotaku.com ] showing at least 7 major pubs/sites that have done so. I can't help but throw my hat in the ring or at the very least give Pwnology's first "Best Excuse to Nuke DC Award" to Bethesda.
The real DC has always struck me as excessively representative of America due to the city's stark contrast between the rich and poor. Within a mile of the White House, rundown neighborhoods become the norm with former apartments housing only shattered windows. Blocks away from the Capitol Building, all windows on homes and apartments are barred against break-ins -- The ultra-rich minority surrounded by their plebeians. In Fallout's DC, the world is created equal; those with weapons have an equal opportunity to either create or pillage the future.
**Exploring 'History' without the Lines**
In contrast to Liberty City's NYC makeover, Fallout 3's remix of DC could be described as a nuclear symphony. The game isn't just a cover, allowing you to play in the streets of a well-established "Liberty City" (which is fun in its own right), but it takes the most noteworthy elements of DC, and changes them for the better.
Ninety percent of the joy I derived from the game was simply found running toward the empty triangles of the wasteland, finding a familiar location or a picturesque canyon view. I've easily spent more than 40 hours exploring the ragged desert tundra of the Wasteland. I couldn't help but think "wow, I've been there," from "The Mall" (and all of its buildings) and Arlington Cemetery, to many other popular in-city destinations like Dupont Circle. The city's metro lines even serve as transit points between the various district's of DC's interior, though the subways are a complicated mess, many of them shredded by nuclear war.
There are no lines to enter these destinations, no mandatory security screening, nor screaming babies. The dad that forces his unhappy family on a monument death march, is also nowhere to be found, likely holed up in a vault somewhere or obliterated as a statistic. But there's also no other real people.
Of particular memory is the rotunda room of the Capitol Building, which I've visited and admired the architecture in real DC. The room is equally impressive in Fallout, with many of the same ceiling impressions, only this time the room just happens to host a war between two armies, one of which has a 60 foot mutant on their side. No big deal. A fair share of the interiors of the other famous buildings have been completely thrashed by the downfall of society, so not as many similarities remain indoors -- but they don't need to. The outdoor world is so captivating that I often found myself disappointed when I would have to crawl through a dungeon or building. The surface breathes life into the world; it hides underground.
Fallout rewrites history in places, and toys with it in others. One quest requires you to steal The Declaration of Independence from the National Archives, which requires you to interact with a robot who has adopted the personality of a Founding Father. Other historical documents can also be found in the building, which each net you extra "bottle caps", the standing currency for the Wasteland.
The history re-writes are perhaps the most enjoyable. One of the more prominent satires in the game comes in the form of the Nuka-Cola company, which seems to have eliminated any Cola-Competition (Sorry Coke, Pepsi). Much of the games back story is found in computer terminals throughout the buildings' interiors. In the Nuka-Cola factory for instance you discover that the semi-rare Nuka Cola Quantam (there are only 90 bottles in game) was designed as a marketing ploy, covered with radioactive isotopes to give the drink it's unique blueish hue. The various computer terminals reveal the development research that went into the Quantams and the unfortunate test subjects which drank early, more radioactive versions. In another re-write, it should be noted to "Buy Chinese". In a tongue-in-cheek reference, Chinese manufactured goods are of a higher quality than their standard counterparts, with the Chinese Assault Rifle being one of the strongest common weapons available.
Exploring the Wasteland is by no means a strolling process. While running between points of interest, you will regularly run into giant ass-biting scorpions; mutated black bears known as Yao Gui, which have the temperament of a roid rager; groups of Mad Max-like Raiders, complete with Mohawks and lead bars; and various other factions of human, ghoul and mutant. It is by no means a safe voyage, although at times it is lonely. This adds to the ambiance and desolation of the wasteland, but I found myself wanting to share the encounter and sights with my friends.
The game does have a fairly basic companion system, including a recreation of DogMeat from the other Fallouts, but I generally found that a companion aiding against enemies made the combat too simple. A better substitute for companionship in the game, perhaps, are the Wasteland's radio stations. Often times, when roaming between disparate parts of the map, I would tune into Galaxy News Radio, to hear THREE DOG, post-apocalyptic DJ in chief, spout about my Wasteland accomplishments or about the encroaching threat of The Enclave, which also has its own respective brand of propaganda based radio.
In fact, I would argue (ok this could be an easy win) that Fallout's DC also trumps in the presidential category -- at least until January 20th. The leader of resurgent America is John Henry Eden, which you may recognize as Hero's Daniel Linderman, actor Malcom McDowell. Self-charged with maintaining order in the struggling United States, Eden leads the the technologically advanced Enclave faction, while holding regular fireside broadcasts on Enclave Radio.
**Minor Gripes (Where RL DC wins)**
There are a couple of areas of the game where I'd either weight my opinion toward Real DC, or consider tossing a coin. I'd toss these into the gripe category, as they are not gamebreaking, but I feel I should note them nonetheless.
1) Combat repetitiveness: After I'd completed the main storyline, I loaded one of my saves to go back through the game and find the major quests that I had missed (check the achievement list). At this point, I had grown very weary of the combat system.
The target assisted V.A.T.S. mode is virtually the only efficient way to dispatch enemies, allowing you to select various limbs, enemy weapons, and naturally their heads. The problem is that every fight becomes a spam click on the targets head, which consumes action points. After these points are expended, you must wait for them to charge in order to enter V.A.T.S. again. You can attack outside of V.A.T.S. but the attacks are highly inaccurate and don't feel like a solid FPS affair. I found myself craving Mass Effect's RPG shooter interface, which functioned fully as a shooter outside of the RPG elements.
2) Less confusing subways: The only benefit to the real-life DC is that the subways are less confusing, but unfortunately real DC subways lack vampires, netting this gripe somewhat of a toss up. A waypoint system is supposed to help you navigate the Wasteland DC's metro system that crosses the city's interior, but more often than not, this system offers you a confusing array of entry points into the subway system and its various roundabout diversions. On multiple occasions I had to Wiki the subway entrance necessary for my destination.
3) Lack of Co-Op: I've covered this pretty well already, but it is worth calling out one last time. It would have been a joy to run about the wasteland with a friend, or even have them take over the role of a companion. Even a ghost mode such as in Fable II would have been a much welcome addition.
**Bold-faced conclusion**
I often wondered if I lacked some sort of moral base for enjoying the mutated remains of DC more than its real life counterpart. I suspect strongly that the strength I feel for the environment is governed somewhat by vivid personal memories -- but isn't that the perfect stage in which to play? Will you get the same experience out of Fallout's DC? Perhaps not as strongly, but given the general familiarity with Real DC, I believe it will be compelling for many. Don't worry though, it's just fine to like the glow in the dark DC better than its real life counterpart. Here's to hoping Bethesda will bring the same depth to other cities soon.
(Posted January 16, 2009 by troy)
