Side Quest Scavenging

In the midst of a hectic work schedule, mostly from Wifezilla’s orchestra program, I’ve been squeezing in as much Fallout 3 as I can. I’ve logged close to twenty hours so far and have some preliminary observations.

First and foremost, Fallout 3 manages to incite a role-playing vibe I haven’t felt from a game in a long time. Even more so than The Witcher and Mass Effect. I have barely touched the main campaign of trying to track down my father. Instead, I’ve been completely side quests and clearing out sewer basements, subway tunnels, and supermarkets. The fact that I find myself exceedingly entertained and I have barely begun the main story line speaks volumes of the quality of this game.

The side quests are a big change to what other games offer. There aren’t many of them, but the few that are offered spiral out like a Slinky shuffling down a staircase. The side quests start out as X, morph into Y, end with Z, and often slingshot a tiny wrap-up that brings you back to A. It’s a satisfying experience that moves past the drudgery of killing ants to collect eight antennae, the standard fare for RPGs, especially MMOs.

Grayditch’s THOSE! is a great example a typical Fallout 3 side quest. The quest began as I cleared a causeway of land mines just south of the SuperDuper Mart. A street urchin of a boy approached me, declaring frantically that monsters roamed Grayditch and that his father left their house to fight them. The boy pleaded that I find his father. I took pity on the boy and agreed to track down his father, telling him to hide in the meantime.

When I got to Grayditch, I found the wrecked suburb infested with giant fire-breathing ants. The fire-breathing was a revelation. I had encountered giant ants before, but none of them breathed fire. Approaching one with my newly crafted Shishkabob melee weapon (forged with a fueled motorcycle gas tank, lawn mower blade, pilot light, and fire hose nozzle), imagine my surprise at being greeted with a torrent of flame that lit me up like a California wildfire.

I quickly changed tactics and switched over to my hunting rifle. I must have killed a dozen of the deadly insects at range making my way to the boy’s home. Inside the house, the father lay dead, surrounded by three giant ants. I went back and reported the bad news to the boy. He in turn told me about the strange scientist that worked with his dad on some project. The Slinky took another step and now I was charged with tracking down the source of the fire-breathing ants. Once I found the source, the quest shifted to re-splicing the brood hatch’s DNA while keeping the Queen alive. And so on and so forth.

I take frequent breaks from side quest story lines to simply scavenge and loot the vast landscape. I find this to be the game’s strongest role-playing element. It’s also some of the most fun I have with Fallout 3. Nothing is randomly placed in the game. The world teems with abandoned buildings and dark sewer lines, ripe with danger and loot. Very often, I revisit a location that had previously skirted while side questing; the quest done, I return to loot ammo, books, weapons, and cheetah patterned nightwear.

Yes, you heard me. The pajamas have good stats too, but it’s part of a side quest so I’ll likely deliver it to its rightful owner.

The game really does surpass my expectations. I played Fallout and Fallout 2 and can testify that the latest version is as good, if not better than its storied predecessors. If you hated Oblivion, you might still enjoy Fallout 3. Its foundation is Oblivion, but it plays much differently. I look to see this game as a strong contender for various 2008 Game of the Year awards.