In terms of role playing (allowing the inclusion of alternate start mods) which do you think is the better role-playing expeirence?

Both games offer a backstory to the character you want to play as. FNV offers a more subtle inclusion of backstory in the lonesome road DLC. Whereas fallout 3 technically restricts the roleplaying experience by putting you at least in an age range (fresh out of the vault) but other than that it tends to leave you to your own devices.

RPG's don't get the same label as being a "Sandbox" game as much as your RPG elemented action games do (GTA ect.) but that is exactly what they are. In terms of crafting your own story, driving your own narritive and thinking like someone else rather than "What would I do in this scenario?"

The modding community also caters to this, the most age restricting non-gender defining pronoun used in quests mods is usually "Kid" so that ti covers all bases. My personal gaming expeirence from all of the fallout games differs from every game as I played them on different consoles. I finished Fallout 3 thousands of times when it came out on Xbox back in 2008, and then went back and played fallout 1 & 2, and then from morrowind up through to the release of skyrim on PC. So maybe my perspective is a little biased as I missed Fallout 3's hayday in terms of modding.

The closest I came to a modded, fully 100% playthrough of fallout 3 was with TTW, which is arguably the best way to play it.


What do you all think?


(any RP themed mods anyone wants to suggest would also be welcome)

I would probably say that New Vegas is better for role playing mainly cos you get more choice in who your character is and what happens to you is not scripted. In Fallout 3 an entire 19 years of your life is made up for you and the real role playing starts when you leave the Vault.

Even so, I love Fallout 3 and it is still my favourite out of them all but that's mainly due to nostalgia of nights where I would stay up till like 5 in the morning on a school night hunting down the Enclave camps that were dotted around and travelling the wastes with Fawkes and Dogmeat by my side. Good times.

I haven't played FO3 yet but I've played the hell out of FNV. Based on what I have seen and read of FO3, I'd say that FNV is much more open about your backstory. Other than what you learn in the main quest and DLC story arc (particularly Lonesome Road), everything regarding the Courier's background is left to the player's imagination. FO3 locks the Lone Wanderer into a vault-dweller from birth and you're fresh out of the vault once you've made your character. And FNV is also much more progressive because the best way to do the most damage against human enemies is to play as a bisexual character (taking both Lady Killer and Confirmed Bachelor if playing as a man, or Black Widow and Cherchez La Femme if playing as a woman). No matter what your build, you absolutely want to be a bi Courier just for the damage bonuses and dialogue options. If playing as a guy, being gay or bi makes recruiting Arcade early on much easier. If playing as a girl, same deal with some interactions with Cass and Christine's dialogue trees. I tend to start Dead Money between levels 5 and 10 so when I bring Dean to his position for the gala, the Black Widow check averts what would otherwise be a high Speech check. Also, it's great to seduce and kill Benny now and then.

I haven't played FO4 either but based on what I know of that game, the same principle in FO3 applies there. The Sole Survivor is locked into being a cryonically frozen, cis-het, Pre-War veteran or lawyer who's married and has a kid! No room for creativity regarding their background and how they became, well, the Sole Survivor.

I might give FO3 a whirl on its own first and then install TTW and play it and FNV that way at some point.

@"Gamb_of_Lod" I would probably agree. Even though you grow up in the vault, I don't think there is enough diversity i that first opening sequence of the game to cater to other people's needs or wants from a certain roleplay, or character with certain affiliations. Would you say that after they 19 years though that the game opens up? Todd howard has a habit of creating these sandboxes but putting a nice big fence around it. Fallout 4 is a very good example of that and I think that is a big reason as to why New Vegas is better, even stylistically. Because it was made by different developers.

I was 13 when Fallout 3 first came out so I have very similar nostalgic memories of that game. I accredit it to being one of the best genre bridge gapping games of all time. I have friends and family who have never played an RPG game beofre or after Fallout 3, and they all love it.

I kept it between FNV and 3 because I dont think 4 is comparable. I promised myself I wouldn't bring up Fallout 4 as I have a generally negative opinion of it and don't wish to fill the internet with any more incessant moaning, even though I brought it up in the first reply .

@"WeissYohji" I think what makes New Vegas more immersive and caters more to roleplaying in general is the inclusion of perk based dialogue options. Terrifying presence was a perk I wasn't even aware of until I had finished the game multiple times, and it is one of the reasons I consifer Someguy2000 to be one of, if not the greatest modder of all time (In my opinion). The feeling that you are not just a courier, but almost playing it as a class rather than just saying to yourself"My character is a repairman, because he likes to repair things and he carries a tire iron."

New Vegas also lets you feel like you've transcended to god-hood by the end of a playthrough as well, you're not the same man/woman you were at the start of the game, regardless of what happens between the intro and the ending. Playing as a bisexual courier really does make the game easier and leads to some amazing dialogue options, I would never pick bloody mess for its damage increase but I usually tend to play with both perks. I'm a stickler for pass a speech challenge type perks in any game (Especially early Bioware games).

I would play Fallout 3 before playing TTW, because it stands on its own for what that game is. It was groundbreaking to me when it first came out but you won't see that obviously playing New Vegas first, you would never play the original Fallout 3 if you had done TTW I don't think.

I have to agree with @Gamb_of_Lod . The ability to make up your own backstory and choose where you came from, your origins, etc.. It's a lot better than Fallout 3.

@Voyevoda1

I'm gonna add a little point regarding the perks.

Every time you play New Vegas, depending on how you play, the range of role play is wider than 3's because of (in part) the perks, i mean, most of Fallout 3's perks are fucking useless, most of them are just skill bonuses, stuff you'll eventually max out regerdless if you take them or not, plus there's a lot of them damn bobbleheads to collect (which to me, it's a broken feature) and plenty of books to eat.

On the other hand, New Vega's perks are more varied, useful, and specific, what i mean when i say "specific" is that there's plenty to choose if you want your character to specialize in sneak, melee, pistols, dialogue etc. [with more rewarding stuff than just petty skill ups] that gives you the feeling that you're actually creating a different character on every playthrough with a rich variety of builds to follow whereas in Fallout 3 and 4 you'll eventually become the flawless god of the wastes.

And all that without taking into account Traits and perks gained through actions.

@"Voyevoda1" After the Vault I think that the game opens up slightly, not a whole lot but you get at least 3 or 4 different decisions when doing certain quests. Like there were quite a few different choices for The Replicated Man and also for the Blood Ties quests. But for the main part I would definitely agree with you that it is rather fenced in and I also believe that is because it was developed by Bethesda and not Obsidian. I think we also have a similar opinion to Fallout 4 and because of which I think it would be a good idea to keep quiet about it as everything that needs to be said about it is all over the Internet haha. I reckon that Obsidian needs to get the rights to create another Fallout game, it's the only way they're going to redeem themselves after 4 and 76 haha.

@Voyevoda1 in my personal opinion aways aimed to the games with more realism and chalenges for survival in this case fallout nv it's my choice, 'cause of the hardcore mode that is amazing, and the mechanics are a little better in terms of roleplaying a think NV takes that too good including the survival and critical choices inside the game, so i must add the mods like the ones fro here makes the game experience amazing like animations from Rex and the clothing of Drags as well Shifu's guns

Hmmm I'd say New Vegas here. Sorry I like Fallout 3, but the writing is horrendous lol That's not to say that the game is bad. It's still a pretty great game, it's the writing that makes it laughable at times. Remember the junkie bitch Springvale called Silver? Yeaahh..start with her dialogue. Since New Vegas doesn't give the courier a comprehensive backstory like where they grew up and blah blah blah, you can basically write them or just imagine it yourself while playing. It's not a difficult game to roleplay too because the skill system helps define the role you're playing even further. Playing as a cowboy that loves energy weapons, revolvers, and lever actions? Go for a Cowboys and Aliens run then and have Laser Commander and Meltdown at your disposal. You wanna play soldier? Go for NCR. You wanna be a roman soldier? Legion. You want to be an ex-enclave doctor? Medicine and Energy weapons build then. Fallout 3 is more of an post-apocalyptic exploration game to me

@"The Rabid Dog" Yes, the traits are also a good mechanic for furthering role play. I didn't realise he whole time I was playing Fallout 3 on console that half of the perks that aren't skill based perks do not work either (Scavenger, Scrounger) so I guess that does go against Fallout 3. Again though, the maga\ines being in both games only serve to hurt role playing ability if you have previous knowledge on locations for Fallout. If ever I'm playing either game, I have to always remind myself that just because I, the player know that something is there behind a lock door for example, does not mean my character would.

@"Gamb_of_Lod" Obsidian did do really decent work, but I think why New Vegas is the game that it is was because the old Interplay studios had already written half of the game nearly 10 years before, when bethesda okay'd the location, they would only allow New Vegas to be set after the events of 3, so what we got was the best of both Bethesda (For the game engine and system, resources and assets ect.) and the writing from Obsidian, I think if it was purely one or the other then it wouldn't be as good.

@"ConradeBear" Hardcore mode is a very good inclusion, and I'm glad someone mentioned it. I think just general maintenance of a character helps with immersion and role playing, but this doesn't have to be hardcore needs. I think simply having your character have down time in between the violence, the quests and the broken bones. Otherwise the entire game is just the story of one man/woman who ran and shot a whole bunch. A quick trip to the strip, local bar, hanging arouond with junkies. Whatever it is, taking time away from either the Mojave or the wasteland is just as important I think.

@"njmanga097" I would agree with you there to a certain degree, but for the sake of playing devil's advocate, soes the courier really join any of these factions? Yes, 3 is more linear and also an older game. While you do assist anyone of these factions in the sense that, whoever you throw in your hat with is determined to inherit the Mojave after the events of the game. You decide the winner, and you affiliate yourself with a faction, but you do not integrate with them. In 3, the east coast brotherhood try and save the day as much as possible, and you go up against the Enclave, who are mostly evil. Isn't post-apocolyptic exploration more catering to RP as a whole? when playing New Vegas, there tend to be negative outcomes of traveling due to companion scripts being tripped without having them with you, creating unfinishable quest loops.

So far everyone tends to have a different opinion. Would you's say that Fallout 3's karma system should have made more of an appearance in New Vegas? Morality is something that is faced and challenged differently in New Vegas.

How can you compare a Maserati and a Ferrari? It's incomparable.

@"operator" The fact that you regard them as sports cars only furthers the argument that both of them are good games. I think earlier and later games can't be compared because of the technological differences, and the fact that in the future Fallout games (If there are any) will likely follow more closely to the elder scrolls visually and in terms of gameplay.

@"Voyevoda1" I actually didn't know that haha, that's awesome! In that case give the rights to Fallout to Interplay and Obsidian developers and let the genius' get to work

I've been thinking about one fact, what have in one lacks the other so i better fallout would be the merged Nv and Fallout 3, cause i have to admit that i miss the city landscapes and the more horrendous atmosphere, that apear to be the real thing i know the carch of a fallen world and lonely survival this in my opion is better than NV

@"ConradeBear" I think thats why people enjoy TTW as much as they do. The iomplemented improvements from NV in the world of FO3 just fit so perfectly together. It makes picking perks like never getting irradiated from drinking water an absolute must. Dying of thrist is a real threat especially early game in TTW. The survival aspects along with the improved gameplay of NV just makes the experience so much more enjoyable, and you dont have to limit your playthrough to 80-90 hours. My current TTW playthrough is sitting at 210 hours and I still have the majority of FNV's main and side quests to do.

@ConradeBear Вот почему я играю TTW-FOW
That's why I play TTW-FOW

I love both games for different reasons. 3 felt like a bigger game with better connecting sidequests and wide variety of things to do and see.

New Vegas felt like I had more of a say in who I was and what choices I could make. I mean, in 3 I could murder an entire town, and suffer only a disappointed tone from my father. In New Vegas, each little thing would make a big impact on how the game progressed and concluded.

3 also felt like, even though I had choices at times, I felt like it was pushing me in directions.

So I have to give it to New Vegas, because I could be that heroic good hearted person, or I could be that Clint Eastwood anti-hero, and even go pure evil and do everything I wouldn't normally do in real life, and that gave the game so much replayability.

@Voyeovoda1 now thay you mention TTW i'm sure that this was the most awesone idea for Fallout, merge the two wastelands in just one, the playtrough is amost infinite and there is so many things to do with ttw, so i think bethesda will do better if they catch the ideia of ttw in their future games, not everyrhing of course but the atmosphere and the cityscape

@"EyeShotFirst" I totally agree with you on the side quests. Fallout 3 had single, secular and sustained stories in it's sidequests. New Vegas had faction related stuff, and you would run into triggers for companions you maybe wouldn't either know of the first time you played, or through chance didn't bring them with you. I think the bethesda's style derivea from obvlivion onwards because morrowind just feels like the old bethesda saying "lets just make what we would want to play" where as now, I feel that games assume that gamers will already buy what you produce, so you implement added features down the line to attract gamers from different gaming backrounds (Like shooters) and hope that combined you'll cash in on more than one market, but it hurts games in the long run.

I would say New Vegas is more akin to that philosophy, a game made for people who want to play that game, not necesserily what the masses want. They're both unique in their own right, and their identity remains seperate. I just love the cowboy aesthetic in New Vegas, all the cowboy related mods I just have to use when I play it.

Fallout New Vegas has the worst story in terms of defining its lead character which also makes it the most ideal character to role play as.

The details regarding the Courier is so vague that you could make stuff up regarding the backstory of your character.

In contrast to Fallout 3 where you will always be a vault dweller who had a birthday in Vault 101 with a father that ran away from the vault. You could be creative with your vault dweller but you will always be limited by the story defined by Bethesda for Fallout 3.

Character creation is important when starting to role play in a game which is why Fallout New Vegas, for me, takes the cake for the simple fact that it has flexibility when creating the backstory of your character.

The alternate start mod for FNV also makes role playing a lot easier > link