It's over. For two and a half years I've played the 'game', and now, it's over. Gladiatus is what I'm talking about, obviously. Anyway, I've written about this thing before in detail, so I'm not going to, anymore. Suffice it to say that I have finally stopped playing. About two weeks ago. Eh? So why haven't there been more blogs? Since I had all that free time? Since I stopped playing Gladiatus so I'd have more time to blog and draw? Yeah well, I've been going through a, um... transitional period, of sorts. You know, I needed some time to adjust. Or something. I've been reading lots of other blogs and stuff. Basically, I've just been mucking about. And somehow, it still felt like I was spending my time in a more useful way than when I was still being a gladiator. Go figure, eh?
Well then, in my previous post I talked about having finished God of War III and which game I was going to get into next. I said I was considering Fallout 3, for various reasons. And wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what I did! And boy, did I get back into it! In fact, it's what I did last night, and what I'll probably be doing this night as well. And finally, it's the main ah, raison d'être for this here post, blog-entry, thing.
You see, as I also said in my previous post, Fallout 3 is a game you can tell stories about. Stories that are unique to your game. So, that's what I'm going to do, today.
Which stories to tell though? There are several that I think are worth telling, so... Before I do that however, something else. When I first started the game again, I had to make a decision: do I start up a whole new game, or do I continue where I left off, about, ooh, two years ago? You see, I was worried I'd have trouble getting back into it all. It had been such a long time since I last played it, so maybe I'd forgotten all about the story and I wouldn't know what to do at all? Sure, I could simply check the map and mosey on over to the first quest marker I could find, but wouldn't I miss out on too much that way? On the other hand, I had already done a lot and the idea of having to do all that stuff all over again didn't really appeal to me that much. Surprisingly, it turned out that there was nothing to worry about! I started playing, walked around a bit and well, the memories started flooding back, as it were. And yes, taking my wonky, drug-addled mind into account, that is surprising. It is also, I think, indicative of Fallout's quality. Or rather, of the impact it had on me. Apparently the game and its story have really made an impression on me. And they're still doing so, most successfully.
Now, let's have some stories then!
Killing Innocent People is Good Karma!
So, there I was, once again roaming the Capital Wasteland, enjoying myself to bits. The first thing I did, once I exited the L'Enfant South subway station that held my last save, was get my dog killed. Yeah... There were some super mutants walking about there, and Dogmeat (the dog's name) immediately started attacking them. Within seconds, the mutants had made dogmeat out of him! (See what I did there?)
Now, I remember taking very good care of the dog, when I first played the game way back when. I would leave him in a safe place if things looked too hairy, and I would immediately reload when he died. He was my dog, you know? The one and only real friend I had in this barren, post-apocalyptic world! How things change though... He died, and I thought, fuck that dog. He was a useless, cumbersome mutt anyways. Well, okay, that's a bit harsh. He was useful for alerting me to the presence of enemies. You know, he'd growl when enemies were near, allowing me to prepare. Which I suppose is better than walking 'round a corner, right into the waiting arms of three super mutants. Oh well, I would just have to be a bit more careful from now on then. No more checking whether the dog was still following me, no more having to take care of it... What a relief!
Anyway, once those mutants had been disposed of, or, once I had taken revenge for them mercilessly slaying my useless fleabag, it was decision-making time. As in, what to do next? Do I continue the main quest, trying to finish the game as fast as I can or...? Indeed, or! I looked around a bit and on the horizon I saw the tip of the Washington Monument's obelisk. Well, in all my travels I had never actually been there, so I decided to check it out. What? Oh right, the main quest... Yeah, right after I've seen the Monument! I'll just mosey on down there, maybe make a nice picture, and then back into the main quest, right away. Yeah, right... I guess that was one thing I had sort of forgotten about Fallout 3: almost every location has one or more quests to accept. Oh well...
On my way to the Monument, I passed by the Lincoln Memorial, where I was greeted by a member of a group of slavers that had made their base there. He wanted me to fetch some Lincoln-related stuff, so he could destroy it. Apparently, a group of slaves sort of worshipped Lincoln, and by destroying his stuff I would cause their end, or make them go away. Or something. Good news for the slavers, in any case.
And good news for me, as well! It turned out I still had a quest where I had to somehow get the Declaration of Independence. Now I could, as they say, kill to birds with one stone. Three, even; get the Lincoln stuff, get the declaration, and see the Monument.
But, there's another thing Fallout 3 does almost every time. If, for example, you get sent out to kill someone, that person will almost always offer you an alternative. Like, you could kill me, but you could also let me go and I will make it worth the effort. In this particular case, the robot that guarded the declaration told me he could make a perfect copy for me that I could give to the slavers, thereby preserving the original. All I needed was some special ink that could be found in the Arlington Library.
Now, I'm trying to be as noble as I can in this game. More often than not I want to be as evil as possible, and I could have wasted the robot then and there, but no, not in this case. Mr. Goody Two-Shoes, that's me! So, off I went, to look for some ink. And of course, Fallout made my quest even harder! In the Library, there was this woman who also wanted the declaration. If I would escort her back to the National Archives, she'd help me kill the robot and we'd both be happy. One thing I immediately noticed however, was the fact that this lady was carrying a very tasty-looking smg. She even told me about it, showing off, saying it was a very, very powerful weapon. Hmm... Well, I couldn't kill her, because that would be bad karma. I didn't want her to help me either though. I mean, I'm a good person, but I'm also greedy; I didn't want to share anything with her! What to do, what to do?
Then, I remembered something. When I arrived at the library, I noticed that the area was crawling with super mutants. They were doing their thing a bit further along, so they didn't bother me when I tried to get into the Library. Hmm, I thought, hmm... An evil, twisted plan began to take form.
I went back to the lady and told her I thought it was a very good idea to do business. She was pleased with my wise choice and followed me. Together we exited the Library, after which I made a bee-line for the mutants. There were quite a few around, actually! More than I thought, at any rate. Very good, very good indeed... I ran straight into the middle of the pack, the woman hot on my heels. Immediately after, I ran away to hide around the corner. Meanwhile, the woman was in serious trouble. About five or six super mutants were having their merry way with her, with me watching from a safe distance. Needless to say, she did not survive the fight. When the proverbial dust had settled, I moved back in and killed the remaining mutants, allowing me to thoroughly inspect the woman's desecrated corpse. And... yes! The nice, powerful smg was part of the loot! One very dead woman, and my reputation still completely intact. A certain quote from a certain Hannibal Smith comes to mind...
Anyway, after that, all that was left to do was to get the ink, copy the declaration and get paid. I let the robot live of course, and also let him keep the original. I am, after all, a good guy!
And, with that, I do believe I shall end this post! It seems I can still be quite wordy when it comes to things I really like. Good news, I say!
Like I also said however, there are many Fallout 3 stories, and this was only one. How about another one, tomorrow? I shall definitely do the best I can! Until then, stay safe, and game on!
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