http://www.play.com/Games/PlayStation3/4-/5483416/Fallout-3/Product.html

- Rax

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[H:MM:SS] – Show Time Line
——————–
Opening Song (Innocent Primeval Breaker – Ys Seven OST)

[0:00:44] – Introductions
-PSN outage

[0:02:50] – Jason’s Now Playing

[0:56:00] – Steven’s Now Playing

[1:14:33] – News

[1:53:28] – Coming Soon for May 2011

[1:58:38] – Wrap Up

[2:01:06] – End

The epic war of the consoles between Sony and Microsoft (the Wii isn’t made for gamers; see ‘iRate: Wii never play it really’) seems to have descended into a tit-for-tat squabble; each company sinking to new lows by securing the exclusivity of relatively minute amounts of individual titles. Sure, the Joker maps from Batman: Arkham Asylum are only available to PS3 customers, but does Sony really think that this pathetic half-step is going to incense XBox owners into purchasing the rival console?

The PS3 exclusive Joker Maps are no laughing matter for XBox owners

Don’t get me wrong, I use Sony only as an example here; Microsoft is by far the worst offender. Since launch there have been a number of DLC exclusivity deals struck by Microsoft, but here are perhaps the two biggest: Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3.

What makes this worse is the overall quality of this exclusive content. The DLC for Fallout 3 in particular has been met with some mixed reactions. It’s difficult to argue that Mothership Zeta and Operation: Anchorage achieve anything other than detracting from the overall quality of the Fallout experience. Also, our very own Luke ‘Mightyles’ Mears didn’t think much of The Ballad of Gay Tony.

The Ballad of Gay Tony? More like the Ballad of Gypped PS3 Owners!

The word “exclusive” is also something of a misnomer in this context. With the exception of the Joker maps for Batman: Arkham Asylum (although time will tell on that one), almost every piece of exclusive DLC has been a timed exclusive. So after a period of time the DLC is launched on the rival console anyway, usually to the complete disinterest of gamers everywhere. Only the most hardcore fans of Fallout 3, for example, are going to shell out an extra £30 to get their hands on the five packs of new content. The majority will leave it on the shop shelf where it belongs.

Bad DLC in itself isn’t a massive issue, but when the companies we rely on to produce quality products that are worth our time and money begin to shell out large amounts to secure bad content, you know that something is awry. The global gaming industry has become so concerned with rivalry and getting one up (intentional cheeky Mario reference) on each other that it has completely forgotten the people in the middle, the people that really matter, us bloody gamers! And exclusive DLC is living proof of this.

A prime example of timed exclusive DLC not worth the wait

Games developers should be committed to producing titles that deliver the complete experience for anyone that digs into their wallets to purchase a game. It doesn’t matter what format, gamers should be afforded the courtesy of this complete experience.

DLC exclusivity is a corruption of this. Not only are developers selling off parts of the “experience” to the highest bidder, but by doing so they are segregating their audience, causing increasing disillusionment with the developer. We shouldn’t be punished for choosing one console over another. The only kind of exclusivity The Newb Review can endorse is for a full title. Furthermore, by selling off the rights to portions of games through DLC, developers are not only showing a lack of backbone, they are also telling the world that they are driven solely by profit and that they don’t respect the very people to which their products are aimed.

Developers aren’t the only ones at fault though. The tit-for-tat rivalry between Sony and Microsoft, expressed through DLC, is nothing short of childish, playground bullsh*t. If they weren’t so willing to throw away cash carelessly, just to ensure exclusivity rights on the latest and greatest game ad-ons, the thought of exclusive DLC for consoles wouldn’t be so imprinted on the minds of developers, and perhaps us gamers would be treated a little less like mindless sheep.

This is a call to arms: gamers of the world unite. We need to tell the corporations to cease this petty battle for DLC exclusivity. From now on it’s full exclusivity for a title or nothing at all. No more of these petty half-steps to nudge people towards choosing your console.

With all the merriness and festivities that came with Christmas and New Year, The Newb Review thought we’d commission Crofterz to stop the world from exploding (you can thank us later) by balancing it all out with some good old fashioned anger and misery. Join him as he takes us through the critically acclaimed wasteland of Fallout 3.

You may accuse me of cheaply bashing “Fallout 3” just to provoke reaction, enraging people into commenting and emailing in order to gain a few extra visitors to the site, and you know what? You’re right (well… partly).

I know how beloved Fallout 3 is to a lot of you gaming folk. It’s so beloved in fact that it has spawned multiple DLC packs and a Game of the Year edition of the game… But I just don’t get it.

You know how it feels when your friends are talking about the latest and coolest programme on TV, but when you sit down to watch it for yourself you wonder how anybody could possibly find it enjoyable? Well, that’s exactly how I feel about Fallout 3.

Combining both elements of a First Person Shooter and a Role Playing Game (a combination of which has more recently been used as the basis for Borderlands, although it was improved massively). Fallout 3 is a jack of all trades, master of none. Yes there is typical first person shooter gameplay in there, but it’s nowhere near as exciting or rewarding as something like a Call of Duty or Battlefield.

The VAT system (a slow motion system which pauses the game to queue up shots on the different body parts of your enemies) in particular is a shining example of what Fallout 3 is. It sounds exciting, interesting and refreshing, but ultimately it’s utterly disappointing. The system is fun to use at first, but the novelty quickly wears off and it starts to become more and more apparent that the it only breaks up the gameplay to make it feel less fluid.

The new percentage themed postage notes were going down a storm

Perhaps comparing it to the likes of Call of Duty or a Battlefield is absurd, considering the RPG elements are seemingly what makes the game great. But the RPG elements aren’t even work that well. I mean it’s not a Final Fantasy is it?

Yes the RPG elements work within the game, but they lack the depth and excitement of a true RPG. The story is anything but exciting (it’s mind numbingly boring) and lacks direction. I want a challenge, but when I have to wander around for hours (and I am being literal here) trying to find out where to go, that just isn’t fun. And yes OK, I don’t want a game that is going to hold my hand; but at least give me a sodding clue!

On the face of it the experience of wandering around aimlessly through a barren wasteland, struggling to survive, is perhaps what the developers are trying to give the player. What they failed to remember is that they also needed to make the game fun. It’s all just depressing, bleak and drab; much like the actual prospect of a world post nuclear fallout.

Now I think about it Fallout 3 might possibly be the most depressing experience I’ve ever had from a game (which is quite an achievement considering I’ve not only played but completed Assassin’s Creed 1 and Condemned 2; a game in which you play a drug adled, alcoholic, homeless, tramp, fighting to the death with other similarly gruesome tramps in order to get your next fix).

This lovely depressive feeling is also hammered home due to the fact that literally everything is trying to kill you! In Fallout 3 not only do you have to contend with the various enemies that attack you, you also have to cope with radioactivity, alcoholism and drug addiction. The very water you drink gives you radiation poisoning and the drugs you take to enhance your character become addictive. It’s all just one sadistic trail after another. I’ve heard of making a game hard but Fallout 3 really takes the biscuit.

I don’t know what version of Fallout 3 you fanboys have played but it certainly isn’t the same version I’ve played. Fallout 3 is almost totally devoid of fun. I can only assume that you guys like playing insanely difficult games (so hard they were used as tortures devices in Guantanamo Bay) that contain mediocre gameplay and a completely mundane story. Come to think of it, I don’t know whats worse, playing Fallout 3 or being subjected to Chinese water torture.

How can you have this much love for a game that a) offers you great gameplay mechanics such as making your own weapons from completely useless odds and sods (oooo! *puts on a cheesy smile*) and b) pretty much forces you to make your own fun; a part of games that I actually f*cking detest, unless it’s a Crackdown game.

How lazy can Bethesda get? Not only do you have to make your own weapons but you also have to make your own fun? What next? Make your own levels? How about you don’t get so caught up in the big hype machine surrounding Fallout 3 and make up your own minds?

What's next? Little Big Planet: Fallout 3 edition?

Perhaps I’m being a little harsh, or perhaps I’m totally wrong and like I said, I simply don’t get it. What I do know is, I simply don’t care. but what is seriously making me grind my teeth (they are now just stumps of calcium) is all this “perfect game” nonsense that all you Fallout 3 cultists are spouting. So please stop.

Now if you’ll excuse me I must dash to seek safety in my own purpose built fallout shelter. Hopefully this will protect me from the inevitable onslaught of death threats and insults that are sure to come my way.

See you in another 10 years!

You can buy this game from our Amazon shop and support our site at the same time.  Just click this link or visit our shop in the menu:

Fallout 3 Game of the Year edition (with all DLC) Current price: £21.76

Everybody loves achievements, right? Be they the achievements on Steam, World of Warcraft, the Xbox 360, or the Achievements covered in tin foil that are known as PS3 Trophies. The concept of the high score is nothing new to gamers, any one that spent their youth hanging around arcades trying to get on the leaderboards of games like House of the Dead, Street Fighter 2, or Crazy Taxi can attest to that.

With the release of the latest generation of consoles, and the introduction of achievements, the entire concept of the high score has changed. Now rather than just showing off how good we are at one game, we get to show how good we are at games in general, and can compare scores with not only our friends, but the entire world. So yeah, achievements are great. But achievement farming can be a real chore, and there is nothing sadder than playing a bad game in order to get those precious easy achievements – trust me I’ve been there! So, in light of the season, and to follow up on tom01255′s “Confessions of a Trophy Whore”, we here at Newb review thought we would share with you, our beloved readers, a list of games that have easy achievements/trophies, that are also a lot of fun to play. Because while achievements are great, having fun while playing is more important than anything else.

** For the purposes of simplicity I will be mainly talking about the Xbox 360 achievements, however in most cases they are the same for the PS3 trophies and Steam/Games For Windows Live achievements**

BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM (PS3/360/PC)

Arkham Asylum may be a horrible place filled with all of Gotham’s most terrible villains, but there’s also a fantastic game with a number of easily achievements. The majority of the achievements are awarded for playing though the story mode and discovering the Riddler’s riddles, which are all easy enough to find when switching on Detective Vision. There are very few challenging achievements in the form of earning all of the Medals on the combat challenges and beating the game on the highest difficulty. Even when playing on the highest difficulty there was only one instance where I had some difficulty in proceeding. The simplicity of the achievements are only made sweeter by the fact that this is such a well designed game, with a well written story and excellent voice acting to round it all off.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: Approximately 500 achievement points are awarded for game completion on Normal Difficulty, with a further 160 points for solving all of the riddles. There are a number of other assorted achievements that you will earn during the single player which will easily bring your total close to 800 points.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: Earning all medals on the combat challenges will take a lot of practice, as will performing a combo that utilises every move in Batman’s arsenal. Once you achieve this, beat the game, find all Riddles, then you will earn the 100% completion achievement.

ASSASSIN’S CREED 2 (PS3/360)

Taking place in the near future, you control Desmond Miles a man who has been placed in a machine called The Animus, which allows him to relive the memories of his ancestors. This time Desmond controls his ancestor in Renaissance Italy, Ezio Auditore, as he seeks revenge on those that betrayed his family. It is a little convoluted, sure, but does that really matter when it is such a well put together game? What makes this sweet game even sweeter? Easy achievements.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: On my first play through the game I unlocked a whopping 930 achievement points without putting too much effort in. Most of the achievements are unlocked through playing the game, although there are a few side ones that you should be able to unlock pretty easily.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: Collecting 100 feathers that are strewn out through the world is more time consuming than hard. Once you find all 100, you earn a special cape that is required for unlocking another achievement. Finding all 20 glyphs in the game may take up a little time, but it is not particularly difficult.

FALLOUT 3 (PS3/360/PC)

Bethesda’s post apocalyptic RPG may seem a little dated to some, but it is hard to argue against the game’s quality in terms of achievements! With the release of 5 add ons (Operation Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mother ship Zeta) the game now has a total of 1550 achievement points on the 360. If you do not already own the game then it might be worth picking up the Game of The Year edition, which includes all of the add ons. Check with your favourite retailers to see if they have a decent deal for it.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: The majority of the achievements are earned through completing missions, with a few achievements awarded for killing set numbers of enemies, and hacking computers or picking locks. Essentially, you just need to play the game to unlock most of them. Having said that, this is a game where it is possible to clock up over 100 hours of play time.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: The hardest achievements in this game are the collection achievements, particularly the Vault Tech Bobble Heads, as a number of them can only be obtained at a set time. If you miss them, then that is it, you cannot get them again without loading up an old save. Which really, really, really, sucks.

BIOSHOCK (PS3/360/PC)

Venturing in to the deep sea city of Rapture, overrun with mask wearing disfigured junkies, can be a frightening experience at times, but these easy achievements will more than make up for any frights you might have. With the addition of a free piece of downloadable content, the game has a total of 1100 achievement points available, with the vast majority of them being pretty easy to obtain. On the PS3 there is a challenge mode downloadable add on that will add about a dozen bronze trophies that seem to be reasonably achieveable.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: At least 300 points are awarded to you just for playing through the story missions, with a good 250 to 300 points that you will probably unlock just through playing the game. The other achievements revolve around photographing your enemies enough to learn everything about them, which is not really particularly challenging.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: There are a number of 100 point achievements that you earn for completing the game without using any Little Sisters, and for beating the game on the highest difficulty without using a vita chamber – which essentially means beat the game without dying. It’s not as hard as it may sound – all you need to do is save regularly, and if you die load up an old save.

FABLE 2 (360)

The latest game from British industry legend Peter Molyneaux, Fable 2 is a game where every choice you make has a consequence, be it a change in your own appearance, or the economic fate of a town. As well as being an entertaining fantasy game with light role playing elements, the game also features a ton of easy achievements. Two downloadable add ons have been released which bring the achievement total to 1350. If you purchase the game of the year edition, which includes both add ons, then you are potentially looking at a big pay off from playing this game.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: There are dozens of simple achievements that award 5 or 10 points each ranging from shooting rabbits to making love 25 times. Beating the story mode without playing any more side missions than necessary will earn you approximately 400 points, but it would be almost impossible not to pick up a few other achievements along the way. You do not even have to do the achievements yourself in most cases, all you need to do is play a co-op game with someone and have them perform the necessary deed, and the act of witnessing it alone will grant you the achievement.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: One achievement in particular is especially difficult, the doll catcher achievement requires you to trade online in order to own all six in game collectible dolls. Each profile can only unlock one doll and in order to trade you will need an Xbox live gold account. It is incredibly frustrating without first making the proper arrangements online in forums or what have you. The game also includes achievements that are rewarded for destroying 50 gargoyles (and find their hidden treasure), collecting 25 silver keys, and earning all abilities, pet tricks, and expressions, which may take a long time.

And there we have it! A small selection of decent games that will (hopefully) increase your gamerscore as well as bringing you extreme joy. This is of course just a small selection of great games with easy achievements, so if you have any other games to recommend then feel free to leave a comment below. Let us share the love.