any console

So I’ve been playing Fallout 3 on the Playstation 3 a whole lot lately, and I must say that I’m digging this game.  I’ve created a good character–which is unusual for me, I tend to prefer evil characters in these sorts of games–and I’ve been doing a whole lot of the quests.

One of the biggest things that’s helped me in the game is the Galaxy News Radio station which encourages me to continue in the story.  It’s a lot of fun to hear Three-Dog talk about your progress on GNR, and it makes you curious about what he’d have to say next.  The music is limited and very repetitive, and unfortunately so are the news clips if you don’t keep the story moving along.

Fallout 3 has no lacking for places to explore or things to discover.  For the more casual gamers among us, it’s also not too difficult to keep going as the story progresses.  It’s pretty easy to keep up and it’s also pretty easy to understand how the story is progressing.

As with most Bethesda games, however, this game is simply littered with bugs, glitches, and often illogical problems (such as finding the body of one thing you killed among the parts of others that you have also just killed).  Bethesda could and should prevent so many of these issues with simple interface changes, perhaps  an interface that shows you that there are multiple possible bodies or containers (or both) to search, and having you select which one you wish to search without having to exactly point at it.  Also, behind the Washington Monument there’s a giant pile of rubble that you can glitch into.  This game is also devoid of meaningful internationalization.  For those of us who speak English, this is not a problem, but the US’s neighbors to the north (at least some of them) and many Europeans might not appreciate this game as much since almost everything is English… interface, dialog, subtitles, etc.

My biggest problem with this game, however, is the completely lacking after-market support for the Playstation 3.  Bethesda needs to, at some point, decide whether it wants my Playstation 3 play or not.  Having played this game on both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, it’s my opinion that the load times are considerably shorter, and the game is more responsive on the Playstation 3 than it is on the Xbox 360.  Unfortunately, Bethesda has decided to not provide downloadable content for this game through Playstation Network, so all of those cool add-ons that Xbox 360 players get to enjoy I miss out on because of a stupid business decision.

Pros:

• Excellent story with many fun and interesting quests and sub-quests.
• Immersive environment in many ways: radio, billboards, buildings, recognizable sites and buildings to see.
• Interesting weapons.
• Not too difficult for the more casual gamer.
• Performs quite well on Playstation 3
• Great trophies support.

Popularity: 31%

This is one of the few “must-have” games of the year as far as I’m concerned.  I anticipated this game to the point of pre-ordering it, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did pre-order it.  This game is fantastic, I don’t even know where to begin.

When I pre-ordered this game, I got it on Playstation3 since I wanted to get the most out of the graphics, and I think I made the right decision.  On the PS3 this game looks incredible: the animation is smooth, the environments are believable, and the images are crisp.  But as we all know, game play is what makes or breaks a game, so let’s go look there.

In recent times, many sports games have “practice” or “training” modes where you can go in and try to improve your skills.  For me, this is crucial, because I am terrible at sports games.  I’m so terrible that it is often difficult for me to win a game with 5-minute quarters playing on easy.  My rushing is great, my rush defense is acceptable, but when the ball is in the air all bets are off.  I can’t pass to save my life, and it’s hard for me to read a quarterback on defense, so training mode is quite helpful for me.  Madden’09 has a much more in-depth and intensive, and with the My Skill tests I find that the game challenges me more than I’m used to being challenged, without being overwhelmed.

It’s not all a bed of roses though.  Unfortunately many bugs and a handful of bad ideas made their way into the game.  Bugs are a big drag on this game, especially profile loading and management.  I’m constantly frustrated when instead of displaying my profile name “USER1″ is displayed all over the interface.  Bad ideas are present as well, even in features I loved like the My Skill.  When testing one’s skill, I didn’t think it was wise for the test to give me the answers and show me which buttons to press to get past defenders.  I also didn’t think it was great for the end-game interface to very confusingly try to get me to step into the trainer.  The last thing I want when I’ve just had my butt handed to me by the Miami Dolphins is for the game to rub it in by coercing me into the trainer.

Pros:

• The graphics in this game are outstanding, and great in high-definition.
• The play calling is a little easier here, and ask Madden makes a little more sense than in previous versions of the franchise.
• My Skill helps keep you from being overwhelmed, and it updates at the end of each game.
• Rewind is a neat idea that lets those of us who have a harder time keep from getting too discouraged.
• Online play allows league and season play, and with the EA Fantasy Football integration (collectors edition only I believe) you can import your Fantasy Football teams.

Cons:

• There are noticeable bugs that should have been taken care of.
• My Skill tests aren’t as accurate since they give you the answer.
• The end of a game is a bit confusing asking you to go into the trainer.
• The announcing is just horrible, I’ve found it best just to turn the volume off for the announcers.
• Online doesn’t let you play a full regulation season.

The bottom line on this game is that it is great for football.  My brother and I enjoy playing it together, and I think many others will as well.  This is Madden, it’s been around for twenty years, and I’ve played it for as long as it has been out.  I think they could still do better, but this is certainly a great addition to the franchise.

Popularity: 42%