i am dumb then because i thought you were being sarcastic about limb aiming. anyway the other stuff is relatively minor but is very important if you consider combat is probably 1/3rd of the game. i really can't stress though, that the limb aiming is a huge deal in this game. typically games do a terrible job in this regard but i really get a tactical feeling when playing. ideally i got for headshots, but there are a lot of instances where you will aim for certain areas. some instances:

- when facing off a bunch of enemies typically i will cripple their legs to slow them down so i can get in a better position to fight them (ie. lay traps or find cover).

- anyone with a missile launcher / explosives weapon i immediately dump bullets right at the weapon so they drop it. it's quicker to make them drop the gun than it is to kill them, and if they fire a shot you take huge damage.

- obviously certain enemy types you need to target specific areas or they are much harder to kill.

i think the problem is that VATS pretty much is the easy button in this game. i recall when playing with it on i would RUSH UP TO GUY AND SHOOT HEAD. this does not work at all in real time because you will get ripped to shreds. i am playing on the PC, and i think the controls are suitable and have no issues with them. you don't need to be super good at FPS games to be good at this because this is more of a tactical shooter where you can go behind a wall and plan things and the enemies won't necessarily rush right at you. the only issue i have had with the controls, which may even exist in the game, are hotkeys. i am really fast using the menu but i'd like to be able to set a certain key to a certain item so i don't need to interrupt game play. i could go into an IN-DEPTH deal of why vats doesn't work for this game, but basically it doesn't work to improve the game in my opinion.

in reference to GUNS, games usually only have a handful. to me it's pretty impressive they will literally have 4 or 5 models of a pistol (for example) that actually look unique and have their own RELOAD animations and things like this. i think this is good because it not only creates better weapon progression but you can choose which model you like more (ie. the assault rifle is worse than the chinese assault rifle but the assualt rifle is more common so i use that because of repairs). in total i have probably picked up 50 different weapons that, while some obviously similar, i like the fact they put thought into how they looked and functioned. also gun choice is huge, like i was saying VATS i think makes things too easy (also screws up the pace and i generally do not care for). gun choice is very important when i am playing, ie. in the sewers against GHOULS i use the shotgun because they get to you so quickly but i use a machine gun against human enemies since they keep a distance generally. big guns are for BOTS and SUPER MUTANTS and if you use the right weapons (flamer takes care of mutants very quickly) you feel a lot more COOL about killing enemies than just using the same gun with vats the whole time.

the one thing i will agree with you is that this doesn't feel like a FPS even though it has a lot of the features. however i think the ranged combat is pretty competent and i would never consider using melee after using ranged. i am not sure what you can do in melee besides BLOCK and HIT and even though you only have SHOOT for guns, there's a lot of them and they all have different usages.

also i don't recall mass effect having slow down but they had some abilities and one of them may have done this. this is probably something that this game lacks, skills or abilities of any sort.

When you are selecting an item, if you hold down a number button (1-0 i think or maybe just 1-8 idk) you bring up your hotkeys ​.

Also, as I asked before, has anyone finished the quest "Blood Ties" and made a Shishkebab?

I got this weapon and it's pretty good. I'm not sure if it beats The Shocker in terms of close up combat, but the after effects of it are great. Even Super Mutants die in about 3 hits from it.

Also instead of blowing up Megaton, I had the ghouls invade Tenpenny Tower. It was probably the best moment in the game so far, because of how much loot I got. And apparently I still get to have the suite too.

Sniper rifles are pretty terrible with vats. I'm not sure if I need perks or anything but you can't aim far away at all with it. I'm much more efficient using it without vats.

Sniper rifles are pretty terrible with vats. I'm not sure if I need perks or anything but you can't aim far away at all with it. I'm much more efficient using it without vats.

Is there a zoom function?

I thought the same too, I hated both of the options. One option was TOO BAD and the other was TOO GOOD.


And yeah, there is a zoom function on sniper rifles.

what does tenpenny tower have to do with megaton though. Aren't those two completely different missions?

I think as long as the key characters are still alive and you can get into the tower, you can do it.
These are different missions. But they can directly affect the megaton mission depending on what you choose. But maybe I'm wrong, because the guy at the bar still offers the mission, but tower isn't even his anymore!

Uhh...no, just no. Beyond 'they are first person RPGs' there's very little similarities between the two.

Fallout 3 is probably more like Deus Ex than what Deus Ex 3 is going to be, by the sounds of things.

And yeah, I can imagine this a very easy game to exploit for cash, just like Fable II.

I am curious and would like to compare console players versus PC players in how they view the game, especially regarding VATS.  Because when I play Fallout, the combat feels like Parasite Eve or Vagrant Story or Secret of Mana or something.  I very rarely aim outside of VATS because it just never works.  I am playing on console, though.  If I were playing on PC maybe I would play it more like a shooter and view it differently?

yes maladroithim, that is how i'm playing too, although i'm playing on the computer. i rarely don't use vats and it feels a lot like vagrant story. in fact, that is the same comparison i made in my head too. the few times i shoot without vats is when i'm waiting to regain ap, but for the most part, enemies are way too fast and too difficult to hit. they seem to sort of glide across the ground and it's a little unfair i think!

anyway, where are you guys finding all these companions? i've only found two guys, jericho, who wouldn't join me, and this woman in the national archives, where i am now, but i think she'll probably leave after i'm done with this quest. i also found a prostitute named cherry at dukov's place who wanted to go to rivet city, but i didn't take her with me and now i don't have the option to take her anymore. did i just screw it up or what? i'm level 14 and i feel like i should have a companion, but i just haven't found any.

yes maladroithim, that is how i'm playing too, although i'm playing on the computer. i rarely don't use vats and it feels a lot like vagrant story. in fact, that is the same comparison i made in my head too. the few times i shoot without vats is when i'm waiting to regain ap, but for the most part, enemies are way too fast and too difficult to hit. they seem to sort of glide across the ground and it's a little unfair i think!

Man... this. Worse yet is how certain enemies in certain areas gain the magical ability to run backwards at full speed and navigate through complex rooms and doorways while shooting straight at you.

not gonna lie, convincing that robot you're thomas jefferson is pretty funny.