Witcher vs. Fallout 3

[farley2k]

Well not really versus since I love them both (and haven't finished either!) but I was thinking about the differences in character motivation between the games.  The Witcher did a fantastic job of making characters good and evil.  It offered moral choices for which there were no right answers.  You can side with the humans or non-humans or go your own way.  But no matter which way you go the side you are on isn't completely right.

I don't get that feeling at all from Fallout 3.  I am only a bit into the game but the first major choice of blow up Megaton or not doesn't seem gray.  It seems good or bad.  If you are playing a bad character you do it, if you are a good character you don't.  I admit I haven't finished the game (or even come close) but I don't get the impression we will find out the residents of Megaton are really slavers or something if you spare them. 

Meanwhile with the Witcher no matter who you help you seem to find out something evil about them.  They did something wrong, they were lying about something, etc. 

How have others who have played both felt?

[coopasonic]

FO3 is pretty much black & White, about the only gray is sealing for survival. There's one choice that I might consider gray and it's the very last choice you'll make in the game so I can't explain.

Witcher is pretty much all gray. You make choices and are never sure if what you are doing is right or wrong. The factions all consider themselves to be in the right so they are, pretty rightly, demonstrating that "right" is in the eye of the beholder.

I love both games for different reasons. In FO3 you can be good or bad, in Witcher you just are.

[farley2k]

The reason I started thinking about it was that if the world of Fallout 3 was like The Witcher I could have blown up Megaton.  I would have a felt a bit bad but not to much.  In the Fallout 3 world there was just no way I could do it.  I found the guy who took in the little girl after her family was killed...I couldn't blow them up for no reason. 

[jersoc]

Witcher definitely isn't clear on what's 100% good or bad. Which I liked. I had to take my time and think about some decisions. Some are fairly clear, but not all.

[Kevin Grey]

Yeah, I'm really enjoying Fallout 3 but my biggest complaint is that I don't feel like I'm not able to get a strong sense of who my character is.  That may sound a bit odd to say in an RPG (my character is whoever I want him to be, duh) but what I really love in an RPG is where I imagine moments ahead of time a dialogue or action on how my character character would react to a certain situation and lo and behold the game gives me something closely approximating that.  

The games that do that well in my opinion (which I include Witcher, Mass Effect, and KOTOR 2) typically give a wide range of somewhat gray character options in addition to the straight up binary good and evil.  Most of what I'm seeing in Fallout 3 is too far on the good or evil spectrum.  Since I don't find the straight up evil options in Fallout 3 very palatable I'm left with some kind of odd mish-mash of a badass goodie two shoes that doesn't quite fit the charismatic yet enigmatic man who fundamentally wants to do what is right that I had in mind.

Basically I want to be Don Draper but I don't feel like Fallout 3 will let me.  

[Tals]

Witcher definitely isn't clear on what's 100% good or bad. Which I liked. I had to take my time and think about some decisions. Some are fairly clear, but not all.

I'm only on chapter 1 in the Witcher. However I got both at the same time and after playing a few hours on FO3 I switched to the Witcher as my main game. Primarily because I found the story telling element stronger. Love the cut scenes and generally acting is well done. I'll return to FO3 after I have completed The Witcher

Tals

[Sarkus]

Fallout 3 does sometimes have "neutral" or "gray" optional ways of doing things, but not to the degree that "The Witcher" offers.  It's kind of a different philosophy behind the whole world. 

[Arkon]

I have both games and honestly I got bored with The Witcher (Enhanced Edition) and am regretting the money I spent on it.

FO3 on the other hand will give me well over 100 hours of enjoyment.

[Arclight]

I don't think the Witcher comes close to F-3 in pure immersiveness.
But that might be because I'm just getting so fed up with the whole medieval theme.

[Tals]

I don't think the Witcher comes close to F-3 in pure immersiveness.
But that might be because I'm just getting so fed up with the whole medieval theme.

I'm totally immersed at the moment. But then i'm finding it easier and more enjoyable story than FO3 and i'm not lacking ammo which you seem to in FO3.

Tals

[CeeKay]

I love the Witcher.  I've played through it twice already.  I'm slowly getting into FO3 but the over the top, almost comical gore from killing stuff is really destroying the immersion.  I never should have taken Bloody Mess.

[StriderGG]

These are two completely different games in my book, they don't even belong to the same genre, so there is no comparing them or saying which one is better. They are both great at what they do - huge open mostly-not-scripted world to explore vs. compeling story and intrigue in a fairly confined space.

I love them both but for different reasons. Hey, that's one phrase you don't want your wife to hear out of context!

[JohnathanStrange]

Fallout 3 for me by far is the superior game in terms of total immersion, atmospherics, game length, and just overall "fun". There are certain aspects of Witcher which make it a satisfying experience and it's definitely a standout game; well worth playing more than once, but it doesn't - for me - match FO3. I don't think - or I didn't think until I read your posts - that anyone could go too wrong with either choice but again, I stand corrected.

[Tals]

Fallout 3 for me by far is the superior game in terms of total immersion, atmospherics, game length, and just overall "fun". There are certain aspects of Witcher which make it a satisfying experience and it's definitely a standout game; well worth playing more than once, but it doesn't - for me - match FO3. I don't think - or I didn't think until I read your posts - that anyone could go too wrong with either choice but again, I stand corrected.

I think StriderGG covered this well. Their is no right or wrong choice. FO3 is an awesome game, however its freeform aspect and quite tough call on the ammo side can get quite tiring. The Witcher IMHO is a great RPG

[Unagi]

I love the Witcher.  I've played through it twice already.  I'm slowly getting into FO3 but the over the top, almost comical gore from killing stuff is really destroying the immersion.  I never should have taken Bloody Mess.

LOL, ya think? 

[kathode]

I love the Witcher.  I've played through it twice already.  I'm slowly getting into FO3 but the over the top, almost comical gore from killing stuff is really destroying the immersion.  I never should have taken Bloody Mess.

Haha, yeah I wouldn't recommend it for a first playthrough.  It is supposed to be comical though.  The icon is a guy shooting another guy with a tiny pistol and his whole body explodes.  That's the spirit of the perk.

[CeeKay]

I love the Witcher.  I've played through it twice already.  I'm slowly getting into FO3 but the over the top, almost comical gore from killing stuff is really destroying the immersion.  I never should have taken Bloody Mess.

Haha, yeah I wouldn't recommend it for a first playthrough.  It is supposed to be comical though.  The icon is a guy shooting another guy with a tiny pistol and his whole body explodes.  That's the spirit of the perk.

I don't remember it being as crazy from what I played Fallout 1, but I guess it's just the 3D in your face aspect of it overwhelming 2D memories.

[Unagi]

   Fallout 3:

With the Bloody Mess perk, characters and creatures you kill will often explode into a red, gut-ridden, eyeball-strewn paste. Fun! Oh, and you'll do 5% extra damage with all weapons.

[Skylark]

With the Bloody Mess perk, characters and creatures you kill will often explode into a red, gut-ridden, eyeball-strewn paste. Fun! Oh, and you'll do 5% extra damage with all weapons.

Hehe... "I'm not taking it for the graphical effect, it's the 5% extra damage that convinced me to take it! Honest!"