In an interview with MTV Multiplayer on 1/26/09, Fallout 3 executive producer Todd Howard directly addressed 3 selected criticisms of the title. The criticisms and responses are reposted below:

Criticism: #1: “Fallout 3″ is just mediocre when judged as a first person shooter

Howard: Agreed.

Criticism #2: The ending isn’t very satisfying and much shorter than other “Fallout” endings

Howard: Based on the feedback I’ve seen, most people are pissed off that it ends, not the ‘ending’ itself. Maybe that’s one and the same, I don’t know. That’s another thing we’re changing in DLC3 [downloadable content #3, "Broken Steel"]. We really underestimated how many people would want to keep playing, so that’s probably the last time we’ll do something like that.

Criticism #3: V.A.T.S. is boring once you’re accurate enough to head shot everyone

Howard: Depends on what you find entertaining. I like to blow people’s heads off, so, well, it never got old for me. I agree that the ‘to hit chance’ for head shots is probably too high.

Source

It looks as though Mr. Howard isn’t entirely in touch with the community with respect to Criticism #2. While the decision to end the game after the main story line finished was poor, almost everyone I know who completed their journey in the Capital Wasteland agrees that the ending was far too abrupt.

Sure, the giant robot obliterating helicopters and legions of Enclave soldiers was fun to watch, but it was completely non-interactive. When I finally confronted the Enclave colonel, a generically evil enemy introduced far too late in the game for me to take much interest in, I reduced him to a steaming pile of radioactive waste before he even drew his gun. It took me exactly 3 seconds to dispatch him followed by 10 minutes of blindly searching the area thinking that I must have missed something. Not being able to keep playing after the endgame montage was just icing on the cake.

Similar Posts:

• This Week in PC Gaming - 1/25/09 - 2/5/09
• Bethesda Pushes the Fallout 3 Engine to its Limits: New Screenshots Released for The Pitt
• Fallout 3 DLC “The Pitt” Slated For March 24th Release
• Hands-On Impressions of The Pitt from 2009 DICE Summit
• Playtest Much? Fallout 3: The Pitt Explores New Frontiers in Bug-Ridden Software